James Gunn

(July 12, 1923 – December 23, 2020)

Author, critic and teacher James Edwin Gunn’s first published SF story was "Communications" in Startling Stories (September 1949) [as by Edwin James]; his first novel, This Fortress World (Gnome Press, 1955). Other novels include The Joy Makers (1961), The Immortals (1964), and The Listeners (1972).

He won the 1983 Best Non-Fiction Book Hugo and was nominated for the 1989 Best Non-Fiction Book Hugo.

Gunn was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and educated at the University of Kansas (B.S. in Journalism, 1947; M.A. in English, 1951), where he later became a professor of English and journalism and director of the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction, which he established in 1982. He wrote an autobiography, Star-Begotten: A Life Lived in Science Fiction, and a biography: Saving the World Through Science Fiction by Michael R. Page and was published by McFarland in February 2017. James Gunn's Ad Astra was named for him.

Early in his career (1951–1952), Gunn was an apprentice editor for Dell Books in their Western Printing & Lithographing Division in Racine, Wisconsin. While there, he worked on Robert Heinlein's Universe (#36 in the Dell 10¢ series), contributing the cover idea and the anonymous introduction.

From 1977 to 1998, he edited six volumes of his "Road to Science Fiction" series of anthologies. He served as president of The Science Fiction Writers of America (1971-1972) and of The Science Fiction Research Association (1980-1982).

He was the Most Senior SF Writer for seven years.

He was a member of First Fandom.

• Biography.
• Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
• “Gunnisms.”
• Recording of James Gunn talk at Midamericon.

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1972 -- MidAmerica-Con 2
• 1974 -- Minicon 9
• 1975 -- Marcon 10
• 1976 -- ConClave I, Pilgrim Award
• 1977 -- Jack Williamson Lectureship
• 1979 -- URCON I, FortCon, Kampuscon
• 1982 -- Tropicon I
• 1983 -- Best Non-Fiction Book Hugo, Starcall, Eatoncon 5
• 1991 -- J. Lloyd Eaton Memorial Award (Lifetime Achievement)
• 1997 -- Thomas D. Clareson Award
• 2007 -- SFWA Grand Master Award
• 2009 -- First Fandom Hall of Fame
• 2013 -- LoneStarCon 3
• 2017 -- ConStellation VIII

---

Person

1923—2020

This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names.