If you take a look at the Author Index to the Vacation in the Golden Age, you’ll note that below each author’s name is now a set of links. The links will take you to the entry for the SF Encyclopedia, Internet Speculative Fiction Database, and some kind of official website, respectively. If the item is not linked, it means I couldn’t find an entry. I only made cursory attempts at looking for “official” web pages.
I made two interesting discoveries in doing this. There was an entry for Lee Gregor, which I discovered was actually a pseudonym for Milton A. Rothman. There was another entry for Arthur McCann, author of several science articles in this Vacation. Turns out that McCann is none other than John W. Campbell himself. The index has been updated accordingly in both cases.
I’m hoping this addition provides a quick way for people looking at an author in the index to get more information about the author.
As always, I’m open to suggestions. And if you know of an “official” web page for an author and the link doesn’t exist in my index, let me know.
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Arthur McCann was one that I didn’t know (and Campbell one of my favourite authors, too), but Lee Gregor was definitely a familiar one for me, as I recall reading his work many years ago under his real name of Milton A. Rothman. I didn’t even know his pseudonym was Lee Gregor until many years later.
I’ve been thinking for years of making a comprehensive list of SF authors and their pseudonyms – something in chart form, like a two-column table, with real names in alphabetical order in the first column and pseudonyms in the second. Maybe it’s time to get off my rear end and make a start on it.
I know the Encyclopedia of SF is a good source for information, but as far as I’m aware, the pseudonyms only appear in the individual author entries. I don’t think there’s a tabulated list or database anywhere which collates all the information so you can get at it in one place.
Something like this, as an addendum or appendix to the SFE that anyone can add information to, might be very useful. If such a thing already exists, I’d be grateful if someone would let me know, as I’d prefer not to reinvent the wheel. 🙂
Maybe something worth thinking about?
Phil, a quick Google search turned up this site, The Ultimate SF&F Pen Name List. I didn’t look to see how comprehensive it is, but I did look up Arthur McCann and they did have the name linked to Campbell, so it may be a good starting point for what you were looking for.
Thanks Jamie. I’ll have a look at that link later, when I get a bit of time (I’m supposed to be working at the moment *ahem!*). If something like this exists, I reckon it’s much better if people add to it and make it the single focal point for this information online, rather than fragment things by starting up other lists all over the place.