| The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the second, revised and greatly expanded edition (Orbit Books, 1993) |
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| Author(s) | Peter Nicholls, John Clute; David Langford from 2011 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | Science fiction |
| Genre(s) | Reference |
| Publisher |
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| Media type |
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| Pages |
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| ISBN | (below) |
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. In October 2011, the third edition was made available for free online.[1]
Contents |
Publication history [edit]
The first edition, edited by Peter Nicholls with John Clute,[2] was published by Granada in 1979. It was retitled The Science Fiction Encyclopedia when published by Doubleday in the United States. Accompanying its text were numerous black and white photographs illustrating authors, book and magazine covers, film and TV stills, and examples of artists' work.
A second edition, jointly edited by Nicholls and Clute, was published in 1993 by Orbit in the UK and St. Martin's Press in the US. The second edition contained 1.3 million words, almost twice the 700,000 words of the 1979 edition.[3] The paperback edition included an addendum. Unlike the first edition, the print versions did not contain illustrations. There was also a CD-ROM version in 1995, styled variously as The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Grolier Science Fiction. This contained text updates through 1995, hundreds of book covers and author photos, and author video clips taken from the TVOntario series Prisoners of Gravity.
The companion volume, published after the second print edition and following its format closely, is The Encyclopedia of Fantasy.
All print and CD-ROM editions are currently out of print. In July 2011, Orion Publishing Group announced that the third edition of the encyclopedia would be released online later that year by ESF Ltd in association with Victor Gollancz, Orion's science fiction imprint. The "beta text" of the third edition launched online on 2 October 2011.[4] The encyclopedia is updated monthly by a contributor group of academics and experts,[2] and it is expected to be finished by the end of 2012.[4]
Contents [edit]
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction contains entries under the categories of authors, themes, terminology, science fiction in various countries, films, filmmakers, television, magazines, fanzines, comics, illustrators, book publishers, original anthologies, awards, and miscellaneous.[5]
The online edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction was released in October 2011 with 12,230 entries, totaling 3,200,000 words. The editors predict it will contain 4,000,000 words upon its completion at the end of 2012.[6]
Bibliography [edit]
 |
This section is outdated. (April 2013) |
- Nicholls, Peter (1979). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: An Illustrated A to Z. St Albans, Herts, UK: Granada Publishing Ltd. p. 672. ISBN 978-0-246-11020-6.[7]
- Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. London: Orbit Books. p. xxxvi + 1370. ISBN 978-1-85723-124-3.[8]
- Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1995). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. xxxvi + 1386. ISBN 978-0-312-13486-0.[8]
- Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1995). The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (CD-ROM). Danbury, CT: Grolier Science Fiction. ISBN 978-0-7172-3999-3.[8]
- Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (November 1999). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. London: Orbit Books. p. xxxvi + 1396. ISBN 978-1-85723-897-6.[8]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Mission to Universe by Gordon R Dickson. "SFE: Science Fiction Encyclopedia". Sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
- ^ a b Debnath, Neela. "‘The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction’ makes internet debut". The Independent Blogs.
- ^ Fox, Rose (6 July 2011). "Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Goes Digital, Searchable, and Free". Publisher's Weekly Blog.
- ^ a b "SFE Beta Text launches". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
- ^ "Notes on Content". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
- ^ "Introduction to the Third Edition". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: An Illustrated A to Z title listing. ISFDB. Retrieved 2013-04-17.
- ^ a b c d The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved 2013-04-17. Select a title to see its linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
External links [edit]
- "Formats and Editions of The Encyclopedia of science fiction" at WorldCat
- SFE: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 2011–2013 online edition
- SF Encyclopedia Editorial Home (sfe3.org) — with data on multiple editions
- 1993 SF Encyclopedia Updates — "New Data, Typographical Errors, Factual Corrections, and Miscellanea; Last updated September 2002"
- Grolier product information, 1995 Multimedia edition, archived 2008-10-17
- Q&A with the Founder of ‘The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction’, The Independent, 12 January 2012 — Neela Debnath with Peter Nicholls
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