Hartwell, David G

Entry updated 17 February 2025. Tagged: Author, Critic, Editor.

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(1941-2016) US editor, publisher and critic, married to KathrynCramer from 1997; his first publication of genre interest wasSF-I: A Selective Bibliography (1971 chap) with L WCurrey, writing together as KilgoreTrout; he also assisted Currey in the latter's seminalScience Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings of their Fiction and Selected Nonfiction (1979). With Tom Beeler he published and editedThe Little Magazine, a literary magazine founded in Autumn 1965 by Alexis Levitin asThe Quest, taken over by Beeler and Hartwell in late 1969, retitled in Spring 1970 and continuing to 1988; authors included JoannaRuss. In 1988 he founded and until his death remained involved withTheNew York Review of Science Fiction, published by Dragon Press, theSmall Press of which he was a partner 1973-1978 and became the sole proprietor. He edited the short-livedCosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine 1977-1978.

His substantial influence in the sf world was mainly, however, as an editor and/or advisor for various commercial sf publishers, including Signet (1971-1973); Berkley/Putnam (1973-1978);Gregg Press (1975-1986), an academic publisher of important sf reprints which he managed part-time; Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster (1978-1983), where he was responsible for their importantTimescape Books sf imprint; andTor Books (1984-2016), where he was a Senior Editor from 1995; plus part-time responsibilities with Arbor House (1984-1988) and William Morrow (1988-1991). His career – a tightrope walk – testifies to the difficulties Hartwell partly conquered in reconciling the conflicting demands of art and commerce, especially during his tenure with Pocket Books'Timescape programme, where he published many distinguished titles including GregoryBenford'sTimescape (1980) and GeneWolfe'sThe Book of the New Sun (1980-1983 4vols).

TheAnthologies Hartwell edited include:The Battle of the Monsters and Other Stories (anth1976) with L WCurrey, selected from nineteenth-century sf;Triquarterly 49 (anth1980) with RobertOnopa, a special issue on sf (in effect anOriginal Anthology) including stories and essays by AlgisBudrys, Samuel RDelany, Thomas MDisch. Ursula KLe Guin, MichaelSwanwick, GeneWolfe and others; theChristmas sequence of seasonal ghost, supernatural, fantasy and sf stories, beginning withChristmas Ghosts (anth1987) with KathrynCramer and ending withChristmas Magic (anth1994);The Dark Descent (anth1987) [for vts see Checklist], a massive compilation ofHorror tales which won aWorld Fantasy Award for best anthology;Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment (anth1988) andMasterpieces of Fantasy and Wonder (anth1989), both with Cramer;The World Treasury of Science Fiction (anth1989);Foundations of Fear: An Exploration of Horror (anth1992) [for vts see Checklist];The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard Science Fiction (anth1994) with Cramer, which contains intriguingly contrasting definitions ofHard SF in the editors' comments and in the introduction by GregoryBenford; the annualYear's Best Science Fiction showcase opening withYear's Best Science Fiction (anth1996), edited with Cramer from #7 in 2002 and continuing to 2013;Northern Stars: The Anthology of Canadian Science Fiction (anth1994) with Glenn Grant and its thematic companionNorthern Suns (anth1999);The Science Fiction Century (anth1999) [for vts see Checklist];Centaurus: The Best of Australian Science Fiction (anth1999) with DamienBroderick;The Hard SF Renaissance (anth2002) with KathrynCramer andThe Space Opera Renaissance (anth2006) with KathrynCramer. Most of these anthologies are huge, and as a whole they comprise a concentrated, learned and unopinionated presentation of the fields of the fantastic over the whole of the twentieth century.Twenty-First Century Science Fiction (anth2013) with PatrickNielsen Hayden presented a similarly knowledgeable, centralist vision of recent developments in the field.

Hartwell won a furtherWorld Fantasy Award in the Special Award/Professional category in 1988, and was very many times nominated for aHugo as Best Editor, finally winning in 2006 and repeating this success in the revised category Best Editor, Long Form in 2008 and 2009. He wrote a number of critical essays on sf; hisAge of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction (1984; rev1985; further rev1996) is wide-ranging, informal and anecdotal, treating sf andFandom as both a literary and a sociological phenomenon. All in all, however, Hartwell's concept of the fantastic is more far-ranging than this volume gives room for; and it was long hoped that a further study would be forthcoming. He was perhaps the single most influential book editor of the past forty years in the American sf publishing world; some of his contributions are described inDavid G Hartwell: In Memoriam (anth/coll2016) edited by Kevin J Maroney [for details see Checklist below]. He received a posthumousLocus Award as best editor of 2015, and a posthumousWorld Fantasy Award for life achievement in 2016. [PN/JC/DRL]

David Geddes Hartwell

born Salem, Massachusetts: 10 July 1941

died Plattsburgh, New York: 20 January 2016

works

nonfiction

SF-1: A Selective Bibliography (Elizabethtown, New York: L W Currey,1971) with L WCurrey, writing together as KilgoreTrout [nonfiction: chap: pb/]
Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction (New York: Walker and Co,1984) [nonfiction: hb/Laurie McBarnette]
- Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction (New York: McGraw-Hill,1985) [nonfiction: exp of the above: pb/]
  - Age of Wonders (New York: Tor,1996) [nonfiction: rev of the above: hb/]

works as editor

series

Christmas

Christmas Ghosts (New York: Arbor House,1987) with KathrynCramer [anth:Christmas: hb/]
Spirits of Christmas: Twenty Other-Worldly Tales (New York: Wynwood Press,1989) with KathrynCramer [anth:Christmas: hb/Wendy Wees]
Christmas Stars (New York: Tor,1992) [anth:Christmas: pb/NicholasJainschigg]
Christmas Forever: All New Tales of Yuletide Wonder (New York: Tor,1993) [anth:Christmas: hb/DonatoGiancola as Donato]
Christmas Magic (New York: Tor,1994) [anth:Christmas: pb/NicholasJainschigg]

Year's Best Science Fiction

Year's Best Science Fiction (New York: HarperPrism,1996) [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/BobEggleton]
Year's Best SF 2 (New York: HarperPrism,1997) [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/BobEggleton]
Year's Best SF 3 (New York: HarperPrism,1998) [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/ChrisMoore]
Year's Best SF 4 (New York: HarperPrism,1999) [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/JohnHarris]
Year's Best SF 5 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2000) [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/JohnHarris]
Year's Best SF 6 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2001) [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/PaulYoull]
Year's Best SF 7 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2002) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/PaulYoull]
Year's Best SF 8 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2003) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/ChrisMoore]
Year's Best SF 9 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2004) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/Gregory Bridges]
Year's Best SF 10 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2005) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/FredGambino]
Year's Best SF 11 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2006) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/JohnHarris]
Year's Best SF 12 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2007) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/JohnHarris]
Year's Best SF 13 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager,2008) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/PaulYoull]
Year's Best SF 14 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager,2009) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/Bob Warner]
Year's Best SF 15 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager,2010) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/DominicHarman]
Year's Best SF 16 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager,2011) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/JohnHarris]
Year's Best SF 17 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager,2012) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/JohnHarris]
Year's Best SF 18 (New York: Tor,2013) [anth:Year's Best SF: pb/Shutterstock]

Year's Best Fantasy

Year's Best Fantasy (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2001) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best Fantasy: pb/PaulYoull]
Year's Best Fantasy 2 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2002) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best Fantasy: pb/TimWhite]
Year's Best Fantasy 3 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2003) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best Fantasy: pb/]
Year's Best Fantasy 4 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2004) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best Fantasy: pb/]
Year's Best Fantasy 5 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos,2005) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best Fantasy: pb/]
Year's Best Fantasy 6 (San Francisco, California: Tachyon Publications,2006) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best Fantasy: pb/David M Bowers]
Year's Best Fantasy 7 (San Francisco, California: Tachyon Publications,2007) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best Fantasy: pb/David M Bowers]
Year's Best Fantasy 8 (San Francisco, California: Tachyon Publications,2008) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best Fantasy: pb/David M Bowers]
Year's Best Fantasy 9 (New York: Tor,2009) with KathrynCramer [anth:Year's Best Fantasy: pb/Jamie Stafford-Hill]

individual titles as editor

The Battle of the Monsters and Other Stories (Boston, Massachusetts: Gregg Press,1976) with L WCurrey [anth: hb/nonpictorial]
Destination Moon (Boston, Massachusetts: Gregg Press,1976) with L WCurrey [nonfiction: anth: hb/]
Triquarterly 49 (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press,1980) with RobertOnopa [anth: special issue ofTriquarterly on sf: pb/NASA photograph of Jupiter's ring system]
The Dark Descent (New York: Tor,1987) [anth: hb/Doug Fornuff]
- The Dark Descent #1: The Colour of Evil (London: Grafton,1990) [anth: rev containing the first third of the above: vt: pb/Ian Miller]
- The Dark Descent #2: The Medusa in the Shield (London: Grafton,1990) [anth: rev containing the second third of the above: vt: pb/TimWhite]
- The Dark Descent #3: A Fabulous, Formless Darkness (London: Grafton,1991) [anth: rev containing the final third of the above: vt: pb/Colin Thomas]
Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment (New York: Science Fiction Books Club,1988) with KathrynCramer [anth: Cramer edited anonymously: hb/TomCanty]
Masterpieces of Fantasy and Wonder (New York: Science Fiction Books Club,1989) with KathrynCramer [anth: Cramer edited anonymously: hb/TomCanty]
The World Treasury of Science Fiction (Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Co,1989) [anth: hb/BobEggleton]
Foundations of Fear: An Exploration of Horror (New York: Tor,1992) [anth: hb/TomCanty]
- Shadows of Fear: Foundations of Fear Volume 1 (New York: Tor,1994) [anth: rev containing the first third of the above: vt: pb/TomCanty]
- Worlds of Fear: Foundations of Fear Volume 2 (New York: Tor,1994) [anth: rev containing the second third of the above: vt: pb/TomCanty]
- Foundations of Fear: Visions of Fear (New York: Tor,1994) [anth: rev containing the final third of the above: vt: pb/TomCanty]
The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard Science Fiction (New York: Tor,1994) with KathrynCramer [anth: hb/JohnBerkey]
Northern Stars: The Anthology of Canadian Science Fiction (New York: Tor,1994) edited with Glenn Grant [anth: hb/NicholasJainschigg]
The Screaming Skull and Other Great American Ghost Stories (New York: Tor,1995) [anth: the book is dated 1994: pb/Jim Thiesen]
The Screaming Skull II (New York: Tor,1995) [anth: pb/]
Visions of Wonder: The Science Fiction Research Association Anthology (New York: Tor,1996) with Milton T Wolf [anth: hb/]
Bodies of the Dead and Other Great American Ghost Stories (New York: Tor,1997) [anth: pb/Eric Peterson]
The Science Fiction Century (New York: Tor,1997) [anth: hb/JohnHarris]
- The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction, Volume One (London: Robinson,2003) [rev containing the first half of the above: vt: pb/]
  - The Science Fiction Century, Volume One (New York: Tor,2006) [anth: vt of the above: pb/JohnHarris]
- The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction, Volume Two (London: Robinson,2004) [rev containing the second half of the above: vt: pb/Joe Roberts]
  - The Science Fiction Century, Volume Two (New York: Tor,2006) [anth: vt of the above: pb/]
Northern Suns (New York: Tor,1999) with Glenn Grant [anth: hb/NicholasJainschigg]
Centaurus: The Best of Australian Science Fiction (New York: Tor,1999) with DamienBroderick [anth: hb/Peter Lutjen]
The Hard SF Renaissance (New York: Tor,2002) with KathrynCramer [anth: hb/GregoryManchess]
The Space Opera Renaissance (New York: Tor,2006) with KathrynCramer [anth: hb/image from NASA]
The Sword and Sorcery Anthology (San Francisco, California: Tachyon Publications,2012) with Jacob Weisman [anth: pb/Jean-Sebastien Rossbach]
Twenty-First Century Science Fiction (New York: Tor,2013) with PatrickNielsen Hayden [anth: hb/Shutterstock]
The Anderson Project (New York: Tor,2014) [anth: ebook: illus/na/Richard Anderson]

nonfiction as editor

Fantastic Machinations: ICFA 30 Retrospective, 1980-2009 (place not given: IAFA,2009) with Judy Collins McCormick [nonfiction: anth: chap: reminiscences and analyses of the first 30 annual sessions of the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts: pb/David Mesplé]

about the editor