Peter Nicholls | |
|---|---|
 Nicholls on a2014 Worldcon panel discussingThe Encyclopedia of Science Fiction | |
| Born | Peter Douglas Nicholls (1939-03-08)8 March 1939 |
| Died | 6 March 2018(2018-03-06) (aged 78) Melbourne, Victoria |
| Occupation | Literary scholar, critic, writer |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Children | Sophie Cunningham[1] |
Peter Douglas Nicholls (8 March 1939 – 6 March 2018)[2] was an Australian literary scholar and critic. He was the creator and a co-editor ofThe Encyclopedia of Science Fiction withJohn Clute.[3]
Born in Australia's state of Victoria inMelbourne, he spent two decades from 1968 to 1988 as anexpatriate, first in the USA, and then the UK.[4]
Nicholls' early career was as a literary academic, originally with theUniversity of Melbourne. He first travelled to the USA in 1968 with aHarkness Fellowship in movie making, and has scripted television documentaries.[3] His significant contributions toscience fiction scholarship and criticism began during 1971, when he became the first Administrator of theScience Fiction Foundation (UK), a title he had until 1977.[4] He was editor of its journal,Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction, from 1974 to 1978.[4]
During 1979, Nicholls editedThe Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (published in the USA asThe Science Fiction Encyclopedia), withJohn Clute as associate editor.[5][clarification needed]
Most of its 730,000 words were written by Nicholls, Clute and two contributing editors.[citation needed] It won the 1980Hugo Award for the Nonfiction Book category.[6]
A completely revised, updated, and greatly expanded version of theEncyclopedia, co-edited with Clute, was published in 1993, and won the 1994 Hugo for the same category.[4] A further updating of the work, with revisions and corrections, was later issued in CD-ROM format.[4] The third edition, with Clute andDavid Langford, was released online as a beta text in October 2011.[4]
Nicholls' other major publications include:Science Fiction At Large (1976; reprinted 1978 with the titleExplorations of the Marvellous), a collection of essays edited by Nicholls from a 1975 symposium;The Science in Science Fiction (1983) edited by Nicholls and written by him withDavid Langford andBrian Stableford; andFantastic Cinema (1984; published in the USA asThe World of Fantastic Films).[4]Genre Fiction: The Roaring Years (2022) is a posthumous collection of his reviews and essays which he had planned, titled and written an introduction forcirca 2012 but was unable to complete.[7]
He won several awards for his scholarship, including theScience Fiction Research Association's Pilgrim Award (1980), anEaton Award (1995) and a Peter McNamara Award (2006).[4] He broadcast movie and book reviews on BBC Radio from 1974 and worked as a publisher's editor 1982–1983.[3]
Nicholls was diagnosed withParkinson's disease during 2000, which gradually curtailed his activities.[3] A movie about his interest and work in science fiction, titledThe What-If Man, was completed in 2004.[8]
Nicholls was the father of five children. His daughter is author and editorSophie Cunningham.[1] He lived in Melbourne with his wife, Clare Coney, where he died on 6 March 2018 at the age of 78.[4]
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