Theodore Sturgeon was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author.
His most famous novel is
More Than HumanMore Than Human is a 1953 science fiction novel by Theodore Sturgeon. It is a fix-up of his previously published novella Baby is Three with two parts written especially for the novel....
(1953).
Biography
Sturgeon was born Edward Hamilton Waldo in Staten Island, New York in 1918. His name was legally changed to Theodore Sturgeon—not a pseudonym—at age eleven after his mother's
divorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
and remarriage to William Dicky ("Argyll") Sturgeon.
He sold his first story in 1938 to the
McClure SyndicateMcClure Syndicate , the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind...
, which bought much of his early (non-fantastic) work; his first genre appearance was "Ether Breather" in
Astounding Science Fiction a year later. At first he wrote mainly short stories, primarily for genre magazines such as
Astounding and
Unknown, but also for general-interest publications such as
Argosy Magazine. He used the
pen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
"E. Waldo Hunter" when two of his stories ran in the same issue of
Astounding. A few of his early stories were signed "Theodore H. Sturgeon."
Sturgeon ghost-wrote an
Ellery QueenEllery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
mystery novel,
The Player on the Other Side (Random House, 1963). This novel gained critical praise from critic H.R.F. Keating, who "had almost finished writing
Crime and Mystery: the 100 Best Books, in which I had included
The Player on the Other Side ... placing the book squarely in the Queen canon" when he learned that it had been written by Sturgeon. Similarly, "William DeAndrea, author and ... winner of Mystery Writers of America awards, selecting his ten favorite mystery novels for the magazine
Armchair Detective, picked
The Player on the Other Side as one of them. He said: 'This book changed my life ... and made a raving mystery fan (and therefore ultimately a mystery writer) out of me. ... The book must be 'one of the most skilful pastiches in the history of literature. An amazing piece of work, whomever did it'."
Sturgeon wrote the screenplays for the
Star TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episodes "Shore Leave" (1966) and "Amok Time" (1967, later published as a "Fotonovel" in 1978). The latter is known for his invention of the
pon farrPon farr is a term used in the fictional Star Trek canonical TV series. In Star Trek, pon farr is a psychophysical condition affecting Vulcans, in which Vulcan males and females go into heat every seven years, going into a blood fever, becoming violent, and finally dying if they do not mate with...
, the
VulcanVulcans, or sometimes Vulcanians, are an extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe who evolved on the planet Vulcan, and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic with no interference from emotion. They were the first extraterrestrial species in the Star Trek...
mating ritual, the first use of the sentence "Live long and prosper" and the first use of the Vulcan hand symbol. Sturgeon is also sometimes credited as having deliberately put homosexual
subtextSubtext or undertone is content of a book, play, musical work, film, video game, or television series which is not announced explicitly by the characters but is implicit or becomes something understood by the observer of the work as the production unfolds. Subtext can also refer to the thoughts...
in his work, like the back rub scene in "Shore Leave". Sturgeon also wrote several episodes of
Star TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
that were never produced. One of these was notable for having first introduced the
Prime DirectiveIn the universe of Star Trek, the Prime Directive, Starfleet's General Order #1, is the most prominent guiding principle of the United Federation of Planets...
. He also wrote an episode of the Saturday morning show
Land of the LostLand of the Lost is a children's television series co-created and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network....
, "The Pylon Express", in 1975. Two of Sturgeon's stories were adapted for
The New Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is the first of two revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.-Series history:...
. One, "
A Saucer of Loneliness"A Saucer of Loneliness" is a short story by Theodore Sturgeon which first appeared in Galaxy Magazine in February 1953. It was later adapted as a radio play for X Minus One in 1957; and as the second segment of the twenty-fifth episode of the television series The Twilight Zone.-Short story:The...
", was broadcast in 1986 and was dedicated to his memory. Another short story, "Yesterday was Monday", was the inspiration for the
The New Twilight Zone episode "
A Matter of MinutesA Matter of Minutes is the third segment of the fifteenth episode from the first season of the television series The New Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:...
". His 1944 novella "Killdozer!" was the inspiration for the 1970s
made-for-TV movieKilldozer! is a 1974 made for TV science-fiction/horror movie, adapted from a 1944 novella by Theodore Sturgeon. A comic-book adaptation appeared the same year, in Marvel Comics Worlds Unknown #6 .-Plot:...
, Marvel comic book, and
alternative rock bandKilldozer was an American noise-rock band, formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1983, with members Bill Hobson, Dan Hobson and Michael Gerald. They took their name from the 1974 TV movie, directed by Jerry London, itself based on a Theodore Sturgeon short story. They released their first album,...
of the same name.
Sturgeon is well-known among readers of classic science-fiction anthologies. At the height of his popularity in the 1950s he was the most anthologized author alive) and much respected by critics.
John CluteJohn Frederick Clute is a Canadian born author and critic who has lived in Britain since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history."...
wrote in
The Encyclopedia of Science FictionThe Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an English language reference work on science fiction.- Publication history :The first edition, edited by Peter Nicholls with John Clute and Brian Stableford appeared in 1979, published by Granada. It was retitled The Science Fiction Encyclopedia in the US...
: "His influence upon writers like
Harlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
and
Samuel R. DelanySamuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
was seminal, and in his life and work he was a powerful and generally liberating influence in post-WWII US sf". He, though, is not much known among the general public and won comparatively few awards (though it must be noted that his best work was published before the establishment and consolidation of the leading genre awards, while his later production was scarcer and weaker. He was listed as a primary influence of the much more famous
Ray BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
. Kurt Vonnegut based his character
Kilgore TroutKilgore Trout is a fictional character created by author Kurt Vonnegut. He was originally created as a fictionalized version of author Theodore Sturgeon , although Trout's consistent presence in Vonnegut's works has also led critics to view him as the author's own alter ego...
on Theodore Sturgeon.
Sturgeon lived for several years in
Springfield, OregonSpringfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area...
. He died on May 8, 1985, of lung fibrosis, at
Sacred Heart General HospitalSacred Heart Medical Center University District is a hospital in Eugene, Oregon. Originally called Sacred Heart Medical Center, its new name reflects its location near the University of Oregon. It is one of two Sacred Heart facilities in the Eugene-Springfield area owned by PeaceHealth...
in the neighboring city of
EugeneEugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
.
He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the
Trap Door SpidersThe Trap Door Spiders are a literary male-only eating, drinking, and arguing society in New York City, with a membership historically composed of notable science fiction personalities...
, which served as the basis of
Isaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's fictional group of mystery solvers the
Black WidowersThe Black Widowers is a fictional men-only dining club created by Isaac Asimov for a series of sixty-six mystery stories which he started writing in 1971...
.
Sturgeon's Law
In 1951, Sturgeon coined what is now known as Sturgeon's Law: "Ninety percent of SF [science fiction] is crud, but then, ninety percent of
everything is crud." This was originally known as Sturgeon's Revelation; Sturgeon has said that "Sturgeon's Law" was originally "Nothing is always absolutely so." However, the former statement is now widely referred to as Sturgeon's Law. He is also known for his dedication to a credo of critical thinking that challenged all normative assumptions: "ask the next question." He represented this credo by the symbol of a Q with an arrow through it, an example of which he wore around his neck and used as part of his signature in the last 15 years of his life.
Life and family
Sturgeon was a distant relative of
Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, and through his Waldo, Hamilton Dicker and Dunn ancestors, a direct descendant of numerous influential Puritan, Presbyterian, and Anglican clergymen. Both Sturgeon and his brother Peter eventually became atheists, although Sturgeon continuously developed his own highly imaginative spiritual side. If Sturgeon was aware of much of his ancestry or stories associated with it, he never shared them with his friends or children, although the short "I Say—Ernest" (1972) does bring to life one wing of his ministerial family.
- Sturgeon's sibling, Peter Sturgeon
Peter Assheton Sturgeon was founder of the American branch of Mensa and the older brother of noted American science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon....
, wrote technical material for the pharmaceutical industry and eventually for the WHOThe World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
, has been credited with bringing MensaMensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
to the United States.
- Peter and Theodore's birth father, Edward Waldo, was a color and dye manufacturer of middling success. With his second wife, Anne, he had one daughter, Joan.
- Peter and Theodore's mother, Christine Hamilton Dicker (Waldo) Sturgeon, was a well-educated writer, watercolorist, and poet who published journalism, poetry, and fiction under the name Felix Sturgeon.
- Their stepfather, William Dickie Sturgeon (sometimes known as Argyll), was a mathematics teacher at a prep school and then Romance Languages Professor at Drexel Institute [later Drexel Institute of Technology] in Philadelphia.
Sturgeon held a wide variety of jobs during his lifetime.
- As an adolescent, he wanted to be a circus acrobat
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
; an episode of rheumatic feverRheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that occurs following a Streptococcus pyogenes infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever. Believed to be caused by antibody cross-reactivity that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain, the illness typically develops two to three weeks after...
prevented him from pursuing this.
- From 1935 (aged 17) to 1938, he was a sailor in the merchant marine, and elements of that experience found their way into several stories.
- He sold refrigerators door to door.
- He managed a hotel in Jamaica around 1940–1941, worked in several construction and infrastructure jobs (driving a bulldozer in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, operating a gas station and truck lubrication center, work at a drydock) for the US Army in the early war years, and by 1944 was an advertising copywriter.
- In addition to freelance fiction and television writing, he also operated a literary agency (which was eventually transferred to Scott Meredith
Scott Meredith, born Arthur Scott Feldman was a prominent American literary agent, and founder of the Scott Meredith Literary Agency. His clients included famous and successful writers such as Richard S. Prather, Morris West, Norman Mailer, J.G. Ballard, Arthur C. Clarke, P.G. Wodehouse and Philip K...
), worked for FortuneFortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
magazine and other Time Inc. properties on circulation, and edited various publications. Sturgeon had somewhat irregular output, frequently suffering from writer's blockWriter's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
.
Theodore Sturgeon vividly recalled being in the same room with
L. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, when Hubbard became testy with someone there and retorted, "Y'know, we're all wasting our time writing this hack science fiction! You wanta make real money, you gotta start a religion!" Reportedly Sturgeon also told this story to others.
Sturgeon played guitar and wrote music which he sometimes performed at
Science Fiction ConventionScience fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
s.
Sturgeon was married three times, had two long-term committed relationships outside of marriage, divorced once, and fathered a total of seven children.
- His first wife was Dorothe Fillingame (married 1940, divorced 1945) with whom he had two daughters, Patricia and Cynthia.
- He was married to singer Mary Mair from 1949 until an annulment in 1951.
- In 1953, he wed Marion McGahan with whom he had a son, Robin (b. 1952); daughters Tandy (b. 1954) and Noël (b. 1956); and son Timothy (b. 1960).
- In 1969, he began living with Wina Golden, a journalist, with whom he had a son, Andros.
- Finally, his last long-term committed relationship was with writer and educator Jayne Engelhart Tannehill, with whom he remained until the time of his death.
Sturgeon was a lifelong pipe smoker. His death from lung fibrosis may have been caused by exposure to
asbestosAsbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
during his Merchant Marine years.
Novels
- The Dreaming Jewels
The Dreaming Jewels is a science fiction novel by Theodore Sturgeon, published in 1950. It was reprinted under the title The Synthetic Man by Pyramid Books in 1957.-Plot synopsis:...
(1950) Also published as The Synthetic Man
- More Than Human
More Than Human is a 1953 science fiction novel by Theodore Sturgeon. It is a fix-up of his previously published novella Baby is Three with two parts written especially for the novel....
(1953) Fix-upA fix-up is a novel created from short stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material—such as a frame story—is written for the new novel. The term was coined by the science fiction...
of three linked novellas, the first and third written around the previously published Baby Is ThreeBaby Is Three is a science fiction novella by Theodore Sturgeon, first published in the October 1952 issue of Galaxy magazine. It was later crafted into a full novel, More Than Human...
- The Cosmic Rape
The Cosmic Rape is a science fiction novel by Theodore Sturgeon, originally published as an original paperback in August 1958. At the same time, a condensed or edited-down version of the novel was published in Galaxy magazine as a short novel, probably condensed by the editor, under the title To...
(1958) Abridged version published as To Marry Medusa
- Venus Plus X
Venus Plus X is a science fiction novel written by Theodore Sturgeon, published in 1960. David Pringle included it in his book Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels....
(1960)
- Some of Your Blood
Some of Your Blood is a short horror novel in epistolary form by Theodore Sturgeon, first published in 1961.-Plot summary:The book opens with a prologue addressed directly to "The Reader," informing the reader of the fictional basis of the novel. The novel presents as a case file of Dr...
(1961)
- Godbody (1986) (published posthumously)
Novelizations
Sturgeon, under his own name, was hired to write novelizations of the following movies based on their scripts (links go to articles about the movies):
- The King and Four Queens
The King and Four Queens , a western movie, involves a middle-aged cowboy adventurer who learns that a stolen fortune remains buried on a ranch that serves as home to four gorgeous young widows and their battle-axe mother-in-law: the drifter turns on the charm. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the film...
(1956)
- Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is an American science fiction film, produced and directed by Irwin Allen, released by 20th Century Fox in 1961. The story was written by Irwin Allen and Charles Bennett. Walter Pidgeon starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson, with Robert Sterling as Captain Lee Crane...
(1961)
- The Rare Breed
The Rare Breed is a 1966 American western film starring James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Juliet Mills and Ben Johnson and directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Loosely based on the life of rancher William Burgess, the film follows Martha Price's quest to fulfill her deceased husband's dream...
(1966)
Pseudonymous novels
- I, Libertine
I, Libertine was a literary hoax that began as a practical joke by late-night radio raconteur Jean Shepherd. Shepherd was highly annoyed at the way that the bestseller lists were being compiled in the mid-1950s...
(1956): Historical novel created as a for-hire hoax. Credited to "Frederick R. Ewing," written from a premise by Jean ShepherdJean Parker Shepherd was an American raconteur, radio and TV personality, writer and actor who was often referred to by the nickname Shep....
.
- The Player on The Other Side (1963): Mystery novel credited to Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay and Manford Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee , to write, edit, and anthologize detective fiction.The fictional Ellery Queen created by...
and ghost-written with Queen's assistance and supervision.
Short stories
Sturgeon published numerous short story collections during his lifetime, many drawing on his most prolific writing years of the 1940s and 1950s.
Note that some reprints of these titles (especially paperback editions) may cut one or two stories from the line-up. Statistics herein refer to the original editions only.
Collections published during Sturgeon's lifetime
The following table includes sixteen volumes (one of them collecting
westernThe Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
stories) where up to three stories (representing no more than half the book) were previously published in a Sturgeon collection.
| Title |
Year |
Number
of stories |
previously
collected |
Originally published |
| Earliest story |
Latest story |
Without SorceryWithout Sorcery is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories by author Theodore Sturgeon. The collection was first published in 1948 by Prime Press in an edition of 2,862 copies of which 80 were specially bound, slipcased and signed by the author and artist...
|
1948 |
13 |
|
1939 |
1947 |
| E Pluribus Unicorn E Pluribus Unicorn is a collection of fantasy and science fiction stories by Theodore Sturgeon, published in 1953 by Abelard.-Contents:*"Essay on Sturgeon" by Groff Conklin*"The Silken-Swift"*"The Professor's Teddy-Bear"*"Bianca's Hands"...
|
1953 |
13 |
|
1947 |
1953 |
| A Way Home |
1955 |
11 |
|
1946 |
1955 |
| Caviar |
1955 |
7 |
1 |
1941 |
1955 |
| A Touch of Strange |
1958 |
11 |
|
1953 |
1958 |
| Aliens 4 |
1959 |
4 |
|
1944 |
1958 |
| Beyond |
1960 |
6 |
|
1941 |
1960 |
| Sturgeon In Orbit |
1964 |
5 |
|
1951 |
1955 |
| Starshine |
1966 |
6 |
3 |
1940 |
1961 |
| Sturgeon Is Alive and Well... |
1971 |
11 |
|
1954 |
1971 |
| The Worlds of Theodore Sturgeon |
1972 |
10 |
3 |
1941 |
1962 |
| Sturgeon's West (westerns The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
) |
1973 |
7 |
|
1949 |
1973 |
| Case and the Dreamer |
1974 |
3 |
|
1962 |
1973 |
| Visions and Venturers |
1978 |
8 |
1 |
1942 |
1965 |
| The Stars Are The Styx |
1979 |
10 |
1 |
1951 |
1971 |
| The Golden Helix |
1979 |
10 |
3 |
1941 |
1973 |
The following six collections consisted entirely of reprints of previously collected material:
| Title |
Year |
Stories |
Notes |
| Number |
Earliest |
Latest |
| Thunder and Roses |
1957 |
8 |
1946 |
1955 |
selected from 11 in 1955's "A Way Home" |
| Not Without Sorcery |
1961 |
8 |
1939 |
1941 |
selected from 13 in 1948's Without SorceryWithout Sorcery is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories by author Theodore Sturgeon. The collection was first published in 1948 by Prime Press in an edition of 2,862 copies of which 80 were specially bound, slipcased and signed by the author and artist...
|
| The Joyous Invasions |
1965 |
3 |
1955 |
1958 |
selected from 4 in 1959's "Aliens 4" |
| To Here and the Easel |
1973 |
6 |
1941 |
1958 |
| Maturity |
1979 |
3 |
1947 |
1958 |
| Alien Cargo |
1984 |
14 |
1940 |
1956 |
Complete short stories
North Atlantic BooksNorth Atlantic Books is a non-profit, independent publisher based in Berkeley, CA. Founded by authors Richard Grossinger and Lindy Hough in Vermont, North Atlantic Books was named partly for the North Atlantic region where it began in 1974, as well as Alan Van Newkirk's Geographic Foundation of the...
has released the chronologically assembled
The Complete Short Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, edited by
Paul WilliamsPaul Williams is an American music journalist and writer. Williams created the first national US magazine of rock music criticism :Crawdaddy! in January 1966 on the campus of Swarthmore College with the help of some of his fellow science fiction fans...
, since 1994. The series runs to 13 volumes, the last appearing in September 2010. The volumes offer an excellent presentation of Sturgeon's best work—the short fiction. Introductions are provided by Harlan Ellison, Samuel R. Delany, Kurt Vonnegut, Gene Wolfe, Connie Willis, Jonathan Lethem, and many others. Extensive "Story Notes" are provided by Paul Williams and (in the last two volumes) Sturgeon's daughter Noel.
The volumes include:
- The Ultimate Egoist (1937 to 1940)
- Microcosmic God (1940 to 1941)
- Killdozer (1941 to 1946)
- Thunder and Roses (1946 to 1948)
- The Perfect Host (1948 to 1950)
- Baby is Three (1950 to 1952)
- A Saucer of Loneliness (1953)
- Bright Segment (1953 to 1955, as well as two "lost" stories from 1946)
- And Now the News... (1955 to 1957)
- The Man Who Lost the Sea (1957 to 1960)
- The Nail and the Oracle (1961 to 1969)
- Slow Sculpture (1970 to 1972, plus one 1954 novella and one unpublished story)
- Case and The Dreamer (1972 to 1983, plus one 1960 story and three unpublished stories)
Representative short stories
Sturgeon was best known for his short stories and novellas. The best-known include:
- "Ether Breather" (September 1939, his first published science-fiction story)
- "Derm Fool" (March 1940)
- "It!
"It!" is an influential horror short story by Theodore Sturgeon, first published in Unknown August 1940. The story deals with a plant monster that is ultimately revealed to have formed around a human skeleton, specifically that of Roger Kirk, in a swamp. P...
" (August 1940)
- "Shottle Bop" (February 1941)
- "Microcosmic God
"Microcosmic God" is a science fiction novelette by Theodore Sturgeon. Originally published in April 1941 in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction, it was recognized as one of the best science fiction stories of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1970, and was named as one of...
" (April 1941)
- "Yesterday Was Monday" (1941)
- "Killdozer!" (November, 1944)
- "Bianca's Hands" (May, 1947)
- "Thunder and Roses" (November 1947)
- "The Perfect Host" (November 1948)
- "Minority Report" (June 1949, no connection to the 2002 movie
Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C...
, which was based on a later story by Philip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
)
- "One Foot and the Grave" (September 1949)
- "Baby Is Three
Baby Is Three is a science fiction novella by Theodore Sturgeon, first published in the October 1952 issue of Galaxy magazine. It was later crafted into a full novel, More Than Human...
" (October 1952)
- "A Saucer of Loneliness
"A Saucer of Loneliness" is a short story by Theodore Sturgeon which first appeared in Galaxy Magazine in February 1953. It was later adapted as a radio play for X Minus One in 1957; and as the second segment of the twenty-fifth episode of the television series The Twilight Zone.-Short story:The...
" (February 1953)
- "The World Well Lost
"The World Well Lost" is a science-fiction short story by Theodore Sturgeon, first published in the June 1953 issue of Universe. It has been reprinted several times, for instance in Sturgeon's collections E Pluribus Unicorn, Starshine, and A Saucer of Loneliness...
" (June 1953)
- "Mr. Costello, Hero" (December 1953)
- "The [Widget], The [Wadget], and Boff" (1955)
- "The Skills of Xanadu" (July 1956)
- "The Other Man" (September 1956)
- "And Now The News" (December 1956)
- "The Girl Had Guts" (January 1957)
- "Need" (1960)
- "How to Forget Baseball" (Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, December 1964)
- "The Nail and the Oracle" (Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, October 1964)
- "Slow Sculpture
"Slow Sculpture" is a science fiction short story by Theodore Sturgeon. First published in Galaxy Science Fiction in February 1970, it won the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1971 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.-Synopsis:...
" (Galaxy, February 1970) — winner of a Hugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
and a Nebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
- "Occam's Scalpel" (August, 1971, with an introduction by Terry Carr
Terry Gene Carr was a U.S. science fiction author, editor, and teacher.Terry Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon...
)
- "Vengeance Is" (1980, Dark Forces anthology edited by Kirby McCauley)
- "If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?
"If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?" is a science fiction short story by Theodore Sturgeon. It first appeared in Harlan Ellison's anthology Dangerous Visions in 1967.-Plot synopsis:...
" (1967, Dangerous VisionsDangerous Visions is a science fiction short story anthology edited by Harlan Ellison, published in 1967.A path-breaking collection, Dangerous Visions helped define the New Wave science fiction movement, particularly in its depiction of sex in science fiction...
anthology edited by Harlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
)—Nebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
1967 Nominee Novella
- "The Man Who Learned Loving"—Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
1969 Nominee Short Story
Autobiography
- Argyll: A Memoir, (pamphlet, Sturgeon Project, 1993) an autobiographical sketch about Sturgeon's relationship with his stepfather. Introduction by his editor Paul Williams. Illustrated by Donna Nassar.
External links