Charles N. Brown

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Charles N. Brown (2007)

Charles Nikki Brown (mostly Charlie Brown until the mid-1970s ; born June 24, 1937 in New York City ; died July 12, 2009 on a plane over San Francisco ) was an American publisher of science fiction literature and anthologies , in particular founder in 1968 and editor of the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus until his death .

Life

Brown served in the US Navy during World War II . After the war he worked as an electrical engineer in the nuclear field.

In 1968, Brown brought together Ed Meskys and Dave Vanderwerf the Fanzine Locus , originally a hectographed one-sheet newszine with the aim of supporting Boston's application for the 1971 Worldcon . After the decision had been made in 1969 and decided in favor of Boston, Brown decided to continue running Locus together with his then wife Marsha. After Marsha's divorce, Brown's new wife, Dena, became co-editor. In 1972 the Brown couple moved from New York to San Francisco. The year before, the Browns for Locus had received a Hugo Award for the first time , which was to be followed by many more. From 1976 Brown devoted himself full-time to the magazine, became the sole editor after the divorce from Dena in 1977 and held this position until his death.

Together with William G. Contento , Brown began from 1985 to annually summarize the titles contained in Locus' monthly Books Received column . With the more complete and more accurate recording of new publications, the annual compilations also became increasingly valuable bibliographical aids, supplemented from 1988 by the lists of research literature compiled by Hal W. Hall. From 1998, complete editions of the index for the period from 1984 to the respective previous year appeared on CD-ROM , most recently in 2009. The index is now available online, namely the annual collections up to 2007 with some additional lists in the Locus Index to Science Fiction and the lists from 2002 under Resources on Locus Online .

Brown was married twice, his first marriage from 1962 to 1969 to Marsha Elkin and then from 1979 to 1977 with Dena Benatan. Brown died in 2009 at the age of 72.

Awards

Since 1971, Brown, as editor of Locus, has won the Hugo Award in the relevant categories on an almost regular basis. First nominated in 1970, Brown was Hugo winner in the following years:

  • 1971 in the Best Fanzine category
  • 1972 to 1978 in the Best Amateur Magazine category with Dana Brown
  • 1980 to 1983 in the Best Fanzine category
  • 1984 to 1992 and 1996 to 2002 in the Best Semiprozine category
  • 1987 in the category Best Nonfiction Book for Science Fiction In Print: 1985 with William G. Contento
  • 1988 in the category Best Nonfiction Book for Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1986 with William G. Contento
  • 1989 in the category Best Nonfiction Book for Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1987 with William G. Contento
  • 2003 and 2004 in the Best Semiprozine category with Jennifer A. Hall and Kirsten Gong-Wong
  • 2006 to 2010 in the Best Semiprozine category Liza Groen Trombi and Kirsten Gong-Wong

In total, Brown received 31 Hugos.

Other awards:

Brown has been a guest of honor at SF Conventions several times , most recently he was posthumously guest of honor at the Worldcon 2011 in Reno .

bibliography

Anthologies
  • Far Travelers (1976)
  • Alien Worlds (1976)
  • The Locus Awards: Thirty Years of the Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy (2004, with Jonathan Strahan)
Bibliographies
  • Locus: The Newspaper of the Science Fiction Field (1978, photomechanical reprint of Locus issues # 1–207)
  • Science Fiction in Print: 1985 (1986, with William G. Contento)
  • Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror (1987-1992, each for the previous year, with William G. Contento)
  • The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1998–2009, annual editions on CD-ROM, each for the period 1984 to the previous year, with William G. Contento)
Essays in German translation
  • The Science Fiction Year (1980) (1981, in: Terry Carr (Ed.): The Best Science Fiction of the Year # 10 )
    • English: The Science Fiction Year (1980). In: Terry Carr (ed.): The most beautiful science fiction stories of the year: Volume 1. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4021, 1983, ISBN 3-453-30928-6 .
  • The Science Fiction Year (1981) (1982, in: Terry Carr (Ed.): The Best Science Fiction of the Year # 11 )
    • English: The Science Fiction Year (1981). In: Terry Carr (ed.): The most beautiful science fiction stories of the year: Volume 1. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4047, 1984, ISBN 3-453-30990-1 .
  • The Science Fiction Year (1982) (1983, in: Terry Carr (Ed.): The Best Science Fiction of the Year # 12 )
    • English: The Science Fiction Year (1982). In: Terry Carr (Ed.): The most beautiful science fiction stories of the year: Volume 1. Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 4165, 1985, ISBN 3-453-31123-X .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Clute : Brown, Charles N. In: John Clute, Peter Nicholls : The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction . 3rd edition (online edition), version dated November 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ The Locus Index to Science Fiction ( English ) Locus Publications. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  3. ↑ Resources ( English ) Locus Publications. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Brown, Charles N.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brown, Charles Nikki (full name); Brown, Charlie (alternative spelling); Brown, CN (alternative spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American editor of science fiction
DATE OF BIRTH June 24, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 2009
Place of death on the plane over San Francisco