Erik Simon

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Erik Simon (2019)

Erik Simon (* 1950 in Dresden ) is a German science fiction - writer - editor and translator .

Life

After graduating from high school and training as an electrician, Erik Simon studied physics at the TU Dresden . During this time he also became an active member of the Stanislaw Lem Club , which was later dismantled by the state authorities , where he led the Active for Foreign Fantasticism, which made translations for the club library and prepared events about foreign authors. Here two of his main interests were already evident: science fiction and languages. Simultaneously with his diploma as a physicist, Simon obtained a state degree as a specialist translator for Russian ; since then he has translated science fiction and fantasy from English , from several Slavic languages and from Dutch . After a brief activity as an engineer in a concrete plant, Simon became a lecturer in the publishing house Das Neue Berlin in 1974 , where he was mainly responsible for science fiction from socialist countries. The publication of the works of the brothers Arkadi and Boris Strugazki was of particular merit .

Through his work as a lecturer, editor, translator and science fiction theorist, he had an outstanding influence on the development of science fiction in the GDR . As editor he achieved - in addition to many anthologies and short stories that brought GDR readers closer to Anglo-American and Bulgarian science fiction, for example - especially with the light year almanacs, in which many theoretical works on science fiction appeared in addition to national and international stories . In 1988, together with Olaf R. Spittel , he published the lexicon Die Science-fiction der DDR. Authors and works , on which Heinz Entner , Otto Werner Förster , Karsten Kruschel , Steffen Peltsch , Ekkehard Redlin and Karlheinz Steinmüller also collaborated.

As a science fiction writer, Simon prefers the short form. In addition to many stories in magazines and anthologies, he published the short story volumes Fremde Sterne (1979) and Mondphantome Erdbesucher (1987), a volume of poetry, together with Reinhard Heinrich the short story cycle The First Time Travel (1977) and together with Olaf R. Spittel a brochure about science fiction in the GDR (the forerunner of the lexicon). Erik Simon has been a freelance translator and editor since the publishing house Das Neue Berlin discontinued its science fiction program at the end of 1991, publishing articles and book reviews in Quarber Merkur and in the yearbook Das Science Fiction Jahr .

In addition to works by the Strugazkis, he has also translated novels and short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski and Vernor Vinge as well as the popular science part in the volumes on the science of the Discworld by Terry Pratchett , Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen . He has also edited, edited or supplemented foreign translations, including works by Sergej Lukianenko and the Strugazkis, as well as retyped verses that appear in them.

He has won the Kurd-Laßwitz Prize and other science fiction prizes several times . Books by him have appeared in Bulgarian, Polish, Swedish and Czech translations, individual stories and essays in twelve other foreign languages. His work Simon's Fiction was published from 2002 to 2014 by the Berlin publisher Shayol , and since 2017 (volume 6) it has been continued by the publisher Golkonda.

bibliography

Collections
  • with Reinhard Heinrich : The first time travel. Stories. Neues Leben, Berlin 1983 (Kompass-Bücherei No. 224; contained in volume 3 of the work edition).
  • Alien stars. Stories. Das Neue Berlin 1979 (contained in volume 1 of the work edition).
  • with Olaf R. Spittel: science fiction. Personalia for a genre in the GDR. The New Berlin, 1982.
  • When the dormouse laughs in a dream. Night and fog verses . Eulenspiegelverlag, Berlin 1983.
  • Moon phantoms, earth visitors. Narratives . Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-360-00061-7 (contained in volume 2 of the work edition).
Work edition

Simon's Fiction: Fantastic Stories. Edited by Hans-Peter Neumann and Sara Riffel. Shayol, Berlin 2002–2014. Since 2017: Edited by Sara Riffel. Golkonda (Memoranda), Munich.

  • Vol. 1 constellations. (Shooting stars. Foreign stars. Foresight, afterimages.) Stories, ballads and poems. 2002, ISBN 3-926126-20-5 .
  • Vol. 2 lunar mysteries. (Moon phantoms, earth visitors. Schlangweiser's model kit. Mysteria fantastica.) Stories and other fictions. 2003, ISBN 3-926126-24-8 .
  • Vol. 3 with Reinhard Heinrich: Travel from time to time. (The first time travel. From the last causes. From time to time.) Stories and an opera libretto. 2004, ISBN 3-926126-35-3 .
  • Vol. 4 time machines, mirror worlds. (Machines. Worlds. Time and mirrors.) Stories, poems and alternative histories. 2013, ISBN 3-943279-08-1 .
  • Vol. 5 with Angela Steinmüller, Karlheinz Steinmüller: The wormhole odyssey. A space operetta. 2014, ISBN 978-3-943279-21-4 (Vol. 7 in the work edition by A. and K. Steinmüller). New edition 2017, ISBN 978-3-946503-16-3 .
  • Vol. 6 with Angela Steinmüller, Karlheinz Steinmüller: Lighter than vacuum. (The Zwystein manuscripts. The greatest journey.) Fantastic stories. 2017, ISBN 978-3-946503-17-0 (Vol. 8 in the work edition by A. and K. Steinmüller).
stories
  • The Session (1972)
  • Of course there are no Martians ... (1975)
  • Exodus to the Promised Land (1976)
  • The Last (1976)
  • The Ignorants (1976, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • The consumption rates (1976)
  • The Spider (1976)
  • This planet is inhabited (1976)
  • E (1976)
  • Mysterium fantasticum (1976)
  • Side effect (1976)
  • Side Effect: Miniature for a Reader and a Mirror (1976)
  • w (1976)
  • Interesting facts about the planet Ikaros (1976)
  • Quotes (1976)
  • Final remark (1977, with Reinhard Heinrich, as Dr. Kassandra Smith)
  • Appendix A ... Appendix J (1977, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • The End of the Thirteenth Time Expedition or How to Avoid Mystifications (1977, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • The Atlantic Time Travel or Professor Müsli's Life's Work (1977, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • The thirteenth expedition into the past or The Character of the Primordial Men (1977, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • The Third Time Travel of Timothy Traveler or On the Power of Literature and Readers' Opinion (1977, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • The Fifteenth and the Sixteenth Time Expedition or Who Built the Baalbek Terrace? (1977, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • Inspection trip 7/1 or On the trail of the time bandits (1977, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • For guidance (1977, with Reinhard Heinrich, as Dr. Kassandra Smith)
  • Clivia Neman (1979)
  • The Diorama (1979)
  • The Trailblazer (1979)
  • The Observer (1979)
  • The Scout (1979)
  • The Collector (1979)
  • The Cherubim and the Wheel (1979)
  • The Riddhans (1979)
  • The Stars (1979)
  • En route (1979)
  • Conversations on the move (1979)
  • At night on the alien planet, twelve parsecs away from Dsirra (1979)
  • The Black Mirror (1983)
  • The Story of Joseph Faber (1983, with Frank Petermann, as Simon Peter)
  • The Germelshausen Manuscripts (1985, with Angela Steinmüller and Karlheinz Steinmüller, as Simon Zwystein)
  • Etemenanki or The Foundations of Heaven and Earth (1986, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • The Gift (1987)
  • The Gray One (1987)
  • The Omm (1987)
  • The Passenger (1987)
  • The Pilot (1987)
  • The fall of the earth as seen from the moon (1987)
  • The Responsible (1987)
  • Hep Hasit's Good Deed (1987)
  • Prologue on the Moon (1987)
  • Toliman - Ilion C: normal course of flight (1990, as Lef er'Xigamon)
  • The Three Queens: A Fairy Tale by the Simon Brother (1991)
  • From Time, From Memory (1992)
  • Between Earth and Moon, A Triptych (1992)
  • Lighter than Vacuum (1994, with Angela Steinmüller and Karlheinz Steinmüller, as Simon Zwystein)
  • The Olympic Parliament (1994)
  • Hydra (1994, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • Pluralis majestatis (1995, also as Isidora Lamue and Robert Schlangweiser)
  • Ytvaros big circle: Riddhan horoscope from the coastal archipelago (1996, also as anonymous)
  • The cargo hatch is stuck (1997)
  • Old Russian Uchronik (1999, as GW Inomerski. In it: Ögädäi-Chan dies two years earlier / Novgorod unites the Russian countries / Gustav Adolf drives the Poles out of Moscow / Napoleon winters in Moscow / Russia keeps Alaska )
  • c (1999)
  • t (1999)
  • Why We Written the Well-Known Stories (1999)
  • The Bavarian Crisis (1999, as Iris Monke)
  • Historical Constants: The Need for Reunification in 1990 (1999, as Victor Zyx)
  • If Thälmann hadn't become President of the Reich in 1934 (1999)
  • All Along The Watchtower (2001)
  • Savior of Eternity (2001, with Gundula Sell, as Gregor Simsel)
  • The fairy tale (2002)
  • The Tale of the Innocent Convicts: A Tale of Time (2002)
  • Dear little Tllanaa (2002)
  • New at Scifilis: Cave Martem! (2002)
  • Little Red Riding Hood: A Fairy Tale of Good and Evil (2002)
  • Snow White: A Tale of Transience (2002)
  • Debris dump (2002)
  • Game Over Said the Swamp (2002)
  • We're Alone (2002)
  • Modest Proposal No. 3 (2003)
  • The Saxons have August's heart: Saxony as a pioneer of religious tolerance (2003)
  • Emergency landing (2003, with Rolf Krohn)
  • Protocol of a UFO abduction (2003)
  • Space, Time, Iridium (2003)
  • Saxon Booklets, No. 7 (2003)
  • The founder of the empire (2004)
  • Desiderius Felix (2004, also as RX 1950364)
  • From time to time: A terrace consecration festival (2004, with Reinhard Heinrich)
  • The Cloud Driver (2006, with Dimitrij Makarow) [in Russian already 2004]
  • Dear reader (2008)
  • To Frankfurt on the bridge (2009)
  • Thalassa! Thalassa! The Writing of Marcus Paulus (2011, also as Simon Zwystein)
  • The Vaudeville Principle (2013) [in Greek as early as 2004]
  • The song of the bullfight (2013)
  • The machine (2013)
  • The Time Mirror (2013)
  • Retroland: A Short Visit (2013)
  • Spiegel und Echo: A manuscript from 1327 (2013)
  • On-board diary: On the Half Planet (2014, with Angela Steinmüller, Karlheinz Steinmüller and Gundula Sell, as Moritz Schneider)
  • Da-Unter, Hier-Draußen (2014, with Angela Steinmüller and Karlheinz Steinmüller, as Nabla Erk Lampadon)
  • Homecoming (2014, as Desiderius Kemeny)
  • Autobiographical note and preliminary note from the editor (2017, as Simon Zwystein)
  • To the sea and beyond (2017, with Gundula Sell, Angela Steinmüller and Karlheinz Steinmüller, as Simon Zwystein)
  • The slave's report (2017, with Angela Steinmüller and Karlheinz Steinmüller, as Simon Zwystein)
  • The Greatest Journey (2017, with Angela Steinmüller and Karlheinz Steinmüller, as Ernst Wegbreiter)
  • The Malteser Tontafeln (2017, with Angela Steinmüller and Karlheinz Steinmüller, as Simon Zwystein)
  • Editorial preliminary note (The largest journey) (2017, with Angela Steinmüller and Karlheinz Steinmüller, as Simon Zwystein)
  • The Sign (2018)
  • I don't shave you (2019)
  • From the Dramp (2020)
Ballads (stories in verse)
  • Invasion from Space (1976)
  • The Bat Cat (1983)
  • The Moonstruck Man (1983)
  • Oriental (1983)
  • Pictures of the Future (1988)
  • Lost Time (1994)
  • Fairy tale (1996)
  • From the fame of the knight Roderich (1996)
  • From the lot of the knight Willibald (1996)
  • The Magician Marnôt (1996)
  • Note for my autobiography (2001)
  • Crossing (2005)
  • What Didn't Fit on the Denkstein (2009)
  • The Last Man (2017)
  • Just Like Sam Parkhill (2018)
Anthologies (as editor)
  • 1980–1989, 1999 light year 1–6 (Das Neue Berlin, Vol. 1 with E. Redlin), light year 7 (FKSF Leipzig).
  • Contact attempts. Bulgarian SF. Das Neue Berlin, 1978 (also in SF Utopia ).
  • The way to Amalthea. Soviet SF. The New Berlin, 1979.
  • Machine people. Anglo-American SF. The New Berlin, 1980.
  • The reconstruction of man. Das Neue Berlin, 1980 (also in SF Utopia).
  • Electronic happiness. Soviet SF. The New Berlin, 1982.
  • with OR Spittel: The dream manufacturer. Classic SF narratives. The New Berlin, 1985.
  • Light message after Tau (selection from light years 1–3). Das Neue Berlin, 1986 ( SF Utopia series ).
  • with OR Spittel: duel in the 25th century. Classic SF narratives. The New Berlin, 1987.
  • with OR Spittel: Journey through infinity. Classic SF narratives. The New Berlin, 1988.
  • with OR Spittel: Science fiction in the GDR. Authors and works. A lexicon. Das Neue Berlin, 1988, ISBN 3-360-00185-0 .
  • Contacts with the unknown. Bulgarian SF. The New Berlin, 1989.
  • Alexander's long life, Stalin's early death and other weird stories: stories and reports from parallel worlds. Alternative world stories. Heyne, 1999.
  • with Friedel Wahren : Nice presents. Funny fantastic stories. Heyne, 2000.
  • with Friedel Wahren: Savior of Eternity. Stories between this world and the hereafter. Heyne, 2001.
  • with Friedel Wahren: Tolkien's legacy. Fantasy. Heyne.
  • with Franz Rottensteiner : Tolkien's creatures. Orcs, dwarves, dragons and other fantastic creatures. Heyne, Piper.
  • with Yuri Ilkow: Sternmetall. Bulgarian fantasy. Torsten Low, 2018

In addition, Simon was the editor of several anthologies with SF from the GDR for foreign publishers as well as volumes of short stories and novels by individual authors, including Genrich Altow , HP Lovecraft , Michail Puchow , Robert Sheckley , Swetoslaw Slawtschew , Angela and Karlheinz Steinmüller , Arkadi and Boris Strugazki , Janusz A. Zajdel .

Prizes and awards

Erik Simon received

  • 1987: The European Science Fiction Society Prize for the publication of Lichtjahr
  • 1989: the Wilhelm Bracke Medal from the German Booksellers Association in Leipzig for his work as a publisher's editor
  • 1990: The "Traumfabrikant" prize (awarded by the SF Club Andymon with the participation of the other organized SF fans in the GDR) in the "Special Prize" category together with Olaf R. Spittel for the publication of the lexicon Die Science-fiction der DDR .

He received the Kurd-Laßwitz-Prize for:

literature

  • Karsten Kruschel : Constellations , in: The Science Fiction Year 2004 , edited by Sascha Mamczak and Wolfgang Jeschke , Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-453-87896-5 , pp. 912-914.
  • Karsten Kruschel: Time machines, mirror worlds. In: The Science Fiction Year 2013. Edited by Sascha Mamczak, Sebastian Pirling and Wolfgang Jeschke, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 2013, pp. 411–418, ISBN 978-3-453-53444-5 .
  • Hans-Peter Neumann, Sara Schade: Of man-eaters, ants and other oddities. A conversation with Erik Simon. In: Shayol yearbook on science fiction and the other fantastic genres. 2003. Shayol-Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-926126-32-9 , pp. 76-92.
  • Franz Rottensteiner : Time machines, mirror worlds . In: Quarber Mercury . Franz Rottensteiner's literary magazine for science fiction and fantasy , vol. 115, 2014. ISBN 978-3-934273-94-8 , pp. 209-212.
  • Ralf Steinberg: Lighter than vacuum . In: The Science Fiction Year 2017. Edited by Michael Görden, Golkonda Verlag, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-946503-10-1 , pp. 76–79.
  • Ralf Steinberg: The wormhole odyssey . In: The Science Fiction Year 2017. Edited by Michael Görden, Golkonda Verlag, Munich 2017, ISBN 978-3-946503-10-1 , pp. 72–76.
  • Karlheinz Steinmüller : Erik Simon. In: Erik Simon, Olaf R. Spittel (ed.): The science fiction of the GDR. Authors and works. A lexicon. Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-360-00185-0 , pp. 232-235.
  • Karlheinz Steinmüller: Simon, Erik . In: Lexicon of Science Fiction Literature since 1900. With a look at Eastern Europe , edited by Christoph F. Lorenz, Peter Lang, Frankfurt / Main 2016, ISBN 978-3-63167-236-5 , pp. 529-536.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Simon, Erik
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Anonymous (pseudonym); Erk Lampadon, Nabla (pseudonym); er'Xigamon, Lef (pseudonym); Inomerski, GW (pseudonym); Kemeny, Desiderius (pseudonym); Lamue, Isidora (pseudonym); Monke, Iris (pseudonym); Peter, Simon (pseudonym); RX 1950364 (pseudonym); Schlangweiser, Robert (pseudonym); Schneider, Moritz (pseudonym); Simsel, Gregor (pseudonym); Smith, Dr. Kassandra (pseudonym); Wegbreiter, Ernst (pseudonym); Zwystein, Simon (pseudonym); Zyx, Victor (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH Dresden