Peter Nicholls (lexicographer)

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Peter Nicholls, 2014

Peter Douglas Nicholls (born March 8, 1939 in Melbourne ; died March 6, 2018 there ) was an Australian author and lexicographer in the field of the history of science fiction literature.

He was the founder and, together with John Clute, editor of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction .

Life

Nicholls originally worked as a lecturer in English literature at the University of Melbourne (1962–1964) and at Sydney University (1965–1968). From 1968 to 1970 he was on a Harkness Fellowship in the USA to train as a filmmaker. He couldn't finish the course at Boston University , but was able to work with Robert Wise , who was filming The Andromeda Strain . In 1970 Nicholls went to London , where he was administrator of the British Science Fiction Foundation from 1971 to 1977 and published its journal Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction from 1974 to 1978 . In the following years he was the editor of a number of compilations on the subject of science fiction. In 1984 Fantastic Cinema: An Illustrated Survey , a critical story of science fiction, horror and fantasy films, was released. In 1988 he returned to Melbourne.

His most important contribution to the history of science fiction is the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction , which he conceived and the first edition of which he published in 1979 with the assistance of John Clute. This encyclopedia and its two subsequent editions have received numerous awards; as early as 1980 he received both the Hugo and Locus Awards , two of the most renowned prizes in the field of fantastic literature .

In 2000 he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease , which is why he had to reduce his work on the encyclopedia in the following years. He was married to Clare Coney and had five children. The writer and editor Sophie Cunningham is his daughter.

Quotes

“We cannot speak of there being a real idea of ​​the future until we recognize that first we require tools for understanding that tomorrow might be different from yesterday. Science fiction provided such a tool, and arguably this was and is its most important function. Science fiction is a register of change. "

“We cannot say that there is a real concept of the future unless we recognize that we need tools to grasp how tomorrow may be different from yesterday. Science fiction is such a tool and to be it was and is arguably its primary purpose. Science fiction is a journal of change. "

Awards

  • 1976: Checkpoint Fan Poll (best article, report or column) for The Great Seacon Freak-Out in Wrinkled Shrew 4
  • 1980: Pilgrim Award
  • 1980: Hugo Award (nonfiction book) for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
  • 1980: Locus Award (related nonfiction book) for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
  • 1994: Hugo Award ( nonfiction book , with John Clute) for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
  • 1994: Locus Award ( nonfiction , with John Clute) for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
  • 1994: British Science Fiction Association Award ( special award , with John Clute) for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
  • 1995: Ditmar Award (committee award)
  • 1995: Eaton Award ( lifetime achievement / best critical book , with John Clute)
  • 2006: Peter McNamara Achievement Award
  • 2012: Hugo Award ( related work , with David Langford , John Clute and Graham Sleight) for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition
  • 2012: British Science Fiction Association Award ( nonfiction , with John Clute and David Langford) for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition

Works

  • The Science Fiction Foundation: A Report. Science Fiction Foundation, Dagenham, Essex 1976.
  • with John Clute: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction . 1979 ff. (For details of the editions see the main article ).
  • with David Langford and Brian Stableford : The Science in Science Fiction. Michael Joseph, London 1982, ISBN 0-7181-2187-2 .
    • German edition: Science in Science Fiction: Does Science Fiction Predict the Future? Translated from the English by Lieselotte Mickel and Friedrich W. Gutbrod. Umschau, Frankfurt am Main 1983, ISBN 3-524-69047-5 .
  • Fantastic Cinema: An Illustrated Survey. Ebury Press, London 1984, ISBN 0-85223-365-5 . Also called: The World of Fantastic Films: An Illustrated Survey. Dodd, Mead, New York 1984, ISBN 0-396-08381-1 .

editor

  • Science fiction at large. A Collection of Essays, by Various Hands, about the Interface between Science Fiction and Reality Victor Gollancz, London 1976, ISBN 0-575-02178-0 . Collection of revised and expanded versions of the lectures on SF given at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1975 . Other editions:
    • Science Fiction at Large:. Harper and Row, New York 1978, ISBN 0-06-013198-5 .
    • Explorations of the Marvelous: The Science and the Fiction in Science Fiction. Fontana, London 1978, ISBN 0-00-635142-5 .
  • Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction, Numbers 1-8, March 1972 - March 1975. Gregg Press, Boston, Massachusetts 1978.
  • Isaac Asimov : Living in the Future. New English Library, London 1985, ISBN 0-450-06071-3 .

Web links

Commons : Peter Nicholls  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Nicholls (1939-2018) . Locus Online , March 6, 2018, accessed March 7, 2018.
  2. ^ A b c Sophie Cunningham: Alien Star: Interview with Peter Nicholls. In: Meanjin , March 2003.
  3. ^ Sophie Cunningham: Alien Star: Interview with Peter Nicholls. In: Meanjin , March 2003: One of my proudest awards in England was winning the Checkpoint Fan Writer of the Year. This proved I was a trufan, not a fakefan.
  4. ^ Peter Roberts: Results of the 1975-1976 Checkpoint Fan Poll . Checkpoint, 1976, accessed March 7, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Nicholls, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nicholls, Peter Douglas (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian writer, historian and lexicographer in the field of science fiction literature
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Melbourne
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 2018
Place of death Melbourne