Editing Sam Moskowitz

{{Short description|American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction (1920–1997)}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name        = Sam Moskowitz
| image       = Sammoskowitz.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| caption = Sam Moskowitz, 1976
| pseudonym   = Sam Martin
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1920|6|30}}<ref name="qffi_bio"/>
| birth_place  = [[Newark, New Jersey |Newark, NJ]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1997|4|15|1920|6|30}}<ref name="qffi_bio"/>
| death_place  = University Hospital, [[Newark, New Jersey |Newark, NJ]]
| occupation  = 
| nationality = American
| period      = 
| genre       = Science Fiction
| subject     = 
| movement    = 
| influences  = 
| influenced  = 
| signature   = 
| website     =
| spouse={{marriage|[[Christine E. Haycock]]|1958|end=}}
}}

'''Sam Moskowitz''' (June 30, 1920 – April 15, 1997) was an American writer, critic, and historian of [[science fiction]].

== Biography ==
As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction [[pulp magazine]]s.  As a teenager, he organized a branch of the [[Science Fiction League]]. While still in his teens, Moskowitz became chairman of the [[1st World Science Fiction Convention|first]] [[Worldcon|World Science Fiction Convention]] held in New York City in 1939.<ref name="csm630706"/> He barred several members of the rival [[Futurians]] club from the convention because they threatened to disrupt it. This event is referred to by historians of [[fandom]] as the "Great Exclusion Act".<ref>[[David Kyle|Kyle, David]]. "The Great Exclusion Act of 1939," [[Mimosa (magazine)|''Mimosa'']] #6</ref><ref>Kyle, David. "SaM -- Fan Forever," ''Mimosa'' no. 21, pp. 7–10, Dec. 1997 [http://www.jophan.org/mimosa/m21/kyle.htm]</ref>

In the mid-1940s, Moskowitz founded the Eastern Science Fiction Association (ESFA), a science-fiction fandom organization based in Newark, New Jersey which held conventions.<ref>[https://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/e/east_scifi_assoc.htm#d2e50 Eastern Science Fiction Association Records, Syracuse University]</ref> By the early 1950s, he began working professionally in the science fiction field.<ref name="csm630706"/>  He edited ''[[Science-Fiction Plus]]'', a short-lived genre magazine owned by [[Hugo Gernsback]], in 1953.  He compiled about two dozen anthologies, and a few single-author collections, most published in the 1960s and early 1970s.  Moskowitz also wrote a handful of short stories (three published in 1941, one in 1953, three in 1956).  His most enduring work is likely to be his [[science fiction studies|writing]] on the [[history of science fiction]], in particular two collections of short author biographies, ''[[Explorers of the Infinite]]'' and ''[[Seekers of Tomorrow]]'', as well as the highly regarded ''Under the Moons of Mars: A History and Anthology of "The Scientific Romance" in the Munsey Magazines, 1912–1920''. His exhaustive cataloging of early sf magazine stories by important genre authors remains the best resource for nonspecialists.

He also taught a course with [[Robert Frazier (writer)|Robert Frazier]].

[[Theodore Sturgeon]], although noting the book's many imperfections, praised ''Explorers of the Infinite'', saying "no one has surveyed the roots of SF as well as Mr. M.; probably no one ever will; prossibly {{sic}}, no one else can."<ref>"Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf", ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'', December 1963, p. 124. It is not evident whether "prossibly" is a typographical error or a [[portmanteau]].</ref>

Reviewing ''Seekers of Tomorrow'', [[Algis Budrys]] wryly noted that "Moskowitz is a master of [[denotation]]. He wouldn't know a [[connotation]] if it snapped at his ankle, which is something that happens quite often." He added, however, that "Moskowitz knows and transmits, at least as much about the history of science fiction and its evolution, as anyone possibly could."<ref>"Galaxy Bookshelf", [[Galaxy Science Fiction]], October 1966, pp. 159–60</ref>

Moskowitz's works include also ''The Immortal Storm'', a historical review of internecine strife within fandom.  Moskowitz wrote it in a bombastic style that made the events he described seem so important that, as fan historian [[Harry Warner Jr.]] quipped, "If read directly after a history of World War II, it does not seem like an anticlimax."<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mglyer/f770/page10.html
| title=Harry Warner's ''All Our Yesterdays''
| access-date=2007-08-15
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070706145909/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mglyer/f770/page10.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-07-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url=http://jophan.org/mimosa/m21/resnick.htm
| title=The Literature of Fandom
| work=Mimosa 21
| publisher=Nicki and Richard Lynch
| pages=17–24
| first=Mike
| last=Resnick
|date=December 1997
| access-date=2007-08-15
}}</ref> [[Floyd C. Gale]] wrote in his review of the book that "[f]ortunately, most of these petulant warriors have since grown up—but their historian is still leading their ghostly legions that are more real than today to him. The miracle is that S-F survived even the love of its most rabid fans".<ref name="gale195703">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/galaxymagazine-1957-03/Galaxy_1957_03#page/n117/mode/2up | title=Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf | work=Galaxy |date=March 1957| access-date=9 June 2014 | author=Gale, Floyd C. | pages=116–119}}</ref> [[Anthony Boucher]] noted that "never has so much been written about so little," but added that the book was "a unique document not without a good deal of social and psychological value."<ref>"Recommended Reading," ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction|F&SF]]'', February 1955, p. 98.</ref>

Moskowitz was also renowned as a science fiction [[book collector]], with a tremendous number of important early works and rarities.  His book collection was auctioned off after his death.

As "Sam Martin", he was also editor of the trade publications ''Quick Frozen Foods'' and ''Quick Frozen Foods International'' for many years.<ref name="qffi_bio">{{cite web
| url=http://www.allbusiness.com/wholesale-trade/merchant-wholesalers-nondurable/633782-1.html
| title=Retired QFFI editor and SF historian Sam Martin, 1920-97, dies in Newark
| date=1997-07-01
| work=Editor Biography
| publisher=Quick Frozen Foods International @ AllBusiness.com
| access-date=2007-08-15
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930204721/https://www.allbusiness.com/wholesale-trade/merchant-wholesalers-nondurable/633782-1.html
|archivedate=30 Sep 2007
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/70/moskowitz70art.htm
| last=Moskowitz
| first=Sam
| title=The First College-Level Course in Science Fiction
| work=Science Fiction Studies #70 Volume 23 Part 3
|date=November 1996
| access-date=2007-08-15
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.qffintl.com
| title=Quick Frozen Foods International
| work=Sam Martin death article not found
| access-date=2007-08-15
| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070110212540/http://www.qffintl.com/
| archivedate=10 Jan 2007
}}</ref>

[[First Fandom]], an organization of science fiction fans active before 1940, gives an award in Moskowitz' memory each year at the [[World Science Fiction Convention]].

Moskowitz smoked cigarettes frequently throughout his adult life. A few years before his death, throat cancer required the surgical removal of his larynx. He continued to speak at science fiction conventions, using an [[Mechanical larynx|electronic voice-box]] held against his throat. Throughout his later years, although his controversial opinions were often disputed by others, he was recognized as a leading authority on the history of science fiction.

== Works ==
===Nonfiction===
* ''The Immortal Storm: A History of Science Fiction Fandom'' (1954)
* ''[[Explorers of the Infinite|Explorers of the Infinite: Shapers of Science Fiction]]'' (Cleveland: World Pub. Co, 1963)
* ''[[Seekers of Tomorrow|Seekers of Tomorrow: Masters of Modern Science Fiction]]'' (Westport, Conn: Hyperion Press, 1974, {{ISBN|0883551292}})
* ''A Canticle for P. Schuyler Miller'' (1975)
* ''Science Fiction Calendar 1976'' (1975)
* ''Strange Horizons: The Spectrum of Science Fiction'' (1976)
* ''Charles Fort: A Radical Corpuscle'' (1976)
* ''[[History of the Movement from 1854 to 1890|Science Fiction in Old San Francisco: History of the Movement, From 1854 to 1890]]'' (1980) 
* ''A. Merritt: Reflections in the Moon Pool'' (1985) with A. Merritt
* ''Howard Phillips Lovecraft and Nils Helmer Frome: A Recollection of One of Canada's Earliest Science Fiction Fans'' (1989)
* ''After All These Years...'' (1991)

===Edited anthologies===
* ''Editor's Choice in Science Fiction'' (1954)
* ''The Coming of the Robots'' (1963)
* ''Exploring Other Worlds'' (1963)
* ''[[Modern Masterpieces of Science Fiction]]'' (1965)
* ''Strange Signposts'' (with Roger Elwood) (1966)
* ''Doorway Into Time'' (1966)
* ''[[Masterpieces of Science Fiction]]'' (1966)
* ''Three Stories'' (1967) (a.k.a. ''A Sense of Wonder'', ''The Moon Era'') 
* ''The Human Zero and Other Science-Fiction Masterpieces'' (with Roger Elwood) (1967)
* ''Microcosmic God'' (1968) (a.k.a. ''The Microcosmic God'')
* ''Science Fiction by Gaslight: A History and Anthology of Science Fiction in the Popular Magazines, 1891–1911'' (Cleveland: World Pub. Co., 1968)
* ''The Vortex Blasters'' (1968)
* ''[[The Time Curve]]'' (with Roger Elwood) (1968)
* ''Alien Earth and Other Stories'' (with Roger Elwood) (1969)
* ''Other Worlds, Other Times'' (with Roger Elwood) (1969)
* ''The Man Who Called Himself Poe'' (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1969; a.k.a. ''A Man Called Poe: Stories in the Vein of Edgar Allan Poe'') 
* ''Great Untold Stories of Fantasy and Horror'' (with Alden H. Norton) (1969)
* ''Under the Moons of Mars; A History and Anthology of "the Scientific Romance" in the Munsey Magazines, 1912–1920'' (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970)
* ''Futures to Infinity'' (1970)
* ''Horrors Unknown'' (1971)
* ''The Space Magicians'' (with Alden H. Norton) (1971)
* ''Ghostly By Gaslight'' (with Alden H. Norton) (1971)
* ''When Women Rule'' (1972)
* ''Horrors in Hiding'' (with Alden H. Norton) (1973)
* ''The Crystal Man: Stories by Edward Page Mitchell'' (1973)
* ''Horrors Unseen'' (1974)

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="csm630706">{{cite news |first=Peter J. |last=Henniker-Heaton |work=[[Christian Science Monitor]] |title=From the Bookshelf |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/access/200603302.html?dids=200603302:200603302&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629062818/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/csmonitor_historic/access/200603302.html?dids=200603302:200603302&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |date=July 6, 1963 |access-date=March 8, 2011 |quote=Sam Moskowitz has written science fiction, taught it, been an editor and literary agent in the field, and in 1939 organized the first of the still continuing World Science Fiction Conventions.}}</ref>
}}
== External links ==
*{{cite web
 |url        = http://libraryasp.tamu.edu/cushing/collectn/lit/science/sci-fi/cbsff/moskowitz.htm
 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20121211162723/http://libraryasp.tamu.edu/cushing/collectn/lit/science/sci-fi/cbsff/moskowitz.htm
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-date = 2012-12-11
 |title      = Sam Moskowitz – A Preliminary Bibliography
 |date       = 2005-04-25
 |first      = Hal W.
 |last       = Hall
 |work       = Center for the Bibliography of Science Fiction and Fantasy
 |publisher  = Cushing Library, [[Texas A&M University]]
 |access-date = 2007-08-15
}}
*{{cite web
| url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tamucush/00256/tamu-00256.html
| title=Inventory of the Sam Moskowitz Collection: 1940–1993
| work=Center for the Bibliography of Science Fiction and Fantasy
| publisher=Cushing Library, [[Texas A&M University]]
| access-date=2007-08-15
}}
*{{cite web
| url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/roboman/www/sigma/may97sig.html
| title=In Memoriam: Sam Moskowitz 1920–1997
|date=May 1997
| first=Eric Leif
| last=Davin
| work=SIGMA
| publisher=The Official Newsletter of PARSEC
| access-date=2007-08-15
}}
*{{isfdb name|id=837|name=Sam Moskowitz}}
*[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/51669 Works by Sam Moskowitz] at [[Project Gutenberg]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moskowitz, Sam}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:American science fiction critics]]
[[Category:Writers from Newark, New Jersey]]