Book on Williamson's works to make debut at ENMU lectureship

A tribute to the science fiction works of Jack Williamson will be made available for the first time at the Eastern New Mexico University’s annual Jack Williamson Lectureship.

 The tribute is called “The Worlds of Jack Williamson, A Centennial Tribute (1908-2008).”

The book was published and edited by Stephen Haffner. It will be available Friday at the Williamson Lectureship, said Patrice Caldwell, Planning and Analysis at ENMU.

“It is really something to have someone like Jack Williamson who lived here in Portales and had such a profound influence on the world of science fiction writing,” Caldwell said. 

“Many of the people who attend this lectureship have long appreciated and revered the work of Jack Williamson.” Caldwell said. “Many of the authors have stories on how Jack impacted them and inspired them.”

The 720-page book  is a collection of new short stories published for the first time, along with classic stories “Darker Than You Think” and academic essays analyzing Jack Williamson and his work, said Haffner.

“I would just about do anything for Jack’s family,” Stephen Haffner. “I worked on another book for Jack with Rick Hauptmann. The book we developed and published was ‘The Diamond Anniversary of a Science Fiction Pioneer — Jack Williamson.’”

 The book is dedicated to Hauptmann and includes comments from fellow collaborators of Williamson’s, such as Frederik Pohl and James Gunn, who were the first lectureship guests in 1977. There will be 200 of the books available at the lectureship and a later a deluxe limited edition will be available, Haffner said.

The book will celebrate and mark the 100th birthday of  Jack Williamson, who is one of the largest contributors to the world of science fiction writing, Caldwell said.

 Jack Williamson passed away in 2006 at the age of 98, and his works are still enjoyed by fans and admirers.

Included in the centennial tribute are several unpublished stories: “The Moon Bird,” “The Forbidden Window,” “The Golden Glass,” and a film treatment from 1957, “The Planets are Calling.”

Also included: novella-length version of “Darker Thank You Think;” “Minus Sign,” an unreprinted “seetee” story of anti-matter and terraforming; and a tale with the first use of “psionics,” “The Man from Outside.” Contemporary stories include “The Hole in the World,” “Afterlife,” and “The Luck of the Legion,” the last “Legion of Space” adventure. Included are four essays from academics and scholars who have studied Williamson’s works, as well as Williamson’s 1957 Master’s Thesis,  “A Study of the Sense of Prophecy in Modern Science Fiction.”

Fellow Grand Masters of science fiction Frederik Pohl and James Gunn provide introductory remarks on reading, knowing, collaborating with, and admiring Jack Williamson.

Academic Essays
Alan C. Elms
l Darker Than He Thought: The Psychoanalysis of Jack Williamson
Jack Williamson
l A Study of the Sense of Prophecy in Modern Science Fiction
l Tricentennial Century
Alfred D. Stewart
l Jack Williamson: The Comedy of Cosmic Evolution
Vicky Medley
l Queens of Space: Women in the work of Jack Williamson
Richard A. Hauptmann
l Collecting Jack Williamson: Master of Wonder
Fiction
Classic Stories
l Darker Than You Think (1940)
l Minus Sign (1942)
l The Man from Outside (1951)
Contemporary Stories
l The Humanoid Universe (1980)
l The Hole in the World (1997)
l Afterlife (2002)
l The Luck of the Legion (2002)
New Unpublished Stories
l The Moon Bird (1929)
l The Forbidden Window (unknown)
l The Golden Glass (1939)
l The Planets are Calling (1957)
l A Christmas Carol (2000)