On This Day: Ferderik Pohl

On this day in 1919,  author, editor, literary agent and fan Frederik Pohl was born in New York.

Pohl was a member of the influential SF group The Futurians, along with such major SF figures as Isaac Asimov, James Blish, Damon Knight, C.M. Kornbluth, Judith Merril and Donald Wollheim. Throughout a long and glittering career, he collaborated with some of the (other!) great names of science fiction, including Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Lester del Rey, Jack Williamson and, notably, C.M. Kornbluth on the acclaimed The Space Merchants, among others.

He won the Hugo Award seven times (three times as editor of Galaxy, twice for short fiction, once for the novel Gateway and once as fan writer), the Nebula Award two years running – for Man Plus and Gateway – and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award twice (in 1978 for Gateway and in 1985 for The Years of the City). He also won ten career achievement awards, including the SFWA Grand Master Award in 1993, and was inducted in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 1998.

For more on one of the great figures of the field, we recommend Frederik Pohl’s entry at The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, and his blog, The Way the Future Blogs, a treasure trove of political commentary, personal reminiscences and snapshots of the history of field from one who lived through it.