The Hydra Club was a social organization of science fiction professionals and fans. It met in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s.

History

It was founded October 25, 1947 in the apartment of Judith Merril and

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American list of science fiction authors, science-fiction writer, editor, and science fiction fandom, fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first ...

on Grove Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York. As nine founders were present, the club took its name from the legendary nine-headed monster, the Hydra. Among its members were

Lester del Rey Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the fantasy editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy an ...

, David A. Kyle,

, Judith Merril, Martin Greenberg, Robert W. Lowndes, Philip Klass, Jack Gillespie, David Reiner, L. Jerome Stanton, Fletcher and Inga Pratt, Willy Ley, George O. Smith, Basil Davenport, Sam Merwin, Harry Harrison, Jerome Bixby, Groff Conklin, Bea Mahaffey,

Murray Leinster Murray Leinster () was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975), an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of List of science fiction authors, science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 ...

, Jack Coggins,

Avram Davidson Avram Davidson (April 23, 1923 – May 8, 1993) was an American writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy ...

an
J. Harry Dockweiler
An article by Merril about the club in the November 1951 ''Marvel Science Fiction'' was accompanied by Harry Harrison's drawing caricaturing 41 members:
Basil Davenport
* Bruce Elliott
Charles Dye
* Damon Knight *

Daniel Keyes Daniel Keyes (August 9, 1927 – June 15, 2014) was an American writer who wrote the novel ''Flowers for Algernon''. Keyes was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2000. Biography Early life ...

* David A. Kyle * Evelyn Harrison *

Fletcher Pratt Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American people, American List of science fiction authors, writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War an ...

Frank Belknap Long Frank Belknap Long Jr. (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was an American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best k ...

Fredric Brown Fredric Brown (October 29, 1906 – March 11, 1972) was an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer.D. J. McReynolds, "The Short Fiction of Fredric Brown" in Frank N. Magill, (ed.) ''Survey of Science Fiction Literature'', Vol. ...

* George C. Smith * Groff Conklin * H. Beam Piper * H. L. Gold * Hans Stefan Santesson * Harry Harrison *

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

James A. Williams
* Jerome Bixby * Judith Merril * Katherine MacLean Dye
L. Jerome Stanton
*

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American author of science fiction, Fantasy literature, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of ...

* Larry T. Shaw *

Lester Del Rey Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the fantasy editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy an ...

* Lois Miles Gillespie * Margaret Bertrand * Martin Greenberg * Olga Ley
Oswald Train
* Philip Klass * Richard Wilson * Robert W. Lowndes * Sam Bowne * Sam Merwin, Jr. *

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...

* Thomas S. Gardner * Walter I. Bradbury * Walter Kubilius * Willy Ley Harrison's caption adds, "The remaining twenty-odd members showed up too late at the meeting." On April 29, 1984, Judith Merril, by then living in Toronto, founded a similar group for the burgeoning science-fiction community there, which she dubbed Hydra North.

References

{{Reflist

External links

About the Hydra Club
by Frederik Pohl
Key to the Hydra Club
by Mike Glyer in ''

File 770 ''File 770'' is a long-running science fiction fanzine, newszine, and blog site published and administered by Mike Glyer. It has been published every year since 1978, and has won a record eight Hugo Awards for Best Fanzine, with the first w ...

'' Science fiction fandom