J. Grant Thiessen (born in 1947 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

bibliographer and bookseller working primarily in the area of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

. Thiessen's bibliographic fanzine, '' The Science Fiction Collector'', has been collected into three hardbound volumes by Pandora's Books. The most frequently referenced work from these volumes is the guide to

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by A. A. Wyn, Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mystery fiction, mysteries and western (genre), westerns, and soon branched out int ...

' science fiction doubles: books bound dos-à-dos. Other paperback publishers whose output is documented by Thiessen includes

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

Monarch Books Monarch Books was an American publishing firm in the late 1950s/early 1960s which specialised in pulp novels. Some of these, like ''Jack the Ripper'' (1960), were movie tie-ins. Published novels * ''101 - Dark Hunger'' by Don James (1958) * ''10 ...

, Curtis Books, and

Lancer Books Lancer Books was a publisher of paperback books founded by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius that operated from 1961 through 1973. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particula ...

. The volumes also contain biographies of individiual authors including James H. Schmitz,

Jack Williamson John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006) was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction writer, one of several called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the t ...

, E. C. Tubb,

A. E. van Vogt Alfred Elton van Vogt ( ; April 26, 1912 – January 26, 2000) was a Canadian-born American science fiction writer. His fragmented, bizarre narrative style influenced later science fiction writers, notably Philip K. Dick. He was one of th ...

, and Charles L. Harness. Thiessen has also published "The Tanelorn Archives", a bibliography of

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

, and has made many contributions to bibliographic reference works, magazines, and price guides, as well as producing several hundred book catalogs. He acquired his CMA (Certified Management Accountant) degree in 1973. In 1977, he formally incorporated as Pandora's Books Ltd. In 1995, Pandora's Books began Internet retail operations. The company was sold in 1999, and operated until 2020 under new management. Grant continued to sell books and write computer software, as BookIT Enterprises Inc, until his retirement in early 2022.

External links

BookIT Enterprises Inc.Pandora's Books
* 1947 births Living people Science fiction academics Canadian science fiction writers Canadian bibliographers Canadian booksellers Canadian accountants Writers from Winnipeg Mennonite writers {{sf-writer-stub