Paul Levinson (born March 25, 1947) is an American media theorist, novelist, singer-songwriter, and short story writer. He currently serves as professor of communications and

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

in New York City. His novels, short fiction, and non-fiction works have been translated into sixteen languages. He is frequently quoted in news articles and appears as a guest commentator on major news outlets.

Education

Paul Levinson graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx, attended the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

( CCNY) in the 1960s, and received a BA in journalism from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1975; an MA in

Media Studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

from

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

in 1976; and a PhD from New York University in

media ecology Media ecology is the study of media, technology, and communication and how they affect human environments. The theoretical concepts were proposed by Marshall McLuhan in 1964, while the term ''media ecology'' was first formally introduced by Neil ...

in 1979. His doctoral dissertation, ''Human Replay: A Theory of the Evolution of Media'' (1979), was mentored by Neil Postman.

Published works

Levinson writes science fiction, fantasy, and sf/ mystery hybrids with philosophical undertones as well as non-fiction about the history and future of communications media, the First Amendment, the importance of

space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...

, and popular culture themes. His work has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Macedonian, Croatian, Russian, Turkish, Persian, and Arabic. Levinson's recent book, ''Touching the Face of the Cosmos: On the Intersection of Space Travel and Religion'', is an anthology of essays and science fiction stories which he edited with Michael Waltemathe, and his latest novel is ''It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles''. Levinson has received multiple nominations for the Hugo,

Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...

Sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

, Sidewise,

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

and Audie Awards. His novella ''Loose Ends'' was a 1998 finalist for a Hugo, a Sturgeon, and a Nebula. In 2000, his novel ''The Silk Code'' won the Locus Award for Best First Novel of 1999. The central character of ''The Silk Code'',

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

forensic detective Dr. Phil D'Amato, made his first appearance in Levinson's novelette, "The Chronology Protection Case", (published in Analog magazine, September 1995). D'Amato returned in "The Copyright Notice Case" novelette (Analog, April 1996), "The Mendelian Lamp Case" novelette (Analog, April 1997), and in subsequent novels ''The Consciousness Plague'' (2002), and ''The Pixel Eye'' (2003). An adaptation of Levinson's "The Chronology Protection Case" (radioplay by Mark Shanahan with Paul Levinson & Jay Kensinger) was nominated by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

for the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for Best Play of 2002. His next novel was '' The Plot To Save Socrates'', a time travel story. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' magazine called it "challenging fun". His subsequent novel was ''Unburning Alexandria'', a sequel to ''The Plot To Save Socrates''. The first two chapters of ''Unburning Alexandria'' appeared as a novelette in the November 2008 issue of ''

Analog Science Fiction and Fact ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cla ...

'', and the expanded novel was published as an e-book in May 2013. The concluding novel in the series, titled ''Chronica'', was published in December 2014.

Educational and professional activities

He has taught at

since 1998; he has been Professor of communication and media studies since 2000, and was chair of the department from 2002 to 2008. He had previously been Assistant (1977–82) and then Associate (1982–88) Professor at Farleigh Dickinson University, and had adjunct positions at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

, St. John's University, Polytechnic University of New York, Audrey Cohen College and the

Western Behavioral Sciences Institute The Western Behavioral Sciences Institute (WBSI) was founded in 1958, in La Jolla, California, as an independent, nonprofit organization devoted to research, education and advanced study in human affairs. Its early studies included research on th ...

. He has given lectures and keynote addresses at conferences at many universities and authored over 100 scholarly articles. In 1985 he co-founded Connected Education, offering online courses for Masters credit. He served as president of the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...

from 1998 to 2001.

Media presentations

Levinson has been interviewed more than 500 times on local, national and international television and radio as a commentator on media, popular culture, and science fiction. He is frequently quoted in newspapers and magazines around the world and his

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

s have appeared in such major papers as ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'', New York's ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', and ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative Online newspaper, news website and former newspaper based in Manhattan, Manhattan, New York. From 2009 to 2021, it operated as an (occasional and erratic) onlin ...

''. He was interviewed in a short weekly spot early Sunday mornings on KNX-AM Radio in Los Angeles, from 2006 to 2008 on media-related news events and popular culture. He has several podcasts and blogs. In April 2009, ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is an American newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals, including staff members and administrators. A subscription ...

'' named him ("PaulLev") one of Twitter's ten "High Fliers".

Musical and recording activities

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, prior to his academic career, Levinson was a songwriter, singer, and record producer with recordings by

the Vogues The Vogues are an United States, American Pop music, pop/rock and roll group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original lineup consisted of Bill Burkette (lead baritone), Don Miller (baritone), Hugh Geyer (first tenor) ...

, Donna Marie of the Archies, June Valli, Jimmy Clanton, and

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", " Be My Baby", " Maybe I Know", " Then He Kissed Me", " Do Wah Diddy Did ...

. As a radio producer he worked with

Murray the K Murray Kaufman (February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982), professionally known as Murray the K, was a New York City rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. During the early days of Beatlemania, he frequently referre ...

and

Wolfman Jack Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active for over three decades. He was famous for his gravelly voice, and credited it with his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes on ...

. He wrote over 100 songs published by major music publishers including Bourne, Chappell, Belwin Mills/

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

's TM Music, and Sunbury/

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

. Recordings of his songs were produced by

, Jimmy Wisner, and Paul Leka for other artists. Songs he wrote, performed and/or produced were released on record labels including Columbia, Decca,

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, Buddah and

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. He was principal artist, writer, and producer for '' Twice Upon a Rhyme'', a 1972 LP released on HappySad Records and subsequently re-issued on CD. His song "Hung Up On Love" (co-writer Mikie Harris, produced by

and

Mike Rashkow Michael Rashkow (July 18, 1941 – January 23, 2013) was an American songwriter, record producer and the founder of an advertising agency called T:MC. He wrote "Mary in the Morning" with Johnny Cymbal. It was recorded by Elvis Presley, Glen Ca ...

) was recorded by his trio The Other Voices and released on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1968; it was included in Rhino Handmade's 2004 compilation CD '' Come to the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults'', compiled by Andrew Sandoval. He sang falsetto harmony on many of The Other Voices' recordings. His songs "Merri Goes Round" and "Looking for Sunsets (In the Early Morning)", both co-written with Ed Fox in the 1970s, were recorded by Sundial Symphony ( Robbie Rist and Don Frankel) and released by Big Stir Records in 2019. His recent album of new songs, ''Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time'', was released by Old Bear Records and Light In The Attic Records in 2020.

Selected bibliography

Novels

* ''The Silk Code'' (1999) Tor Books * ''Borrowed Tides'' (2001) Tor Books * ''The Consciousness Plague'' (2002) Tor Books * ''The Pixel Eye'' (2003) Tor Books * '' The Plot To Save Socrates'' (2006) Tor Books * ''Unburning Alexandria'' (2013) JoSara Media * ''Chronica'' (2014) JoSara Media * ''It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles'' (2024) Connected Editions

Non-fiction books

* ''In Pursuit of Truth: Essays on the Philosophy of Karl Popper on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday'' (editor and contributor) with Forewords by

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 ...

and Helmut Schmidt (1982) Humanities Press * ''Mind at Large: Knowing in the Technological Age'' (1988) JAI Press * ''Electronic Chronicles: Columns of the Changes in our Time'' (1992) Anamnesis Press * ''Learning Cyberspace: Essays on the Evolution of Media and the New Education'' (1995) Anamnesis Press * ''The Soft Edge: A Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution'' (1997) Routledge * ''Bestseller: Wired, Analog, and Digital Writings'' (1999) Pulpless ncludes fiction and non-fiction* ''Digital McLuhan: A Guide to the Information Millennium'' (1999) Routledge * ''Realspace: The Fate of Physical Presence in the Digital Age, On and Off Planet'' (2003) Routledge * ''Cellphone: The Story of the World's Most Mobile Medium'' (2004) Palgrave Macmillan * ''New New Media'' (2009/2012) Penguin/Pearson ; second, revised edition (2012) * ''Touching the Face of the Cosmos: On the Intersection of Space Travel and Religion'' ed. Paul Levinson & Michael Waltemathe (2015/2016) Connected Editions/Fordham University Press ncludes fiction and non-fictionref name="nss">

References

podcasts A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...

*
"Light On Light Through"
*
"Ask Lev!"

videos
**
quotes

Paul Levinson
on

Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levinson, Paul 1947 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American male bloggers American bloggers American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers American male singer-songwriters American social sciences writers Analog Science Fiction and Fact people City College of New York alumni Fairleigh Dickinson University faculty Fordham University faculty Mass media theorists New York University alumni Novelists from New York City Polytechnic Institute of New York University faculty Presidents of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Wired (magazine) people Writers from the Bronx