Steven H Silver (born April 19, 1967)
is an American
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 ...
fan and
bibliographer
Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...
, publisher, author, and
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...
. He has been nominated for the
Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...
for
Best Fan Writer twelve times and
Best Fanzine eight times without winning (three for ''Argentus'' and five for ''Journey Planet'').
The "H" is his middle name and not an initial.
Editor, publisher, and writer
Silver was born in
Hinsdale, Illinois
Hinsdale is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County. It is one of the wealthiest communities in Illinois. Hinsdale is a western suburb of Chicago with a population of 17,395 ...
. He is a longtime contributing editor to
SF Site
''SF Site'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by Rodger Turner. It is among the oldest of websites dedicated to science fiction and primarily publishes book reviews. It has won the Locus Award and received nominations for ...
and wrote that site's news page from its inception in 2002 until it closed in 2014.
Anthologies
In 2003, he co-edited three anthologies with
Martin H. Greenberg, ''
Wondrous Beginnings
''Wondrous Beginnings'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Steven H. Silver and Martin H. Greenberg, first published in paperback by DAW Books in January 2003. It is a compilation of the first published stories of sevente ...
'', ''
Magical Beginnings'', and ''
Horrible Beginnings'', which reprinted the first published stories of authors in the
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 ...
,
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures.
The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
, and
horror genres. From 2004 through 2012 he was the publisher and editor of
ISFiC Press. He co-edited the alternate history anthology ''Alternate Peace'' in 2019 with
Joshua Palmatier.
Short fiction
Silver published his first short story, "''Les Lettres de Paston''", in the final issue of ''
Helix SF''.
Silver had earlier written a column on
alternate history
Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
for the magazine. He has continued to publish short stories since, as well as some poetry.
Collections
In 2009 and 2010, he edited the two volume ''Selected Stories of
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 ...
'' for
NESFA Press
NESFA Press is the publishing arm of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. The NESFA Press primarily produces three types of books:
* Books honoring the guest(s) of honor at their annual convention, Boskone, and at some Worldcons an ...
. The first volume is entitled ''War and Space'' and appeared in August, 2009. The second volume, ''Robots and Magic'' was published in February 2010.
Novels
Silver's first novel, ''After Hastings'', an alternate history in which
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...
prevented the Norman conquest of Britain by defeating
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
at the
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...
, was published by
Ring of Fire Press in July 2020.
Fandom
Sidewise and Nebula Awards
In 1995, he founded the
Sidewise Award for Alternate History
The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year.
Overview
The awards take their name from the 1934 short story " Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in w ...
and has served as a judge ever since. He was on the short story jury for the
Nebula Award
The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...
in 2002, and on the novel jury for the Nebula Award in 2003, 2006, and chaired the novel jury in 2008. In 2005, Silver was one of the co-ordinators of the Nebula weekend in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. In 2008, he was appointed SFWA Event Coordinator and has helped run the Nebula Award Weekends in that capacity from 2009 to 2021.
Fanzines
Silver is known as an on-line reviewer and has written several articles for
science fiction fanzine
A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" ...
s, as well as publishing his own annual fanzine ''
Argentus'', which was nominated for a
Hugo Award for Best Fanzine
The Hugo Award for Best Fanzine is given each year for non professionally edited magazines, or "fanzines", related to science fiction or fantasy which has published four or more issues with at least one issue appearing in the previous calendar y ...
in 2008, 2009, and 2010,
and won the Chronic Rift Roundtable Award for Best Fanzine in 2009 and the monthly
APA-zine ''Plata''. He has guest edited five issues of ''
Journey Planet''.
Conventions
In addition to his writing and editing activities, Silver is involved in running
science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction subgenre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of ex ...
s. He has chaired
Windycon
Windycon is a science fiction and fantasy literature convention held in Oak Brook, Illinois, on the weekend closest to Veterans Day (United States), Veterans Day.
ISFiC, the parent corporation that runs Windycon,Pavlac, RossWhat's an ISFiC ISFiC ...
three times, founded Midfan and chaired the first Midwest Construction, and ran programming for
Chicon 2000, the
Worldcon
Worldcon, officially the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during Wor ...
. From 1998 through 2006 and again from 2008, he sat on the board of directors for
ISFiC
ISFiC, or "Illinois Science Fiction in Chicago", is a non-profit organization best known for running the Windycon science fiction convention.
ISFiC was formed in 1973 as a coalition of the various science fiction clubs in Chicago, Illinois, United ...
. He served as a vice chair for
Chicon 7 in 2012.
Personal background
In 2000, Silver appeared on ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...
'' winning two days and coming in second on his third day. He won $15,000.
Bibliography
Novels
* ''After Hastings'' (June 2020),
Short fiction
* "Les Lettres de Paston" (2008), original publish in ''
Helix SF'' magazine, but has been republished on
SF Site
''SF Site'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by Rodger Turner. It is among the oldest of websites dedicated to science fiction and primarily publishes book reviews. It has won the Locus Award and received nominations for ...
* "Bats in Thebayou" (2009), published in the anthology ''Zombie Raccoons & Killer Bunnies'',
* "Boleslaw Szymanski Gets the Ogden Slip" (2010)
* "In the Night" (2010), published in the anthology ''Love & Rockets'',
* "The Destiny of Einar the Brave" (2011)
* "In the Shadows of Broadway" (2012), featured on the StarShipSofa podcast #236
* "The Cremator's Tale" (2013), published in ''Black Gate'' magazine
* "Hunger on Ceos" (2015)
* "Village Square" (2015)
* "Well of Tranquility" (2016), published in the anthology ''Genius Loci: Tales of the Spirit of Place'',
* "Big White Men—Attack!" (2017), published in the anthology ''Little Green Men—Attack!'',
* "Doing Business at Hodputt's Emporium" (March 2018), published in ''Galaxy's Edge'', Issue 31,
* "A Letter Home" (2020), published in ''Ray Bradbury Experience Museum Newsletter'', Volume 2
* "Worst in Show" (2022), published in the anthology ''Ludlow Charlington's Doghouse''
* "Best Policy" (2022), published in the anthology ''Wyrms''
* "Initial Engagement" (2023), published in the anthology ''Jewish Futures''
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver, Steven H
1967 births
Living people
Alternate history fandom
Indiana University alumni
American alternate history writers
American fantasy writers
American science fiction writers
American science fiction editors
People from Hinsdale, Illinois
American speculative fiction editors