Thaddeus Maxim Eugene "Ted" Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American
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 ...
who also played a role as one of the earliest
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 ...
anthologist
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...
s, and as a
publisher
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
.
Early career
In 1947, Dikty joined
Shasta Publishers
Shasta Publishers was a science fiction and Fantasy fiction, fantasy small press specialty publishing house founded in 1947 by Erle Melvin Korshak, T. E. Dikty, and Mark Reinsberg, who were all Science fiction fandom, science fiction fans from the ...
as
managing editor
A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication.
United States
In the United States, a managing edi ...
. With
E. F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
he started the first "Best of the Year" science fiction anthologies, called ''The Best Science Fiction'', which ran from 1949 until 1957.
In 1953, he married writer
Julian May
Julian Clare May (July 10, 1931 – October 17, 2017) was an American science fiction, fantasy, horror, science and children's writer who also used several literary pseudonyms. She is best known for her '' Saga of Pliocene Exile'' (''Saga of the ...
, whom he had met at a
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 ...
in
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. Both of them worked for
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 ...
-area publishers; in 1957 the two started Publication Associates, an editorial service which created books (from writing to completion of bound copies) for specialty children's publishers who sold primarily to the school and library markets: May did the writing, and Dikty served as designer and producer. In the early 1970s Dikty and partners started a small press, FAX Collector's Editions, which reprinted selected
pulp-era (and earlier) SF stories and novels, and had some commercial success with reprints of work by
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...
(creator of
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...
).
Starmont House and death
In 1976, after the family had moved to
West Linn, Oregon
West Linn is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A southern suburb within the Portland metropolitan area, West Linn developed on the site of the former Linn City, Oregon, Linn City, which was named after U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn ...
, Dikty founded the specialty publisher Starmont House, which published non-fiction about the science fiction field. At the time of his death in 1991 at the age of 71, Dikty and May had moved to
Mercer Island, Washington
Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to ...
; his daughter, Barbara Dikty, had already been made president of Starmont House, Inc. by then.
Robert, Reginald M. "A Requiem for Starmont House (1976-1993)"
''Science Fiction Studies
''Science Fiction Studies'' (''SFS'') is an academic journal founded in 1973 by R. D. Mullen. The journal is published three times per year at DePauw University. As Science fiction studies, the name implies, the journal publishes articles and ...
'' #61 (Volume 20, Part 3; November 1993)
In September 2013, he was posthumously named to the First Fandom Hall of Fame
First Fandom is an informal association of early, active and well-known science fiction fans.
In 1958, a number of fans at Midwestcon realized amid table-talk that they all had been active in fandom for more than 20 years. This inspired the crea ...
in a ceremony at the 71st World Science Fiction Convention
The 71st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as LoneStarCon 3, was held on 29 August–2 September 2013 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio, Texas, United States.
The convention ...
.
Bibliography
The Best Science Fiction
* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
)
* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1950'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
)
* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1951'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
)
* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1952'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
)
* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1953'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
)
* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1954'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
)
* '' Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1952'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
)
* '' Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1953'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
)
* '' Year's Best Science Fiction Novels: 1954'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
)
* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 1955''
* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 1956''
* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: Ninth Series'' (1958)
Others
* '' Imagination Unlimited'' (with Everett F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
, 1952)
* '' Every Boy's Book of Outer Space Stories'' (1960)
* '' Great Science Fiction Stories About Mars'' (1966)
* '' Great Science Fiction Stories About the Moon'' (1967)
References
External links
T. E. Dikty
at The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...
*
*
Bibliography
on SciFan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dikty, Thaddeus Maxim Eugene
American science fiction writers
1920 births
1991 deaths
American science fiction editors
People from Mercer Island, Washington
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
Managing editors
American speculative fiction publishers (people)
20th-century American male writers