Damon Knight facts for kids

Knight's novella "The Earth Quarter" was the cover story of the January 1955 issue of If

Knight's novella "The Visitor at the Zoo" took the cover of the April 1963 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction

Damon Francis Knight (born September 19, 1922 – died April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author. He was also a talented editor and critic. You might know him best as the writer of "To Serve Man". This famous 1950 short story was made into an episode of The Twilight Zone. Damon Knight was married to another well-known writer, Kate Wilhelm.

Discovering Damon Knight

Early Life and First Stories

Damon Knight was born in Baker City, Oregon, in 1922. He grew up in Hood River, Oregon. From a young age, he loved science fiction. When he was just eleven, he started publishing his own fan magazine. He called it Snide.

Damon's first professional work was a cartoon drawing. It appeared in a science fiction magazine called Amazing Stories. His very first story, "The Itching Hour", came out in 1940. It was published in Futuria Fantasia, a magazine edited by Ray Bradbury. Another early story, "Resilience", appeared in 1941.

A Master of Short Stories

Damon Knight was especially good at writing short stories. Many people consider him a master of this type of writing. His most famous short story is "To Serve Man". This story won a special award called a Retro-Hugo in 2001. It was recognized as the best short story from 1950.

Knight also worked as a science fiction critic. This means he wrote reviews about other authors' books. He was known for being honest in his reviews. He even helped make the term "idiot plot" popular. This term describes a story where the characters act foolishly just to make the plot work.

Helping Other Writers

Damon Knight did a lot to support other science fiction writers. He founded the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). This is a big organization for writers in these genres. He also helped start the Milford Writer's Workshop and the Clarion Writers Workshop. These workshops help new writers improve their skills.

In 1994, the SFWA honored Damon Knight. They named him their 13th Grand Master. This is a very high award for a science fiction writer. After he passed away, the award was renamed the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award in his honor. In 2003, he was also inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

Damon Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife, Kate Wilhelm. He passed away in 2002.

Selected Works

Damon Knight wrote many novels and short stories. Here are some of his well-known books:

Novels

• Hell's Pavement (1955)
• A for Anything (1961)
• Beyond the Barrier (1964)
• Mind Switch (1965)
• The Man in the Tree (1984)
• CV (1985)

Short Stories and Collections

Damon Knight wrote many individual short stories. He also put some of them together into collections.

• "To Serve Man" (1950)
• "The Country of the Kind" (1955)
• "Masks" (1968)
• Far Out (1961) (a collection that includes "To Serve Man")
• In Deep (1963)
• Turning On (1966)