James Blish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Blish
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| Born | James Benjamin Blish May 23, 1921 East Orange, New Jersey, United States |
| Died | July 30, 1975 (aged 54) Henley-on-Thames, England, United Kingdom |
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| Occupation | Writer, Literary critic |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
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| Period | 1940–1975 |
| Genre | Science fiction, Fantasy |
| Years active | 1940–1975 |
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| Children | 3 |
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James Benjamin Blish (May 23, 1921 – July 30, 1975) was an American writer. He wrote exciting stories in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Science fiction often explores future technology or space, while fantasy includes magic or mythical creatures.
James Blish is famous for his Cities in Flight novels. He also wrote many Star Trek books with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel A Case of Conscience won a big award called the Hugo Award. He even invented the term "gas giant" for huge planets like Jupiter!
His first stories were published in magazines like Super Science Stories and Amazing Stories. Blish also wrote reviews about science fiction books. He used a special writing name, or pen name, for these reviews: William Atheling Jr. He had other pen names too, like Donald Laverty, John MacDougal, and Arthur Lloyd Merlyn.
James Blish's Early Life
James Blish was born on May 23, 1921, in East Orange, New Jersey. When he was in high school, he created his own small magazine. It was called The Planeteer and he made it using a special printing method. This magazine had six issues.
Blish was part of a group called the Futurians. This was a group of young science fiction fans and writers in New York City. They often met to talk about science fiction and their ideas. In this group, Blish became good friends with writers Damon Knight and Cyril M. Kornbluth.
Blish studied microbiology at Rutgers University and finished in 1942. He then joined the Army for a short time. He worked as a medical laboratory technician. In 1944, he was discharged from the Army. After that, Blish went to Columbia University to study zoology. But he decided to leave before finishing to become a full-time writer.
In 1947, he married Virginia Kidd, who was also a Futurian. They later divorced in 1963. Blish then married artist J. A. Lawrence in 1964. They moved to England that same year.
James Blish passed away on July 30, 1975. He was buried in Holywell Cemetery in Oxford, England. His writings and papers are kept safe at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
James Blish's Writing Career
During the 1940s, James Blish published most of his stories in popular magazines. His first story, "Emergency Refueling," was sold in 1940. It appeared in Super Science Stories. Other stories came out over time, but they didn't reach a very wide audience.
His story "Chaos, Co-Ordinated" was co-written with Robert A. W. Lowndes. It was published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1946. This was the first time Blish's work became known across the country.
The Seedling Stars and Microscopic Worlds
James Blish often took his older stories and made them better or longer. For example, his story "Sunken Universe" from 1942 was later changed. It became "Surface Tension" in 1952. This story showed his knowledge of microbiology. It was about tiny humans who were designed to live in small pools of water on a dangerous planet.
"Surface Tension" became very popular. It was even included in famous science fiction collections. Blish continued this idea of tiny humans in other stories. These stories were later put together into a book called The Seedling Stars (1956).
Cities in Flight Series
Many people say that James Blish truly became a great science fiction writer in the 1950s. This was when his "Okie" stories began to appear. These stories were inspired by the "Okie" people who moved a lot after the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.
The "Okie" stories are about humans who travel through space in huge city-ships. These cities move using special anti-gravity engines called spindizzies. The stories show Blish's thoughts about civilization and his own ideas about the world.
The first two stories, "Okie" and "Bindlestiff," came out in 1950. More stories followed, and Blish collected them into books. The entire "Okie" series was later published as Cities In Flight in 1970.
A Case of Conscience and Other Works
Blish kept working on his older stories. One of his most famous works, A Case of Conscience (1958), started as a shorter story in 1953. This novel tells the story of a priest named Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez. He visits a planet called Lithia and finds a race of lizard-like beings. These beings are perfectly moral, but they don't believe in God. This creates many interesting questions for the priest.
A Case of Conscience was one of the first major science fiction books to explore religion. It won the 1959 Hugo Award for Best Novel. This book was part of a series that included Doctor Mirabilis (1964) and the two-part story Black Easter (1968) and The Day After Judgment (1971).
Star Trek Novels
James Blish was asked to write books based on the TV show Star Trek. He turned many episodes into short stories for books. These stories were often based on early versions of the TV scripts. So, they sometimes had different plot details from what aired on TV.
These Star Trek stories were collected into twelve books. They were published from 1967 to 1977. Blish wrote most of them. However, as his health declined, his wife, J. A. Lawrence, helped write many parts. Her work was not officially credited until the last book, Star Trek 12, which came out in 1977, after Blish had passed away.
Blish also wrote the first original novel for adults based on the TV series, Spock Must Die! (1970). He had planned to write more. Blish said that the money he earned from the Star Trek books helped him financially later in his life.
Awards and Recognition
James Blish received many honors for his writing. The British Science Fiction Foundation created the James Blish Award in 1977. This award recognizes great science fiction criticism. In 2002, he was added to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
Awards and Nominations
- 1959 Hugo Award for Best Novel, for A Case of Conscience.
- 1965 Nebula Award nomination for Best Novelette, for "The Shipwrecked Hotel".
- 1968 Nebula Award nomination for Best Novel, for Black Easter.
- 1970 Hugo Award nomination for Best Novella, for We All Die Naked.
- 1970 Nebula Award nomination for Best Novella, for A Style in Treason.
Posthumous Awards
These awards were given after his death:
- 2001 Retro-Hugo Award nomination for Best Novelette, for "Okie".
- 2004 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Novella, for A Case of Conscience.
- 2004 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Novelette, for "Earthman, Come Home".
Guest of Honor
James Blish was invited as a special guest at major science fiction conventions:
- 1960 Guest of Honor, 18th World Science Fiction Convention.
- 1970 Guest of Honor, Scicon 70.
