View source for Jack Williamson

{{Short description|American science fiction writer (1908–2006)}}
{{other people|John Williamson}}
{{for-multi|the Australian rules footballer|Jack Williamson (footballer)|the Anglican bishop|Will Stewart (bishop)|the baseball player|Will Stewart (baseball)}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2023}}{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Jack Williamson
| image      = Jwilliamson.jpg
| caption    =
| birth_name = John Stewart Williamson
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1908|4|29}}
| birth_place= [[Bisbee, Arizona|Bisbee]], [[Arizona Territory]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|11|10|1908|4|29}}
| death_place= [[Portales, New Mexico]], U.S.
| pseudonym  = Will Stewart<br/>Nils O. Sonderlund
| occupation = Writer, professor of English
| period     = 1928–2006<ref name=isfdb/>
| genre      = [[Science fiction]]
}}

'''John Stewart Williamson''' (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006) was an American [[list of science fiction authors|science fiction writer]], one of several called the "Dean of Science Fiction".<ref>''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'', November 1979, editorial "The Dean of Science Fiction" by Isaac Asimov, page 6.</ref> He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term ''[[genetic engineering]]''.<ref>[http://www.sfwa.org/pressbook/SFWAPR/20060717-HeinleinAward.html "Jack Williamson, Greg Bear: Two SFWA pillars honored with 2006 Heinlein Award"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924230659/http://www.sfwa.org/pressbook/SFWAPR/20060717-HeinleinAward.html |date=2006-09-24 }}. [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America|SFWA]] Pressbook.  Retrieved 2007. {{page needed |date=April 2013}}</ref> Early in his career he sometimes used the [[pseudonym]]s '''Will Stewart''' and '''Nils O. Sonderlund'''.<ref name=isfdb/>

== Early life ==
Williamson was born April 29, 1908, in [[Bisbee, Arizona|Bisbee]], [[Arizona Territory]]. According to his own account, the first three years of his life were spent on a ranch at the top of the [[Sierra Madre Occidental|Sierra Madre]] Mountains on the headwaters of the [[Yaqui River]] in [[Sonora, Mexico]]. He spent much of the rest of his early childhood in western Texas. In search of better pastures, his family migrated to rural [[New Mexico]] in a horse-drawn [[Conestoga wagon|covered wagon]] in 1915.<ref name="autobio">Williamson, Jack. ''Wonder's Child: My Life in Science Fiction'' (Benbella Books, 2005)</ref> The farming was difficult there and the family turned to ranching, which they continue to this day near [[Pep, New Mexico|Pep]]. He served in the [[U.S. Army Air Corps]] in [[World War II]] as a [[weather forecaster]].

== Writing career ==
[[File:Amazing stories 192812.jpg|thumb|right|Williamson's first published story "The Metal Man" was cover-featured on the December 1928 ''Amazing Stories''.]]
[[File:Wonder stories 193105.jpg|thumb|right|Williamson's "Through the Purple Cloud" was the cover story in the May 1931 ''Wonder Stories''.]]
[[File:Strange tales 193201 v1 n3.jpg|thumb|right|Williamson's novella "Wolves of Darkness" was the cover story in the January 1932 issue of ''[[Strange Tales (pulp magazine)|Strange Tales]]''.]]
[[File:ASF 0026.jpg|thumb|right|Williamson's "The Pigmy Planet" was the cover story in the February 1932 ''Astounding Stories''.]]
[[File:Wonder stories 193202.jpg|thumb|right|Williamson's "The Moon Era" was cover-featured on the February 1932 ''Wonder Stories''.]]
[[File:Weird Tales June 1934.jpg|thumb|right|Williamson's novelette "Wizard's Isle" was the cover story in the June 1934 ''Weird Tales''.]]
[[File:Marvel tales 193912.jpg|thumb|right|As "Nils O. Sonderlund", Williamson wrote "The Angel from Hell", the cover story in the December 1939 [[Marvel Science Stories|''Marvel Tales'']]]]
[[File:Science stories 195310.jpg|thumb|right|Williamson's novelette "Hocus Pocus Universe" was the cover story in the October 1953 ''[[Science Stories]]'', illustrated by Hannes Bok.]]
[[File:If 196307.jpg|thumb|right|''The Reefs of Space'', which Williamson cowrote with [[Frederik Pohl]], was serialized in ''[[If (magazine)|If]]'' in 1963.]]

As a child Williamson enjoyed storytelling to his brother and two sisters. As a young man, he discovered the magazine ''[[Amazing Stories]]'', established in 1926 by [[Hugo Gernsback]], after answering an ad for one free issue. He strove to write his own fiction and sold his first story to Gernsback at age 20: "The Metal Man" was published in the December 1928 issue of ''Amazing''.<ref name=isfdb/> During the next year Gernsback published three more of his stories in the new [[pulp magazines]] ''Science Wonder Stories'' and ''[[Air Wonder Stories]]'', and separately published "The Girl from Mars" by [[Miles J. Breuer]] and Williamson as ''Science Fiction Series #1''.<ref name=isfdb/> His work during this early period was heavily influenced by [[Abraham Merritt|A. Merritt]],<ref name="moskowitz">[[Moskowitz, Sam]]. "Jack Williamson: Four-Way Pioneer". ''Amazing Stories'', October 1964.</ref> author of ''[[The Metal Monster]]'' (1920) and other fantasy serials. Noting the Merritt influence, [[Algis Budrys]] described "The Metal Man" as "a story full of memorable images".<ref>"Galaxy Bookshelf", ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'', December 1967, p. 190.</ref>

Early on, Williamson became impressed by the works of [[Miles J. Breuer]] and struck up a correspondence with him. A doctor who wrote science fiction in his spare time, Breuer had a strong talent and turned Williamson away from dreamlike fantasies towards more rigorous plotting and stronger narrative. Under Breuer's tutelage, Williamson sent Breuer outlines and drafts for review.<ref name="autobio" /> Their first work together was the novel ''Birth of a New Republic'' in which [[Moon]] colonies were undergoing something like the [[American Revolution]], a theme later taken up by many other SF writers, particularly in [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress]]''.

Wracked by emotional storms and believing many of his physical ailments to be psychosomatic, Williamson underwent psychiatric evaluation in 1933 at the [[Menninger Clinic]] in [[Topeka, Kansas]], in which he began to learn to resolve the conflict between his reason and his emotion.<ref name="autobio" /> From this period, his stories take on a grittier, more realistic tone.

By the 1930s, he was an established genre author, and the teenaged [[Isaac Asimov]] was thrilled to receive a postcard from Williamson, whom he had idolized, which congratulated him on his first published story and offered "welcome to the ranks".<ref name="autobio" /><ref>Isaac Asimov, ''In Memory Yet Green'', Chapter 20, section 7</ref> Williamson remained a regular contributor to the [[pulp magazine]]s but did not achieve financial success as a writer until many years later.

An unfavorable review of his novel ''[[Seetee Ship]]'', which said his writing "ranks only slightly above that of a [[comic strip]] adventure", brought Williamson to the attention of ''The New York Sunday News'', which needed a science fiction writer for a new comic strip.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Ron |last=Goulart |title=Sci Fi Funnies Part IV |magazine=[[Comics Feature]] |issue=51 |date=January 1987 |publisher=Movieland Publishing |pages=47–48}}</ref> Williamson wrote the resulting strip ''[[Beyond Mars]]'' (1952–55), loosely based on ''Seetee Ship'', until the paper dropped all comics.

Beginning 1954 and continuing into the 1990s, Williamson and [[Frederik Pohl]] wrote more than a dozen science fiction novels together, including the series Jim Eden, Starchild, and Cuckoo.<ref name=isfdb/>
Williamson continued to write as a nonagenarian and won both the [[Hugo Award|Hugo]] and [[Nebula Award]]s during the last decade of his life, by far the oldest writer to win those awards.<ref name="autobio" /><ref name="nyt061114"/>

In his later years, he criticized attempts to write "serious" science fiction:<ref>[http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/interviews/williamson54interview.htm Science Fiction Studies - An Interview with Jack Williamson]</ref>

{{blockquote|Maybe because of my own background of writing commercial SF for so many years, I have a great deal of respect for good craftsmanship of the sort that commercial writers must develop. The labels you hear so much of—"commercial," "serious writer," "mainstream," "hack," "New Wave," "experimental"—are usually very misleading.
 
In my own field, [[Edmond Hamilton|Ed Hamilton]] and [[Henry Kuttner|Hank Kuttner]] and more recently [[Robert Silverberg|Bob Silverberg]] are all writers who formed a fine command of the SF genre early in their careers and who later on used this to do work that is more consciously "literary" and hence more admired by critics. But certainly the writing they did earlier was deservedly popular among SF fandom, who evidently found these works "serious" enough to merit reading.

I am opposed, however, to literary tricks that tend towards obscurity or artificial difficulty, though I can see arguments for that kind of approach. My own experience as a teacher of writing confirms my sense that new authors with artistic ambitions may find themselves scorning too many of the old forms and patterns simply because they blindly associate them with hack work. The point is that these patterns and structures form the basic vocabulary through which all SF writers must speak. That's one reason I'm not completely sympathetic with contemporary writers like Silverberg and [[Samuel R. Delany|Chip Delany]] and [[Thomas M. Disch|Tom Disch]], who are clearly aiming to get themselves recognized as "serious" or mainstream authors.}}

== Academic career ==
Williamson received his [[Bachelor of Arts]] and [[Master of Arts]] degrees in [[English studies|English]] in the 1950s from [[Eastern New Mexico University]] (ENMU) in [[Portales, New Mexico|Portales]] (near the Texas panhandle), joining the faculty of that university in 1960. He remained affiliated with the school for the rest of his life. In the late 1990s, he established a permanent trust to fund the publication of ''El Portal'', ENMU's journal of literature and art.<ref name="El Portal">{{cite web | url=http://www.enmu.edu/academics/williamson/el-portal.shtml | title=Jack Williamson: El Portal | publisher=Eastern New Mexico University | access-date=June 16, 2015}}</ref> In the 1980s, he made a sizable donation of books and original manuscripts to ENMU's library, which resulted in the formation of a Special Collections department; the library now is home to the Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library, which ENMU's website describes as "one of the top science fiction collections in the world".<ref>[https://my.enmu.edu/web/golden-library/special-collections/jack-williamson-science-fiction "Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library"]. Golden Library Special Collections. Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). Retrieved 2017.</ref> In addition, Williamson hosted the ''Jack Williamson Lectureship Series'', an annual lectureship where Guests of Honor and other noted authors give lectures, read from their works, and participate in lively panel discussions on a variety of topics.<ref>[http://www.enmu.edu/academics/colleges-departments/college-liberal-arts-sciences/department-languages-literature/special-programs/jack-williamson-lectureship Jack Williamson Lectureship]</ref> The lectureship is still celebrated at ENMU each year. The Jack Williamson Liberal Arts building houses the Languages & Literature, Mathematical Sciences, History, Religion & Social Sciences, and Psychology & Political Science Departments of the university, as well as the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Office.

Williamson completed his [[PhD]] in English literature at the [[University of Colorado at Boulder|University of Colorado]] in [[Boulder, Colorado|Boulder]], focused on [[H.G. Wells]]' earlier works, demonstrating that Wells was not the naive optimist that many believed him to be.

==Neologisms and other firsts==
Williamson coined the word "''[[terraforming]]''" in a science-fiction [[Seetee series|story]] published in ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]'' in 1942.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://sfdictionary.com/view/125/terraforming| title=Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction: terraforming| access-date=2022-11-14}}</ref>

In 1947, Williamson was the first science fiction writer to incorporate the concept of the [[ion thruster]] into a published story.<ref>Williamson, Jack (March 1947), "The Equalizer"; ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]''.</ref> This technology was first successfully tested by NASA in 1964, first used [[Deep Space 1|in a space mission]] in 1998, and has become routine for space probes.

The word "''[[psionics]]''" first appeared in print in Williamson's novella ''The Greatest Invention'',<ref>Williamson, Jack (July 1951), ''The Greatest Invention'', ''Astounding Science Fiction'', pp. 56–96.</ref> published in ''[[Astounding Science Fiction|Astounding]]'' magazine in 1951.<ref>[[Alec Nevala-Lee|Nevala-Lee, Alec]] (2018), ''Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction'', New York: Dey Street Books/HarperCollins, p. 303 and n. p. 470. Nevala-Lee's text has 1950, but his citation has the correct date (1951).</ref>

Williamson is also credited with one of the first uses of the term "''[[genetic engineering]]''".<ref>[http://www.sfwa.org/pressbook/SFWAPR/20060717-HeinleinAward.html "Jack Williamson, Greg Bear: Two SFWA pillars honored with 2006 Heinlein Award"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924230659/http://www.sfwa.org/pressbook/SFWAPR/20060717-HeinleinAward.html |date=2006-09-24 }}. [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America|SFWA]] Pressbook.  Retrieved 2007. {{page needed |date=April 2013}}</ref>

== Later years ==
The [[Science Fiction Writers of America]] named Williamson its second [[SFWA Grand Master|Grand Master of Science Fiction]] after Robert Heinlein, presented 1976.<ref name=SFAwards/><ref name=SFWA/>

After having been let go from ENMU during the university's financial crisis in 1977, Williamson spent some time concentrating on his writing, but after being named professor emeritus by ENMU, he was coaxed back to co-teach two evening classes, "Creative Writing" and "Fantasy and Science Fiction" (he pioneered the latter at ENMU during his full-time professorship days). Williamson continued to co-teach these two classes into the 21st century. After he made a large donation of original manuscripts and rare books from his personal collection to the ENMU library, a special collections area was created to house these and it was named the "Jack Williamson Special Collection".

In 1994 Williamson received a [[World Fantasy Award]] for Lifetime Achievement.<ref name=SFAwards/><ref>{{cite web|author=World Fantasy Convention |title=Award Winners and Nominees |url=http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html/ |access-date=2011-02-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201074405/http://worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html |archive-date=December 1, 2010 }}</ref>

The [[EMP Museum#Science Fiction Hall of Fame|Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame]] inducted Williamson in 1996, its inaugural class of two deceased and two living persons.<ref name=SFAwards/><ref name=sfhof-old/>

The [[Horror Writers Association]] conferred its [[Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement]] in 1998<!--officially dated 1997, don't know whether he attended the 1998 ceremony--><ref name=HWA/> and the [[World Horror Convention]] elected him [[World Horror Convention Grand Master Award|Grand Master]] in 2004.<ref name=SFAwards/> <!-- 16/17th Stoker and 14th Grand Master if anyone's counting-->

In November 2006, Williamson died at his home in [[Portales, New Mexico]], at age 98.<ref>Terry, Karl (November 11, 2006). [http://www.pntonline.com/news/williamson_9214___article.html/fiction_enmu.html "Sci-fi legend Williamson dies"]. ''Portales News-Tribune''. Retrieved 2007.</ref> Despite his age, he had made an appearance at the Spring 2006 ''Jack Williamson Lectureship'' and published a 320-page novel, ''The Stonehenge Gate'', in 2005.

Minor planets [[5516 Jawilliamson]] and [[235281 Jackwilliamson]] are named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=5516 |title=(5516) Jawilliamson = 1983 YA = 1989 JK = 1990 QJ7|publisher=Minor planet center}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=5516 |title=(235281) Jackwilliamson = 2003 UV17 |publisher=Minor planet center}}</ref>

== Legion of Space series ==
{{Main|Legion of Space Series|The Legion of Space}}

While attending a [[Great Books]] course, Williamson learned that [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]] had created one of his works by taking ''[[The Three Musketeers]]'' of [[Alexandre Dumas, père|Alexandre Dumas]] and pairing them with [[John Falstaff]] of [[William Shakespeare]]. Williamson took this idea into science fiction with ''The [[Legion of Space]]''.

Desperate for money, he searched for a quick source of income. While most pulps of the time were slow to pay, the recently restarted ''Astounding'' was an exception. However, they did not accept novels, so Williamson submitted three short stories and a novelette. Learning that they were also accepting novels for serialization, he sent in ''[[The Legion of Space]]'', which was published as an [[anthology]] in six parts. It quickly became a genre favorite, and was quickly collected into a [[hardcover]].

The story takes place in an era when humans have colonized the [[Solar System]] but dare not go farther, as the first extra-solar expedition to [[Barnard's Star]] failed and the survivors came back as babbling, grotesque, diseased madmen. They spoke of a gigantic planet, populated by ferocious animals and the single city left of the evil "Medusae". The Medusae bear a vague resemblance to jellyfish, but are actually elephant-sized, four-eyed, flying beings with hundreds of tentacles. The Medusae cannot speak and communicate with one another via a microwave code.

The Falstaff character is named Giles Habibula. He was once a criminal, and can open any lock ever made. In his youth he was called Giles The Ghost. Jay Kalam (Commander of The Legion) and Hal Samdu are the names of the other two warriors. In this story, these warriors of the 30th Century battle the Medusae, the alien race from the lone planet of Barnard's Star. The Legion itself is the military and police force of the Solar System after the overthrow of an empire called the Purple Hall that once ruled all humans.

In this novel, renegade Purple pretenders ally themselves with the Medusae as a means to regain their empire. But the Medusae, who are totally unlike humans in all ways, turn on the Purples, seeking to destroy all humans and move to the Solar System, as their own world, far older than Earth, is finally spiraling back into Barnard's Star. One of the Purples, John Ulnar, supports the Legion from the start, and he is the fourth great warrior. His enemy is the Purple pretender Eric Ulnar, who sought the Medusae out in the first place, seeking to become the next Emperor of The Sun.

The Medusae conquered the Moon, set up their bases there, and went on to attempt conquest of the Solar System. The Medusae had for eons used a reddish, artificial [[greenhouse gas]] to keep their dying world from freezing. The Medusae learned from the first human expedition to their world that the gas rots human flesh, and the Medusae use it as a potent chemical weapon, attempting ecological destruction by means of projectiles fired from the Moon. Their vast spaceships also have very effective plasma weapons, very similar to those the [[Romulan]]s had in a Star Trek episode called ''[[Balance of Terror]]''.

The Legion works also featured a force field called AKKA which can erase from the Universe any matter, of any size, anywhere, even a star or a planet. AKKA was a weapon of mass destruction and the secret of it was entrusted to a series of [[women]]. AKKA was used in the past to overthrow the Purple tyranny. It was also used to wipe out most of the Medusae, though they had tried to steal the secret. When they were wiped out, the [[Moon]] where they had established their base was erased out of existence. At the end of the story, John Ulnar falls in love with the keeper of AKKA, Aladoree Anthar, and marries her. Aladoree Anthar is described as a young woman with lustrous brown hair and gray eyes, beautiful as a [[goddess]].

Williamson next wrote ''[[The Cometeers]]'' which takes place twenty years after ''The Legion of Space'' in which the same characters battle another alien race, this one of different origin.

In this second tale, they fight [[The Cometeers]] who are an alien race of energy beings controlling a "comet" which is really a giant force field containing a swarm of planets populated by their slaves. The [[slave]] races are of flesh and blood, but none are remotely similar to humans. The Cometeers cannot be destroyed by AKKA, as they are incorporeal from the Universe's point of view and exist for the most part in an alternate reality. The ruling Cometeers feed on their slaves and literally absorb their souls, leaving disgusting, dying hulks in their wake. It is said that they do so, as they were once fleshly entities themselves of various species. Hence, the ruling Cometeers keep other intelligent beings as slaves and "cattle". They fear AKKA, though, as it can erase all their possessions.

They are defeated by the skills of Giles Habibula. Giles broke into a secret chamber guarded by complex locks and force fields that the incorporeal Cometeers could not penetrate. In it the ruler of the Cometeers had kept its own weapon of mass destruction, one that would cause the Cometeers to disintegrate. The ruling Cometeer kept this weapon to enforce its rule over the others of its kind. Once the Cometeers were destroyed, their slaves were ordered by the Legion to take the comet and leave the Solar System, and never return.

Another novel, ''[[One Against the Legion]]'', tells of a Purple pretender who sets up a robotic base on a world over seventy light years from Earth, and tries to conquer the Solar System via matter [[Teleportation|transporter]] technology he has stolen. In this story [[robot]]s are outlawed, as they are in ''[[Dune (franchise)|Dune]]''. The story also features Jay Kalam, lobbying to allow the New Cometeers to leave the Solar System in peace, as many people were demanding that AKKA be used to obliterate the departing swarm of planets once and for all.

In 1983, Williamson published a final Legion novel, ''The Queen of the Legion''. Giles Habibula reappears in this final novel, which is set after the disbanding of the Legion.

== Works ==
=== Series ===
;[[Legion of Space Series]]
# ''[[The Legion of Space]]'' (1947; six-part serial in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding]]'', 1934)
# ''[[The Cometeers]]'' (1950; four-part serial in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding]]'', 1936, plus ''One Against the Legion'', three-part serial in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding]]'', 1939)
# ''One Against the Legion'' (1967; three-part serial in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding]]'', 1939, plus "Nowhere Near")
#* ''Three from the Legion'' (1980; omnibus of three novels plus "Nowhere Near")
# ''The Queen of the Legion'' (1983)

;Humanoids Series
# "[[With Folded Hands]]" (1947; in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding]]'')
# ''[[The Humanoids]]'' (1949; three-part serial as "...And Searching Mind" in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding]]'', 1949)
# ''The Humanoid Touch'' (1980)
#* ''The Humanoids / With Folded Hands'' (1996; omnibus)

;[[Seetee series]]
An editor suggested that Williamson combine the ideas of contraterrene matter ([[antimatter]]) and [[asteroid mining]], which inspired the Seetee (C-T) series of short stories written as Will Stewart.
* "[[Collision Orbit]]" (short story, as by Will Stewart; from ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding]]'', 1942)
* ''Seetee Shock'' (1949; as by Will Stewart; from ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding]]'', 1949)
* ''[[Seetee Ship]]'' (1951; as by Will Stewart; from previously published stories 1942–3)
** ''Seetee Ship/Seetee Shock'' (1971, omnibus volume of both).

;[[Undersea Trilogy]] (with Frederik Pohl)
# ''[[Undersea Trilogy#Undersea Quest|Undersea Quest]]'' (1954)
# ''[[Undersea Trilogy#Undersea Fleet|Undersea Fleet]]'' (1956)
# ''[[Undersea Trilogy#Undersea City|Undersea City]]'' (1958)
# ''[[The Undersea Trilogy]]'' (1992; omnibus)

;[[Saga of Cuckoo]] (with Frederik Pohl)
# ''[[Farthest Star]]'' (1975)
# ''[[Wall Around A Star]]'' (1983)

;[[Starchild Trilogy]] (with Frederik Pohl)
# ''The Reefs of Space'' (1964)
# ''Starchild'' (1965)
# ''Rogue Star'' (1969)
# ''The Starchild Trilogy'' (1977; omnibus)

=== Novels ===
* ''The Girl from Mars'' (1930, with [[Miles J. Breuer]])
* ''The Green Girl'' (1930)
* ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73750 The Prince of Space]'' (1931)
* ''Golden Blood'' (1933)
* ''Xandulu'' (1934)
* ''The Blue Spot'' (1935)
* ''Islands of the Sun'' (1935)
* ''Reign of Wizardry'' (1940) (loosely based on the story of [[Theseus]] from Greek mythology)
* ''[[Darker Than You Think]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Dragon's Island]] '' (1951; also known as ''The Not-Men'')
* ''[[Star Bridge]]'' (1955, with [[James Gunn (author)|James E. Gunn]])
* ''The Dome Around America'' (1955; also known as ''Gateway to Paradise'')
* ''The Trial of Terra'' (1962; from four previously published stories, 1951–1962)
* ''Bright New Universe'' (1967)
* ''Trapped in Space'' (1968)
* ''The Moon Children'' (1972)
* ''The Power of Blackness'' (1975)
* ''Brother to Demons, Brother to Gods'' (1979; from five previously published stories, 1977–78)
* ''Manseed'' (1982)
* ''[[Lifeburst]]'' (1984)
* ''Firechild'' (1986)
* ''[[Land's End (novel)|Land's End]]'' (1988, with [[Frederik Pohl]])
* ''Mazeway'' (1990)
* ''The Singers of Time'' (1991, with [[Frederik Pohl]])
* ''Beachhead'' (1992)
* ''Demon Moon'' (1994)
* ''The Black Sun'' (1997)
* ''The Fortress of Utopia'' (1998; originally in ''[[Startling Stories]]'', 1939)
* ''The Silicon Dagger'' (1999)
* ''The Stone from a Green Star'' (1999; originally in [[Amazing Stories]], 1931)
* ''Terraforming Earth'' (2001; Co-winner of 2002 [[John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel|John W. Campbell Memorial Award]])
* ''The Stonehenge Gate'' (2005)

=== Collections ===
* ''The Legion of Time, and After World's End'' (1952)
* ''The Pandora Effect'' (1969)
* ''People Machines'' (1971)
* ''The Early Williamson'', 1975
* ''[[The Best of Jack Williamson]]'' (1978)
* ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73724 The Alien Intelligence]'' (1980)
* ''Millions de Soleils'' (1988)
* ''Into the Eighth Decade'' (1990)
* ''The Prince of Space/The Girl from Mars'' (1998; ''TGFM'' written with Miles J. Breuer)
* ''The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume One, The Metal Man and Others'' (1999)
* ''The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume Two, Wolves of Darkness'' (1999)
* ''The Blue Spot, and Entropy Reversed (Released Entropy)'' (2000; both from ''Astounding'', 1937)
* ''The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume Three, Wizard's Isle'' (2000)
* ''Dragon's Island and other stories'' (2002; novel and two shorts)
* ''The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume Four, Spider Island'' (2002)
* ''Seventy-Five: The Diamond Anniversary of a Science Fiction Pioneer'', Stephen Haffner & Richard A. Hauptmann, eds. (2004)
* ''The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume Five, The Crucible of Power'' (2006)
* ''In Memory of Wonder's Child'' Stephen Haffner, ed. (2007)
* ''The Worlds of Jack Williamson: A Centennial Tribute (1908–2008)'', Stephen Haffner, ed. (2008)
* ''The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume Six, Gateway to Paradise'' (2008)
* ''With Folded Hands… And Searching Mind, The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume Seven'' (2010)
* ''At the Human Limit, The Collected Stories of Jack Williamson, Volume Eight'' (2011)

=== Short stories ===
[[File:Amazing stories 193101.jpg|thumb|right|Williamson's novella "The Prince of Space" was cover-featured on the January 1931 ''Amazing Stories''.]]
* ''The Metal Man'' (1928)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://amazingstories.com/2013/08/metal-man-jack-williamson/|title=The Metal Man by Jack Williamson|last=Brown|first=Ricky L.|date=2013-08-30|website=Amazing Stories|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-24}}</ref>
* ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73724 The alien intelligence]'' (1929) 
* ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73951 The Second Shell]'' (1929)
* ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26066 The Cosmic Express]'' (1930)
* ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71255 The Green Girl]'' (1930)
* ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/73750 The Prince of Space]'' (1931)
* ''The Meteor Girl'' (1931)<ref>{{cite book|title=The Meteor Girl|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30166|via=Project Gutenberg|publisher=Astounding Stories|access-date=23 January 2017|date=October 3, 2009}}</ref>
* ''The Lake of Light'' (1931)<ref>{{cite book|title=The Lake of Light|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30452|via=Project Gutenberg|publisher=Astounding Stories|access-date=23 January 2017|date=October 3, 2009}}</ref>
* ''The Doom from Planet 4'' (1931)<ref>{{cite book|title=The Doom from Planet 4|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31168|via=Project Gutenberg|publisher=Astounding Stories|access-date=23 January 2017|date=February 3, 2010}}</ref>
* ''The Moon Era'' (1931, 1932); also published as separate novelette
* ''The Pygmy Planet'' (1932; Cover feature in Astounding Stories February 1932)<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pygmy Planet by Jack Williamson|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29177|via=Project Gutenberg|access-date=10 January 2017|format=eBook download}}</ref>
* ''Salvage in Space'' (1933) Cover Story<ref>{{cite book|title=Salvage in Space|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29283|via=Project Gutenberg|publisher=Astounding Stories|access-date=23 January 2017|date=July 1, 2009}}</ref>
* ''Born of the Sun'' (1934)
* ''Star Bright'' (1939)
* ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70814 After world's end]'' (1939)
* ''The Angel From Hell'' (1939; in ''[[Marvel Science Stories|Marvel Tales]]'', writing as Nils O. Sonderlund)
* ''Hindsight'' (1940)
* ''[[Collision Orbit]]'' (1942; writing as Will Stewart; into ''Seetee Ship'')
* ''Minus Sign'' (1942; writing as Will Stewart; into ''Seetee Ship'')
* ''Opposites—React!'' (1943; writing as Will Stewart; into ''Seetee Ship'')
* ''With Folded Hands...'' (1947, Awarded Prometheus Hall of Fame in 2018)
* ''The Man from Outside'' (1951)
* ''Beans'' (1958)
* ''[https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v20n04_1962-04#page/n4/mode/1up A Planet for Plundering]'' (1962)
* ''The Masked World'' (1963)<ref>{{cite book|title=The Masked World|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53045|via=Project Gutenberg|publisher=Worlds of Tomorrow|access-date=12 January 2017|date=October 1, 1963}}</ref>
* ''Jamboree'' (1969)
* ''The Highest Dive'' (1976)
* ''The Humanoid Universe'' (1980)
* ''The Firefly Tree'' (1997)
* ''The Pet Rocks Mystery'' (1998)
* ''Eden Star'' (2000)
* ''The Ultimate Earth'' (2000; awarded the Hugo for Best Novella in 2001)
* ''Afterlife'' (2002; published in ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction|F&SF]]'' and collected in ''[[Year's Best SF 8]]''

=== Other ===
*  Will Acedeme Kill Science Fiction, ''[[Asimov's Choice Comets & Computers]]'' (Dale Books, 1978, {{ISBN|0-89559-022-0}})

=== Autobiography ===
* ''Wonder's Child: My Life in Science Fiction.'' Bluejay Books, New York, 1984. (Hardcover)<ref name="nyt061114"/>
* ''Wonder's Child: My Life in Science Fiction.'' Benbella Books, Dallas, 2005. (Paperback, updated with new photographs and epilogue)

=== Bibliography ===
* ''The Works of Jack Williamson: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide'', Richard A. Hauptmann (NESFA Press, 1997)

== See also ==
{{Portal |Science fiction}}
* [[Android (robot)|Android]]
* [[Anti-matter]]
* [[Genetic engineering]]—Williamson invented this term in ''Dragon's Island'' (1951) and it has since passed into common use
* [[Golden Age of Science Fiction]]
* [[Psionics]]
* [[Space opera]]
* [[Terraforming]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="nyt061114">
{{cite web
 |url         = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/obituaries/14williamson.html
 |title       = Jack Williamson, 98, an Author Revered in Science Fiction Field, Dies
 |author      = Fox, Margalit
 |date        = November 14, 2006
 |work        = [[The New York Times]]
 |access-date  = 2011-03-17
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20220606044803/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/obituaries/14williamson.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1300406040-vyvK%2FSrJzdw8YpLlLhYQ5g
 |archive-date = 2022-06-06
 |quote       = In 1985, Mr. Williamson received a Hugo Award for his memoir, 'Wonder’s Child: My Life in Science Fiction' (Bluejay Books, 1984). His 2001 novella 'The Ultimate Earth' won a Hugo, given by the World Science Fiction Society, and a Nebula Award, given by the [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]].
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref>

<ref name=isfdb>
{{ISFDB name|256}} (ISFDB). Retrieved 2013-03-24.</ref>

<!-- some awards refs -->
<ref name=SFAwards>[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit149.html#5647 "Williamson, Jack"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112085407/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit149.html#5647 |date=2013-11-12 }}. ''The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index of Literary Nominees''. [[Locus Publications]]. Retrieved 2013-03-24.</ref>
<ref name=SFWA>
[http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/events-program/grandmaster/ "Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123091612/http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/events-program/grandmaster/ |date=2013-01-23 }}. [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]] (SFWA). Retrieved 2013-03-24.</ref>
<ref name=sfhof-old>
[http://www.midamericon.org/halloffame/ "Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521070009/http://www.midamericon.org/halloffame/ |date=May 21, 2013 }}. Mid American Science Fiction and Fantasy Conventions, Inc. Retrieved 2013-03-24. This was the official website of the hall of fame to 2004.</ref>
<ref name=HWA>
[http://www.horror.org/laawd.htm "Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509115710/http://www.horror.org/laawd.htm |date=2013-05-09 }}. Horror Writers Association (HWA). Retrieved 2013-04-05.</ref>
}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
* [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Jack_Williamson.htm Williamson at FantasticFiction], with bibliography
* [http://www.infinitematrix.net/columns/clute/clute1.html John Clute on Jack Williamson]
* {{Gutenberg author |id=31775| name=Jack Williamson}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Jack Williamson |sopt=t}}
* {{ISFDB name|256}}
* {{iblist |type=author |id=1776|name=Jack Williamson}}
* [https://my.enmu.edu/web/golden-library/special-collections/jack-williamson-science-fiction Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library] at ENMU
* [http://www.enmu.edu/academics/colleges-departments/college-liberal-arts-sciences/department-languages-literature/special-programs/jack-williamson-lectureship Jack Williamson Lectureship] at ENMU
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130520091342/http://www.enmu.edu/about/news/story.php?r=141 Obituary] and  [https://web.archive.org/web/20130518214940/http://www.enmu.edu/about/news/story.php?r=143 Memorial] ENMU news releases, November 2006 (archived May 2013)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20021001223019/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue284/interview.html Interview] by Kathie Huddleston, ''[[Science Fiction Weekly]]'' (no date, first archived October 2002)
* [http://www.depauw.edu/SFs/interviews/williamson54interview.htm Interview] by literary critic [[Larry McCaffery]], ''[[Science Fiction Studies]]'' #54 18:2 (July 1991), with scholarly introduction (archived October 2013)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061118042429/http://www.sfwa.org/news/2006/jwilliamson.htm Obituary] at [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]] (archived November 2006)
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1534154/Jack-Williamson.html Obituary] in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', November 15, 2006
* {{sfhof|964}}
* {{LCAuth|n79027136|Jack Williamson|69|}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEjK5phFv1o Video of Williamson being interviewed in 1992]

===Audio===
* {{Librivox author |id=750}}
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6490319 NPR audio broadcast on Jack Williamson]
* [https://archive.org/download/OTRR_Dimension_X_Singles/Dimension_X_1950-04-15__02_WithFoldedHands.mp3 ''Dimension X'': "With Folded Hands"]
* Jack Williamson was interviewed by [[The Science Fiction Radio Show]] in the early 1980s

{{Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement}}
{{Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Awards}}
{{Hugo Award Best Novella}}
{{Nebula Award Best Novella}}
{{World Fantasy Award Life Achievement}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Jack}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]]
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[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:American academics of English literature]]
[[Category:American comics writers]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American male short story writers]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Analog Science Fiction and Fact people]]
[[Category:Eastern New Mexico University alumni]]
[[Category:Eastern New Mexico University faculty]]
[[Category:Hugo Award–winning writers]]
[[Category:Nebula Award winners]]
[[Category:People from Bisbee, Arizona]]
[[Category:People from Portales, New Mexico]]
[[Category:SFWA Grand Masters]]
[[Category:Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Science fiction academics]]
[[Category:American science fiction critics]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:University of Colorado alumni]]
[[Category:World Fantasy Award–winning writers]]
[[Category:Writers from New Mexico]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association]]