Harlan Jay Ellison (1934 – 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of Psycho, described Ellison as “the only living organism I know whose natural habitat is hot water”
His published works include more than 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, comic book scripts, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. Some of his best-known works include the 1967 Star Trek episode “The City on the Edge of Forever” (he subsequently wrote a book about the experience that includes his original screenplay), his A Boy and His Dog cycle, and his short stories “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” and “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman”. He was also editor and anthologist for Dangerous Visions (1967) and Again, Dangerous Visions (1972). Ellison won numerous awards, including multiple Hugos, Nebulas, and Edgars.
Ellison won eight Hugo Awards, a shared award for the screenplay of A Boy and his Dog that he counted as “half a Hugo”, and two special awards from annual World SF Conventions; four Nebula Awards of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA); five Bram Stoker Awards of the Horror Writers Association (HWA); two Edgar Awards of the Mystery Writers of America; two World Fantasy Awards from annual conventions; and two Georges Méliès fantasy film awards. In 1987, Ellison was awarded the Inkpot Award.
In his 1981 book about the horror genre, Danse Macabre, Stephen King reviewed Ellison’s collection Strange Wine and considered it one of the best horror books published between 1950 and 1980.
Harlan Ellison won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1993. HWA gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996[103] and the World Horror Convention named him Grand Master in 2000. He was awarded the Gallun Award for Lifetime Achievement in Science Fiction from I-CON in 1997.
SFWA named him its 23rd Grand Master of fantasy and science fiction in 2006 and the Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in 2011. That year he also received the fourth J. Lloyd Eaton Lifetime Achievement Award in Science Fiction, presented by the UCR Libraries at the 2011 Eaton SF Conference, “Global Science Fiction”.
As of 2013, Harlan Ellison is the only three-time winner of the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. He won his other Nebula in the novella category.
Harlan Ellison – First Editions Identification Guide
Note: This list only includes books published prior to 1977.
| Year | Title | Publisher | First edition/printing identification points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | ALL THE SOUNDS OF FEAR | [St. Albans]: Panther, [1973] | Wrappers. First published in 1973 ... on copy right page. Panther 586 03899 X (30p). Abridged reprint. Collects eight of the twenty stories from ALONE AGAINST TOMORROW. |
| 1971 | ALONE AGAINST TOMORROW | New York: The Macmillan Company, [1971] | First printing so stated on © page. |
| 1974 | APPROACHING OBLIVION | New York: Walker and Company, 1974 | Boards. First edition so stated on © page. |
| 1969 | THE BEAST THAT SHOUTED LOVE AT THE HEART OF THE WORLD | [New York]: Avon, [1969] | Wrappers. First Avon Printing, July, 1969 on © page. Avon V2300 (75¢). Note: Contains changes made without the author's permission. ALSO: New York: Avon, [1970]. Boards. Code 05 L on page 243. No statement of printing on © page. First hardcover edition. Notes: (1) Issued by the Science Fiction Book Club. (2) The authorized text. ALSO: [London].* Millington, [1976]. Boards. First published in Great Britain in 1976 ... on © page. Abridged. Drops three stories appearing in the U.S. editions, "Along the Scenic Route," "The Place With No Name," and "Shattered Like a Glass Goblin." Note: Photo-offset from plates of the U.S. book club edition. |
| 1977 | THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER | Toronto New York London: Bantam Books, [1977] | Wrappers. November 1977/0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on © page. A Bantam Book 11345-3 ($1.95). Star Trek at head of title. |
| 1955 | THE DEADLY STREETS | New York: Ace Books, Inc., [1955] | Wrappers. No statement of printing on © page. Ace Book D-312 (35¢). ALSO: New York: Pyramid Books, [1975]. Wrappers. First Pyramid Edition: September 1975 on © page. Pyramid V3931 ($1.25). Enlarged edition. Adds new introduction and five stories, "Rat Hater," "The Man with the Golden Tongue," "The Hippie- Slayer," "Sob Story" (in collaboration with Henry Slesar), and "Ship-Shape Pay-Off" (in collaboration with Robert Silverberg). |
| 1975 | DEATHBIRD STORIES | New York Evanston San Francisco London: Harper & Row, Publishers, [1975] | Boards with cloth shelf back. First edition so stated on © page. |
| 1967 | DOOMSMAN | New York: Belmont Books, [1967] | Wrappers. August 1967 on © page. A Belmont Double Book B50-799 (50¢). Bound with TELEPOWER by Lee Hoffman. |
| 1964 | EARTHMAN, GO HOME | New York: Paperback Library, Inc., [1964] | Wrappers. First Printing: June, 1962/Second Printing: December, 1964 on © page. Paperback Library 52-508 (50¢). Reprint of ELLISON WONDERLAND. |
| 1962 | ELLISON WONDERLAND | New York: Paperback Library, [1962] | Wrappers. First printing: June, 1962 on © page. Paperback Library Silver Edition 52-149 (50¢). Reissued as EARTHMAN, GO HOME. ALSO: [New York]: New American Library, [1974]. Wrappers. First Printing, August, 1974/1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 on © page. Signet Y6041 ($1.25). New introduction and notes by the author. Drops "The Forces That Crush" and adds "Back to the Drawing Boards." |
| 1967 | FROM THE LAND OF FEAR | New York: Belmont Books, [1967] | Wrappers. December 1967 on © page. Belmont Science Fiction B60-069 (60¢). |
| 1961 | GENTLEMAN JUNKIE | Evanston, Illinois: Regency Books, [1961] | Wrappers. Published June 1961 on © page. RB 102 (50¢). ALSO: New York: Pyramid Books, [1975]. Wrappers. First Pyramid Edition: August 1975 on © page. Pyramid V3933 ($1.25). Revised edition. Preface replaced with new introduction. Drops "The Time of the Eye" and adds "Turnpike." Some stories revised. |
| 1967 | I HAVE NO MOUTH AND I MUST SCREAM | New York: Pyramid Books, [1967] | Wrappers. First printing April, 1967 on © page. Pyramid Science Fiction X-1611 (60¢). |
| 1961 | THE JUVIES | New York: Ace Books, Inc., [1961] | Wrappers. No statement of printing on © page. Ace D-513 (35¢). |
| 1968 | LOVE AIN'T NOTHING BUT SEX MISSPELLED | New York: Trident Press, [1968] | Boards with cloth shelf back. No statement of printing on © page. ALSO: New York: Pyramid Books, [1976]. Wrappers. First Pyramid edition: February 1976 on © page. Pyramid M3798 ($1.75). New edition. Drops old introduction and adds a new one; drops nine stories and adds one story and two nonfiction pieces. |
| 1960 | THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES | New York: Ace Books, Inc.,[1960] | Wrappers. No statement of printing on © page. Ace Double Novel Books D-413 (35¢). Bound with A TOUCH OF INFINITY by Ellison. |
| 1975 | NO DOORS, NO WINDOWS | New York: Pyramid Books, [1975] | Wrappers. Pyramid edition published November 1975 on © page. Pyramid A3799 ($1.50). |
| 1970 | OVER THE EDGE | New York: Belmont Books, [1970] | Wrappers. May 1970 on © page. Belmont B75-1091 (75¢). |
| 1965 | PAINGOD AND OTHER DELUSIONS | New York: Pyramid Books, [1965] | Wrappers. First printing, December 1965 on © page. Pyramid Science Fiction R-1270 (50¢). Note: Second printing (not so marked) retains the first printing notice but bears stock number X-1991 and the price is increased to 600. ALSO: New York: Pyramid Books, [1975], Wrappers. Pyramid edition published March 1975 on © page. Pyramid V3646 ($1.25). Enlarged edition. Adds new introduction and short story "Sleeping Dogs." Some story notes revised. |
| 1971 | PARTNERS IN WONDER | New York: Walker and Company, 1971 | Boards. First published in the United States of America in 1971 on © page. Short stories by Ellison, most in collaboration with others. |
| 1975 | PHOENIX WITHOUT ASHES | Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Publications, Inc., [1975] | Wrappers. First printing: February 1975/1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 on © page. Fawcett Gold Medal M3188 (95¢). With EDWARD BRYANT. |
| 1961 | ROCKABILLY | Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Publications, Inc., [1961] | Wrappers. First printing October 1961 on © page. Gold Medal Book si 161 (35¢). Reprinted as SPIDER KISS. |
| 1955 | RUMBLE | New York: Pyramid Books, [1955] | Wrappers. Pyramid Books Edition 1958 on © page. Pyramid Books G352 (35¢). Reissued as WEB OF THE CITY. |
| 1959 | SEX GANG | N.p.: Nightstand Books, [1959] | Wrappers. No statement of printing on © page. NB 1503 asn (50¢). Paul Merchant, pseudonym. |
| 1975 | SPIDER KISS | New York: Pyramid Books, [1975] | Wrappers. Pyramid edition published July 1975 on © page. Pyramid V3883 ($1.25). Originally published as ROCKABILLY. Textural revisions and new "Author's Note." |
| 1974 | THE TIME OF THE EYE | [Frogmore, St Albans]: Panther, [1974] | Wrappers. First published in Great Britain in 1974 on © page. Panther 586 03935 X (35p). Abridged reprint. Collects twelve of the twenty stories from ALONE AGAINST TOMORROW. |
| 1960 | A TOUCH OF INFINITY | New York: Ace Books, Inc., [1960] | Wrappers. No statement of printing on © page. Ace Double Novel Books D-413 (35¢). Bound with THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES by Ellison. |
| 1975 | WEB OF THE CITY | New York: Pyramid Books, [1975] | Wrappers. New Pyramid edition: December 1975 on © page. Pyramid A4061 ($1.50). Reissue of RUMBLE with new introduction by Ellison. |
Reference:
- Wikipedia
- . W. Currey, Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction and Selected Nonfiction.
