John W Campbell

John Wood Campbell, Jr. (Newark, New Jersey, June 8, 1910-Mountainside, New Jersey, July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor.

As a writer, he published several stories in science fiction magazines in the 1930s, under his name or with various pseudonyms, among which Don A. Stuart stands out. His most important work is the short novel Who Goes There? (1948), which recounts the discovery in Antarctica of a crashed spaceship thousands of years ago and, three meters from the strange apparatus, the corpse of an alien, which is thawed to study its biology, with fatal consequences. This text was made into a film under the title The Thing from Another World (1951), directed by Christian Nyby, and The Thing (1982), directed by John Carpenter. In Spanish-speaking countries these films are known by various names, such as La cosa or El enigma de otro mundo.

His main contribution to the genre, however, was not going to be in writing, but in editing. In 1938 Orlan B. Tremaine chose Campbell to replace him as editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine. From his editor's position, Campbell sponsored a veritable revolution in science fiction at the time: new themes, new authors and, above all, a much more rigorous treatment of science, as well as a greater literary quality in the story. In general, he favored a much more adult treatment of science fiction stories, moving them away from the hitherto widespread cliché of "adventures for teenagers." The public of science fiction magazines responded favorably to this new line and the result of this is the absolute predominance of Astounding during that time, called the Golden Age of science fiction.

Campbell's Circle

For his project to remake science fiction, Campbell discovered and cultivated a whole series of new writers (some of them very young fans) who later became bona fide "stars" of the genre.. The best known is Isaac Asimov, but among Campbell's favorite writers (and his readers) were A. E. van Vogt or Robert A. Heinlein. This group of authors closely linked to the publisher was known as the "Campbell Circle", and among them were authors such as (in addition to those already mentioned) Clifford D. Simak, L. Sprague de Camp, Lester del Rey or Theodore Sturgeon.

John W. Campbell (left) and Hal Clement (right) at the 14th Worldcon in 1956.

In the 1950s, Campbell's tastes leaned towards hard science fiction authors like Hal Clement or Poul Anderson.

Campbell's Black Legend

Campbell's influence on science fiction also has its chiaroscuro. As director of the most important magazine of the genre, he imposed his vision of it, rejecting authors that he did not consider sufficiently scientific in his approach. The most cited case in this regard is that of Ray Bradbury.

But not only his detractors, but also his closest collaborators, have spoken about the influence of his beliefs. Isaac Asimov says in his anthology of short stories The early Asimov (published in Spanish as La Edad de Oro):

Campbell liked stories in which human beings proclaimed themselves superior to other intelligences, even though they were more technologically advanced. [...]

However, I was sometimes assaulted by the unpleasant idea that this attitude reflected Campbell's feelings on a smaller scale on Earth. He gave me the impression that he accepted the natural superiority of the Americans over the rest of humanity, and seemed to presume that the Americans came from the northwest of Europe.

I can't say Campbell was racist in any bad sense of the word. [...] However, it meant that the stereotype of Nordic white was the real representative of the Scout Man, the Intrepid Man, or the Victorious Man.

(Quotation from The Golden Age II, Isaac Asimov, Jet Collection 136/8, © 1987 Plaza y Janés editors, ISBN 84-01-49658-6)

In addition, Campbell believed in Dianetics and other pseudosciences.

Awards in his honor

Campbell's figure is fundamental to the consolidation of science fiction as we understand it today. That is why not one, but several awards bear the name of the distinguished editor. The John W. Campbell Memorial Award is an important award given in his honor since 1973. Also since that year, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer was given at the World Science Fiction Convention or Worldcon . This award was renamed the Astounding Award in 2020.

Additional bibliography

• Nevala-Lee, Alec (2018). Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction (in English). Dey Street. ISBN 978-0-06-257194-6.