The Golden Age of Science Fiction


An umbrella term that applies to a wide variety of science fiction published from the mid 1930s to the mid 1940s.  

Science fiction of the Golden Age ranged from poetic sophistication to anti-literary raw stories, and was seen as innovative and imaginative.

Many of the short stories published in the Golden Age were published in pulp magazines.  These stories were often written by  men for young male readers.

John W. Campbell was the editor of one such magazine, Astounding Stories, which he re-titled Astounding Science Fiction in 1938.  The stories published in Astounding defined science fiction for the decades to come.

The Golden Age ended in the mid 1940s, replaced in the pulp market by action comics.  

For more information:
Clute and Nicholls, eds. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. London: Orbit, 1999.
www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/timeline.html




Prepared by:  JM, Fall 2002





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