Image of Sturgeon wearing his “Ask the next question” necklace, courtesy of the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust.
Theodore Sturgeon (February 26, 1918 - May 8, 1985) was the author of over 200 short stories and books, including More Than Human, Venus Plus X, and The Dreaming Jewels. He was a Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy award winner, and an inspiration to countless other writers, including greats like Robert Heinlein, Samuel Delaney, Octavia Butler, Ray Bradbury, and Kurt Vonnegut. He also wrote two episodes of the original Star Trek series, coining the Vulcan phrase "Live long and prosper" in the 1967 episode “Amok Time”.
Not a writer of "hard" science fiction, Sturgeon is instead known for his humanist and socially conscious approach to writing, incorporating progressive ideas about psychology, gender, sexuality, and war. He wrote compassionately about his characters, many of whom were loners and outcasts.
In 2018, in honor of the centenary of Sturgeon’s birth, The Museum of Science Fiction asked writers and artists to read Sturgeon’s stories and respond with original works of short fiction and visual art. Selected participants shared their stories and artwork at the Museum’s “More Than Human Holiday” gathering in December, where Nebula, Sturgeon, and Hugo Award-winning author Sarah Pinsker also did a reading of Sturgeon's short story "The Hurkle Is a Happy Beast." The Museum is now pleased to make these Sturgeon-inspired works available to a wider public through this collection on our website.
The collection indexed below includes short stories by Karen Osborne, Vivian Shaw, Arkady Martine, Glenn Dixon, Bron Treanor, Sarah Eberhardt, Lauren C. Johnson, Joe Gregor, Jordan McLaughlin and Carl Rauscher and art by Bonaia Rosado, Maggie Famiglietti, Raul Zahir De Leon, and Maurice Buckley.
In these works, we meet people stranded in difficult terrain on alien worlds, traveling through time both literally and figuratively, and using their final breaths to ignite revolution. As in Sturgeon’s own work, moments of tenderness, bravery and the uncanny pervade, as human beings navigate extraordinary circumstances.
The Museum wishes to thank the participating writers and artists for their time and creativity. Special thanks to Noël Sturgeon, the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust, Sarah Pinsker, Vivian Shaw, and Comet Ping Pong for their help with this project. This LA Times article by Scott Bradfield also served as inspiration.
INDEX
2. Karen Osborne - “It Will Bear Watching”
3. Bron Treanor - “Full of Infinity”
4. Vivian Shaw - “The Utmost Bound”
5. Raul Zahir De Leon - Flesh of My Flesh
7. Jordan McLaughlin - “You Are My Good Luck Charm”
8. Maggie Famiglietti - Intersection at Dirbanu
9. Lauren C. Johnson - “Lopsided Heart”
10. Arkady Martine – “With Roses I Won the Right”
12. Sarah Eberhardt - “You Are The Future”
13. Carl Rauscher - “Questions”
14. Joseph Gregor - “The Man Who Found the Sea”
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The Museum of Science Fiction is a nonprofit working to bring a physical museum space to the Washington, DC area that will provide a comprehensive history of the genre of science fiction across the arts. Over Memorial Day weekend in May of 2019, the museum will be holding it's annual Escape Velocity convention at the National Harbor in DC.