David Langford
David Langford | |
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Born | David Rowland Langford 10 April 1953 Newport, Wales, United Kingdom |
Occupation(s) | Author, editor, critic |
Relatives | Jon Langford (brother) |
David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953)[1] is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science-fiction fanzine and newsletter Ansible and holds the all-time record for most Hugo Awards, with a total of 29 wins.[2]
Personal background
David Langford was born and grew up in Newport, Wales, before studying for a degree in Physics at Brasenose College, Oxford,[3] where he first became involved in science fiction fandom. Langford is married to Hazel and is the brother of the musician and artist Jon Langford.
His first job was as a weapons
Langford has worn a hearing aid since childhood,[5] and increasing hearing difficulties have reduced Langford's participation in some fan activities. His own jocular attitude towards the matter led to a 2003 chapbook anthology of his work being titled Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man.[6]
Literary career
Fiction
As a writer of fiction, Langford is noted for his
His novelette An Account of a Meeting with Denizens of Another World, 1871, published in 1979, is an account of a
Langford also had one serious science fiction novel published in 1982, The Space Eater.[11] The 1984 novel The Leaky Establishment satirises the author's experiences at Aldermaston.[12] His 2004 collection Different Kinds of Darkness is a compilation of 36 of his shorter, non-parodic science fiction pieces, the title story of which won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2001.[13]
Basilisks
A number of Langford's stories are set in a future containing images, colloquially called "basilisks", which crash the human mind by triggering thoughts that the mind is physically or logically incapable of thinking.[14][15] The first of these stories was "BLIT" (Interzone, 1988); others include "What Happened at Cambridge IV" (Digital Dreams, 1990); "comp.basilisk FAQ",[16] and the Hugo-winning[17] "Different Kinds of Darkness" (F&SF, 2000).
The idea has appeared elsewhere; in one of his novels,
The image's name comes from the basilisk, a legendary reptile said to have the power to cause death with a single glance.
Non-fiction and editorial work
Editor | David Langford |
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Categories | Science fiction related |
Frequency | Monthly |
First issue | August 1979 |
Company | Ansible Information |
Country | United Kingdom |
Website | http://news.ansible.co.uk/ |
ISSN | 0265-9816 |
Langford has won numerous
Ansible has for many years advertised that paper copies are available for various unlikely items[23] such as "SAE, Fwai-chi shags or Rhune Books of Deeds".[24] In 1996, Ursula K. Le Guin wrote: "Tell me what I can send in exchange for Ansible. In Oregon we grow many large fir trees; also we have fish."[25]
Langford wrote the science fiction and fantasy book review column for White Dwarf from 1983 to 1988, continuing in other British role-playing game magazines until 1991; the columns are collected as The Complete Critical Assembly (2001). He has also written a regular column for the SFX magazine, featuring in every issue from its launch in 1995 to #274 dated July 2016.[26] A tenth-anniversary collection of these columns appeared in 2005 as The SEX Column and other misprints; this was shortlisted for a 2006 Hugo Award for Best Related Book. Further SFX columns are collected in Starcombing: columns, essays, reviews and more (2009), which also includes much other material written since 2000.
David Langford has also written columns for several computer magazines, notably
A collection of nonfiction and humorous work, Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man, was published in 1992 by NESFA Press. This was incorporated into a follow-up collection, consisting of 47 nonfiction pieces and three short stories, and published as The Silence of the Langford in 1996. Up Through an Empty House of Stars (2003) is a further collection of one hundred reviews and essays.
Much of Langford's early book-length publication was futurological in nature. War in 2080: The Future of Military Technology, published in 1979, and The Third Millennium: A History of the World AD 2000-3000 (1985), jointly written with fellow science fiction author Brian Stableford, are two examples. Both these authors also worked with Peter Nicholls on The Science in Science Fiction (1982). Within the broader field of popular non-fiction, Langford co-wrote Facts and Fallacies: a Book of Definitive Mistakes and Misguided Predictions (1984) with Chris Morgan.
Langford assisted in producing the second edition of
Excluding collections, Langford's most recent professionally published book is The End of Harry Potter? (2006), an unauthorised companion to the famous series by
Since 2011 he has devoted most of his time to Ansible, Ansible Editions and The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
He has been a guest of honour at Boskone, Eastercon twice, Finncon, Microcon three times, Minicon (see List of past Minicons), Novacon, OryCon twice, Picocon several times, and Worldcon (see List of Worldcons).
Awards
Langford holds the all-time record for most Hugo Awards, with a total of 29 wins.[a] He has won 21 Hugos for Best Fan Writer, five for Ansible as Best Fanzine, another for Ansible as Best Semiprozine, one for Different Kinds of Darkness as Best Short Story, and one for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as Best Related Work.[29] Langford also has the second highest number of Hugo nominations at 55 (behind Mike Glyer at 57).[2] He had a 19-year winning streak and 31-year streak of nominations for "Best Fan Writer" that came to an end in 2010.[29]
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Bibliography
Short fiction
- Collections
- Langford, David (2003). ISBN 1592240585.
- Langford, David (2004). ISBN 1592241220.
Non-fiction
- Collections
- Langford, David (1992). Ben Yalow (ed.). Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man. Cover by Merle Insinga. NESFA Press.
- Book reviews
Year | Review article | Work(s) reviewed |
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2000 | Langford, David (July 2000). "[Untitled review]". Curiosities. F&SF. 99 (1): 162. | Richardson, Maurice (1950). The Exploits of Engelbricht. |
2001 | Langford, David (January 2001). "[Untitled review]". Curiosities. F&SF. 100 (1): 162. | Hinton, C. Howard (1904). The Fourth Dimension. |
See also
- The Riddle of the Universe and Its Solution
Notes
- ^ This is a joint record shared with Charles N. Brown of Locus.[2]
References
- ^ a b c "Authors : Langford, David : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia". Sf-encyclopedia.com. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ a b c "Hugo Awards Tallies". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ a b "David Langford - an infinity plus profile". Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Home". ai.ansible.uk.
- ^ "The Sound (If Any) of Music". ansible.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ "Let's Hear It For the Deaf Man". Nesfa.org. 25 June 2003. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "Earthdoom by David Langford and John Grant".
- ^ "Guts by David Langford and John Grant".
- ^ a b Langford, David (26 May 1988). Myths in the Making. New Scientist.
- ^ Langford, David. "Will U Kindly F O?". ansible.uk.
- ^ "The Space Eater by David Langford - an infinity plus review".
- ^ "Answers from the author of Ansible - Interviews - Publishing and editorial - BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT". Bcs.org. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ Christopher-priest.co.uk Archived 2016-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
- OCLC 1224044572.)
David Langford's Blit (1988) features images generated by fractals that drive people insane.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ "Author Spotlight: David Langford". Lightspeed Magazine. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ISSN 1476-4687.
- ^ "2001 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ a b "What if ... the human brain could be hacked into?". Ansible.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "David Langford – Christopher Priest".
- ^ "The Lid Ripped Off!". SFX (9). February 1996.
- ISBN 9780199838844.
- ^ "Ansible 300, July 2012". News.ansible.co.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "Ansible Masthead Spoilers". News.ansible.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "Ansible 344, March 2016". News.ansible.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "Ansible 104, March 1996". News.ansible.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "'Langford' SFX Column Index". Ansible.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
- ^ "Ansible Editions". Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund site". Retrieved 22 August 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "David Langford Awards". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
External links
- Official website (Ansible.UK) – both Langford and Ansible
- David Langford biographical entry at The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 3rd ed. (co-edited by Langford)
- David Langford at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- David Langford at Library of Congress, with 10 library catalogue records