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The year 1950 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events.

Births and deaths

Births

• William Barton
• James Blaylock
• David Brin
• Paul Cook
• Ian Douglas (pseudonym of William H. Keith, Jr.)
• William R. Forstchen
• Karen Joy Fowler
• Martin Grzimek
• K. W. Jeter
• John Kessel
• Stephen R. Lawhead
• Kirk Mitchell
• Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. (d. 2012)
• Mary Doria Russell
• Lewis Shiner
• Karlheinz Steinmüller
• Michael Swanwick
• Michael Szameit (d. 2014)
• Steve Rasnic Tem

Deaths

• Edgar Rice Burroughs (b. 1875)
• Erle Cox (b. 1873)
• George Orwell (b. 1903)
• Olaf Stapledon (b. 1886)

Events

• Galaxy Science Fiction begins publishing.
• Doubleday begins publishing science fiction.

Literary releases

Serialized novels

• The Five Gold Bands by Jack Vance, Startling Stories (November), an adventure where a man seeks the secret to interstellar travel hidden in five gold bracelets.
• The Hand of Zei by L. Sprague de Camp, Astounding Science Fiction (October – January 1951), two explorers face piracy and royal intrigue while searching for a missing person and dealing with forbidden love.
• The Wizard of Linn by A. E. van Vogt, Astounding Science Fiction (April - June), a mutant lord uses alien technology to combat ancient invaders and reshape humanity's fate.

First editions

• The Cometeers by Jack Williamson, a fix-up novel combining two stories from the Legion of Space series.
• Cosmic Engineers by Clifford D. Simak, a tale of advanced technology and cosmic exploration.
• The Dreaming Jewels by Theodore Sturgeon, in this debut novel, a runaway boy finds refuge in a circus and gets involved in a battle over alien power.
• First Lensman by E. E. "Doc" Smith, an epic space opera in the Lensman series, won the Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2001.
• The House That Stood Still by A. E. van Vogt, examines the impact of alien technology on humanity.
• The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, chronicles human colonization of Mars and its unforeseen consequences.
• Needle by Hal Clement, a symbiotic alien detective partners with a human boy to track down a criminal on Earth.
• Nomad by George O. Smith, a man uses knowledge gained from Martians to conquer the Solar System.
• Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov, this debut novel explores identity and rebellion in a future Earth scenario.
• The Rat Race by Jay Franklin, a naval officer becomes entangled in espionage and experiences bizarre transformations.
• Shadow on the Hearth by Judith Merril, depicts the aftermath of nuclear war on a suburban family.
• The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. van Vogt, follows the Space Beagle and describes its encounters with alien civilizations.

Novellas

• The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein, a visionary businessman uses unconventional methods to achieve lunar exploration, part of the Future History series.

Novelettes

• "The Little Black Bag" by Cyril M. Kornbluth, Astounding Science Fiction (July).

Short stories

• "Born of Man and Woman" by Richard Matheson, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (July)
• "Scanners Live in Vain" by Cordwainer Smith, Fantasy Book (January)
• "The Shadow Men" by A. E. van Vogt, Startling Stories, expanded into the novel The Universe Maker in 1953.
• "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury, Collier's Weekly (May 6)
• "To Serve Man" by Damon Knight, Galaxy Science Fiction (November)

Short story collections

• The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
• The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (fix-up collection)

Juveniles

• Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein, a Heinlein juvenile describing the challenges faced by a young farmer on a distant planet.

Movies

Awards

The main science-fiction awards known at the present time did not exist at this time.

See also

• 1950 in science

Notes

1. The Cometeers (1936) and One Against the Legion (1939), both published in Astounding Stories.
2. Originally serialized in Astounding Stories in 1939.
3. ^ Considered a novel, but composed of short stories.
4. Originally serialized in three parts in Astounding beginning in December 1944, under Smith's pseudonym, Wesley Long.
5. A fix-up compilation of four stories previously published between July 1939 and May 1950.
6. Winner of a Retroactive Hugo Award in 2001.

References

1. James, Edward; Mendlesohn, Farah (2003). Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. xxii. ISBN 978-0-521-01657-5.
2. Clute, John (1995). Science Fiction: the Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 68. ISBN 0-7894-0185-1.

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• Fiction set in 1950
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