George Scithers

Born, 1929
Graduate, West Point, 1950
U.S. Army Signal Corps, 1950-1974
Editor, Amra, Sword & Sorcery, 1959-1982, 2 Hugos
First Published Story, 1969
Founded Owlswick Press, 1973
Editor, Asimov's SF Magazine, 1977-1982, 2 Hugos
Editor, Asimov's SF Adventure Magazine, 1978-1981
Editor, Amazing Stories, 1983-1986
Editor, Weird Tales, 1988-2008, World Fantasy Award (Shared with Darrell Schweitzer)

[Note: This is an ongoing interview, so if you have questions you'd like to see us ask Mr. Scithers for inclusion here, just let us know.]

MIGDALIN: Do you have any horror stories from digging through the slush pile?

SCITHERS: Three: The chap whose cover letter said, "I have had this story notarized, so that if you try to steal it . . ." I read no further, nor did I read the story.

The lady whose cover letter read, "Thiis is not science fiction; it is about Truth and Beauty, but you will like it anyway." I didn't read that one either.

The minor professional writer, who responded to a rejection of one of his stories with the threat that he would beat me up if we ever attended the same science fiction convention. Harlan Ellison, who knew the guy, intervened to calm him down.

MIGDALIN: So Harlan Ellison wasn't such a bad guy after all?

SCITHERS: Sometimes he is; sometimes he isn't.

MIGDALIN: Was Mr. Longyear fibbing when he talked of submissions "typed in purple ink on slices of bologna and mailed in a syrup barrel"?

SCITHERS: I hope so. Stories in really awful format are rare and have become rarer. Stories that begin with an uninteresting dump of background information and character resumes are just as common as ever. *sigh*

MIGDALIN: Did you do any editing or publishing while you were in the Army?

SCITHERS: None at all for the Army. I did start my fanzine Amra while I was in the Army.

MIGDALIN: Could you tell us about your working relationship with Darrell Schweitzer? How you got started working together, any salient anecdotes, etc.?

SCITHERS: When I became the first editor of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, I needed help in coping with submissions. Darrell was one of the Philadelphia fans who became assistant editors. We've been working together on various projects ever since.

MIGDALIN: What do you see as the key skills for an editor or assistant editor? Are you a fast reader? Are your tastes as a reader fairly eclectic?

SCITHERS: Being a fast reader; having a solid knowledge of grammar, including punctuation; [note the semi-colon there, and know why it belongs there], and enough reading of published science fiction to spot attempts at plagarism. ** Yes, I am a fast reader. ** I don't know.

1962, Best Fanzine, Amra, Hugo Nominee
1964, Best Fanzine, Amra, Hugo
1968, Best Fanzine, Amra, Hugo
1978, Best Editor, Asimov's SF, Hugo
1979, Best Artist, Vincent Di Fate, Hugo
1979, Best Editor, Asimov's SF, Hugo Nominee
1980, Best Novella, "Enemy Mine" by Barry B. Longyear, Hugo and Nebula
1980, John W. Campbell Award, Barry B. Longyear
1980, Best Artist, Michael Whelan, Hugo
1980, Best Editor, Asimov's SF, Hugo
1981, Best Artist, Michael Whelan, Hugo
1981, John W. Campbell Award, Somtow Sucharitkul
1981, Best Editor, Asimov's SF, Hugo Nominee
1982, Best Short Story, "Unicorn Variations" by Roger Zelazny, Hugo
1982, Best Artist, Michael Whelan, Hugo
1982, Best Editor, Asimov's SF, Hugo Nominee
1983, Best Editor, Amazing Tales, Hugo Nominee
1985, Best Editor, Amazing Tales, Hugo Nominee
1992, World Fantasy Award (Shared with Darrell Schweitzer)
2002, World Fantasy Award, Lifetime Achievement

Brian W. Aldiss, Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, George Barr, Michael Bishop, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Reginald Bretnor, Grendal Briarton, Charles N. Brown, John Brunner, F.M. Busby, Jack L. Chalker, A. Bertram Chandler, Arthur C. Clarke, Jo Clayton, Hal Clement, L. Sprague de Camp, Avram Davidson, Vincent Di Fate, Gordon R. Dickson, John M. Ford, Alan Dean Foster, Frank Kelly Freas, Martin Gardner, Randall Garrett, Jack Gaughan, Ron Goulart, James Gunn, Jack C. Haldeman II, Edward D. Hoch, Karl Kofoed, Nancy Kress, Keith Laumer, Tanith Lee, Fritz Leiber, Barry B. Longyear, F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre, Shawna McCarthy, Larry Niven, Kevin O'Donnell Jr., Frederick Pohl, Jerry Pournelle, Ted Reynolds, Alex Schomburg, Robert Silverberg, Sherwood Springer, Somtow Sucharitkul (S. Somtow), Stanley Schmidt, Sydney J. Van Scyoc, John Varley, Joan D. Vinge, Bob Walters, Sharon Webb, Michael Whelan, Jack Williamson, Richard Wilson, Gene Wolfe, William F. Wu, Roger Zelazny

Although I've never met him, I like Mr. Scithers so much because he was the first editor I ever submitted stories to, and he always managed to give feedback specific to each story. Let me tell you, that's impossible to find. Not hard, impossible. At first, the feedback was in the form of a sheet of paper that had the most common beginner mistakes printed out, with one of those mistakes circled.

Eventually, I worked my way through all (or most) of those errors and started getting hand-written or typed comments back. That kind of feedback is incredibly valuable when you're trying to figure out how to improve your writing. And so, because Mr. Scithers at least looked at my stories, and then took the time to comment on them, he's my favorite editor of all time.

In more-or-less chronological order, here are a few of the rejections I received from Mr. Scithers. (And I maintain this shows that I was getting better as a writer all along!):

• Alas, murky, and too little idea content to carry the story. [This came with a 3x5 card attached that defined "murky."]


• Jim, a problem needs a solution and a story needs a resolution. Your background, especially the science, isn't convincing.


• Sorry, no. The idea in this one has become a bit too old and overused. To work for us it must have something new and different. Please read our market report and then try another one on us, okay?


• "The Little Genius" is certainly well-written, but it is, nonetheless, merely an elaborate revelation of a Great Wonder, with a futile (from the nominal protagonist's point of view) ending. Send us something else.


• Jim, thanks for trying these rewrites. Technically both pieces are working much better, but I'm afraid that the ideas aren't going to work for us.


• Jim, This is pretty good. It held interest, but it is not, alas, irresistible. It's a bit lacking in focus.


• Jim, While we agree with the need to deal with lawyers thus, "Clarence" is too obvious too soon, and too much of a wish-fulfillment for us. Fun, though.

• Here's some good advice for aspiring writers from Mr. Scithers.


• Asimov's SF Magazine


• Weird Tales Magazine


• Kathryn Cramer has pictures of the program and some eye-opening facts for the 1963 Discon, for which Mr. Scithers was "Chairman, Parlimentarian, and Calculating Programmer."


• There's a brief biography of Mr. Scithers at Wiki.


• And another quick biographical sketch at Odyssey 2007 Workshop