James Gunn, editor of
The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
and the six-volume anthology
The Road to Science Fiction
, is a retired professor of English at the University of Kansas, director of its Center for the Study of Science Fiction, and a full-time writer. He has written twelve novels and five collections of short stories, as well as
Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction.
He has been president of the Science Fiction Writers of America and the Science Fiction Research Association, and he has been the recipient of the Byron Caldwell Smith Award, the Pilgrim Award, and the Eaton Award. The first edition of
Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction
won the Hugo Award.