Worldcon GoHs: How Long in the Saddle?
It has become interesting to ask the age of Professional Guests of Honor at the World Science Fiction Convention. And how long they were working in the field before the Worldcon honored them.
Birth year vs. year of Worldcon for Professional Guests of Honor
Sources:
Wikipedia entries on individual World Science Fiction Conventions (Worldcons) and Guests of Honor and Internet Science Fiction Database (ISFDB) bibliographies of authors and editors.
Rules:
Science fiction, fantasy, and horror count.
From my graphs, I eliminated Pro GoHs not known as authors or editors (e.g. artists, an essayist (Ley), GoHs from TV and motion pictures). In the case of some artists, it was difficult to learn the date of their first work in the field.
I eliminated the Ballantines because I'm not sure of the date of their first SF or fantasy work.
Most GoHs primarily known as editors have also written stories; I used date of first sale to mark their entry into the field.
I'm not sure I have accurate figures on the first sales of Wolfgang Jeschke, Josef Nesvadaba, or Sakyo Komatsu. I did the best I could.
Ages are calculated hastily as the difference between birth year and Worldcon year, rather than scrupulously by looking at the calendar date of each. Think of them as estimates.
Goofs:
I left Elisabeth Vonarburg out when I made the graphs. Born 1947, GoH in 2009, first sale 1979. Sorry.
Years Since First Contribution to SF vs. Worldcon Year
Birth Year minus Year of First Contribution to SF vs. Worldcon Year
(Somebody want to teach me how to make tables out of these kinds of lists?)
Earliest Birth Year
Lastname Firstname Birth Year
Gernsback Hugo 1884
Smith Edward E 1890
Leinster Murray 1896
Hamilton Edmond 1904
Simak Clifford 1904
Simak Clifford 1904
Hull E. Mayne 1905
Heinlein Robert A 1907
Heinlein Robert A 1907
de Camp L Sprague 1907
Heinlein Robert A 1907
Williamson Jack 1908
Campbell John W 1910
Eshbach Lloyd 1910
Leiber Fritz 1910
Campbell John W 1910
Campbell John W 1910
Leiber Fritz 1910
Boucher Anthony 1911
Moore C L 1911
van Vogt A.E. 1912
Chandler A Bertram 1912
Norton Andre 1912
Bester Alfred 1913
Wollheim Donald A 1914
Brackett Leigh 1915
del Rey Lester 1915
Vance Jack 1916
Turner George 1916
Bloch Robert 1917
Clarke Arthur C. 1917
Bloch Robert 1917
Sturgeon Theodore 1918
Farmer Philip Jose 1918
Tubb E C 1919
Pohl Frederik 1919
Lessing Doris 1919
Asimov Isaac 1920
Bradbury Ray 1920
Tenn William 1920
Blish James 1921
Knight Damon 1922
Clement Hal 1922
Dickson Gordon 1923
Aldiss Brian W 1925
Aldiss Brian 1925
Strugatsky Arkady 1925
Harrison Harry 1925
Matheson Richard 1926
Anderson Poul 1926
Nesvadaba Josef 1926
McCaffrey Anne 1926
Franke Herbert W 1927
Willhelm Kate 1928
White James 1928
Sheckley Robert 1928
LeGuin Ursula 1929
Wolfe Gene 1931
Budrys Algis 1931
Komatsu Sakyo 1931
Bova Ben 1932
Strugatsky Boris 1933
Ellison Harlan 1934
Brunner John 1934
Silverberg Robert 1935
Jeschke Wolfgang 1936
Zelazny Robert 1937
Niven Larry 1938
Moorcock Michael 1939
Greenberg Martin Harry 1941
Benford Gregory 1941
Delany Samuel R 1942
Cherryh C J 1942
Haldeman Joe 1943
Baen James 1943
Priest Christopher 1943
Schmidt Stan 1944
Vinge Vernor 1944
Dozois Gardner 1947
Vonarburg Elisabeth 1947
Martin George R R 1948
Pratchett Terry 1948
Willis Connie 1948
Bujold Lois McMaster 1949
Brin David 1950
Bear Greg 1951
Gaiman Neil 1960
Least Experienced
Lastname Firstname Years in biz
Heinlein Robert A 2
Hull E. Mayne 4
van Vogt A.E. 7
Lessing Doris 8
Matheson Richard 8
Boucher Anthony 9
Aldiss Brian W 10
Anderson Poul 11
Franke Herbert W 12
Leiber Fritz 12
Smith Edward E 12
Bloch Robert 13
LeGuin Ursula 14
Silverberg Robert 15
Asimov Isaac 16
Farmer Philip Jose 16
Campbell John W 17
Greenberg Martin Harry 17
Nesvadaba Josef 17
Clarke Arthur C. 19
Tubb E C 19
Blish James 20
Eshbach Lloyd 20
Wolfe Gene 20
Zelazny Robert 20
Haldeman Joe 21
Turner George 21
Cherryh C J 22
Heinlein Robert A 22
Bujold Lois McMaster 23
Ellison Harlan 23
Sturgeon Theodore 23
Aldiss Brian 24
Brackett Leigh 24
Campbell John W 24
Gaiman Neil 24
Willhelm Kate 24
Brin David 26
Baen James 27
Bear Greg 27
Campbell John W 27
de Camp L Sprague 29
del Rey Lester 29
Niven Larry 29
Strugatsky Arkady 29
Strugatsky Boris 29
Brunner John 30
Schmidt Stan 30
Vonarburg Elisabeth 30
Jeschke Wolfgang 31
Martin George R R 32
Delany Samuel R 33
Benford Gregory 34
Dickson Gordon 34
Dozois Gardner 35
Pohl Frederik 35
Vinge Vernor 36
Willis Connie 36
Heinlein Robert A 37
Bloch Robert 38
Chandler A Bertram 38
Hamilton Edmond 38
Harrison Harry 39
Knight Damon 39
Moorcock Michael 39
Priest Christopher 39
Bova Ben 40
Leiber Fritz 40
Simak Clifford 40
Gernsback Hugo 41
McCaffrey Anne 41
Pratchett Terry 41
Norton Andre 42
White James 43
Leinster Murray 44
Bradbury Ray 45
Budrys Algis 45
Komatsu Sakyo 47
Moore C L 47
Vance Jack 47
Bester Alfred 48
Clement Hal 49
Williamson Jack 49
Simak Clifford 50
Sheckley Robert 53
Wollheim Donald A 54
Tenn William 58
First Sale Age
Lastname Firstname First sale age
Pratchett Terry 15
Zelazny Robert 17
Bloch Robert 18
Bloch Robert 18
Pohl Frederik 18
Asimov Isaac 19
Blish James 19
Brunner John 19
Dozois Gardner 19
Eshbach Lloyd 19
Knight Damon 19
Moorcock Michael 19
Campbell John W 20
Campbell John W 20
Campbell John W 20
Clarke Arthur C. 20
Clement Hal 20
Delany Samuel R 20
Silverberg Robert 20
Williamson Jack 20
Wollheim Donald A 20
Bradbury Ray 21
Budrys Algis 21
Ellison Harlan 21
Sturgeon Theodore 21
Anderson Poul 22
Hamilton Edmond 22
Vinge Vernor 22
Willis Connie 22
Bear Greg 23
del Rey Lester 23
Jeschke Wolfgang 23
Leinster Murray 23
Martin George R R 23
Moore C L 23
Priest Christopher 23
Benford Gregory 24
Matheson Richard 24
Schmidt Stan 24
Sheckley Robert 24
Brackett Leigh 25
Gaiman Neil 25
Strugatsky Boris 25
White James 25
Bester Alfred 26
Haldeman Joe 26
Harrison Harry 26
Niven Larry 26
Tenn William 26
Dickson Gordon 27
Gernsback Hugo 27
McCaffrey Anne 27
Simak Clifford 27
Simak Clifford 27
van Vogt A.E. 27
Bova Ben 28
Willhelm Kate 28
Komatsu Sakyo 29
Leiber Fritz 29
Leiber Fritz 29
Vance Jack 29
Aldiss Brian 30
Aldiss Brian W 30
Baen James 30
Boucher Anthony 30
de Camp L Sprague 30
Brin David 31
Franke Herbert W 31
Chandler A Bertram 32
Heinlein Robert A 32
Heinlein Robert A 32
Heinlein Robert A 32
LeGuin Ursula 32
Tubb E C 32
Vonarburg Elisabeth 32
Greenberg Martin Harry 33
Strugatsky Arkady 33
Cherryh C J 34
Farmer Philip Jose 34
Wolfe Gene 34
Nesvadaba Josef 35
Norton Andre 35
Bujold Lois McMaster 36
Hull E. Mayne 37
Smith Edward E 38
Lessing Doris 60
Turner George 62
Birth year vs. year of Worldcon for Professional Guests of Honor
Sources:
Wikipedia entries on individual World Science Fiction Conventions (Worldcons) and Guests of Honor and Internet Science Fiction Database (ISFDB) bibliographies of authors and editors.
Rules:
Science fiction, fantasy, and horror count.
From my graphs, I eliminated Pro GoHs not known as authors or editors (e.g. artists, an essayist (Ley), GoHs from TV and motion pictures). In the case of some artists, it was difficult to learn the date of their first work in the field.
I eliminated the Ballantines because I'm not sure of the date of their first SF or fantasy work.
Most GoHs primarily known as editors have also written stories; I used date of first sale to mark their entry into the field.
I'm not sure I have accurate figures on the first sales of Wolfgang Jeschke, Josef Nesvadaba, or Sakyo Komatsu. I did the best I could.
Ages are calculated hastily as the difference between birth year and Worldcon year, rather than scrupulously by looking at the calendar date of each. Think of them as estimates.
Goofs:
I left Elisabeth Vonarburg out when I made the graphs. Born 1947, GoH in 2009, first sale 1979. Sorry.
Years Since First Contribution to SF vs. Worldcon Year
Birth Year minus Year of First Contribution to SF vs. Worldcon Year
(Somebody want to teach me how to make tables out of these kinds of lists?)
Earliest Birth Year
Lastname Firstname Birth Year
Gernsback Hugo 1884
Smith Edward E 1890
Leinster Murray 1896
Hamilton Edmond 1904
Simak Clifford 1904
Simak Clifford 1904
Hull E. Mayne 1905
Heinlein Robert A 1907
Heinlein Robert A 1907
de Camp L Sprague 1907
Heinlein Robert A 1907
Williamson Jack 1908
Campbell John W 1910
Eshbach Lloyd 1910
Leiber Fritz 1910
Campbell John W 1910
Campbell John W 1910
Leiber Fritz 1910
Boucher Anthony 1911
Moore C L 1911
van Vogt A.E. 1912
Chandler A Bertram 1912
Norton Andre 1912
Bester Alfred 1913
Wollheim Donald A 1914
Brackett Leigh 1915
del Rey Lester 1915
Vance Jack 1916
Turner George 1916
Bloch Robert 1917
Clarke Arthur C. 1917
Bloch Robert 1917
Sturgeon Theodore 1918
Farmer Philip Jose 1918
Tubb E C 1919
Pohl Frederik 1919
Lessing Doris 1919
Asimov Isaac 1920
Bradbury Ray 1920
Tenn William 1920
Blish James 1921
Knight Damon 1922
Clement Hal 1922
Dickson Gordon 1923
Aldiss Brian W 1925
Aldiss Brian 1925
Strugatsky Arkady 1925
Harrison Harry 1925
Matheson Richard 1926
Anderson Poul 1926
Nesvadaba Josef 1926
McCaffrey Anne 1926
Franke Herbert W 1927
Willhelm Kate 1928
White James 1928
Sheckley Robert 1928
LeGuin Ursula 1929
Wolfe Gene 1931
Budrys Algis 1931
Komatsu Sakyo 1931
Bova Ben 1932
Strugatsky Boris 1933
Ellison Harlan 1934
Brunner John 1934
Silverberg Robert 1935
Jeschke Wolfgang 1936
Zelazny Robert 1937
Niven Larry 1938
Moorcock Michael 1939
Greenberg Martin Harry 1941
Benford Gregory 1941
Delany Samuel R 1942
Cherryh C J 1942
Haldeman Joe 1943
Baen James 1943
Priest Christopher 1943
Schmidt Stan 1944
Vinge Vernor 1944
Dozois Gardner 1947
Vonarburg Elisabeth 1947
Martin George R R 1948
Pratchett Terry 1948
Willis Connie 1948
Bujold Lois McMaster 1949
Brin David 1950
Bear Greg 1951
Gaiman Neil 1960
Least Experienced
Lastname Firstname Years in biz
Heinlein Robert A 2
Hull E. Mayne 4
van Vogt A.E. 7
Lessing Doris 8
Matheson Richard 8
Boucher Anthony 9
Aldiss Brian W 10
Anderson Poul 11
Franke Herbert W 12
Leiber Fritz 12
Smith Edward E 12
Bloch Robert 13
LeGuin Ursula 14
Silverberg Robert 15
Asimov Isaac 16
Farmer Philip Jose 16
Campbell John W 17
Greenberg Martin Harry 17
Nesvadaba Josef 17
Clarke Arthur C. 19
Tubb E C 19
Blish James 20
Eshbach Lloyd 20
Wolfe Gene 20
Zelazny Robert 20
Haldeman Joe 21
Turner George 21
Cherryh C J 22
Heinlein Robert A 22
Bujold Lois McMaster 23
Ellison Harlan 23
Sturgeon Theodore 23
Aldiss Brian 24
Brackett Leigh 24
Campbell John W 24
Gaiman Neil 24
Willhelm Kate 24
Brin David 26
Baen James 27
Bear Greg 27
Campbell John W 27
de Camp L Sprague 29
del Rey Lester 29
Niven Larry 29
Strugatsky Arkady 29
Strugatsky Boris 29
Brunner John 30
Schmidt Stan 30
Vonarburg Elisabeth 30
Jeschke Wolfgang 31
Martin George R R 32
Delany Samuel R 33
Benford Gregory 34
Dickson Gordon 34
Dozois Gardner 35
Pohl Frederik 35
Vinge Vernor 36
Willis Connie 36
Heinlein Robert A 37
Bloch Robert 38
Chandler A Bertram 38
Hamilton Edmond 38
Harrison Harry 39
Knight Damon 39
Moorcock Michael 39
Priest Christopher 39
Bova Ben 40
Leiber Fritz 40
Simak Clifford 40
Gernsback Hugo 41
McCaffrey Anne 41
Pratchett Terry 41
Norton Andre 42
White James 43
Leinster Murray 44
Bradbury Ray 45
Budrys Algis 45
Komatsu Sakyo 47
Moore C L 47
Vance Jack 47
Bester Alfred 48
Clement Hal 49
Williamson Jack 49
Simak Clifford 50
Sheckley Robert 53
Wollheim Donald A 54
Tenn William 58
First Sale Age
Lastname Firstname First sale age
Pratchett Terry 15
Zelazny Robert 17
Bloch Robert 18
Bloch Robert 18
Pohl Frederik 18
Asimov Isaac 19
Blish James 19
Brunner John 19
Dozois Gardner 19
Eshbach Lloyd 19
Knight Damon 19
Moorcock Michael 19
Campbell John W 20
Campbell John W 20
Campbell John W 20
Clarke Arthur C. 20
Clement Hal 20
Delany Samuel R 20
Silverberg Robert 20
Williamson Jack 20
Wollheim Donald A 20
Bradbury Ray 21
Budrys Algis 21
Ellison Harlan 21
Sturgeon Theodore 21
Anderson Poul 22
Hamilton Edmond 22
Vinge Vernor 22
Willis Connie 22
Bear Greg 23
del Rey Lester 23
Jeschke Wolfgang 23
Leinster Murray 23
Martin George R R 23
Moore C L 23
Priest Christopher 23
Benford Gregory 24
Matheson Richard 24
Schmidt Stan 24
Sheckley Robert 24
Brackett Leigh 25
Gaiman Neil 25
Strugatsky Boris 25
White James 25
Bester Alfred 26
Haldeman Joe 26
Harrison Harry 26
Niven Larry 26
Tenn William 26
Dickson Gordon 27
Gernsback Hugo 27
McCaffrey Anne 27
Simak Clifford 27
Simak Clifford 27
van Vogt A.E. 27
Bova Ben 28
Willhelm Kate 28
Komatsu Sakyo 29
Leiber Fritz 29
Leiber Fritz 29
Vance Jack 29
Aldiss Brian 30
Aldiss Brian W 30
Baen James 30
Boucher Anthony 30
de Camp L Sprague 30
Brin David 31
Franke Herbert W 31
Chandler A Bertram 32
Heinlein Robert A 32
Heinlein Robert A 32
Heinlein Robert A 32
LeGuin Ursula 32
Tubb E C 32
Vonarburg Elisabeth 32
Greenberg Martin Harry 33
Strugatsky Arkady 33
Cherryh C J 34
Farmer Philip Jose 34
Wolfe Gene 34
Nesvadaba Josef 35
Norton Andre 35
Bujold Lois McMaster 36
Hull E. Mayne 37
Smith Edward E 38
Lessing Doris 60
Turner George 62