Murray Leinster

BIOGRAPHY

June 16, 1896 - June 8, 1975

Murray Leinster was the nom de plume of William Fitzgerald Jenkins. He was born in Norfolk, VA on June 16, 1896. During World War I, he served with the Committee of Public Information and the United States Army (1917-1918). Following the war, Leinster became a free-lance writer. In 1921, he married Mary Mandola. They had four daughters. During World War II, he served in the Office of War Information. He won the Liberty Award in 1937 for "A Very Nice Family," the 1956 Hugo Award for Best Novelette for "Exploration Team," a retro-Hugo in 1996 for Best Novelette for "First Contact." Leinster was the Guest of Honor at the 21st Worldcon in 1963. In 1995, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History was established, named after Leinster's story "Sidewise in Time."

Leinster holds patent #2727427, issued on December 20, 1955 for an "Apparatus for Production of Light Effects in Composite Photography" and patent 2727429, issued the same day for an "Apparatus for Production of Composite Photographic Effects."

Non-Fiction

  • as Will F. Jenkins, "Applied Science Fiction," Analog, 11/67.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "Go Poultryman, Thou Writer," Writer's Digest, 7/37.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "He's Simply Nuts," Writer's Digest, 5/42.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "I Don't Dig Those Beats," Space Diversions,#11, 1960.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "I'm About Fed Up," Writer's Digest, 1/35.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "An Interview with Murray Leinster," Fantasy Magazine, 10-11/34.
  • "Science Non-Fiction in Fanzines," The Grotesque, 1/48.
  • "To Build a Robot Brain," Astounding, 4/54.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "What Do You Mean--Success in Writing?" Writer's Digest, 5/37.
  • "Where Are Those Space Ships?" Startling Stories, 8/53.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "Will Jenkins Says," PITFiCS, 8/61.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "What's in a Pro?," Writer's Digest, 7/53.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "Which Story?" Writer's Digest, 1/36.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "Why I Use a Pen Name," Fantasy Magazine, 10-11/34.
  • as Will F. Jenkins, "Why I Use a Pen Name," Xenophile, 7/75.

Non-Fiction About Leinster

  • -----------, "Will Jenkins Dies," Locus, June 24, 1975.
  • Forrest Ackerman, World of Science Fiction, General Publishing Group, Inc., 1997.
  • Graham Andrews, "Fit to Be Tied," Million:  The Magazine About Popular Fiction, 12/92.
  • Anonymous, "Historical Premonitions of the Information Superhighway," Wired, 8/94.
  • Anonymous, “Sideways in Crime: The Mysteries of Murray Leinster," The Armchair Detective Autumn 1983.
  • Anonymous, “Tribute to Will F. Jenkins/Murray Leinster," Xenophile, 7/75.
  • Benjamin Appel, The Fantastic Mirror, Pantheon, 1969.
  • Brian Ash, The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Pan Books, 1977.
  • Isaac Asimov, More Soviet Science Fiction, Collier, 1962.
  • Isaac Asimov, Yours, Isaac Asimov:  A Lifetime of Letters, Doubleday, 1995.
  • George Beaham, Stephen King:  America's Best-Loved Boogeyman, Andrews McMeel 1998.
  • J. Stephen Bolhafner, “Guide to Cyberspace," Starlog, 3/94.
  • Perry Chapdeline, Sr., ed. The John Campbell Letters, Vol. I, A.C. Projects, 1985.
  • John Clute, Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, Dorling Kindersley, 1994.
  • John Clute & Peter Nicholls, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, St. Martin's, 1991.
  • John Clute, "Murray Leinster," The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition, Gollancz, 2011.
  • Bland Crowder, "Mind Over Matter," Virginia Living, October 2008.
  • Donald B. Day, “Author, Author," Fanscient Spring 1949.
  • Lester del Rey, The World of Science Fiction, Ballantine, 1979.
  • Andy Duncan, "It's All SF: Science Fiction, Southern Science Fiction, and the Case of Murray Leinster," Foundation.
  • James Gunn, Alternate Worlds, The Illustrated History of Science Fiction, Prentice-Hall, 1975.
  • James Gunn, The Road to Science Fiction: From Wells to Heinlein, NAL 1979.
  • Lall Finlay Hernandez & Gerry de la Ree, Virgil Finlay's Women of the Ages, Underwood Books, 1992
  • Daryl S. Herrick, "The Doc Savage Lawsuit That Wasn't," Doc Savage Forum
  • Damon Knight, In Search of Wonder, Advent 1956.
  • Brooks Landon, Science Fiction After 1900:  From the Steam Man to the Stars, Routledge 2002.
  • Anne McCaffrey, Cooking Out of This World, Ballantine, 1973. rep. Wildside, 1992.
  • Sam Moskowitz, Seekers of Tomorrow, World Publishing Co., 1966.
  • Will Murray, "Pulphouse #3: Leinster's Lost Letter," Pulp Adventures #12, 1999.
  • Peter Nicholls, The Science Fiction Encyclopedia, Dolphin Books, 1979.
  • Ronald Payne, The Last Murray Leinster Interview, Waves Press, 1982.
  • Franz Rottensteiner, The Science Fiction Book: An Illustrated History, NAL 1975.
  • Dominic Salvatore, ed. The Paperback Goes to School: A Basic Resource Paperback Guide for Teachers, Librarians and Social Administrators, Bipad, 1966.
  • Baird Searles, Martin Last, Beth Meacham & Michael Franklin, The Reader's Guide to Science Fiction, Avon, 1979.
  • Robert Silverberg, “Reflections: The Wheels Keep on Rolling," Asimov's, 8/99.
  • Robert Silverberg, "A Logic Named Will," Asimov's, 12/08.
  • Billee J. Stallings & Jo-an J. Evans, Murray Leinster: The Life and Works, McFarland, 2011.
  • Theodore Sturgeon, "Will Jenkins:  An Appreciation," Locus, 6/75.
  • Michael Swanwick, "Will Jenkins's Greatest Invention," New York Review of Science Fiction, 12/11.
  • Donald H. Tuck, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Advent, 1974.
  • Jack Zipes, The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales, Oxford University Press 2000.

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