Australian literary scholar and critic (1939–2018)
Peter Nicholls |
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 Nicholls on a 2014 Worldcon panel discussing The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |
| Born | Peter Douglas Nicholls
(1939-03-08)8 March 1939
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
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| Died | 6 March 2018(2018-03-06) (aged 78)
Melbourne, Victoria |
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| Occupation | Literary scholar, critic, writer |
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| Language | English |
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| Genre | Science fiction |
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| Children | Sophie Cunningham[1] |
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Peter Douglas Nicholls (8 March 1939 – 6 March 2018)[2] was an Australian literary scholar and critic. He was the creator and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction with John Clute.[3]
Early career
Born in Australia's state of Victoria in Melbourne, he spent two decades from 1968 to 1988 as an expatriate, first in the USA, and then the UK.[4]
Nicholls' early career was as a literary academic, originally with the University of Melbourne. He first travelled to the USA in 1968 with a Harkness Fellowship in movie making, and has scripted television documentaries.[3] His significant contributions to science fiction scholarship and criticism began during 1971, when he became the first Administrator of the Science Fiction Foundation (UK), a title he had until 1977.[4] He was editor of its journal, Foundation: The Review of Science Fiction, from 1974 to 1978.[4]
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
During 1979, Nicholls edited The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (published in the USA as The Science Fiction Encyclopedia), with John Clute as associate editor.[5][clarification needed]
Most of its 730,000 words were written by Nicholls, Clute and two contributing editors.[citation needed] It won the 1980 Hugo Award for the Nonfiction Book category.[6]
A completely revised, updated, and greatly expanded version of the Encyclopedia, co-edited with Clute, was published in 1993, and won the 1994 Hugo for the same category.[4] A further updating of the work, with revisions and corrections, was later issued in CD-ROM format.[4] The third edition, with Clute and David Langford, was released online as a beta text in October 2011.[4]
Other work
Nicholls' other major publications include: Science Fiction At Large (1976; reprinted 1978 with the title Explorations of the Marvellous), a collection of essays edited by Nicholls from a 1975 symposium; The Science in Science Fiction (1983) edited by Nicholls and written by him with David Langford and Brian Stableford; and Fantastic Cinema (1984; published in the USA as The World of Fantastic Films).[4] Genre Fiction: The Roaring Years (2022) is a posthumous collection of his reviews and essays which he had planned, titled and written an introduction for circa 2012 but was unable to complete.[7]
He won several awards for his scholarship, including the Science Fiction Research Association's Pilgrim Award (1980), an Eaton Award (1995) and a Peter McNamara Award (2006).[4] He broadcast movie and book reviews on BBC Radio from 1974 and worked as a publisher's editor 1982–1983.[3]
Nicholls was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease during 2000, which gradually curtailed his activities.[3] A movie about his interest and work in science fiction, titled The What-If Man, was completed in 2004.[8]
Personal life
Nicholls was the father of five children. His daughter is author and editor Sophie Cunningham.[1] He lived in Melbourne with his wife, Clare Coney, where he died on 6 March 2018 at the age of 78.[4]
References
External links
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