I live in Claremont, California, with my wife Lynne, son Jeremy, and cats Skippy, Midnight, and Oreo; my daughter Allison Westfahl Kong, son-in-law Steven Kong, and grandchildren Serena and Derek Kong also live nearby, so we see them regularly. Two decent sources of information about me are my Wikipedia article and my entry in the online Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, both easily accessible.

Also, here is the short version of my vita; you would not be interested in the long, more detailed version of my vita, currently 71 pages long.

GARY WESTFAHL

E-mail: Gwwestfahl@yahoo.com or
gwestfahl@laverne.edu

EDUCATION

1975–1986      Ph.D., English and American Literature, Claremont Graduate University

1974–1975      M.A., English and American Literature, Claremont Graduate University

1969–1973      B.A., Mathematics and English, Carleton College (National Merit Scholar)

CURRENT EMPLOYMENT

Professor Emeritus, University of La Verne, where I worked from 1977 to 2017

Previous employment at the University of California, Riverside; California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Claremont McKenna College; Harvey Mudd College; Mt. San Antonio College; and elsewhere.

BOOKS AUTHORED, EDITED, OR CO-EDITED

An Alien Abroad: Science Fiction Columns from Interzone. By Gary Westfahl. Holicong Pennsylvania: Wildside Press, 2016.

Arthur C. Clarke. Modern Masters of Science Fiction. By Gary Westfahl. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2018.

Bridges to Science Fiction and Fantasy: Outstanding Essays from the J. Lloyd Eaton Conferences. Edited by Gregory Benford, Gary Westfahl, Howard V. Hendrix, and Joseph D. Miller. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2018.

The Case against Space, and Other Essays about the Space Program, Science Fiction, and the Contemporary World. By Gary Westfahl. Cabin John, Maryland: Wildside Press, forthcoming

Cosmic Engineers: A Study of Hard Science Fiction. By Gary Westfahl. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1996.

A Day in a Working Life: 300 Trades and Professions through History. Three volumes. By Gary Westfahl. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2015.

Foods of the Gods: Eating and the Eaten in Fantasy and Science Fiction. Edited by Gary Westfahl, George Slusser, and Eric S. Rabkin. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996.

Global Science Fiction: Essays on the International Imagination. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, forthcoming.

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders. Three volumes. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Foreword by Neil Gaiman. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2005.

Hugo Gernsback and the Century of Science Fiction. By Gary Westfahl. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers,  2007.

Immortal Engines: Life Extension and Immortality in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Edited by George Slusser, Gary Westfahl, and Eric S. Rabkin. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996.

Islands in the Sky: The Space Station Theme in Science Fiction Literature. By Gary Westfahl. Preface by Gregory Benford. San Bernardino, California: Borgo Press, 1996. Second Edition. Holicong: Borgo Press/Wildside Press, 2009.

Jules Verne Lives!: Essays on His Works and His Legacy. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2023.

The Mechanics of Wonder: The Creation of the Idea of Science Fiction. By Gary Westfahl. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1998.

No Cure for the Future: Disease and Medicine in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Edited by Gary Westfahl and George Slusser. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Nursery Realms: Children in the Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Edited by Gary Westfahl and George Slusser. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1999.

The Other Side of the Sky: An Annotated Bibliography of Space Stations in Science Fiction, 1869-1993. By Gary Westfahl. Holicong: Wildside Press/Borgo Press, 2009.

Reimagining Science Fiction: Essays on 21st Century Ideas and Authors. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2025.

The Rise and Fall of American Science Fiction, from the 1920s to the 1960s. By Gary Westfahl. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2019.

Science Fiction and Market Realities. Edited by Gary Westfahl, George Slusser, and Eric S. Rabkin. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996.

Science Fiction and the Dismal Science: Essays on Economics in and of the Genre. Edited by Gary Westfahl, Gregory Benford, Howard V. Hendrix, and Jonathan Alexander. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2019.

Science Fiction and the Prediction of the Future: Essays on Foresight and Fallacy. Edited by Gary Westfahl, Wong Kin Yuen, and Amy Kit-sze Chan. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2011.

Science Fiction and the Two Cultures: Essays on Bridging the Gap between the Sciences and the Humanities. Edited by Gary Westfahl and George Slusser. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2009.

Science Fiction, Canonization, Marginalization, and the Academy. Edited by Gary Westfahl and George Slusser. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Science Fiction, Children’s Literature, and Popular Culture: Coming of Age in Fantasyland. By Gary Westfahl. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000.

Science Fiction Literature Through History: An Encyclopedia. By Gary Westfahl. Two volumes. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2021. Includes brief original interviews with Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, David Brin, Ted Chiang, Samuel R. Delany, Ann Leckie, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Connie Willis.

Science Fiction Quotations: From the Inner Mind to the Outer Limits. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Foreword by Arthur C. Clarke. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.

Science Fiction: Toward a World Literature. By George Slusser. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Foreword by N. Katherine Hayles. Afterword by Gregory Benford. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2022.

The Science of Fiction and the Fiction of Science: Collected Essays on SF Storytelling and the Gnostic Imagination. By Frank McConnell. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Foreword by Neil Gaiman. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2009.

A Sense-of-Wonderful Century: Explorations of Science Fiction and Fantasy Films. By Gary Westfahl. Holicong: Wildside Press/Borgo Press, 2012.

Societies in Space: Essays on the Civilized Frontier in Film and Television. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2025.

Space and Beyond: The Frontier Theme in Science Fiction. Edited by Gary Westfahl. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000.

The Spacesuit Film: A History, 1918–1969. By Gary Westfahl. Foreword by Michael Cassutt. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2012. Revised and Expanded Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, forthcoming.

The Stuff of Science Fiction: Hardware, Settings, Characters. By Gary Westfahl. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishers, 2022.

Unearthly Visions: Approaches to Science Fiction and Fantasy Art. Edited by Gary Westfahl, George Slusser, and Kathleen Church Plummer. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2002.

William Gibson. Modern Masters of Science Fiction. By Gary Westfahl. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2013.

World Weavers: Globalization, Science Fiction, and the Cybernetic Revolution. Edited by Wong Kin Yuen, Gary Westfahl, and Amy Kit-sze Chan. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2005.

Worlds Enough and Time: Explorations of Time in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Edited by Gary Westfahl, George Slusser, and David Leiby. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Also edited or co-edited special issues of Extrapolation, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, and Science Fiction Studies.

FILM AND TELEVISION APPEARANCES

Appeared as interviewed expert in the documentaries New Visions of the Future: Prophecies III (1996), Visions from the Edge: The Art of Science Fiction (2005), Looking to the Stars: The Evolution of Space Films (2015), and Tune into the Future (2020). Provided voiceover commentary for the DVD film Jerome Bixby’s The Man from Earth (2007).

OTHER PUBLICATIONS AND SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES

Contributed 40 chapters to critical anthologies published by AMS Press, BenBella Books, Blackwell Publishers, Borgo Press, Cambridge University Press, Editions Rodopi, Greenwood Press, Guokr Publishing, Hirnkost Verlag, Hong Kong University Press, Jacob’s Ladder Books, Lexington Books, McFarland Publishers, Oxford University Press, Palgrave/Macmillan, Paragon House, Routledge, Salem Press, Southern Illinois University Press, University of Georgia Press, and Xenos Press, 1988–2026.

Contributed 72 articles and book reviews to the journals Extrapolation, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, Isis: Journal of the History of Science Society, Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, New York Review of Science Fiction, Paradoxa: Studies in World Literary Genres, Science Fiction Research Association Review, Science Fiction Studies, and Western Historical Quarterly, 1990–2012.

Contributed 46 articles to the magazines Interzone, Million: The Magazine about Popular Fiction, Monad: Essays on Science Fiction, The Report: The Fiction Writer’s Magazine, and Science Fiction Eye, 1991–2004.

Contributed 160 articles and film reviews to the websites and web magazines File 770, the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Substack, the Internet Review of Science Fiction, Locus Online, NOVA Online, Pop Culture Universe, Salon Futura, Strange Horizons, and the Virtual SF Project, 2001–2026.

Contributed 163 entries to reference books The Cambridge Companion to American Science Fiction, The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, Critical Survey of Long Fiction, Cyclopedia of World Authors, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, Fifty Key Figures in Science Fiction, Gay and Lesbian Biography, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Identities and Issues in Literature, Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Literature, The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science, The Oxford Handbook of Science Fiction, The St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers, The St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers, Science Fiction Writers, and Supernatural Fiction Writers, 1996–2015.

Contributed over 300 entries to the online references The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, The Literary Encyclopedia, and Pop Culture Universe, 2010–2025.

Academic Advisor for three entries in reference books Children’s Literature Review, Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, and Contemporary Literary Criticism, 2015–2026. Peer reviewer for articles submitted to CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, Extrapolation, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, Interdisciplinary Literary Studies: A Journal of Criticism and Theory, the website Pop Culture Universe, Religion and the Arts, and Science Fiction Studies. Peer reviewer of book proposals or manuscripts submitted to Cambridge University Press, Edinburgh University Press, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, McFarland Publishers, Southern Illinois University Press, Springer Publishing Company, University of Illinois Press, and the University Press of Mississippi. Peer reviewer for grant proposals to the Hong Kong Research Grants Council and the National Science Centre, Poland. All peer reviews 2000–2023.

SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS

2002, 2006, and 2008 Locus Award Nominee, Best Nonfiction Book (Space and Beyond; Science Fiction Quotations; The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy; Hugo Gernsback and the Century of Science Fiction)

2003 Pilgrim Award for Lifetime Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy Scholarship

2005 Hugo Award Nominee, Best Related Work (Science Fiction Quotations)