Overview of the Collection
Access
Administrative Information
Items Transferred to Rare Books
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Indexing: Added Entries
Indexing: Subjects
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: Robert Silverberg Papers
Dates (inclusive): 1953-1992
Collection Number: mssSIL 1-1882
Creator:
Silverberg, Robert.
Extent: 1,882 pieces + ephemera in 89
boxes + 1 oversize folder
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection contains the papers of American author and science fiction writer Robert Silverberg (born 1935). Includes
manuscripts of a selection of Silverberg’s literary works, mostly
dating from 1973-1995, as well as correspondence, dating from 1954-1992, that chiefly concerns his professional dealings in
relation to his writings and his business relationships
with publishing companies.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Robert Silverberg Papers, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Provenance
Gifts of Robert Silverberg, 1980-1988 (accession numbers: 511, 841, 852, 855,
930, 1011, 1168, 1169, 1170, 1171, 1172, 1173, 1174, 1175, 1176, 1177, 1178,
1179, 1180, 1181,1182, 1183, 1184, 1185, 1300, 1311, 1381, 1446, 1548, and
1596).
Items Transferred to Rare Books
These printed publications were removed from the collection and transferred to the
Rare Books Department:
-
Asimov’s Science Fiction vol. 19 no. 3 March
1995
-
Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine vol.
9 no. 12 December 1985
-
Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine vol.
14 no. 5 May 1990
-
Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction vol. 14 no. 2
February 1990
-
TransVersions Volume 1 Number 2
-
Amazing Stories vol. 69 number 3 Winter
1995
-
Analog Science Fiction and Fact vol. CXIV no.
14 December 1994
-
Analog Science Fiction and Fact vol. CXIV
Mid-December 1994
-
Analog Science Fiction and Fact vol. CXV Nos.
1 & 2 January 1995
-
Galaxy Number Eight vol. II issue 2 Mar/Apr
1995
-
Galaxy Number Seven vol. II issue 1 Jan/Feb
1995
-
Portti Science Fiction 3/1985 (In Russian?)
-
Science Fiction Age vol. 2 no. 1 November
1993
-
Locus: the Newspaper of the Science Fiction
Field. Issue 376 vol. 28 no.5 May 1992
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
Biographical Note
Robert Silverberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 15, 1935, to Michael
and Helen Silverberg. He was an only child. At an early age Silverberg began
writing, and by the time he entered his teenage years, he was submitting stories to
science fiction magazines. His first published novel
Revolt on
Alpha C
was released in 1955. In 1956, he won the Hugo Award for “Most
Promising New Author.” He was the youngest person ever to receive this award.
Simultaneously, Silverberg attended Columbia University where he earned a degree in
Comparative Literature in 1956. Upon graduation, Silverberg became a full time
writer.
For a brief period of time, Silverberg took a break from writing science fiction and
dabbled in other genres including nonfiction in the area of pre-history, archeology,
and exploration for both adults and the young adult audience. In addition to writing
nonfiction, he wrote a number of soft- core pornography novels under the pseudonym
Don Elliot and Elliot.
By the mid-1960s, Silverberg returned to the science fiction scene when Frederik
Pohl, the editor of
Galaxy, convinced him that the
science fiction audience had changed and a new more literate kind of story would
sell. In order to help entice Silverberg, Pohl gave him complete freedom which
allowed Silverberg’s writing to evolve. His major works released during this time
include
Nightwings,
Dying Inside,
Tower of Glass,
Thorns,
Downward to the Earth,
The Book of Skulls, and
Shadrach
in the Furnace.
He also wrote a number of short stories which received
much acclaim including
Sundance,
Born with the Dead,
Caliban, and
In Entropy’s
Jaws
. All of these works are considered to be vastly different from his
earlier ones and received the main concentration of his awards.
During Silverberg’s career, he wrote over 60 novels, 10 books in the
Majipoor series, 22 short story collections, 52
nonfiction works, and 16 anthologies. He has written under various pseudonyms:
Walker Chapman; Ivar Jorgenson; Calvin M. Knox; David Osborne; Robert Randall; and
Lee Sebastian. Silverberg has served as the President for the Science Fiction
Writers of America and was the American guest of Honor at the 28th World Science
Fiction Convention in Heidelberg, Germany in 1970. He has won the Hugo award three
times: in 1956 for Most Promising New Author; in 1969 for the novella
Nightwings; and in 1990 for best novelette
Enter a Solider. He has also won the Nebula award five
times: in 1969 for best short story
Passengers; in 1971
for best novel
A Time of Changes and best short story
Good News from the Vatican; in 1974 for best
novella
Born with the Dead; and in 1985 for best
novella
Sailing to Byzantium; and the Prix Apollo in
1976 for
Nightwings. In addition, he has won a Jupiter
award and the Locus award nine times. Silverberg has written for various magazines
and Ace Doubles. Since 2007, he has served as President of the Fantasy Amateur Press
Association. Currently, Silverberg resides in San Francisco, California, with his
wife, science fiction writer Karen Haber. In his spare time he likes to garden and
raise fuchsias and cacti. He also enjoys traveling and is interested in contemporary
literature and music, as well as, medieval geography.
Scope and Content
The papers of Robert Silverberg consists of manuscripts (Boxes 1- 52), correspondence (Boxes 53-78), ephemera (Box 79), and
oversize
(Boxes 80-89 + oversize folder).
The Manuscripts series (Boxes 1-52, 80-89) is arranged alphabetically by author and
title. The manuscripts include a selection of Silverberg’s literary works, mostly
dating from 1973-1995. Included in this series are: novels, anthologies, short
stories, novellas, essays, articles, book reviews, interviews, pilot scripts, galley
proofs, page proofs, and confirmation proofs. Most of the manuscripts in this series
are typed and appear to be close too, if not, the final revision.
Some of Silverberg’s works found within this series include:
Born with the Dead,
Capricorn Games,
Galactic Dreamers,
Gilgamesh the King,
How they Pass the time in Pelpel,
The Nebula Awards,
New Dimensions 2,
6,
7, and
8,
Nightwings,
Revolt on Alpha C,
Sundance and other science fiction stories, and
Time Gate Volume Two: Dangerous Interfaces. This series
also includes manuscripts by other authors, most notably Isaac Asimov, A.A.
Attanasio, Gregory Benford, Orson Scott Card, C.J. Cherryh, Ellen Datlow, Tom
DeHaven, Samuel R. Delany, Gordon R. Dickson, L. Ron Hubbard, Wolfgang Jeschke, Marc
Laidlaw, H.P. Lovecraft, Janet Morris, Larry Niven, Kim Stanley Robinson, Charles
Sheffield, S.P. Somtow, Bruce Sterling, Theodore Sturgeon, Harry Turtledove, Jack
Vance, and Dave Wolverton. There is also a biography of Philip K. Dick and a copy of
his last interview. Some of the manuscripts are too large to be stored with this
series and have been placed in oversize boxes 80-89.
The correspondence series (Boxes 53-78) is arranged alphabetically by author and
dates from 1954-1992. The series consists of letters regarding Silverberg’s
professional dealings in relation to his writings and his business relationships
with publishing companies. Publishing Companies found within the series include the
following: Arbor House Publishing Company, Ballantine Books (firm), Chilton Book
Company, Crowell- Collier Press, Donald I. Fine, Doubleday, Doran and Company,
Harper & Row Publishers, Macmillan Publishing Company, Random House (Firm),
Scott Meredith Literacy Agency, and Thomas Y. Crowell.
Also found within this series are letters from fellow science fiction authors and
editors including Isaac Asimov, Forrest J. Ackerman, Thomas D. Clareson, John Kilian
Houston Brunner, Richard Curtis, Jack Dann, Gerry de la Ree, Judy-Lynn Del Rey,
Howard DeVore, Phyllis Eisenstein, Alex Eisenstein, David Gerrold, Horace Leonard
(H.L.) Gold, Martin H. Greenberg, James E. Gunn, Wolfgang Jeschke, Wallace
Macfarlane, Steven E. McDonald, Sam Moskowitz, Frederik Pohl, Marta Randall, Charles
C. Ryan, Ivan Terence Sanderson, Michael Conner, Susan Wood, Günther M. Schelwokat,
S. P. Somtow, Bob Tucker, Bruce McAllister, George Slusser, Bud Webster, James W.
Wiggins, and Sidney Zion. In addition, there is a small amount of fan mail.
The Ephemera series (Box 79) is arranged alphabetically and the materials in the
series date from 1958-1984. Within the series are book covers from Silverberg’s
novels, a science fiction reading list for a course taught during the summer of
1976, indexes to science fiction and fantasy magazines, miscellaneous notes,
programs from conventions, proofs of illustrations from Amazing Science Fiction,
science fiction newsletters, and trade catalogs.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- 1. Manuscripts (Boxes 1-52)
- 2. Correspondence (Boxes 53-78)
- 3. Ephemera (Box 79)
- 4. Oversize (Boxes 80-89)
Additional names in the collection include:
- Analog Magazine. Addressee of Ernest Luning letter (1976, Aug. 30). SIL
909.
- Arbor House Publishing Company. Addressee of Sidney Zion letter (1984,
Jan. 3). SIL 1879.
- Asher, Ellen. Signer of letter under Literary Guild of America (1974, July
30) to Random House (Firm). SIL 887.
- Asimov, Isaac, 1920-1992. Addressee of Robert Silverberg letters
(1973-1974). SIL 1216-1217.
- Baig, Shirley. Signer of letter under New York times (1962, July 23) to
Robert Silverberg. SIL 987.
- Bakker, Robert T. Addressee of Robert Silverberg letter (1980, Apr. 24).
SIL 1218.
- Ballantine, Betty. Signer of Ballantine Books (Firm) letter (1972, Mar.
27) to Charles Scribner’s Sons. SIL 216.
- Ballantine Books (Firm). Addressee of Scott Meredith Literary Agency
letter (1976, July 2). SIL 1159.
- Bantam Books (Firm). Addressee of Chilton Book Company letter (1972 May
24). SIL 324.
- Biggle, Lloyd, 1923-2002. Addressee of Doubleday, Doran & Company
letter (1967, Aug 4). SIL 494.
- Burger, Knox. Signer of letter under Fawcett world library letters (1967)
to Scott Meredith. SIL 667-668.
- Chichak, Ted. Signer of letter under Scott Meredith Literary Agency (1976,
July 2) to Ballantine Books (Firm). SIL 1159.
- Chichak, Ted. Signer of letter under Scott Meredith Literary Agency
(1975-1980) to Doubleday, Doran & Company. SIL 1162-1164, 1169,
1170.
- Chichak, Ted . Signer of letter under Scott Meredith Literary Agency
(1976-1979) to New American Library. SIL 1171-1175.
- Chilton Book Company. Addressee of Bantam Books (Firm) letter (1972, May
26). SIL 276.
- Chilton Book Company. Addressee of Natural History Book Club letter (1962,
Oct. 24). SIL 985.
- Chilton Book Company. Addressee of Schocken Books letter (1965, Mar. 17).
SIL 1153.
- Chilton Book Company. Addressee of Scott Meredith Literary Agency letter
(1966, Jan. 14). SIL 1160.
- Clareson, Thomas D. Addressee of Robert A. Tibbetts letter (1981, Jan 12).
SIL 1846.
- Cosmo Publication (Firm). Addressee of Thomas D. Clareson letter (1980,
Dec. 22). SIL 421.
- Curtis Brown Ltd. Addressee of Thomas Y. Crowell, Publishers letter (1968,
June 11). SIL 1720.
- Del Rey, Judy-Lynn. Signer of numerous letters under Ballantine Books
(Firm) (1973- 1981) to Robert Silverberg. SIL 257, 258, 260-275.
- Dirda, Michael. Signer of Washington Post Company letter (1980, Sep. 15)
to Robert Silverberg. SIL 1865.
- Donald I. Fine Books. Addressee of Kirby McCauley letters (1986). SIL
972-973.
- Donald I. Fine Books. Addressee of Scott Meredith Literary Agency letter
(1985, Feb. 26). SIL 1161.
- Doubleday, Doran & Company. Addressee of Science Fiction Writers of
America letter (1970, Nov. 3). SIL 1157.
- Doubleday, Doran & Company . Addressee of Scott Meredith Literary
Agency letters (1975- 1980). SIL 1162-1170.
- Gordon, Charlotte. Signer of letter under Grosset & Dunlap (1970, Aug.
10) to Robert Silverberg. SIL 742.
- Gotschalk, Felix C. 1929-. Addressee of Martin Harry Greenberg letter
(1976, July 7). SIL 740.
- Groban, Betsy. Signer of letter under Little Brown and Company (1982, Mar.
23) to “Dear Reviewer.” SIL 908.
- Harper & Row, Publishers. Addressee of Alex Eisenstein letters (1977).
SIL 655-656.
- Harper & Row, Publishers. Addressee of Alex Eisenstein and Phyllis
Eisenstein, 1946-, letters (1977) to Harper & Row, Publishers. SIL
657-659.
- Literary Guild of America. Addressee of Robert Silverberg letters
(1968-1974). SIL 1561-1563.
- LoBrutto. Addressee of Lloyd Weyant letter (1979, Mar. 28). SIL
1871.
- MacMillan Publishing Company. Addressee of American Geographical Society
of New York letter (1970, Apr. 7). SIL 185.
- Mikesell, Phillip D. Signer of Wabash College letter (1980, Dec. 12) to
Robert Silverberg. SIL 1860.
- New American Library. Addressee of Scott Meredith Literary Agency letters
(1976-1979). SIL 1171-1175.
- Pohl, Frederik. Addressee of Howard Dale Hixson letter (1966, Mar. 26).
SIL 859.
- Rome, T. Herzl. Signer of letter under Schocken Books (1965, Mar. 17) to
Chilton Book Company. SIL1153.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of American Museum of Natural
History letter (1964, Aug. 20). SIL 187.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of Ballantine Books (Firm)
letters (1958-1970). SIL 217-218.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of Chilton Book Company letters
[1964-before 1974]. SIL 325-330.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of Collier Books (Firm) letter
(1969, July 2). SIL 442.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of Doubleday, Doran &
Company letters (1966-1977). SIL 497-506.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of Macmillan Publishing Company
letter (1971, July 13). SIL 912.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of New American Library letters
(1976-1978). SIL 988-996.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of Frederik Pohl letter [before
1992]. SIL 1024.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of Random House (Firm) letters
(1964, 1975). SIL 1102-1105.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of Ivan Terence Sanderson,
1911-1973, letters (1963). SIL 1150-1151.
- Scott Meredith Literary Agency. Addressee of Sue letter (1980, June 30).
SIL 1714.
- Thomas Y. Crowell, Publishing. Addressee of Mario Abriani letter (1968,
May 29). SIL 182.
- Thomas Y. Crowell, Publishing. Addressee of Scott Meredith Literary Agency
letter (1954, Aug. 3). SIL 1181.
- Torgeson, Roy. Signer of Zebra book letter (1979, Apr.) to “SFWA members.”
SIL 1877.
- Turner, Alice K. Addressee of Donald I. Fine letter (1985, July 12). SIL
727.
Additional subjects in the collection include:
- Dick, Philip K. Subject in Gregg Rickman
Philip K.
Dick: In His Own Words
: biography: pages I-255 (1984). SIL
60.
- Dick, Philip K. Subject in Gregg Rickman
Philip K.
Dick’s Last Interview
: interview: 17 pages (1981, Apr. 22).
Includes a printed copy of the article dated 1982, May. SIL 61.
- Dick, Philip K. Subject in Robert Silverberg “Quantity and Quality: The
Short Fiction: The Short Fiction of Philip K. Dick:” short story: 16 pages
(1991). Note published in book More Amazing stories by Kim Mohan. SIL
133.
- Dick, Philip K. Subject in Ephemera: Science Fiction Newsletters
(1977-1984). Box 79 (7).
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Dick, Philip
K.
Silverberg, Robert --
Archives.
Authors, American -- 20th century --
Archives.
Authors, American -- California --
Archives.
Publishers and publishing -- United
States -- Correspondence.
Science fiction, American.
Science fiction, American -- Women
authors.
Forms/Genres
Articles -- United States.
Business letters -- United States.
Ephemera -- 20th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- United
States -- 20th century.
Manuscripts for publication -- United
States -- 20th century.
Notes -- United States.
Personal Papers -- United States.
Professional Papers -- United States.
Additional Contributors
Ackerman, Forrest J.
Asimov, Isaac, 1920-1992.
Attanasio, A. A.
Benford, Gregory, 1941-.
Brunner, John, 1934-1995.
Card, Orson Scott.
Cherryh, C. J.
Clareson, Thomas D.
Curtis, Richard.
Dann, Jack.
Datlow, Ellen.
De Haven, Tom.
De la Ree, Gerry.
De Rey, Judy-Lynn.
Delany, Samuel R.
DeVore, Howard.
Dickson, Gordon R.
Gerrold, David, 1944-.
Gold, H. L. (Horace Leonard),
1914-1996.
Greenberg, Martin Harry.
Gunn, James E., 1923-.
Hubbard, L. Ron (La Fayette Ron),
1911-1986.
Eisenstein, Alex.
Eisenstein, Phyllis, 1946-.
Jeschke, Wolfgang.
Laidlaw, Marc.
Lovecraft, H. P. (Howard Phillips),
1890-1937.
McDonald, Steven E.
Moskowitz, Sam.
Morris, Janet, 1946-.
Niven, Larry.
Pohl, Frederik.
Rickman, Gregg.
Robinson, Kim Stanley.
Ryan, Charles C.
Sanderson, Ivan Terence, 1911-1973.
Sheffield, Charles.
Somtow, S. P.
Sterling, Bruce.
Sturgeon, Theodore.
Tucker, Bob.
Turledove, Harry.
Vance, Jack, 1916-.
Wolverton, Dave.
Webster, Bud.
Wiggins, James W. (James Wilhelm),
1914-.
Zion, Sidney.
Arbor House Publishing Company.
Ballantine Books (Firm)
Bantam Books (Firm)
Charles Scribner's Sons.
Chilton Book Company.
Crowell-Collier Press.
Doubleday, Doran & Company.
Harper & Row, Publishers.
Literary Guild of America.
Macmillan Publishing Company.
New American Library.
Random House (Firm)
Scott Meredith Literary Agency.
Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
Donald I. Fine Books.