History of Science Fiction From a Personal Perspective

History, information and Entertaining Stories of Writers and Others

History of Science Fiction From a Personal Perspective


Kristine Kathryn Rusch and I have been around science fiction for a very long time. I sold my first short story to a small science fiction magazine fifty-one years ago.

During the early decades in the field of science fiction and fantasy, we got to know many of the writers who helped start and build the genre. You see, science fiction is a very young genre.

Granted Mary Shelly and Jules Verne and H.G. Wells wrote early stories, but it wasn't until the early 1920s with the advent of many pulp magazines that Hugo Gernsbeck coined the phrase "science fiction." So just over a hundred years old now.

So Kris and I are going to put our memories together and I am going to tell some stories about the fantastic men and women we met and got to know and learned from who were in those early days, and the middle generation as well.

This will be four weeks long with what we hope is a lot of knowledge and some entertaining stories. No assignments, just information and entertainment. Hope you join us.


Your Instructor


Dean Wesley Smith
Dean Wesley Smith

With over twenty-three million copies of his books in print, USA Today bestselling writer Dean Wesley Smith now brings you original fiction every month for the past three years in his own magazine, Smith’s Monthly.

Dean wrote over twenty-five original Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, plus Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man novels, and others. He wrote many gaming novels including Final Fantasy.

He wrote novels and stories under almost fifty pen names and did scripts for Hollywood as well as being an editor for various magazines. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife, writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch. You can follow his writing life at www.deanwesleysmith.com


Course Curriculum


  History of Science Fiction From a Personal Perspective
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
For lectures and classic workshops, the course starts now and stays on your dashboard for as long as you like! They are completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish. For the monthly regular workshops, each has a start date and each week's lectures will appear on the same day. After the course is finished it will remain on your dashboard for as long as you like.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
How do I contact someone about a course?
If you have any questions at all about anything in a course, simply email dean with the word "workshop" in the subject line. His email is dean.wmgworkshops@gmail.com

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