Unknown Unknown Fantasy Fiction Unknown Worlds
"Sinister Barrier" by Eric Frank Russell
Editor	John W. Campbell, Jr.
Categories	Pulp magazine
Frequency	Monthly (March 1939-December 1940) Bi-monthly (December 1940-October 1943)
First issue	March 1939
Final issue — Number	October 1943 40
Company	Street & Smith
Country	United States
Language	English

Unknown (also known as Unknown Worlds) was a pulp fantasy fiction magazine, edited by John W. Campbell, that was published from 1939 to 1943. John Wood Campbell Jr (June 8 1910 – July 11 1971 was an important Science fiction editor and writer Pulp magazines (or pulp fiction; often referred to as "the pulps" were inexpensive Fiction magazines Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications Inc was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as pulp fiction The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Pulp magazines (or pulp fiction; often referred to as "the pulps" were inexpensive Fiction magazines A fantasy fiction magazine or fantasy magazine is a Magazine which publishes primarily Fantasy fiction. John Wood Campbell Jr (June 8 1910 – July 11 1971 was an important Science fiction editor and writer Unknown was closely associated with the science fiction magazine Astounding Science Fiction, which was also edited by Campbell at the time; many authors and illustrators contributed to both magazines. Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American Science fiction Magazine.

In keeping with its relation to Astounding Science Fiction, the style and approach of the stories in Unknown was a hybrid between those of fantasy and science fiction. The premises of many of the stories were caused by unexpected, and often humorous, situations in which a traditional fantasy creature or concept is introduced into an otherwise ordinary world. For example, in de Camp’s "Nothing in the Rules", the manager of a swimming team tries to win a race by including a mermaid on the team. A mermaid is a Mythological aquatic creature that is half human half aquatic creature (e

Other stories take the opposite trope of applying a scientific logic in a traditional fantasy setting; the Harold Shea series is based upon the premise that traditional fantasy worlds, such as those in Norse mythology, are based upon the rules of mathematical logic. The "Harold Shea" Stories is a name given to a series of five Science fantasy stories by the collaborative team of L Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference.

Unknown also included some science fiction which used the themes of traditional fantasy. For example, Darker than You Think uses the premise that werewolves exist, but that they are not supernatural, and explains the traditional beliefs about them without using fantasy. See also Lycanthropy (disambiguation Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are mythological or folkloric humans with the ability to

Publication details

From its first issue until the end of 1940, the magazine was published on a monthly basis. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. From February 1941 through its demise, Unknown came out bi-monthly. Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. From February 1940 through August 1941, the magazine went by the title Unknown Fantasy Fiction, and for the rest of its publication run, it was known as Unknown Worlds. Money was saved on the last few issues by printing them without an illustration on the cover. Wartime paper shortages were blamed for the cancellation of the magazine.

In 1948, an anthology called From Unknown Worlds was edited by Campbell and published by Street and Smith in an attempt to see whether the market would support a resurrected Unknown, but nothing came out of it. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The anthology collected stories previously published in Unknown and was available as a pulp size paperback and as a hardcover.

In 1963, Pyramid Books published a paperback anthology of eleven Unknown stories called The Unknown. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Pyramid Books was a Paperback publishing company founded in 1949 by William Jovanovich with Almat Magazine Publishers ( Alfred R It was edited by D. R. Bensen, who also edited a second paperback anthology of five Unknown stories for Pyramid called The Unknown Five in 1964. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The anthologies were reprinted in 1970 and 1978, respectively. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar)

Isaac Asimov's story "Author! Author!" was accepted by Campbell for publication in Unknown, but the magazine was cancelled before it could appear. Isaac Asimov (c January 2 1920 &ndash April 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as, was a Russian Author! Author! is a Fantasy Short story written by Isaac Asimov. It eventually appeared in The Unknown Five.

Notable contributions

"The Roaring Trumpet" by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt

• "The Book of Ptath," by A. E. van Vogt
• "The Castle of Iron," by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (Harold Shea, or Incompleat Enchanter Series)
• "Darker Than Your Think," by Jack Williamson
• "Etaoin Shrdlu," by Fredric Brown
• "Fear," by L. Ron Hubbard
• "The Gnarly Man," by L. Alfred Elton van Vogt (April 26 1912 – January 26 2000 was a Canadian -born Science fiction author who was one of the most prolific Lyon Sprague de Camp, ( November 27 1907 – November 6 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author Murray Fletcher Pratt (1897–1956 was a Science fiction and Fantasy Writer; he was also well-known as a writer on Naval history and on the The "Harold Shea" Stories is a name given to a series of five Science fantasy stories by the collaborative team of L John Stewart Williamson ( April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006) who wrote as Jack Williamson (and occasionally under the Pseudonym Fredric Brown ( October 29, 1906, Cincinnati &ndash March 11, 1972) was an American Science fiction and Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13 1911 &ndash January 24 1986 was a fiction writer who devised a self-help technique called Dianetics and philosophy known as Scientology Sprague de Camp
• "Lest Darkness Fall," by L. Sprague de Camp
• "Divide And Rule," by L. Sprague de Camp
• "Magic, Inc.," by Robert A. Heinlein
• "The Mathematics of Magic," by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (Harold Shea, or Incompleat Enchanter Series)
• "The Roaring Trumpet," by L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt (Harold Shea, or Incompleat Enchanter Series)
• "Sinister Barrier," by Eric Frank Russell
• "Slaves of Sleep," by L. Magic Inc ( 1940) is a Novella by Robert A Heinlein. It was originally published in Unknown Fantasy Fiction, for September 1940 Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7 1907 – May 8 1988 was an American Novelist and Science fiction Writer. Lyon Sprague de Camp, ( November 27 1907 – November 6 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author Murray Fletcher Pratt (1897–1956 was a Science fiction and Fantasy Writer; he was also well-known as a writer on Naval history and on the The "Harold Shea" Stories is a name given to a series of five Science fantasy stories by the collaborative team of L Lyon Sprague de Camp, ( November 27 1907 – November 6 2000) was an American science fiction and fantasy author Murray Fletcher Pratt (1897–1956 was a Science fiction and Fantasy Writer; he was also well-known as a writer on Naval history and on the The "Harold Shea" Stories is a name given to a series of five Science fantasy stories by the collaborative team of L Ron Hubbard
• "Snulbug," by Anthony Boucher
• Early Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories including the first, "Two Sought Adventure," by Fritz Leiber
• "The Ultimate Egoist," by Theodore Sturgeon
• "It" by Theodore Sturgeon
• "Typewriter in the Sky," by L. Ron Hubbard
• "The Wheels of If," by L. Anthony Boucher (born William Anthony Parker White) ( August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968) was an American Science fiction Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are two seminal Sword-and-sorcery heroes created by Fritz Leiber (1910–1992 and loosely modelled upon himself and his friend Harry This article refers to the science fiction writer For the actor see Fritz Leiber Sr Theodore Sturgeon (born Edward Hamilton Waldo on February 26, 1918; died May 8, 1985) was an American Science fiction Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13 1911 &ndash January 24 1986 was a fiction writer who devised a self-help technique called Dianetics and philosophy known as Scientology Sprague de Camp
• "Trouble with Water" by Horace Gold

Unknown also published the first science fiction or fantasy stories by Leiber ("Two Sought Adventure"), Sturgeon ("A God in a Garden"), and James H. Schmitz ("Greenface"). Horace Leonard Gold ( April 26, 1914, Montreal Quebec, Canada - February 21, 1996, Laguna Hills California James Henry Schmitz ( October 15 1911 – April 18, 1981) was an American Writer born in Hamburg, Germany

External links

• Magazine datafile for Unknown