Loading ...Pseudonyms
Compiled and Edited
by
Jon D. Swartz
N3F Historian
While not as prevalent today as in the past, science fiction, fantasy, and horror (SF/F/H) authors continue to use pseudonyms (pen names). Reasons for this practice include the following: 1) Publishers of prolific authors want to avoid flooding the market with many books by the same author; 2) Magazine editors want to disguise the fact that two different stories in an issue are by the same author; 3) Anthology/magazine editors want to disguise the fact that one or more of the stories they include is by the editor himself/herself; 4) Authors write in different genres and want to have a particular name associated with a particular genre; 5) Authors with names similar to those of other writers use pen names to avoid confusing the reader; 6) Collaborations between (among) authors are disguised by a pen name; 7) A publisher has a series of stories and wants to be able to continue the series without interruption if the author doing the series leaves, so s/he requires the stories to be written under a “House” name; 
An author wants to disguise his/her sex to make the story more credible; 9) Authors want to disguise authorship because of personal revelations made, the sensitive nature of the story, the quality of the story, to conceal their writing activities from their principal employer and/or their colleagues, etc.
There are some SF/F/H authors whose genre fiction has been published almost exclusively under their pen names (e. g., William Fitzgerald Jenkins writing as Murray Leinster). When felt to be appropriate, the pseudonyms of these authors are indicated as “usual name.”
I have included some SF fans and their pseudonyms, especially those fans who write for publication and are current (or former) members of the National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F, NFFF).
A few prominent SF/F/H comic book authors/artists whose work has been published in book form also are included.
Additions and/or corrections to this compilation of SF/F/H authors/fans and their writing names will be appreciated.
Format reads as follows; Author Names: Pseudonyms
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