Monday, March 14, 2016

Science Fiction Authors in the Bellerophon Weird Tales-Part One

Recently I wrote about Michael P. Hodel (1939-1986), who contributed to the first of two issues of Weird Tales put out by The Bellerophon Network of California in 1984-1985. In an entry of August 17, 2013, I gave some information about the magazine itself. Depending on how you count, the Bellerophon Weird Tales was about the fifth incarnation of "The Unique Magazine." It followed Lin Carter's four paperback-sized issues of 1981-1983 and preceded the Terminus issues, which were edited by George H. Scithers, Darrell Schweitzer, and John Gregory Betancourt, beginning in Spring 1988. The Bellerophon issues are not indexed in Jaffery and Cook's Collector's Index to Weird Tales (1985). I have compiled a halfway index of those two issues and would like to list the science fiction authors whose work appeared in their pages. Some I have treated or will treat separately because they contributed to earlier incarnations of Weird Tales or because they are writers of special interest. They include:
Others I will write about in this three-part series. They appear here in alphabetical order.

* * *

Nathan A. Bucklin
Nathan Allan Bucklin
Born August 11, 1949, Baltimore, Maryland

For Weird Tales
"Ghost Dance" (short story, Winter 1985)

Nathan A. Bucklin is a musician, music teacher, and founding member of the Minnesota "Scribblies" Writer's group. He has worked on the staff of Tales of the Unanticipated and has contributed to that magazine (1987-1988) and to the Liavek anthology series (1986-1988).

Arthur Byron Cover
Born January 14, 1950, Grundy, Virginia

For Weird Tales
"Mamma's Boy" (short story, Fall 1984)

Arthur Byron Cover is an author of novels, short stories, essays, reviews, comic book scripts, and animated cartoon scripts. He has also conducted interviews with other authors. His first professional story was to have been published in Harlan Ellison's anthology The Last Dangerous Visions. In a controversy that's new to me, that book has gone unpublished for more than four decades. Mr. Cover's first published story listed on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database is "Gee, Isn't He the Cutest Little Thing?" in the paperback anthology The Alien Condition, edited by Stephen Goldin (1973). You can read more about Mr. Cover on the Internet Movie Database, the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, and Wikipedia.

Conda V. Douglas
Born August 2, 1956

For Weird Tales
"Yellow" (short story, Winter 1985)

Conda V. Douglas is a novelist, editor, screenwriter, cinematographer, and author of short stories. "Yellow" is her earliest work listed in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. She has her own blog at:


You can also read her credits on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.

Harlan Ellison
Born May 7, 1934, Cleveland, Ohio

For Weird Tales
"Laugh Track" (short story, Fall 1984)

Harlan Ellison began as a published author in his teen years and has enjoyed a long and successful career as a novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor, comic book script writer, screenwriter, and science fiction personality. He is old enough to have contributed to the original Weird Tales, but it wasn't until the Bellerophon issues that the magazine published one of his stories. Being a Star Trek fan, I have to mention that he is credited with the teleplay for "City on the Edge of Forever," which is one of my favorite episodes of the series.

Terry A. Garey
Born ?

For Weird Tales
"As Lovely as a Tree" (short story, Winter 1985)

Terry A. Garey is a poet, artist, editor, author, and winemaker. She has also conducted interviews of other authors. Here is a link to her website:


Like Nathan A. Bucklin, she is a writer whom Minnesota can claim as its own. And like him, she contributed to Tales of the Unanticipated.

To be continued . . .

Liavek: The Players of Luck (1986), edited by Emma Bull and Will Shetterly and with a short story by Nathan A. Bucklin. The cover artist was Collette Slade.

The Alien Condition (1973) edited by Stephen Goldin and with a short story by Arthur Byron Cover. You will probably recognize the cover art by Mati Klarwein (1932-2002) as the same image used on the cover of the 1970 album Abraxas by Santana. As it turns out, the painting is called "Annunciation," and it dates from 1961. You learn something new every day.

City on the Edge of Forever, first in Bantam's series of Star Trek Fotonovels.

Tales of Magic Realism by Women: Dreams in a Minor Key (1991), edited by Susanna J. Sturgis and with a story by Conda V. Douglas. Tom Trujillo was the cover artist.

Text copyright 2016, 2023 Terence E. Hanley

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