KUCZKA, Peter

(1923-)

   Hungarian publisher and critic who, beginning in the 1960s, was a powerful force in the renaissance of Hungarian sf, even during a period of Hungarian history not conducive to literary experiment (though the situation was liberalized in the 1970s). In 1968 PK took over as controller and editor of the publisher Mora's brand-new sf imprint Kozmosz Fantasztikus Konyvek, which was and remains the most important sfpublisher in HUNGARY in terms of both original Hungarian sf and translations. In 1972 Mora followed this paperback series with the magazine Galaktika, ed PK, first as a quarterly and now as a monthly with a circulation of about 50,000; it has several times won awards as the best sf magazine in Europe. He also introduced sf into the Hungarian Writers' Association (no easy task in a country whose literati and academics haveoften regarded sf with revulsion), has been from the outset (1972) connected with the Eurocons (trans-European sf CONVENTIONS), and is a director of WORLD SF. Like all impresarios he has been criticized, but he has done more for Hungarian sf than any other individual. He has published a variety of essays on sf, many in Hungarian, some in English, and is the author of the entry on HUNGARY in this encyclopedia.

   PN