LUNDWALL, Sam J(errie)

(1941-)

   Swedish author, editor, critic, translator (of about 400 books, many sf), professional photographer, tv producer, film director, composer, singer (several records) and publisher. His first published work was an sf play for Swedish radio, broadcast in 1952 when he was 11 years old. Enormously active in sf FANDOM since 1956, SJL began selling stories in1963. His first book was a collection, Visor i var tid (coll 1965). His next book was sold in SJL's own translation to ACE BOOKS: Science Fiction: fran begynnelsen till vara dagar (1969; exp trans SJL as Science Fiction: What It's All About 1971); it was one of the earlier studies of sf inEnglish.Beginning 1970, SJL has written a number of novels, 4 of which have been translated into English. In Alice's World (1970 dos US; trans SJL as Alice, Alice! 1974 Sweden) a spaceship returning to an abandonedEarth finds it occupied by mythic and literary beings. SJL's SATIRE can be vicious, as in King Kong Blues (1974; trans SJL as AD 2018, or The King Kong Blues 1975 US), about advertising; at other times it is despondent -as in Bernhards magiska sommar ("Bernhard's Magical Summer") (1974), the third in a trilogy beginning with No Time for Heroes (1970 dos US; trans SJL as Inga Hjaltar har Sweden 1972) and Bernhard the Conqueror (1973;trans SJL as Uppdrag i universum Sweden 1973) - or hilarious, as in Morkrets furste ("The Prince of Darkness") (1975), probably his bestnovel, a burlesque of turn-of-the-century DIME NOVEL SF.From 1970 he edited the Askild \& Karnekull sf line, thereby reviving Swedish publishing interest in sf. In 1973 he left to form his own house, Delta, which lasted until 1991, specializing in new and reprinted sf, averaging some 20 sf books a year. Under the Delta imprint SJL also edited the revived Jules Verne-Magasinet, Sweden's only professional sf magazine (SCANDINAVIA),which in its first incarnation had run 1940-48; it is still published, now under his personal imprint, Sam J. Lundwall Fakta \& Fantasi. SJL's careful BIBLIOGRAPHY of sf published in Sweden, both original and translated, isBibliografi over science fiction \& fantasy, 1741-1973 (1974), the 2nd revision of a work which originally appeared in 1962; the sequel is Bibliografi over science fiction \& fantasy, 1974-83 (1984). His anthologyseries Den fantastiska romanen, 4 vols (1973-4), collects documents of sf history with critical comment. A later 18-vol anthology series ed SJL was Det hande i morgon ("It Happened Tomorrow").Another work in English isScience Fiction: An Illustrated History (1979 US), which argues the primacy and greater sophistication of European over US sf. SJL's most recent book in English is The Penguin World Omnibus of Science Fiction (anth 1986) ed with Brian W. ALDISS, which in its eclectic, mostly non-UScontent could be seen as a footnote to his earlier argument.Among the dozen or so novels SJL has written since 1975, CRASH (1980) is about the adventures of a Swedish sf author in the US publishing world. His most ambitious project is a series (novels, stories, poems) set in a probabilistic ALTERNATE WORLD, a flat Earth facing dissolution into other probability formats; the scientific underpinning is rooted in quantum physics. Only 3 short stories from the series have been translated into English, "Nobody Here But Us Shadows" (1975 Gal), "Take Me Down the River"(1979) and "Time Everlasting" (1986). The central novels of the series are Fangelsestaden ("Prison City") (1978), Flicka i fonster vid varldens kant("Girl in the Window at the Edge of the World") (1980), Tiden och Amelie("Time and Amelie") (1986), Gestalter i sten ("Figures in Stone") (1988), Frukost bland ruinerna ("Breakfast in the Ruins") (1988) and Vasja Ambartsurian ("Vasja Ambartsurian") (1990).SJL has been a pivotal figure in Swedish sf as author, editor, publisher, entrepreneur and translator. He updated the SCANDINAVIA entry in this encyclopedia.

   J-HH/PN

   See also: CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL WORKS ABOUT SF; MYTHOLOGY.