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Thursday, May 28, 2026

Ted White has died


Ted White in 2007. Creative Commons photo, source. 

There has been quite an overlap between RAW fandom and science fiction fandom, so I occasionally publish news that might be of interest. Today, I'm noting that Ted White has died. 

White was a science fiction writer and magazine editor, also very active in science fiction fandom. He also was a musician. Amazing is the oldest science fiction magazine, and White was the editor for years. I regularly read the magazine when I was in college in the 1970s. The SF Encyclopedia entry for White gives a good description of his tenure: "He became the sometimes controversial editor of Amazing Stories and Fantastic 1969-1979; he noticeably improved both magazines, buying original stories and artwork, phasing out reprints, contributing sometimes lengthy editorials and emphasizing matters relating to sf Fandom including lively letter columns and Fanzine reviews."

I always enjoyed his sometimes contentious editorials in the magazine. When I learned of White's death, I bought an ebook of White's Amazing editorials from Ansible editions, and I am reading it now. 

White was extremely active in fandom for decades; he won a Hugo Award for best fan writer back in 1968. Here he writes about the late Arthur Hlavaty, prominent RAW fan and multiple Hugo nominee for best fan writer. Robert Shea was active in SF fandom, so I suspect he and White crossed paths, but I don't have any evidence. I never spoke to White at a convention but heard him once at a discussion on fandom. 

Related: The February 1977 issue of Fantastic magazine, one of the issues Ted White edited, published a review of The Eye in the Pyramid written by SF and fantasy great Fritz Leiber, does anyone have text of that review that can be shared with me? 

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