A Philip K. Dick prank

 The above is the back cover of a British reprint of Philip K. Dick's classic, Hugo-winning novel, The Man in the High Castle. There's an author photo on the back cover of a bearded author. Except it's not Dick -- it's Ted White, the science fiction editor, author and fan who recently died. 

White tells the story in The Amazing Editorials, a collection of the editorials White wrote while editor of Amazing, a science fiction magazine. I bought the book and began reading it after I heard of White's death.

White explains that in a 1965 visit to see Dick,  he showed Dick a photo of himself that made him look a little like Dick. Dick asked for a copy of the photo, explaining that as a joke, he wanted to send it to his agent to fulfill a request for an author photo for the British Penguin edition of High Castle. 

Both authors then forgot about the matter, but in 1966, White thought to bring it up, and Dick said that yes, the photo had been used, and he gave White a copy of the book.

There is other Dick material in White's book, including a plug for Confessions of a Crap Artist, the first publication of a mainstream Dick novel. It was published by David Hartwell, the famous science fiction editor who went on to edit some of Robert Anton Wilson's work.  (And if you follow that link, here is part two of that interview.)

Ansible Editions is the catchall name for all books published by David Langford; some are free as ebook downloads, some (like the Ted White book) cost money, at least some are available as paperbacks. The titles are worth a look if you are into fandom or science fiction. 

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?