ROBERT SILVERBERG PAPERS

de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi

	Creator:	Robert Silverberg
	Title:	Robert Silverberg Papers
	Dates:	1963-1968
	Quantity:	1.50 cubic feet (5 boxes)
	Identification:	DG0898

Biographical Note

Robert Silverberg was born on January 15, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, to Michael and Helen (Baim) Silverberg. He enjoyed reading science fiction as a boy and began publishing stories in magazines while at Columbia University. Silverberg published his first book, Revolt on Alpha C, a juvenile novel, in 1955 and began working as a full-time freelance writer after graduating in 1956. He wrote a voluminous amount of pulp science fiction and other hack writing throughout the 1950s.

In the early 1960s Silverberg switched to writing archaeological, historical, and scientific nonfiction for children and earned a national reputation as a nonfiction popularizer. At this time he also wrote his first science fiction books of a more creative rather than a deliberately commercial quality. Always known for his exceptional productivity, Silverberg wrote at an especially astonishing rate until medical problems and a house fire slowed down his output in the late 1960s. He quit writing nonfiction in 1970 because of flagging energy and poor sales. In the early 1970s Silverberg regularly began writing science fiction of a high literary quality, incorporating complex and pessimistic literary themes. Nevertheless, the traditionally undiscriminating sci-fi readership ignored his best work.

Silverberg moved to Oakland, California, in 1971 and retired from writing altogether in 1975. Four years later, needing to raise money to purchase a house for his separated wife, he contracted to write Lord Valentine's Castle, a novel combining elements from science fiction and heroic fantasy literature. Its rights sold at auction for $127,500, at the time a record price for a science fiction novel. Silverberg followed its success with several sequels in the "Majipoor Series." In 1988-92, he expanded three novellas by Isaac Asimov into novels under the latter's direction.

Robert Silverberg has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his science fiction writing. He continues to write sci-fi, but still comments on the personal struggle between creating new and innovative works and producing the light entertainment demanded by most readers. Silverberg lives with his wife, Karen Haber, in Oakland, California.

Sources:
Contemporary Authors (Detroit: Gale Group, 2000), 186:331-362.

Scope and Content Note

The Robert Silverberg Papers contain typescripts, printed material, and correspondence created and accumulated by Robert Silverberg between 1963 and 1968. Silverberg's papers were created from his composition of seven published nonfiction books. The material is organized into two series: books and letters sent.

The books series contains varying amounts of material for seven nonfiction books on themes in American and English history, science and nature, and Near Eastern archaeology. Silverberg wrote these books between 1963 and 1967, during his heyday as a prolific and well-received nonfiction author. The series includes material for three titles written under the pseudonyms Roy Cook, Franklin Hamilton, and Lloyd Robinson. Forgotten by Time: A Book of Living Fossils (1966) and Scientists and Scoundrels: A Book of Hoaxes (1965) both boast considerable quantities of material. The papers contain correspondence, a typescript, two copies of two separate galleys, and an index typescript and galleys for each book. Research notes, illustrations, and page proofs are also included for one title or the other. A typescript and galley exist for Leaders of Labor (1966) and The Man Who Found Nineveh(1964). Holdings for the remaining three books consist of single items. The papers in the books series are arranged alphabetically by title and the material for each book is arranged chronologically in order of creation when known.

The letters sent to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection were selected and photocopied from the correspondence file of the de Grummond Collection because they provide information on Silverberg's literary works. They are arranged chronologically.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Use

Noncirculating; available for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials, other than that noted above.

Related Material

See the Judith Ann Lawrence Papers (DG0595) for illustrations for The Crusades (under pseudonym Franklin Hamilton 1965), Challenge for a Throne: The Wars of the Roses (under pseudonym Franklin Hamilton 1967), and The World of Coral (1965).

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item and cite the series), Robert Silverberg Papers, de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Libraries.

Provenance

These papers were donated to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection of the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries by Robert Silverberg between 1966 and 1968.

Processing Information

Processed by Hans Rasmussen, March 2002. Encoded into EAD Version 1.0 by Danielle L. Bishop. This finding aid is the product of a grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Container Listing

Contact:
The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive, #5148
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
(601) 266-4349
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