January 2nd is National Science Fiction Day. The day was chosen to coincide with the believed birthdate of Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920-April 6, 1992)—a renowned sci-fi writer. He wrote or edited more than 500 books and around 90,000 letters and postcards.
His 1941 story “Liar!” includes the first recorded use of the word “robotics” to describe the study of robots (The term “robot” was first used in the 1921 play called “R.U.R.” or “Rossum’s Universal Robots”by Czech writer Karel Capek).
This a great day to recognize the contributions Asimov and others brought to the genre:
Mother of Science Fiction
Mary Shelley (August 30, 1797 – February 1, 1851) was an English novelist and writer of Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818)—and early example of science fiction
Father(s) of Science Fiction
Jules Verne (February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905) was a French writer and author of Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
H.G.Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946) was an English writer known for The Time Machine (1895) and The War of the Worlds (1898).
Hugo Gernsback (August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a magazine publisher from Luxembourg. His contributions to the science fiction genre as a publisher include the first science fiction magazine.
Celebrate the Genre
- read a classic science fiction novel or short story
- The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
- read a new science fiction novel or short story
- Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
- watch a science fiction movie or television series
- Stargate SG-1
- Doctor Who
- The Matrix
- write your own science fiction novel, short story, or screenplay
Toad with Books 