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At one point ABE had "It" listed for $4500; "It" was Sturgeon's first solo publication (I think it was a tiny book with just that one story, and predated Without Sorcery by a year).
Original Alternative -------- ----------- Beware the Fury Extrapolation Brownshoes The Man Who Learned Loving The Deadly Ratio It Wasn't Syzygy The Dreaming Jewels The Synthetic Man Fluffy The Abominable House Guest Fluke Die Maestro, Die The Green-Eyed Monster Ghost of a Chance Last Laugh Special Aptitude To Marry Medusa The Cosmic Rape The Music In the Hospital The Sky Was Full of Ships The Cave of History Shadow, Shadow on the Wall It Stayed Synthesis Make Room for Me A Way Home The Way Home Who? Bulkhead
"To Marry Medusa/The Cosmic Rape" needs explanation. "To Marry Medusa" originally appeared as a novella in Galaxy, and was later expanded into the novel "The Cosmic Rape". When the novel was later republished in the same volume as "Killdozer!" it appeared as "To Marry Medusa" even though it was actually the full length novel, not the original novella.
Some of the stories have been dramatised for radio, television or record and a few were given with alternative titles:
Title Dramatised as ----- ------------- Bright Segment Parcelle Brillante (French) Godbody Britt Svenglund The Sky Was Full of Ships Incident at Switchpath Yesterday Was Monday A Matter of Minutes
On of his finest stories, 'And the News', is based on an idea Robert Heinlein. Heinlein wrote with a number of story outlines at a time Sturgeon was in the middle of one of his many slumps; I don't if any others were the basis of subsequent stories.
The three novelisations ("The King and Four Queens","The Rare Breed", and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea") were based upon the original screenplay. "I, Libertine" was co-written with Jean Shepherd; someone told me that Sturgeon & Shepard wrote alternate chapters.
In the mid-1970s, Harlan Ellison chaired a semiar on science fiction writing. With the help of Sturgeon, Thomas M Disch, Frank Herbert and Robert Silverberg, they formed a sort of discussion group to invent the world, nature and history of the planet Medea, around which they each wrote there own story. Sturgeon's was "Why Dolphin's Don't Bite" [see 'Medea: Harlan's World' (1985)]. Sturgeon also collaborated with Ellison on the short story "Runesmith".
I'm sure a number of people would have (depending on your point of view) assisted or interfered with the two scripts for "Star Trek". James Blish later adapted them for Bantam. Posthumously, James Gunn expanded a script idea by Sturgeon in to the novel "The Joy Machine".
By way of subtle acknowledgement, Sturgeon names the 'hidden' personality in 'The Other Man' Anson, and calls the main character in 'And Now the News...' MacLyle - from pennames used by Heinlein, Anson MacDonald and Lyle Monroe.
The speech was reprinted in "The Proceedings of Chicon II", edited by Earl Kemp, Advent 1963; and another version of the anecdote appears as part of Sturgeon's introduction to 'And Now the News...' his 1980 collection "The Golden Helix". The actual letter appeared in 'The New York Review of Science Fiction' (Number 84, August 1995).
"Sturgeon's Law originally was 'Nothing is always absolutely so.' The other thing was known as 'Sturgeon's Revelation'"
The first reference I can find in his oeuve appears in the March 1958 issue of Venture Science Fiction, where he wrote:
"I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of sf is crud.
"The Revelation: Ninety percent of everything is crud.
"Corollary 1: The existence of immense quantities of trash in science fiction is admitted and it is regrettable; but it is no more unnatural than the existence of trash anywhere.
"Corollary 2: The best science fiction is as good as the best fiction in any field."
It is this Revelation that has now become known as Sturgeon's Law (I've not heard the corollaries used before, or since). There is some debate over the last word, and when/how it was first used. The most reliable account comes from James Gunn's in his item in The New York Review of Science Fiction #85, September 1995 In contrast, the cover blurb for the 1968 Pyramid edition of "A Way Home" includes an obviously invented scene complete with dialogue and facial expressions; well maybe, but unlikely. A lot of information related to the dating of this phrase is at Science Fiction Citations which notes some problems verifying the earliest date this phrase was used.
As a codicil, the author of a Spanish web site refers to an old Arab story I'd not encountered before:
A young Caliph asked the Great Vizier how he could tell if a poem was good or bad. "Always assume it is bad", he was told. "You'll only be wrong one time in a hundred".
Mike Weber also reports: "...it was at Emory University, many years ago, that I heard Robert Bloch, in response to something that David Gerrold said, propound Bloch's Corollary to Sturgeon's Revelation: "And your agent gets the other ten percent."
In 1956 he published the book I, Libertine, using the pseudonym Frederick R. Ewing. He also used the pseudonym "E. Waldo Hunter" occasionally when two of his stories were being published in the same issue of Astounding. He wrote "The Player on the Other Side" as Ellery Queen, and used the name Billy Watson for the story "The Man Who Told Lies." I don't know what connection he had with Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, if any.
As far as his writing goes, his first story, "Heavy Insurance," was sold in 1938 for five dollars to McClure's Syndicate for publication in newspapers. He sold many more stories to McClure's; they are all very short and not science fiction. The sale of "The God in the Garden" to Unknown in 1939 was his first published science fiction story. His novel More Than Human won the International Fantasy Award. "Slow Sculpture" won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. He was posthumously awarded the Life Achievement Award at the World Fantasy Awards. Sturgeon died on May 8, 1985, of pneumonia, in Eugene, Oregon.
Ted's only sibling was his older brother Peter Sturgeon, who was later to gain some prominence for bringing Mensa to the United States.
The two brothers were extremely competitive, to the point that gives sibling rivalry a bad name. In almost every way they went in opposite directions. Peter completed college, and became a professional writer in the pharmaceutical field, eventually leaving private industry to work in Europe for the World Health Organization. Ted drifted from job to job for years before becoming a writer, and where Peter was strictly non-fiction technical writing, Ted was in fiction's closest equivalent to technical material by writing SF.
Until joining WHO, Peter remained close to his origins, living in Brooklyn, while Ted drifted to the West Coast. Peter married once, Inez, a woman of Latin origin. They had no children--on one occasion Peter told a television interviewer who asked if they had children, "We took care of that before we were married", which delighted the audience and made the interviewer change the subject!
Ted served his military experience in the Pacific. Peter volunteered for paratrooper training, and served in Europe.
One habit they shared was smoking, but Ted chained smoked cigarets. Peter used a cigaret holder, much like FDR. They also shared pronounced views on religion--both were vocal atheists, clearly from their experiences growing up with their Methodist minister stepfather.
Ted was usually seen dressed like a working class type, while Peter dressed quite upscale, one could even say a bit dandified.
(Above information about the two brothers is courtesy of Thomas Wm. Hamilton, who is a distant relative on their mother's side, and who knew Peter well.)In 1940 Ted married Dorothe Fillingame. They had two daughters, Patricia and Cynthia (in that order); they got divorced in 1945. The biography on Barnes & Noble.com also mentions a son, Colin, before the two daughters, although this seems to contradict other information I had.
In 1949, he married Mary Mair, a singer; they were divorced in 1951.
He married Marion McGahan, I think in 1951. Their first child was Robin, Sturgeon's first son. The next two children were daughters, Tandy in 1954 and Noel in 1956. Timothy was born later. They never divorced, but remained married until his death.
He later was with W. Bonnie Golden (a TV/print news reporter, and photographer). Several of her articles can be found on the web. They had a son, Andros, Sturgeon's seventh and last child. W. took the last name 'Sturgeon' legally by means other than marriage.
Still later, he was with Jayne Enelhart. They were still together when he died. She also took the last name 'Sturgeon' legally by means other than marriage. She has since remarried.
That's all the information I have right now, and I don't really plan to worry about finding out much more information. Most of these people are still alive (I've heard directly from three of them) and I don't see any need to discuss them. As the above information was found in public sources, I hope it isn't violating anybody's privacy.
You should definitely read Argyll, Sturgeon's autobiography. This focuses almost exclusively on his childhood, and especially his stormy relationship with his stepfather (whose nickname was Argyll). I was able to obtain this book through the Amazon.com bookstore.
Noel Sturgeon corrected several details [July 2011]. Information about Peter Sturgeon as founder of Mensa provided by Mary Matthews, and further information about Peter Sturgeon was provided by Thomas Wm. Hamilton. Thanks to those of you who have asked questions or provided other comments.