Forthcoming
- Columns in every issue of Interzone magazine (as below).
Orphaned: - Contributions to 20th Century American Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers, 1900-1950, ed. F. Brett Cox – first volume of a revision/expansion of the previous Dictionary of Literary Biography volumes on the topic. Unfortunately the editor walked out without completing the book, and the publishers seem uninterested in replacing him. These longish essays on James Branch Cabell, John Myers Myers and Thorne Smith can now be read on this site.
Recent Articles
- The Mind of Mr Soames by Charles Eric Maine (1961) – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, July/August 2019
- The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction by Dorothy Scarborough (1917) – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, November/December 2018
Magazine Columns
- Fortean Times – very irregular contributions since issue 86, May 1996; most recently in issue 199, August 2005. READ
- Interzone – initially monthly and now bimonthly "Ansible Link" news column (based on the newsletter Ansible) since issue 62, August 1992.
- The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction – occasional contributions to the "Curiosities" page (discussing obscure genre-related books), since September 1999. READ
- SFX – monthly (now 13-times-yearly) "Langford" commentary column ever since issue 1 in June 1995. READ
Columns (of yore)
- 8000 Plus computer magazine (later PCW Plus): monthly "Langford's Printout" – later just "Langford" – column from the first issue in 1986; bimonthly from 1991; suspended in 1993; reinstated 1994, continuing until the final issue dated Christmas 1996. READ
- Ad Astra sf magazine: regular "Fission Fragments" sf/fantasy news and gossip column, 8 instalments published 1979-1981. READ
- Apricot File computer magazine: 23 irregular "Disinformation" column of computer tips and scurrility from 1985 to the magazine's last issue in 1988. READ
- Frontiers, the on-line sf newsletter of the Waterstones bookshop chain, ran short compilations of the legendary Ansible feature Thog's Masterclass from Autumn 2000 until the newsletter was closed down late in 2001.
- GM games magazine (GamesMaster): monthly "Critical Hits" sf/fantasy review column, continuing from "Critical Mass" in White Dwarf. 17 columns from 1988 to the last issue, March 1990. All these columns are reprinted and indexed in The Complete Critical Assembly.
- GMI games magazine (GamesMaster International): monthly "Critical Mass" sf/fantasy review column, continuing from "Critical Hits" in GM. 15 columns from the first issue in August 1990 to the last in October 1991. All these columns are reprinted and indexed in The Complete Critical Assembly.
- The Guardian newspaper: irregular sf/fantasy paperback review spot, 1994-1995.
- The Infinite Matrix – Eileen Gunn's on-line sf magazine, where my weekly contribution "The Runcible Ansible" appeared from November 2001 until the site became static at the end of 2005. This consisted of "preview" items scheduled for the coming issue of Ansible, some of which didn't make it into print – squeezed out for space reasons or nervously omitted for libel reasons.
- Million magazine: bimonthly "Slightly Foxed" column on popular fiction, from issue 1 in January 1991 to the final issue in 1993. All these columns are reprinted in The Silence of the Langford.
- Odyssey – a new British sf venture which launched in 1997 and, alas, died in 1999. My "Critical Mass" column talked about sf in general, with criticism, tributes and rants. READ
- New Computer Express computer magazine: untitled three-weekly column beginning and ending in 1989. Samples: READ ... READ
- Nexus sf magazine – columns for issues 2 and 3, 1992 and 1993, after which Nexus merged with Interzone. One column is reprinted in The Silence of the Langford.
- PCW Plus computer magazine (formerly 8000 Plus): monthly "Langford's Printout" – later just "Langford" – column from the first issue in 1986; bimonthly from 1991; suspended in 1993; reinstated 1994, continuing until the final issue dated Christmas 1996. READ
- PCW Today – quarterly column, begun 1998, for this last magazine devoted to the Amstrad PCW computers. Effectively continued the earlier 8000/PCW Plus columns, as above. I decided to terminate this column with its February 2002 instalment. READ
- Popular Computing Weekly – 8 contributions to "Ziggurat" back-page column feature, 1984-1985.
- White Dwarf games magazine: monthly "Critical Mass" sf/fantasy review column – 68 columns 1983-1988. All these columns are reprinted and indexed in The Complete Critical Assembly.
- Your Computer magazine: 5 monthly "Bluffer's Guide to Micros" columns (two unsigned owing to editorial error), 1985-1986
Contributions to Books
- Contributions to University Desk Encyclopedia. Oxford, Elsevier, 1977.
- "The Still Small Voice Inside" – theme essay in Pulsar 1 ed. George Hay. London, Penguin, 1978.
- Contributions to Macmillan Encyclopaedia. London, Macmillan, 1981.
- Contributions to The Directory of Possibilities ed. John Grant and Colin Wilson. Exeter, Webb & Bower, 1981.
- Contributions to The Complete Book of SF and Fantasy Lists ed. Malcolm Edwards and Maxim Jakubowski. London, Grafton, 1983.
- Contributions to The Complete Commodore 64 ed. Allan Scott. 1984.
- Introduction to Anthony Boucher: 'Black Box' omnibus of his novels. London, Zomba Books, 1984. READ
- Contribution as weapons physics consultant in Sex Secrets of Ancient Atlantis by John Grant. London, Granada, 1985.
- Extract about Robert A. Heinlein in Chelsea House Library of Literary Criticism: Twentieth-Century American Literature ed. Harold Bloom. 1986.
- Introduction to reprint of Magic by G.K. Chesterton (play). English Language Society, 1987. READ
- "Untrue Names" and "Breakthroughs": contributions to Frontier Crossings published by Conspiracy, the 1987 World SF Convention. Chichester, 1987.
- "When In Doubt, Plagiarize" in The Drabble Project ed. Rob Meades and David B.Wake. Beccon Publications, 1988.
- "The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton" in Horror: 100 Best Books ed. Steve Jones and Kim Newman. New York, Carroll & Graf, 1988.
- "Dr Fell": piece on John Dickson Carr's detective in 100 Great Detectives ed. Maxim Jakubowski. London, Xanadu, 1991. READ
- "A Gadget Too Far": sf criticism in New Worlds 2 ed. David Garnett. London, VGSF, August 1992.
- Small contributions to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd ed) ed. John Clute and Peter Nicholls. London, Orbit, 1993.
- "Inside Outside": sf criticism in New Worlds 4 ed. David Garnett. London, VGSF, November 1994.
- "The Badger Game": introduction to Down the Badger Hole – R. Lionel Fanthorpe: The Badger Years ed. Debbie Cross. Portland OR, Wrigley-Cross Books, 1995. READ
- "SF Books of the Damned": essay on Charles Fort and Eric Frank Russell in Weird Year 1996 ed. Joe McNally and James Wallis. London, Fortean Times/John Brown Publishing, 1996. READ
- Contributions to St James Guide to Fantasy Writers ed. David Pringle. Detroit, St James Press, 1996.
- Contributions to The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ed. David Pringle. London, Carlton, 1996.
- Contributions to St James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers ed. David Pringle. Detroit, St James Press, 1998.
- Contributions to The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy ed. David Pringle. London, Carlton, 1998.
- Contributions to Science Fiction Writers ed. Richard Bleiler – updating the 1982 Scribner's reference work ed. E.F. Bleiler. New essays on Greg Bear and Christopher Priest; updates on Damon Knight, Larry Niven and Jack Vance. New York, Scribner's, 1999.
- Contributions to Addenda – including complete new entries on Alasdair Gray and Gwyneth Jones – for the paperback reissue of The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ed. John Clute and John Grant. London, Orbit, 1999.
- Contribution to moorcock@60.com, a 60th-birthday celebration of the great man's life and work by 60 friends, colleagues, fans, etc. London, Jayde Design (in association with Nomads of the Time Streams), 18 December 1999.
- Research assistance for Smarties: All the Incredible Facts You Ever Need to Know by Mike Ashley (London, Robinson Children's Books, 1999)
- "Growing Up, Striking Back": essay on Jack Vance's adolescence and revenge themes in Jack Vance – Appreciations and a Bibliography ed. Arthur Cunningham. London, British Library, April 2000.
- Introduction to Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature, a new collection of critical essays ed. Andrew M. Butler, Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn. Liverpool, SF Foundation, May 2000.
- Introduction to The Essential Hal Clement Volume 3: Music of Many Spheres by Hal Clement. Framingham, MA, NESFA Press, September 2000.
- Research assistance for Smarties: Incredible Monsters by Mike Ashley (London, Robinson Children's Books, 2000)
- "Introduction" to Alien Emergencies, an omnibus of three Sector General books by James White, published by Tor/Orb Books (New York), April 2002. Main contents: Ambulance Ship (including the short "Spacebird", omitted from previous US editions of this collection), Sector General and Star Healer.
- "Introduction" – to Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek, published by Big Engine in June 2002; reprinted by Cosmos Books in 2003.
- Contributions to Supernatural Fiction Writers (2nd edition) ed. Richard Bleiler, Scribner's, November 2002. Essays on Robert Holdstock, Anne McCaffrey, Terry Pratchett, and Brian Stableford.
- Contributions (as Advisory Editor) to The Encyclopedia of Themes in Science Fiction and Fantasy ed. Gary Westfahl, Greenwood Press, 2005. 46 essays in all.
- Contributions to An Unofficial Companion to the Novels of Terry Pratchett, ed. Andrew M. Butler, Greenworld World Publishing, 2007. 3 entries.
- Introduction to What It Is We Do When We Read Science Fiction by Paul Kincaid, Beccon Publication, 2008
- Introduction to The City in These Pages, a novella by John Grant, PS Publishing, late 2008
Miscellaneous Magazine and Newspaper Pieces
(List very obviously under construction) - "The Strange Case of Cyril Bycourt" by Ernest Bramah – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, September 1999
- Obituary of John Sladek (1937-2000) – The Guardian, 13 April 2000.
- Obituary of Edward Gorey (1925-2000) – The Guardian, 20 April 2000.
- The Exploits of Engelbrecht by Maurice Richardson – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, July 2000
- The Fourth Dimension by C. Howard Hinton – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, January 2001.
- Obituary of Gordon R. Dickson – The Guardian, 14 February 2001.
- Obituary of Josh Kirby – The Independent, 5 November 2001.
- The Last Revolution (1951) by Lord Dunsany – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, February 2002.
- Musrum (1968) by Eric Thacker & Anthony Earnshaw – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, June 2002 .
- Contribution to Philip K. Dick forum in Fortean Times 161, August 2002. Too tiny to give a page of its own, so here it is: "The best of Philip K. Dick's fiction leaves you dazed and disoriented, ready to believe that consensus reality is a badly constructed stage-set and that you could at any moment blunder through the scenery into weirdness beyond. One of the first Dick stories I read, 'The Electric Ant' (1968), shows this quality to perfection as the protagonist discovers not merely that he's a humanoid robot but that his entire perception of the world – sight, hearing, all the senses – is a preprogrammed recording on an internal tape. Including his discussions of this existential problem with other characters. Think about that, but not too hard."
- Book of the Three Dragons (1930) by Kenneth Morris" – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, February 2004.
- March of the Robots (1961) by 'Leo Brett'" (Lionel Fanthorpe) – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, October/November 2004
- The Mind Readers (1965) by Margery Allingham – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, June 2005
- The Cruise of the Talking Fish (1957) by W.E. Bowman – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, December 2006
- The Uncelestial City (1930) by Humbert Wolfe – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, May 2007
- Parallel Botany (1977) by Leo Lionni – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, December 2007
- The Stolen March (1926) by Dornford Yates – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, May 2008
- Adrift in the Stratosphere (1937) by Professor A.M. Low – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, August 2008
- Transfinite Man (1964) by Colin Kapp – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, March 2009
- The Troglodytes (1961) by Nal Rafcam – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, October/November 2009
- But for Bunter (1985) by David Hughes – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, July/August 2010
- To End All Telescopes (1969) by Eric C. Williams – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, January/February 2011
- The Gap in the Curtain (1932) by John Buchan – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, September/October 2011
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 11 December 2011 (#1)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 15 January 2012 (#2)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 26 February 2012 (#3)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 15 April 2012 (#4)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 27 May 2012 (#5)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 8 July 2012 (#6)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 26 August 2012 (#7)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 7 October 2012 (#8)
- Heavens (1922) by Louis Untermeyer – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, November/December 2012
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 2 December 2012 (#9)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 20 January 2013 (#10)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 3 March 2013 (#11)
- "Hot Type: New science-fiction novels" – review feature in the Sunday Telegraph, 14 April 2013 (#12)
- The Devil in Velvet (1951) by John Dickson Carr – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, March/April 2014
- The Condemned Playground (1945) by Cyril Connolly – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, November/December 2014
- The Judges of Hades (1971) by Edward D. Hoch – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, May/June 2015
- A Voyage to Purilia (1930) by Elmer Rice – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, January/February 2017
- A Beleaguered City (1879) by Mrs Oliphant – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, March/April 2017
- A Christmas Garland (1912) by Max Beerbohm – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, November/December 2017
- The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction by Dorothy Scarborough (1917) – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, November/December 2018
- The Mind of Mr Soames by Charles Eric Maine (1961) – "Curiosities" column in F&SF, July/August 2019
Non-Print Media
- Strange Objects – Fact & Fiction: radio script for Schools broadcast in Heather Couper's Astronomy series. BBC Radio 4, November 1983.
- Many reviews for Amazon.co.uk.
- Several essays for Mary Branscombe's sf area of AOL (not publicly accessible).
Reviews
- I have published all too many book reviews and multi-book roundup columns. A large selection appears on this site: READ. Most individual reviews of any substance are reprinted in my collections The Complete Critical Assembly (containing all the "Critical Mass" book review columns for White Dwarf and rival games magazines), Up Through an Empty House of Stars: Reviews and Essays 1980-2002, The Sex Column and other misprints and Starcombing. Just about all the vast remaining backlog of shorter, mislaid and even unpublished reviews to date is collected in the 2017 ebook Short Shrift: A Big Book of Little Reviews.
The Newspaper and Magazine List
A checklist of newspapers and magazines that have published Langford pieces. Further details can be found in the ISSN bibliography. Although SF fanzines are generally not listed below, my fanzine appearances are listed in the non-ISSN bibliography.
Britain
8000 Plus, Ad Astra, Amstrad Professional Computing, Apricot File, Computer & Video Games, Computer Weekly, The Electronic Author (Society of Authors), Extro, Focus (British SF Association), Fortean Times, Foundation (SF Foundation), Freelance Informer, Frontiers (Waterstone's On-Line SF Newsletter), GM: The Independent Fantasy Roleplaying Magazine, GamesMaster International, The Good Games Guide, The Guardian, Imagine, The Independent, The Indexer, Infinity Plus (on-line), Interzone, Knave, Matrix (British SF Association), Mayfair, Million, Murky Depths, Nature, Nature Physics, New Chartbusters, New Computer Express, New Scientist, New Worlds, Nexus, Odyssey, PC Answers, PCW Plus, PCW Today, Penthouse, Popular Computing Weekly, Practical Computing, Prospect, Realtime, Sanity, Science & Public Policy, SFX, The Skeptic, The STAG (Society of Authors), Starburst, Sunday Telegraph, T3, The Third Alternative, Vector (British SF Association), What Micro?, Which Micro?, White Dwarf, The Wordsmith, Your Computer.
USA
Amazing SF, Asimov's Science Fiction, Destinies, Fantastic Metropolis (on-line), The Infinite Matrix (on-line), InQuest, Locus, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, The New York Review of Science Fiction, Nova Express, Quantum, Science Fiction Age, Science Fiction Chronicle, SF Eye, Science Fiction Review, Short Story International, Thrust, Weird Tales.
Australia
Australian Science Fiction Review, The Metaphysical Review, SF Commentary.
In translation
Aikakone (Finland), Alienisti (Finland), Cyber Fantasy (Spain), Enhörningen (Finland), Fiction (France – French edition of F&SF), Helion (Romania), Ikarie (Czech Republic), Nowa Fantastyka (Poland), Nova SF (Sweden), Orbit (Netherlands), Portti (Finland), SF Magazine (Japan), SF Reality (Ukraine), Tähtivaeltaja (Finland), Valis (Spain).