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Piers Anthony Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: JeJ
Date: 1969

Biographical History

Piers Anthony (born Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob in Oxford, England, in 1934) is an American novelist. Anthony's family came to the United States when he was four years old; he graduated from Goddard College in Vermont, served in the United States Army (1957-1959), and became a citizen in his twenties. While in the army he was editor and cartoonist for the battalion newspaper, and in the early 1960s he turned to writing full-time. He is one of the most prolific science fiction and fantasy authors with numerous best-sellers to his credit along with almost a dozen Hugo and Nebula Award nominations. In addition to dozens of science fiction and fantasy novels, he has written historical fiction, martial arts, and horror.

He is best know for his seven-volume Incarnations of Immortality and for the long-running Xanth series which has more than thirty titles, most of which are puns (e.g. Faun and Games, Swell Foop, Roc and a Hard Place, Stork Naked). He has been nominated for numerous Hugo and Nebula Awards.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Piers Anthony Papers consists of correspondence, writings and memorabilia.

Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent, with the exception of Editors and publishers and Fans, which are filed at the end. Notable correspondents include Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Lloyd Biggle Jr., Nathan A. Bucklin, Robert Coulson, Harlan Ellison, Roberto Fuentes, Richard Geis, Ron Goodman, Joseph L. Green, Margie Harrison, H. James Hotaling, Seth A. Johnson, Robert E. Margroff, Larry Pinsker, Andrew J. Offutt, Frederick Pohl, Norman Spinrad, Robert Moore Williams and Roger Zelazny. Around 1962 Piers Anthony joined a science fiction fan club called the National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F); much of the correspondence in the collection was generated through this connection, most of it involving critical dialogues concerning specific works, often among two or more of the correspondents. Included in this category would be the Neffer Robin letters.

Writings includes works by Anthony alone, collaborative works, and a few works by others. Types of material include articles, books, poetry, short stories, and several then-unpublished novels that have since been published. Among the major works represented are Chthon (1967), Hasan (1970), Macroscope (1969), Omnivore (1968), Sos the Rope (1968), and Var the Stick (1969). There are also drafts of collaborations by Piers Anthony with Frances Hall, H. James Hotaling, Robert Margroff (The E. S. P. Worm), Roberto Fuentes (the Jason Striker series, also known as "the Ninja books" or "the judo books"), Andrew Offutt, and Richard Tiedman.

Memorabilia includes material related to Goddard College, and several of Anthony's personal journals.

Arrangement of the Collection

Material is arranged alphabetically by type, title or name.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Material in boxes 10 and 19 is restricted and may not be viewed without Mr. Anthony's written permission

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

The collection originally contained published editions of a number of Anthony's novels. These have been transferred to Rare Books for cataloging. Please refer to Libraries Search to locate these itemanuscript

Special Collections Research Center has a number of collections relating to science fiction. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

Subject Headings

Persons

Andersen, Poul.
Anthony, Piers.
Asimov, Isaac, 1920-1992.
Biggle, Lloyd, Jr., 1923-2002.
Carr, Terry.
Coulson, Robert, 1928-1999.
Delany, Samuel R.
Ellison, Harlan.
Fuentes, Roberto, 1934-
Gerrold, David, 1944-
Margroff, Robert E., 1930-
McCaffrey, Anne.
Norton, Andre.
Offutt, Andrew J.
Panshin, Alexei, 1940-
Pohl, Frederik.
Spinrad, Norman.
Zelazny, Roger.

Subjects

American literature -- 20th century.
Authors, American.
British Americans.
Fantasy literature, American.
Novelists, American.
Science fiction, American.

Genres and Forms

Articles.
Correspondence.
Diaries.
Manuscripts for publication.
Poetry.

Occupations

Authors.
Novelists.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Piers Anthony Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Piers Anthony, 1969, 1970, 1978.

Table of Contents

Correspondence

Writings

Memorabilia

Inventory