Betsy Curtis
Elizabeth M. Curtis, known by her pen name Betsy Curtis, was a notable female science fiction writer who gained recognition during the mid-20th century. Contrary to the prevailing belief that few women participated in this genre, Curtis's work exemplified the contributions of women in a field largely dominated by male authors. She made her debut with the story "Divine Right" in 1950 and quickly established herself in various science fiction magazines, including the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Galaxy, and Amazing Stories, among others. Her writing was characterized by a warmth and sensitivity that resonated with readers, as noted by editors in the genre. One of her significant works, "The Steiger Effect," was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1969, highlighting her talent and the impact of her storytelling. Curtis's legacy extends beyond her lifetime, with her works continuing to be featured in collections and anthologies that celebrate women's contributions to science fiction. She passed away in 2002, but her influence in the genre endures through her diverse and engaging narratives.
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Betsy Curtis
Writer
- Born: 1918
- Died: 2002
Biography
Elizabeth M. Curtis, who wrote under the name Betsy Curtis, is one of a number of women science-fiction writers who came to prominence around the middle of the twentieth century. Her career belies the tendency of contemporary science-fiction scholars to insist that few women wrote science fiction during this period or, if they did, they had to adopt male pseudonyms because science fiction was dominated by male writers and readers.
In an early collection of stories from the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the editors wrote, “One of the most pleasant—and certainly most stimulating—aspects of current science-fiction and fantasy writing is the growing importance of women in these twin forms.” The editors cited Curtis and several other women who “bring to the field a welcome warmth and sensitivity and immediacy of impact. Women writers especially seem to realize that every type of fiction must essentially deal with people.” This quote is included in Eric Leif Davin’s book, Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926- 1935 (2006), which devotes its more than four hundred pages to refuting the popular myth that science fiction is entirely a man’s world.
Curtis’s first story, “Divine Right,” appeared in the summer, 1950, issue of Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Her second story, “The Old Ones,” was published in the December, 1950, issue of Imagination: Stories of Science and Fantasy. Publisher William L. Hamling previewed the story in that magazine’s premiere October, 1950, issue, explaining that Curtis “has a novelette coming up soon that shows a remarkable talent.. . . We predict that Miss Curtis will go far in the science-fantasy field.”
Curtis would go on to regularly publish stories in a variety of science-fiction specialty magazines until 1973. Her work appeared in Planet Stories, Galaxy, Worlds of If, Amazing Stories, Marvel Science Stories, Universe Science Fiction, Infinity Science Fiction, and Authentic Science Fiction. Her story, “The Steiger Effect,” published in the October, 1968, issue of Analog Science Fact/Science Fiction, was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1969.
Curtis died in 2002 but her work continues to appear. The advertisement for Future Eves: Great Science Fiction About Women by Women, an online collection of stories originally published between 1931 and 1959, mentions the contribution by Curtis: “Betsy Curtis is a deceptively mild name for someone able to produce a work like The Goddess of Planet Delight, a short novel in the classic mode that mixes a sociological puzzle with pointed satire, high adventure, and romance in its story of a traveling salesman who has to stop over one night at the planet named Delight.’”