New Podcast Episode: The Bradbury Books That Never Were

Time for another new episode of my Bradbury 100 podcast!

This time I dig into the Bradbury files held by the Ray Bradbury Center in Indianapolis, and uncover a 1960 file in which Ray lays out his book publishing plans for the following couple of years.

Alongside familiar titles (Something Wicked This Way Comes, Farewell Summer), we find some totally unfamiliar ones. Listen to the pod (below - or via your podcast app) for all the details.

One of Ray's proposed books was an anthology to be called God On Tomorrow Morning. Something of a follow-up to his two previous anthologies (Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow and The Circus of Dr Lao), this would have been themed around the relationship between science, humanity and religion.

Although the book never came to exist, we do have a proposed table of contents, which I have reproduced in full below, with detail added on where each story originated. You could seek out these stories, and assemble the anthology for yourself!

 

 

God On Tomorrow Morning, to be edited by Ray Bradbury: Suggested Contents

Three Stories by Bradbury: The Fire Balloons, The Man, If Sun and Moon Should Doubt

Stories by others:

 

	Short Story	Author	From
1	For I Am A Jealous People	Lester Del Rey	Star Short Novels (anthology, ed. by Frederik Pohl), 1954
2	Subterfuge	Robert Silverberg	Amazing Science Fiction Stories, March 1960
3	Up The Mountain Or Down	Sylvia Jacobs	Universe Science Fiction, September 1953
4	Postscript	Eric Frank Russell	Science Fiction Plus, October 1953
5	Saint Julie And The Visgi	Robert F. Young	If: Worlds of Science Fiction, January 1955
6	The Quest For Saint Aquin	Anthony Boucher	New Tales of Space and Time (anthology, ed. by Raymond J. Healy), 1951
7	Many Mansions In The Sky	Koller Ernst	Super-Science Fiction, August 1958
8	A Demon At Devotions	Jane Roberts	The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1958
9	The Star	Arthur C. Clarke	Infinity Science Fiction, November 1955
10	The Pure Observers	B.J. Rogers	If: Worlds of Science Fiction, October 1958
11	The Funnel Of God	Robert Bloch	Fantastic Science Fiction Stories, January 1960
12	Every Work Into Judgement	Kris Neville	The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Winter-Spring 1950
13	Last Rites	Charles Beaumont	If: Worlds of Science Fiction, October 1955
14	The Sons Of Japheth	Richard Wilson	Infinity Science Fiction, December 1956
15	The Guest Rites	Robert Silverberg	Infinity Science Fiction, February 1957

[Update: since I wrote this post, I read the following in chapter 25 of Jonathan R. Eller's biographical volume Ray Bradbury Unbound: 

"[Bradbury's God on Tomorrow Morning] surviving list of fifteen titles were all published in the 1950s, mostly in the few genre digests that he still occasionally read: If, Infinity Science Fiction, and the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Ballantine’s Star anthology series of new stories."

Eller is slightly incorrect regarding the 1950s, since two of the stories appeared in magazines dated as 1960. However, it is conceivable that those magazine issues appeared on news stands at the very end of 1959.]

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - Episode 43 - Bradbury Books That Never Were

 

 

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

 

 

Main platforms:

 
Apple Podcasts  - Google Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

 

 

 

Other platforms: 

Amazon Music - Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - Podtail - Stitcher - TuneIn

Q&A on Goodpods

Podcast aggregator Goodpods (a sort of Goodreads for podcasts) recently prompted me to add a Q&A section to the page for my Bradbury 100 podcast. Here's what I came up with:

 

Why did you start Bradbury 100?

2020 was the centenary year of popular fantasy and science fiction author Ray Bradbury - but all the planned celebrations (at San Diego ComicCon, World Science Fiction Convention etc) were being cancelled because of the pandemic. So I decided to interview as many Bradbury friends, colleagues and fans as I could, and that became the podcast, Bradbury 100! When the centenary year was over, I decided to continue the pod with an exploration of different aspects of Bradbury's life and works.

 

What do you hope listeners gain from listening to your show?

A deeper insight into Ray Bradbury and his works. I give listeners background information on how his books were writen. I review books and films. And I reveal odd - but interesting - parts of his true life story, such as the criminal "Lonely One", and murder victim Uncle Lester.

 

Which episode should someone start with?

If you love Ray's sci-fi, I'd suggest you go with episode 30: Bradbury's OTHER Mars stories. This looks at some of his Martian tales which he DIDN'T incude in his famous book THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES. If you like real crime mysteries, try episode 36: the tragic death of Ray's Uncle Lester. Otherwise, just start with episode 1 and work your way through!

 

Which have been your favourite episodes so far?

I most enjoy looking at abandoned film projects, so for me the best episode is episode 28, which looks at all the film versions of THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES which were never made. Another favourite is episode 26, about "The Lonely One". This is a scary fictional character in Bradbury's book DANDELION WINE - but he was inspired by a real criminal who went by that nickname. In this episode, I reveal the true identity of this man.

 

Which episode are you most proud of?

That's a tough one. I'm proud of the series as a whole, as it has brought together a whole community of Bradbury fans and scholars. But if I had to pick just one episode, it would be the "Death of Uncle Lester" episode. For this, I worked from legal documents from the 1930s to piece together a theory about what really happened the night Ray's uncle got killed.

 

What is your vision for your show?

To bring more people to the works of Ray Bradbury, and to reveal more hidden aspects of his work.

 

What is your favourite other podcast that isn't yours?

There are so many, but one that I've been listening to since the earliest days is the long-running SKEPTICS' GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE. It's been running with the same format for sixteen years, but never gets old!

 

How did you come up with the name for your podcast?

It more or less named itself, given that the concept was to celebrate 100 years of Ray Bradbury. I should perhaps change the title, now that Bradbury's birth was 102 years ago, but I like the branding (and logo), so I think I'll stick with it.

 

Tell us a bit about yourself

My day job is teaching filmmaking and screenwriting. When I had the opportunity of doing a PhD, I chose to study Ray Bradbury's screenwriting - something that no one had ever really done before. This brought me into close contact with all sorts of people with a Bradbury connection, and I drew on these contacts to fill the podcast with fascinating interviews. I also have another podcast, SCIENCE FICTION 101, which is something of a spin-off of this one. I just love podcasting!

 

You can find the Bradbury 100 page on Goodpods here: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/bradbury-100-celebrating-the-life-and-work-of-american-writer-ray-brad-189467

 

 

 

 

________________________

 

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

 

 

Main platforms:

 
Apple Podcasts  - Google Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

 

 

 

Other platforms: 

Amazon Music - Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - Podtail - Stitcher - TuneIn

My talk on Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

A few weeks ago, I gave a public talk on Fahrenheit 451 as part of Wolverhampton Literature Festival. It was well attended.

And now, for the benefit of anyone who didn't attend in person (and for any gluttons for punishment who did attend...) I can offer you an audio and video version of the talk. It wasn't recorded at the event, but I re-performed it!

Below, then, you will find the audio version as a Bradbury 100 podcast episode... and the video version as a Bradbury 101 YouTube video!

In my humble opinion, the video version is worth watching for all the illustrative material. But the talk will also make sense if you listen to podcasts on your daily commute. So, take your pick!

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 42 - Literacy, Censorship & Burning Books: Fahrenheit 451 at 70

 

 

 

 

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

 

 

Main platforms:

 
Apple Podcasts  - Google Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

 

 

 

Other platforms: 

Amazon Music - Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - Podtail - Stitcher - TuneIn

Wolverhampton Literature Festival

Later today, I will be giving a presentation on Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 as part of Wolverhampton Literature Festival. Tickets (a very modest £3) are available here: https://www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk/events/literacy-censorship-and-burning-books-ray-bradburys-fahrenheit-451.html

I'll be talking about the content, structure, characters and themes of the novel, and how it was developed from a novella called "The Fireman".

If you're in Wolverhampton, I hope I may see you there!

New podcast episode: Ray Bradbury's "Ghost Writer" Friends...

My latest Bradbury 100 podcast episode is a follow-up to the last episode, where I presented Ray's 1947 short story "Rocket Summer" from Planet Stories magazine. In that same issue, Ray contributed a humorous writer bio of himself, in which he claims that all his stories are written for him by a posse of talented professionals including Robert Heinlein!

That magazine slipped into the public domain in 1975, because the copyright wasn't renewed (following the 28-year-renewal rules in operation at that time). So, I'm bringing you the full article today!

After you hear Ray's parody bio, I'll tell you about the various writer-friends he mentions. Have you read any of these writers? Let me know in the comments below! 

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 41 - Ray Bradbury and his "Ghost Writer" Friends...

 

 

 

 

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

 

 

Main platforms:

 
Apple Podcasts  - Google Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

 

 

 

Other platforms: 

Amazon Music - Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - Podtail - Stitcher - TuneIn

New podcast episode: Rocket Summer!

What better way to melt away the winter blues than with Ray Bradbury's "Rocket Summer"? But this episode of my Bradbury 100 podcast isn't about the familiar opening chapter of The Martian Chronicles. No, here I'm looking at Bradbury's first use of the title "Rocket Summer".

It's a rare 1947 short story, published just once in Planet Stories, and never again reprinted. You won't find it in any of Ray's books.

The 1947 "Rocket Summer"also has the odd status of being in the public domain, thanks to an oversight: it should have had its copyright renewed in 1975 (following the 28-year-renewal system in use at that time in the US). But the renewal didn't happen.

 

 

Because the story is in the public domain, I can here present the entire story to you (if you can tolerate my storytelling voice...). Scroll down to listen, or find it using your podcast app.

 

 

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 40 - Rocket Summer!

 

 

 

 

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

 

 

Main platforms:

 
Apple Podcasts  - Google Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

 

 

 

Other platforms: 

Amazon Music - Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - Podtail - Stitcher - TuneIn