Burgess, Michael 1948–

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Burgess, Michael 1948–

(Miguel Alcalde, M.R. Burgess, Michael Roy Burgess, Mike Burgess, Boden Clarke, C. Everett Cooper, Michael Demotes, G. Forbes Durand, Misha Grazhdanin, Peter Harding, a house pseudonym, Andrew Kapel, Jacob Lawson, Peter Mauzy, Rex Miletus, Walt Mobley, Jack B. Nimble, Daniel Painter, Nero Rale, R. Reginald, Robert Reginald, Lucretia Sharpe, Tertius Spartacus, Lucas Webb)

PERSONAL: Born February 11, 1948, in Fukuoka, Japan; son of Roy Walter (a U.S. Air Force major) and Betty Jane (Kapel) Burgess; married Mary Alice Wick-izer Rogers (a publisher), October 15, 1976; stepchildren: Richard Albert Rogers, Mary Louise Reynnells. Education: Gonzaga University, A.B. (with honors), 1969; University of Southern California, M.L. S., 1970. Religion: "Basically humanitarian." Hobbies and other interests: History, literature, genealogy, collecting books, ancient coins, fossils, and elden artifacts.

ADDRESSES: Home—P.O. Box 2845, San Bernardino, CA 92406. Office—John M. Pfau Library, California State University—San Bernardino, 5500 University Pkwy., San Bernardino, CA 92407. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: California State University—San Bernardino, periodicals librarian, 1970–75, assistant librarian, 1975–78, senior assistant librarian, 1978–81, associate librarian, 1981–84, librarian (with rank of professor), 1984–, chief cataloger, 1980–94, head of technical services and collection development at John M. Pfau Library, 1994–. Unicorn and Son, founder and publisher, 1970; Newcastle Publishing Co., Inc., editor, 1971–92; Arno Press, advisory editor, 1975–78; Borgo Press, cofounder, publisher, and book editor, 1975–99; Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review, publisher and anonymous coeditor, 1979–80; Millefleurs Information Services, owner, 2000–.

MEMBER: International PEN (USA Center West), International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Science Fiction Research Association, Horror Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, National Education Association, American Library Association, American Association of University Professors, American Civil Liberties Union, California Teachers Association, California Faculty Association, California Library Association.

AWARDS, HONORS: Hugo Award nomination, World Science Fiction Society, 1980, for Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature; outstanding academic book citations, Choice, 1980, for Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, and 1993, for Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror; bronze plaque, Online Computer Library Center, Inc., for entering the ten-millionth entry into its database, 1983; Meritorious Performance and Professional Promise Award, California State University, 1987; named outstanding librarian for 1992–93, California State University—San Bernardino; citations for outstanding reference source from American Libraries and Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin, both 1993, both for Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror; Lifetime Collectors Award, Barry R. Levin, 1993; Pilgrim Award, Science Fiction Research Association, 1993, for "invaluable contribution to science fiction, fantasy, and horror literature."

WRITINGS:

(Published anonymously) Stella Nova: The Contemporary Science Fiction Authors, Unicorn and Son (Los Angeles, CA), 1970, revised edition published under pseudonym R. Reginald as Contemporary Science Fiction Authors—First Edition, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1975.

(Under pseudonyms R. Reginald and M.R. Burgess) Cumulative Paperback Index, 1939–1959: A Comprehensive Bibliographic Guide to 14,000 Mass-Market Paperback Books, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1973.

(Under pseudonym Lucas Webb) The Attempted Assassination of John F. Kennedy: A Political Fantasy, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1976.

(Under pseudonym C. Everett Cooper) Up Your Asteroid! A Science-Fiction Farce, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1977.

The House of the Burgesses, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1983, 2nd edition (with wife, Mary Wickizer Burgess), 1993, revised and expanded edition, 1994.

(With Mary Wickizer Burgess) The Wickizer Annals: Wickizer, Wickiser, Wickkiser, Wickkizer, Wickheiser, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1983.

A Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy in the Library of Congress Classification Scheme, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1984, 2nd edition, 1988.

(With Jeffrey M. Elliot) The Work of R. Reginald: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1985, revised edition (as sole author) published as The Work of Robert Reginald: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, 1992.

(Under pseudonym Jack B. Nimble) The Construction and Operation of Clandestine Drug Laboratories, Loompanics Unlimited (Port Townsend, WA), 1986.

Mystery and Detective Fiction in the Library of Congress Classification Scheme, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1987.

(With Beverly A. Ryan) Western Fiction in the Library of Congress Classification Scheme, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1988.

The Kosnick Connection: A Short History of the Kosnick/Kersnic and Kapel Families in Yugoslavia and America, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1989.

Reference Guide to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, Libraries Unlimited (Littleton, CO), 1992, 2nd edition, 2002.

(With Mary A. Burgess and Daryl F. Mallett) The State and Province Vital Records Guide, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1993.

CSUSB Faculty Authors, Composers, and Playwrights: A Bibliography of Thirty Years of Published Monographs and Recordings, 1965–1995, California State University—San Bernardino (San Bernardino, CA), 1996.

(With Jill H. Vassilakos) Murder in Retrospect: A Selective Guide to Historical Mystery Fiction, Libraries Unlimited (Westport, CT), 2005.

The Eastern Orthodox Churches: Concise Histories with Chronological Checklists of their Primates, McFarland (Jefferson, NC), 2005.

Editor or coeditor of numerous monograph series for Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), including "Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today," "Woodstock Series: Popular Music of Today," "The Autocephalous Orthodox Churches," "Bibliographies of Modern Authors," "Black Literary Studies," "Black Political Studies," "Borgo Bioviews," "Borgo Cataloging Guides," "Borgo Ethnic Studies," "Borgo Family Histories," "Borgo Literary Guides," "Borgo Political Scenarios," "Borgo Reference Guides," "Brownstone Mystery Guides," "Classics of Fantastic Literature," "Clipper Studies in the Theater," "Essays on Fantastic Literature," "Great Issues of the Day," "I.O. Evans Studies in the Philosophy and Criticism of Literature," "Imaginary Wars and Battles," "Malcolm Hulke Studies in Cinema and Television," "New Religious Movement Series," "San Bernardino County Studies," "Ship Registries of the United States," "Sidewinder Reprints," "St. Willibrord Studies in Philosophy and Religion," "Stokvis Studies in Historical Chronology and Thought," "Studies in Judaica and the Holocaust," and "West Coast Studies;" associate editor, "Forgotten Fantasy," Nectar Press, 1970–71; editor, "Forgotten Fantasy Library," 1973–80. Contributor to periodicals under a variety of pseudonyms, including Miguel Alcalde, M.R. Burgess, Mike Burgess, C. Everett Cooper, Michael Demotes, G. Forbes Durand, Misha Grazhdanin, Andrew Kapel, Jacob Lawson, Peter Mauzy, Rex Miletus, Walt Mobley, Jack B. Nimble, Daniel Painter, Nero Rale, Reginald, Lucretia Sharpe, Tertius Spartacus, Lucas Webb, and Peter Harding, a house pseudonym. Founding editor, Librarians Task Force Newsletter, 1987–89, 1993–.

UNDER PSEUDONYM BODEN CLARKE

The Work of Jeffrey M. Elliot: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1984.

Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual: A Chronological Checklist of the Popes, Patriarchs, Katholikoi, and Independent Archbishops and Metropolitans of the Autocephalous Monarchical Churches of the Christian East and West, including the Roman Catholic Church and Its Eastern Dependencies, the Independent Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Armenian Churches, the Coptic Churches, the Jacobite Churches of Syria and India, the Ethiopian Church, and the Church of the Sinai, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1985, 2nd edition, 1995.

(With James Hopkins) The Work of William F. Nolan: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1988, 2nd edition, 1997.

(With Mary A. Burgess) The Work of Katherine Kurtz: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1993.

UNDER PSEUDONYM R. REGINALD

(Editor, with Douglas Menville) Ancestral Voices: An Anthology of Early Science Fiction, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1975.

(Editor and compiler) Contemporary Science Fiction Authors, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1975.

(Editor, with Douglas Menville) Phantasmagoria: An Original Anthology, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1976.

(Editor, with Douglas Menville) Ancient Hauntings, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1976.

(Editor, with Douglas Menville) R.I.P.: Five Stories of the Supernatural, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1976.

(Editor, with Douglas Menville) The Spectre Bridegroom and Other Horrors, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1976.

(With Douglas Menville) Things to Come: An Illustrated History of the Science Fiction Film, introduction by Ray Bradbury, Times Books (New York, NY), 1977.

(Editor, with Douglas Menville) King Solomon's Children: Some Parodies of H. Rider Haggard, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1978.

(Editor, with Douglas Menville) Dreamers of Dreams: An Anthology of Fantasy, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1978.

(Editor, with Douglas Menville) They: Three Parodies of H. Rider Haggard's "She," Arno Press (New York, NY), 1978.

(Editor, with Douglas Menville) Worlds of Never: Three Fantastic Novels, Arno Press (New York, NY), 1978.

(Editor, with Neil Barron) Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review (cumulation), Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1980.

(With Kevin B. Hancer) The Paperback Price Guide, Overstreet Publications (Cleveland, OH), 1980, 3rd edition published as Hancer's Price Guide to Paperback Books, Wallace-Homestead (Iola, WI), 1990.

(With Jeffrey M. Elliot) If J.F.K. Had Lived: A Political Scenario, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1981.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards: A Comprehensive Guide to the Awards and Their Winners, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1981, 3rd edition (with Daryl F. Mallett) published as Reginald's Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards, 1993.

(Editor and author of introduction) Patricia Fanthorpe and Lionel Fanthorpe, The Holy Grail Revealed: The Real Secret of Rennes-le-Château, Newcastle Publishing (North Hollywood, CA), 1982.

(With Jeffrey M. Elliot) Tempest in a Teapot: The Falkland Islands War, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1983.

(With Thaddeus Dikty) The Work of Julian May: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1985.

(With Douglas Menville and Mary A. Burgess) Future-visions: The New Golden Age of the Science-Fiction Film, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1985.

(Editor, with David Ray Bourquin) The Work of Bruce McAllister: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1985, revised edition, 1986.

(With Jeffrey M. Elliot) The Work of George Zebrowski: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1986, 3rd edition, 1996.

(With Jeffrey M. Elliot) The Arms Control, Disarmament, and Military Security Dictionary, ABC-Clio (Santa Barbara, CA), 1989.

UNDER PSEUDONYM ROBERT REGINALD

Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 1: A Checklist, 1700–1974, Volume 2: Contemporary Science Fiction Authors II, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1979.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975–1991: A Bibliography of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Fiction Books and Nonfiction Monographs, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1992.

(With Robert Plank) George Orwell's Guide through Hell: A Psychological Study of "1984", Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1994.

Xenograffiti: Essays on Fantastic Literature, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1996.

(With Mary A. Burgess) BP 250: An Annotated Bibliography of the First 250 Publications of the Borgo Press, 1975–1996, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1996.

(With Mary A. Burgess) Index Litteratus, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1996.

(With Katherine Kurtz) Codex Derynianus: Being a Comprehensive Guide to the Peoples, Places, and Things of the Derynye and the Human Worlds of the XI Kingdom, Underwood Books (Nevada City, CA)/Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1998, 2nd edition, Underwood Books, 2005.

Katydid and Other Critters: Tales of Fantasy and Mystery, Ariadne Press (Riverside, CA), 2001.

Quœstiones; or, The Atlas of the XI Kingdom, Gray Ghost Press (Randolph, MA), 2001.

Quœstiones; or, The Protopresbyter's Tale, Ariadne Press (Riverside, CA), 2004.

The Exiled Prince; or, The Archquisitor's Tale: A Romance of Nova Europa, Ariadne Press (Riverside, CA), 2004.

The Dark-Haired Man; or, The Hieromonk's Tale: A Romance of Nova Europa, Ariadne Press (Riverside, CA), 2004.

War of the Worlds I: Invasion! A Modern Version of the Classic Novel by H.G. Wells, Underwood Books (Nevada City, CA), 2005.

War of the Worlds II: Operation Crimson Storm: A Sequel to the Classic Novel by H.G. Wells, Underwood Books (Nevada City, CA), 2005.

Trilobite Dreams; or, The Autodidact's Tale: A Romance of Autobiography, Ariadne Press (Riverside, CA), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Michael Burgess, better known to his readers and others in the publishing world as R. Reginald, Robert Reginald, or just Reginald, first used his pseudonym in connection with an article he wrote for a literary magazine at Gonzaga University. "I was rather shy and secretive as a kid," he once explained to CA, "and I rather relished the thought of publishing under an assumed name." Burgess expropriated the pseudonym from one of his favorite characters in the work of short-story writer Saki (H.H. Munro), who had found his pseudonym in Edward FitzGerald's version of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Burgess wrote: "At first, it was just 'R. Reginald,' but naturally I started getting questions about the 'R' part of it, so I adopted as my given name 'Robert.' Once started, it's impossible to go back."

In the years since, Burgess has become a prolific author and editor of bibliographic and research books, primarily in the genres of science fiction and fantasy, but also dealing with politics and current affairs, religion, history, and genealogy. During the course of his career he has founded two publishing companies (Unicorn and Son, in 1970, and the Borgo Press, which he opened with his wife, Mary Burgess, in 1975) and acquired nearly twenty more pseudonyms. "I suppose this is the price one pays for being prolific, and for having one's own press," he wrote in The Work of R. Reginald: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide. "It's sometimes more convenient to run a particular book through Borgo. To avoid the appearance of going to the well once too often, I use other names; in this way, the books stand or fall on their own merits, as they should."

Burgess's career as a compiler of bibliographies began in 1968 when, inspired by a visit to a science-fiction convention, he assembled a "who's who" of science-fiction writers titled Stella Nova: The Contemporary Science Fiction Authors. Intended to be his senior honor's project, Stella Nova served as a learning experience, exposing him to the many labors and responsibilities involved in publishing a book. In retrospect, he noted in The Work of R. Reginald, "I learned more from doing that book than I had from all the classes I had taken in my previous years of college."

Shortly after the completion of Stella Nova, Burgess queried several publishing companies about their interest in producing a more detailed volume to be titled Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. Among them was Gale Research Co. (now the Thomson Gale), which offered him a contract for not one but two books: Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature and Cumulative Paperback Index, 1939–1959: A Comprehensive Bibliographic Guide to 14,000 Mass-Market Paperback Books. Originally slated as a two-year project, Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature took five years to research, during which time Burgess read or skimmed through almost 20,000 books by more than 1,000 authors. He also added 350 entries from Stella Nova, bringing the total number of biographies to 1,443—most of them read and confirmed by the individual authors. Burgess spent another year typing the manuscript into a camera-ready form (a laborious task which Gale had offered him double royalty to complete himself). Six years and 1,200 pages later Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature was completed in 1979; its 1,500-page supplement, covering an additional 22,000 books printed between 1975 and 1991, was published by Gale in 1992.

More recently, Burgess completed Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975–1991: A Bibliography of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Books and Nonfiction Monographs and Murder in Retrospect: A Selective Guide to Historical Mystery Fiction. The former covers 37,000 works of science fiction and fantasy (almost double the original volume). According to Richard Bleiler in a Booklist review, "All academic and public libraries with comprehensive literature reference collections should hold Reginald's volumes." Writing on Murder in Retrospect, a guide designed to help audiences learn more about mystery series written after World War II, Booklist contributor Merle Jacob wrote: "The listings are invaluable to patrons and librarians who know very little about an author or series."

After suffering from a severe heart attack in 2003, Burgess decided to ease of his teaching and library labors at California State University—San Bernardino to work just part time, beginning in 2005. However, he has not slowed down his writing output. In fact, he has become more productive as a fiction writer. Some of his recent novels, which he continues to pen under the Reginald name, include The Exiled Prince; or, The Archquisitor's Tale: A Romance of Nova Europa, The Dark—Haired Man; or, The Hieromonk's Tale: A Romance of Nova Europa, War of the Worlds I: Invasion! A Modern Version of the Classic Novel by H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds II: Operation Crimson Storm: A Sequel to the Classic Novel by H.G. Wells, and Trilobite Dreams; or, The Autodidact's Tale: A Romance of Autobiography. Of his own original fiction, Burgess once told CA: "It's difficult to say much about oneself without seeming pompous or just plain silly. The mystique of the writer has been romanticized far beyond the bounds of reality or good sense; I sometimes wonder if any of us have contributed as much to society as one good licensed plumber. But I love my work, I love the independence that goes with it, I love making things that would not have existed without me. Call it conceit or egoism or whatever you will, but I like seeing my name in print. The thought that some of my books might just survive this corporeal presence I call R. Reginald still manages to thrill me."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Burgess, Michael, and Jeffrey M. Elliot, The Work of Robert Reginald: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide, revised edition, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1992.

Harrison, Harry, and Brian W. Aldiss, editors, Best SF: 1970, Putnam (New York, NY), 1971.

Lerner, Frederick Andrew, Modern Science Fiction and the American Literary Community, Scarecrow (Metuchen, NJ), 1985.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 1999, Richard Bleiler, review of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975–1991: A Bibliography of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Fiction Books and Nonfiction Monographs, p. 1722; November 1, 2005, Merle Jacob, review of Murder in Retrospect: A Selective Guide to Historical Mystery Fiction, p. 72.