John W. Campbell Shaped Modern Science Fiction, Yet The Genre He Created Changed His Award to Erase His Legacy

John W. Campbell became the editor of Astounding Stories in October 1937 at just 27 years old. Over the next thirty-four years, until his death in 1971, he transformed the magazine and the science fiction landscape. Historians often pinpoint the beginning of the “Golden Age of Science Fiction” to July 1939, marking the moment when Campbell’s editorial vision truly aligned with the emerging talents he would nurture throughout his career.