Before 1926: see SIXTY BOOKS IMPORTANT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SF. Note the prominence of H.G.Wells and Jules Verne.

Pulp paper & linotype printing were both invented in 1894. Science fiction grew out of the cheap books and magazines called pulp fiction. Hugo Gernsback published the first magazine devoted completely to the genre, Amazing Stories, in April 1926.

Hugo Gernsback, often called the father of science fiction, coined the term "scientifiction," but later changed the name to Science Fiction. The Hugo award, annually presented to the best in science fiction, is a coveted prize. See
http://www.twd.net/ird/forecast/hugo.html

The early stories in Amazing combined three strands—adventure, hardware and weird. Works of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs (who wrote about Mars as well as Tarzan) and Edgar Allan Poe were often reprinted in the magazine although new authors also flourished there. An early classic, The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith, Ph.D., or "Doc" Smith, was serialized in Amazing Stories in 1928.

In addition to fiction, Amazing Stories also carried a letters column called "Discussions" in which the writers, editors and readers exchanged ideas of common interest. Subsequent magazines followed this example, which helped to foster a science fiction community including clubs, mimeographed "fanzines," and conferences. All of the activity centering around science fiction came to be known as "fandom." It is alive and well today.

John W. Campbell, Jr. editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine, (now named Analog) from l937 until his death in l97l, is called, by many writers and scholars, the father of modern science fiction. He helped to shape and define the field, encouraging such writers as Isaac Asimov, A.E. van Vogt, Robert A. Heinlein, and Theodore Sturgeon. Campbell—technology-minded and application-oriented— popularized what came to be known as Hard Science Fiction. Two prizes are named after him.

Hard Science Fiction: Closely aligned with the sciences, especially physics, chemistry and astronomy. The bottom line is that knowledge equals power and the only real knowledge is scientific. Hard Science Fiction stories centered on action, emphasized outer life rather than inner, skills over feeling. Stock characters often appeared: engineers, scientists, good soldiers, inventors, all strong men who perform well under pressure. Writers received one or two cents per word for their stories. Serialized stories were often turned into novels.