--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first book to use the term ‘science…" description: "\"“The first book to use the term ‘science fiction’ in the title was also a vintage paperback, an anthology called The Pocket Book of Science Fiction edi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ff/pradeep-sebastian-55572_book_the-first-book-to-use-the-term-science-f_26335.jpg" --- # The first book to use the term ‘science fiction’ in the… ![“The first book to use the term ‘science fiction’ in the title was also a vintage paperback, an anthology called The Pocket Book of Science Fiction edited by Donald A. Wollheim (Pocket Book no. 214) from 1943.” quote by Pradeep Sebastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ff/pradeep-sebastian-55572_book_the-first-book-to-use-the-term-science-f_26335.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ff/pradeep-sebastian-55572_book_the-first-book-to-use-the-term-science-f_26335.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ff/pradeep-sebastian-55572_book_the-first-book-to-use-the-term-science-f_26335.jpg) > ““The first book to use the term ‘science fiction’ in the title was also a vintage paperback, an anthology called The Pocket Book of Science Fiction edited by Donald A. Wollheim (Pocket Book no. 214) from 1943.”” [Pradeep Sebastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pradeep-sebastian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identifies the earliest paperback anthology that explicitly used 'science fiction' in its title, marking a milestone in genre branding. **In simple terms:** Historical genre‑labeling moment. Key Takeaway First explicit 'science fiction' title in paperback form. Themes history genre evolution publishing branding culture Mood curious informative Type historical fact literary trivia When to use this quote - academic research on genre history - library cataloging - collecting vintage paperbacks - teaching literature courses Key Concepts genre naming paperback market anthology format Practical Applications - citing early SF milestones - curating genre exhibitions Questions to Reflect On - How did this naming influence later SF publishing? - What does the 1943 context reveal about genre acceptance? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthology Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthology-called-412933/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Title](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-title-412935/) [Paperback Anthology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paperback-anthology-412936/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Vintage Paperback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vintage-paperback-412934/) ## Related quotes > [I co-edited an anthology called Interfictions with Delia Sherman and wrote a short scholarly book on three women poets called Voices from Fairyland: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/i-co-edited-an-anthology-called-interfictions-with-delia-sherman-and/) [Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/) > [Star Trek' is the McDonald's of science fiction; it's fast food storytelling. 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I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) [Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/) > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) ## More by Pradeep Sebastian > [“One of the (uncontemplated) pleasures of childhood and adolescence was how rigorously we exchanged comics and books with our buddies. As adults we seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-sebastian/one-of-the-uncontemplated-pleasures-of-childhood-and-adolescence-was/) [Pradeep Sebastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pradeep-sebastian/) > [“We learn that the lowly footnote is not really a lowly paratext in Anthony Grafton’s The Footnote; A Curious History and Chuck Zerby’s The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-sebastian/we-learn-that-the-lowly-footnote-is-not-really-a-lowly-paratext-in/) [Pradeep Sebastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pradeep-sebastian/) > [“Eric Waschke, a bookseller obsessed with far-flung bookshops – he’s visited three thousand bookstores across 53 countries, an odyssey to explore ‘the known book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-sebastian/eric-waschke-a-bookseller-obsessed-with-far-flung-bookshops-he-s/) [Pradeep Sebastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pradeep-sebastian/) > [“My earliest memory of imaginative and intellectual pleasure (though I didn’t know that then) as a child was the ritual walk I took every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-sebastian/my-earliest-memory-of-imaginative-and-intellectual-pleasure-though-i/) [Pradeep Sebastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pradeep-sebastian/) > [“It was Coleridge, a compulsive book scribbler, who first called it marginalia. 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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