Stephen Tall was the most common pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 of American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 science fiction writer Compton Newby Crook (June 14, 1908 – January 15, 1981).

Born in Rossville, Tennessee

Rossville, Tennessee

Rossville is a town in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 664 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Rossville is located at ....

, Crook studied biology at Peabody College

Peabody College

Peabody College of Education and Human Development was founded in 1875 when the University of Nashville, located in Nashville, Tennessee, split into two separate educational institutions...

, and did graduate work at Arizona State University

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...

 and Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

. He began teaching biology at Towson University

Towson University

Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S...

 in 1939, where he remained until his retirement in 1973. He died in Phoenix, Maryland

Phoenix, Maryland

Phoenix is an affluent unincorporated community located in Baltimore County in the State of Maryland in the United States of America. It is located at latitude 39°30'59" North, longitude 76°36'59" West...

.

Crook's first published story was a winner in the Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...

's first short story writing contest. He began publishing science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 in 1955 with the appearance of "The Lights on Precipice Peak" in Galaxy. His short story "The Bear with the Knot on His Tail" (1971) was nominated for the 1972 Hugo Award

Hugo Award

The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...

 for short fiction. His activity in the field grew in the mid-1970s before his death.

In 1983, the Compton Crook/Stephen Tall Memorial Award

Compton Crook Award

The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best first novel of the year in the field of Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc, at their annual Baltimore-area science fiction convention, Balticon, held on Memorial Day weekend in the...

 was established by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society

Baltimore Science Fiction Society

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society is a literary society focusing on science fiction, fantasy and related genres. A 501c3 literary society based in Baltimore, Maryland, the BSFS sponsors Balticon, the Maryland Regional Science Fiction Convention....

 in his name for best first science fiction novel in a given year.

Stardust series

1. The Stardust Voyages (collection, 1975)
2. The Ramsgate Paradox (1976)

Short stories

• "The Lights on Precipice Peak" (1955)
• "A Star Called Cyrene" (aka "Seventy Light-Years from Sol") (1966)
• "The Angry Mountain" (1970)
• "Talk with the Animals" (1970)
• "Allison, Carmichael and Tattersall" (1970)
• "The Mad Scientist and The FBI" (1970)
• "Birds Fly South in Winter" (1971)
• "This is My Country" (1971)
• "The Bear with the Knot on His Tail" (1971)
• "The Gods on Olympus" (1972)
• "The Invaders" (1973)
• "Space Bounce" (1973)
• "Mushroom World" (1974)
• "Chlorophyll" (1976)
• "The Rock and the Pool"" (1976)
• "The Man Who Saved the Sun (1977)
• "The King is Dead. Long Live the Queen!" (1978)
• "Home is the Hunter" (1979)
• "The Hot and Cold Running Waterfall" (1980)
• "The Merry Men of Methane" (1980)

External links