# 1950 in science fiction

The year 1950 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events.

## Births and deaths
### Births

* William Barton
* James Blaylock
* David Brin
* Paul Cook
* Ian Douglas (pseudonym of William H. Keith, Jr.)
* William R. Forstchen
* Karen Joy Fowler
* Martin Grzimek
* K. W. Jeter
* John Kessel
* Stephen R. Lawhead
* Kirk Mitchell
* Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. (d. 2012)
* Mary Doria Russell
* Lewis Shiner
* Karlheinz Steinmüller
* Michael Swanwick
* Michael Szameit (d. 2014)
* Steve Rasnic Tem

### Deaths

* Edgar Rice Burroughs (b. 1875)
* Erle Cox (b. 1873)
* George Orwell (b. 1903)
* Olaf Stapledon (b. 1886)

## Events

* Galaxy Science Fiction begins publishing.
* Doubleday begins publishing science fiction.

## Literary releases
### Serialized novels

* The Five Gold Bands by Jack Vance, Startling Stories (November), an adventure where a man seeks the secret to interstellar travel hidden in five gold bracelets.
* The Hand of Zei by L. Sprague de Camp, Astounding Science Fiction (October – January 1951), two explorers face piracy and royal intrigue while searching for a missing person and dealing with forbidden love.
* The Wizard of Linn by A. E. van Vogt, Astounding Science Fiction (April - June), a mutant lord uses alien technology to combat ancient invaders and reshape humanity's fate.

### First editions

* The Cometeers by Jack Williamson, a fix-up novel combining two stories from the Legion of Space series.
* Cosmic Engineers by Clifford D. Simak, a tale of advanced technology and cosmic exploration.
* The Dreaming Jewels by Theodore Sturgeon, in this debut novel, a runaway boy finds refuge in a circus and gets involved in a battle over alien power.
* First Lensman by E. E. "Doc" Smith, an epic space opera in the Lensman series, won the Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2001.
* The House That Stood Still by A. E. van Vogt, examines the impact of alien technology on humanity.
* The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, chronicles human colonization of Mars and its unforeseen consequences.
* Needle by Hal Clement, a symbiotic alien detective partners with a human boy to track down a criminal on Earth.
* Nomad by George O. Smith, a man uses knowledge gained from Martians to conquer the Solar System.
* Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov, this debut novel explores identity and rebellion in a future Earth scenario.
* The Rat Race by Jay Franklin, a naval officer becomes entangled in espionage and experiences bizarre transformations.
* Shadow on the Hearth by Judith Merril, depicts the aftermath of nuclear war on a suburban family.
* The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. van Vogt, follows the Space Beagle and describes its encounters with alien civilizations.

### Novellas

* The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein, a visionary businessman uses unconventional methods to achieve lunar exploration, part of the Future History series.

### Novelettes

* "The Little Black Bag" by Cyril M. Kornbluth, Astounding Science Fiction (July).

### Short stories

* "Born of Man and Woman" by Richard Matheson, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (July)
* "Scanners Live in Vain" by Cordwainer Smith, Fantasy Book (January)
* "The Shadow Men" by A. E. van Vogt, Startling Stories, expanded into the novel The Universe Maker in 1953.
* "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury, Collier's Weekly (May 6)
* "To Serve Man" by Damon Knight, Galaxy Science Fiction (November)

### Short story collections

* The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
* I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
* The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (fix-up collection)

### Juveniles

* Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein, a Heinlein juvenile describing the challenges faced by a young farmer on a distant planet.

## Movies

| Title | Director | Cast | Country | Subgenre/Notes |
| Destination Moon | Irving Pichel | Warner Anderson, John Archer, Tom Powers | United States | Adventure Drama Thriller |
| Flying Disc Man from Mars | Fred C. Brannon | Kent Fowler, Gregory Gaye | United States | Action Adventure Crime Fantasy Serial film |
| The Flying Saucer | Mikel Conrad | Mikel Conrad, Pat Garrison, Hanz von Teuffen | United States | Thriller |
| The Invisible Monster | Fred C. Brannon | Stanley Price, Richard Webb, Aline Towne, Lane Bradford | United States | Action Adventure Crime Thriller Serial film |
| Rocketship X-M | Kurt Neumann | Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery | United States | Family |

## Awards

The main science-fiction awards known at the present time did not exist at this time.