# 1954 in science fiction

The year 1954 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events.

## Births and deaths
### Births

* Iain M. Banks (d. 2013)
* Marek Baraniecki
* Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
* Paul Di Filippo
* Colin Greenland
* Marek Huberath
* Kazuo Ishiguro
* Michael P. Kube-McDowell
* Shariann Lewitt
* James D. Macdonald
* Ken MacLeod
* Victor Milán (d. 2018)
* John J. Miller (d. 2022)
* Melanie Rawn
* Joel Rosenberg (d. 2011)
* Richard Paul Russo
* Bruce Sterling
* Marc Stiegler
* J. Michael Straczynski
* Mark W. Tiedemann
* James Van Pelt
* Lawrence Watt-Evans
* David Wingrove

### Deaths

* Alexander Abasheli (b. 1884)
* Alpheus Hyatt Verrill (b. 1871)

## Literary releases

* Donald Tuck publishes Handbook of Science Fiction and Fantasy, which is still used as a reference resource for scholars of science fiction.

### Serialized novels

* Martians, Go Home by Fredric Brown, Astounding Science Fiction (September), published in book form is 1955.
* Question and Answer, Astounding Science Fiction (June–July), later reprinted in 1956 as part of Ace Double D-199 under the title Planet of No Return, and again as a stand-alone Ace novel in February 1978 under the original title.
* They'd Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley, Astounding Science Fiction (August–November), published in book form in 1957.

### First editions

* Brain Wave by Poul Anderson, Earth's inhabitants become super-intelligent when the planet leaves a restrictive energy field.
* The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov, a detective and a robot partner solve a murder in a futuristic city.
* The Forgotten Planet by Murray Leinster, survivors adapt to a planet overrun by giant insects and plants.
* G.O.G. 666 by John Taine, Russian genetics experiments result in a being that is half ape, half brain.
* I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, the last human battles vampires in a post-apocalyptic world.
* A Mirror for Observers by Edgar Pangborn, follows a child prodigy protected by a Martian guardian from rival factions influencing human civilization.
* Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement, a human and an alien collaborate on a high-gravity planet to recover a lost probe.
* Operation: Outer Space by Murray Leinster, the first interstellar flight is financed by making it into a television show.
* Search the Sky by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth, a secret ship explores and reconnects declining interstellar colonies to prevent societal decay.
* The Stars Are Ours! by Andre Norton, survivors of an oppressive regime escape Earth to settle on a new planet.
* Starship Through Space by Lee Correy, tells the story of the building of the first starship and of its flight to Alpha Centauri.
* Three Thousand Years by Thomas Calvert McClary, scientists attempt to build a utopia after the earth has been placed in suspended animation for 3,000 years.

### Short stories

* "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin, Astounding Science Fiction (August).
* "The Father-thing" by Philip K. Dick, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (December).
* "Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (August).
* "No More Stars" by Charles Satterfield, Beyond Fantasy Fiction (July).

### Juveniles

* Return to the Lost Planet by Angus MacVicar, second novel of six in the Lost Planet series.
* The Secret of Saturn's Rings by Donald A. Wollheim, a high school graduate joins his father on a mission to Saturn to prove a corporate cover-up.
* The Star Beast by Robert A. Heinlein (juvenile), a boy discovers his pet is an alien royalty, leading to interstellar diplomacy.

### Children's books

* Mel Oliver and Space Rover on Mars by William Morrison, the adventures of a boy and his sapient dog as they join an interplanetary circus on a voyage to Mars.
* The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron, children travel to a hidden planet and help its inhabitants solve a crisis.

## Movies

| Title | Director | Cast | Country | Subgenre/Notes |
| 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Richard Fleischer | Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas | United States | Adventure Drama Family Fantasy |
| Creature from the Black Lagoon | Jack Arnold | Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno | United States | Horror |
| Devil Girl from Mars | David MacDonald | Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott, Adrienne Corri | United Kingdom | Horror |
| Godzilla (a.k.a Gojira) | Ishirō Honda | Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Takashi Shimura | Japan | Horror Kaijū |
| Gog | Ivan Tors | Richard Egan, Constance Dowling, Herbert Marshall | United States | Drama Horror Romance Thriller |
| Killers from Space | W. Lee Wilder | Peter Graves, Barbara Bestar, James Seay, Frank Gerstle | United States | Horror Mystery |
| Monster from The Ocean Floor | Wyott Ordung | Anne Kimball, Stuart Wade, Dick Pinner | United States | Horror |
| Riders to the Stars | Richard Carlson | William Lundigan, Herbert Marshall | United States | Drama |
| The Rocket Man | Oscar Rudolph | Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Anne Francis, John Agar, George Winslow | United States | Comedy Famille |
| The Snow Creature | W. Lee Wilder | William Phipps | United States | Horror |
| Stranger From Venus | Burt Balaban | Patricia Neal, Helmut Dantine, Derek Bond | United States | |
| Target Earth | Sherman A. Rose | Richard Denning, Kathleen Crowley, Virginia Grey | United States | Horror |
| Them! | Gordon Douglas | James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness | United States | Horror |
| Tobor the Great | Lee Sholem | Charles Drake, Karin Booth, Billy Chapin | United States | Adventure Family |

## Awards

The Hugo Awards were not held this year.