Laurie Winslow Sargent

Here's an interesting letter typed 56 years ago, signed by Damon Knight (1922-2002.) It was sent from The Anchorage, in Milford PA, to author John Hayden Howard. Knight is in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame:

Although Hayden Howard was best known as a science fiction writer, he also had published at least 18 mystery and detective stories. The Dipping of the Candlemaker was one of them, published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine the US, UK, and Australia.

(John) Hayden Howard wrote his fictional short story We Specialists in 1967: three years after a horrific crime had been reported in the newspapers. Sixty years later, that case–and its reported “bystander effect”–is still discussed in countless psychology classes.

In Gremmie’s Reef–a 1964 science fiction short story in the anthology Reawakened Worlds Vol 1 by (John) Hayden Howard–a teen surfing off the Santa Barbara, California coast finds something bizarre.

In John Hayden Howard‘s vintage sci-fi anthology, Reawakened Worlds, Vol One (WildBlue Press, 2023) Henry and Hank share an strange and untenable bond.

Here’s a fun little teaser for Volume One of Reawakened Worlds: Vintage Dystopian and Sci-Fi: This Reawakened Worlds book trailer is for the first collection of short stories and novelettes by John Hayden Howard. I enjoyed compiling his vintage works as his literary estate executor, and writing the Foreword and Afterword.

In REAWAKENED WORLDS Vol. One, 1950s university professors & archaeologists, 1940s boxers, and 1960s teen surfers all have mysterious encounters. I must admit I was thrilled to see Reawakened Worlds was listed on Amazon for nearly a month as the #1 New Release in Classic Science Fiction eBooks! UPDATE: This book is being re-released under a new title this coming winter, with the same cover & same stories. The change was necessary due to confusion with listings at Amazon.

In his fun short stories, John Hayden Howard used creative wordplay and unique characterization in 1940s to 1960s historical settings. Here's a great example from his short story Ten Rounds for the All-Time Champ (in REAWAKENED WORLDS, Vol One):

When Hayden Howard was a nominee for the Hugo Awards in 1967 for his novelette, he was in good company. 1966 nominees included Frank Herbert, for Dune, and J.R.R. Tolkein, for Lord of the Rings.

Many fans of 1960s sci-fi stories recognize the author name, Hayden Howard, listed in the The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. These 5 personal facts about him may surprise you: