author

Barbara Constant

Best known for the haunting science fiction short story The Sound of Silence, this little-known writer left behind a memorable glimpse of early 1960s magazine SF. Though biographical details are scarce, the story still stands out for its quiet tension and psychological focus.

1 Audiobook

The Sound of Silence

The Sound of Silence

by Barbara Constant

About the author

Barbara Constant is a very obscure author, and only a small amount of reliable information is easy to confirm. She is credited with the science fiction short story The Sound of Silence, which appeared in Analog Science Fact—Science Fiction in June 1962.

That story has had a long afterlife beyond its original magazine appearance. It is available through Project Gutenberg and has also been recorded for LibriVox, which helped introduce it to new readers interested in classic short science fiction.

Because so little trustworthy biographical material seems to be publicly available, it is hard to say much more with confidence about her life or career. Even so, The Sound of Silence has kept Barbara Constant's name in circulation as part of the rich world of mid-century speculative fiction.