author
Helen M. Urban
A mid-century science fiction writer with a playful imagination, she published stories in genre magazines and is still remembered for tales like The Glory of Ippling. She was also active in Los Angeles fandom, linking the fan world and the professional side of science fiction.
1 Audiobook
The Glory of Ippling
by Helen M. Urban
About the author
Born in Pennsylvania on January 23, 1915, Helen M. Urban was an American science fiction author whose work appeared during the great magazine era of the genre. Bibliographic sources identify her as writing in English and note that she was also credited as Helen Urban.
Urban is best known for short fiction, including The Glory of Ippling and The Cat and the Canaries. Her work appeared in science fiction magazines in the 1950s and 1960s, and her stories continue to circulate through archive and public-domain editions, helping new readers discover her offbeat, classic-SF voice.
She was also part of science fiction fandom in Los Angeles, where fan-history sources describe her as active from the 1950s and involved with the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. That mix of fandom and professional publishing makes her a nice example of how closely connected the science fiction community could be in that era. Urban died on February 13, 2003.