This collection consists of the personal papers, manuscripts, memorabilia, and other associational material of science fiction and fantasy author George R.R. Martin.

Martin has also deposited as part of his collection a growing assortment of books, including his own work in various editions and translations, as well as works that he has edited or to which he has contributed. A bibliography of these books is available from the Reading Room upon request and items from that list are available for consultation.

This collection contains materials from science fiction D.L. (David) Young, relating to the creation and publication of his novel _Soledad,_a post-apocalyptic tale that is the first volume in Young's _Dark Republic_series.

Materials include notes, proofs, media material, final electronic versions of the novel, and production documentation. The materials in this collection are entirely digital, existing in several different software formats.

This collection consists of two typescripts from the acclaimed science fiction author Edward Bryant (1945-2017). The materials include a photocopied typescript of Bryant's 1984 story "Dancing Chickens", with edits; and the first four chapters of an unpublished novel by Bryant, No Limits. The chapters also contain handwritten edits from Bryant.

This collection contains materials from and about fantasy writer Britain, who is most well-known for her epic Green Rider fantasy novel cycle. Materials in the collection include manuscripts for several of the novels in the series; examples of Britain's other writings (including several information brochures she wrote for the National Park Service); correspondence to and from Britain, including items from authors Nevada Barr and Anne McCaffrey; a reference file containing copies of magazines with articles or other references relating to Britain; and assorted other materials.

This collection consists of materials created for the "Dream Gathering" festival held on November 2-3, 2018, at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, ME. The festival was created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of the epic fantasy novel Green Rider by then-Maine resident Kristen Britain in 1998, as well as the release of the latest volume in her series, The Dream Gatherer.

The Dream Gathering featured a reading and book talk from Britain herself, presentations by Green Rider composer Kristina A. Bischoff and photographer Madeline Shayne, displays of fanmade artifacts, cosplay, a virtual tour of Britain's archives at Cushing Memorial Library & Archives, and general fannish socializing.

The collection consists of the program books, documents, correspondence, and miscellaneous items collected by the Cepheid Variable Science Fiction Club from its inception in 1969 through 2005. The collection was assembled from deposits of the club, gifts from Bill Page, and other occasional donors.

This collection contains short story entries made by Texas A&M students in the Annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Creative Writing Contest, co-sponsored since 2017 by the Department of English and Cushing Memorial Library & Archives.

Entries include Winners, Honorable Mentions, and all other entries.

The Media Fanzine Collection is comprised of numerous pre-Internet fan-produced publications that document their involvement in a particular fandom. Fandoms are based around media productions such as movies (i.e. the Star Wars film series) or television shows (i.e. Star Trek in its various iterations). Although traditionally most media fandoms involve productions from the science fiction and fantasy genres, there are numerous exceptions.

The majority of the contents in this collection consists of fan fiction. Fan fiction is the name given to literary or artistic productions created by fans about the characters, settings and events of the media universe in which they are interested. A substantial portion of the fanworks in the Media Fanzine Collection is identified as "slash”. "Slash" refers to fanworks that feature same-sex relationships and are sometimes (though not always) sexually explicit. In slash, sexual identity, sexuality and/or romance are often the centers of the story, rather than the conventional adventures featured in more traditional fanworks.

A small portion of the collection consists of "het" material. "Het", like slash, refers to fanworks featuring sexual or romantic content, but with opposite-sex relationships.

Slash and het items are identified as such on the item folder. If an item is not identified as slash or het, it is to be assumed that the item is “gen” (containing no sexual or romantic content. Both slash and het items have been specifically identified because of their importance as highly visible fan fiction subcultures. (s) indicates slash material. (h) indicates het material.

Fanzines are organized alphabetically by fandom name, and thereunder by title. The term “Multimedia” refers to anthologies of material from different fandoms. The term “Crossover” refers to stories in which characters from one or more media universes interact with those from another. (For example, a story in which Mal Reynolds' ship Serenity passed through a wormhole and encountered Captain James T. Kirk's U.S.S. Enterprise would be a Firefly/Star Trek crossover.)

The October 2016 Addendum includes several "friend books", tiny zines used by pre-teens and teens in the 1970s and 1980s as a way of finding other like-minded fans in the pre-Internet era. Some "friend books" were sized small enough to fit into an international envelope (2-3 inches), and consisted of no more than a few pages. The covers were pages cut from magazines or advertisement and were stapled or taped into a booklet shape. Many were multi-fandom, but some focused on single fandoms like Star Wars. Fans would write their name and address, and list their interests. The book would then passed along to the next fan. When the booklet was filled it was to be mailed back to the original fan. Often times questions were asked (ex: Who is your favorite Star Wars character?)

There are several additional items, including materials from genre conventions, ads and flyers, professional publications that relate to various fandoms, and various items of printed realia. The Christina Pilz February 2024 Addendum contains a number of fanzine advertisements and documentation devoted to fanzine and fanfic productions.

Sub-Series 1 of the Georgia Barnes Addendum contains maps of the Star Trek universe, and has therefore been filed with other items in the Maps Of Imaginary Places Collection.

Audio-Visual Materials

The collection also contains non-print materials. There are a significant number of fanvids in the collection (and the fandoms for those vids are noted in the finding aid). There are also several DVDs that contain recordings of fanfiction podcasts, from a number of different fandoms.

On Star Trek

Since 1966 there have been 5 non-animated television iterations of the television franchise Star Trek. Each one has its own dedicated fandom (although certainly many Trekkers are fans of multiple series), and each one has a generally accepted denotation. Those denotations are used in this collection, as follows:

Star Trek [TOS] refers to the original series(1966-1969).

Star Trek [TNG] refers to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994).

Star Trek [DS9] refers to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999).

Star Trek [VGR] refers to Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001).

Star Trek [ENT] refers to Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005).

On The Professionals Circuit Archive:

There are several boxes of fanfiction from The Professionals Circuit Archive. The Circuit Archive is a singular form of fannish creative association, that for The Professionals fans actually predates the creation of more typical zines. In a standard fanzine distribution, a fan or group of fans will write, edit and publish a fanzine, and the publication will be printed and made available for sale. With The Professionals fandom, things began much more informally. Fans would place their stories 'on the circuit'. That is, they would write their stories and then produce photocopies; the copies would then be circulated among one another via standard mail. In time, certain fans began collecting copies together into 'circuit libraries'. Interested fans could become members of these informal lending libraries, and would receive titles on request, which they could read and /or photocopy and then return to the library. Although, in time, The Professionals fans began producing zines in the same ways that other fans did, much of the fanfiction remained (and remains) on the circuit.

By the late 1980s, two large circuit libraries were in place: one in Great Britain, and another in the United States. They enjoyed considerable overlap in their contents, but because of geographical distance and the informality of circuit distribution did not duplicate each other. In the early 1990s, as zines started entering the electronic era, fans began working to convert the vast number of paper stories into an electronic format that would encourage and increase access (as well as help preserve the much-used paper originals). In 1996, the Circuit Archive went online and continues to periodically increase its contents with new stories. The Circuit Archive, sprung from humble beginnings, now holds more than 1000 individual stories, which form the backbone of The Professionals creative fandom.

To quote Morgan Dawn, "the circuit library in the Professionals fandom is a unique tradition of women writing and sharing fan fiction (often anonymously) without going through the editorial and fanzine publication process. In many ways, it is the precursor to the fan fiction on the Internet where people would read a story, photo-copy it and send it on to someone else, and then write a response story, copy that and mail it on in an endless flow...and because The Professionals was a UK show, you have the unique situation where this communication was crossing both cultural and geographic barriers." Stories in these folders include both gen and slash.

This collection documents the activities of the second gubernational term of William P. Clements, Jr., 1987-1991.  Materials are textual and largely consist of correspondence, memoranda, speeches, clippings, agendas, publications, reports, committee testimony, and press releases.

This collection documents the activities of the first gubernatioral term of William P. Clements, Jr., 1979-1983.  Materials are texual and largely consist of correspondence, memoranda, speeches, clippings, agendas, plublications, reports, committee testimony, and press releases.

The Rita Crocker Clements papers include considerable correspondence, clippings, speeches, daily schedules, block calendars, reports, brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, photographs, and a variety of other types of materials that document the her career as an active Republican Party member and club member as well as an advocate for education, historical preservation, women’s issues, and other matters during nearly fifty years of the 20th century.

This collection contains materials relating to Golden Gryphon Press and its publication of Howard Waldrop's 2003 novelette "A Better World's In Birth!". Materials in the collection include Waldrop's hand-typed manuscript, editor Marty Halpern's edited draft of the story, a final typescript, a copy of the chapbook and a cover flat, and electronic copies of the final typescript.

The novelette tells the story of an alternate central Europe, in which a Communist revolution occurred in the middle of the 19th century, led by Karl Marx, Friederich Engels, and Richard Wagner. In 1876, rumors fly that the ghosts of these three revolutionary martyrs have begun appearing in the city of Dresden. The story examines how these specters may be tied into a larger political conspiracy.

This collection contains materials relating to the lives and literary careers of horror writers Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem. Materials in the collection include manuscripts of novels, short stories, and other works by the Tems, whether written as individuals or together as co-writers; associated literary materials; correspondence; and other materials. Also included are recorded podcast interviews of Steve Rasnic Tem and readings of works by the Tems.

Also included are several literary awards won by the Tems individually and jointly.

This collection consists of two versions of the manuscript for William Gibson's 2007 novel Spook Country, a science fiction technothriller that is the second in his acclaimed "Blue Ant" trilogy. (It follows Gibson's 2003 novel Pattern Recognitions and precedes 2010's Zero History). The trilogy has been defined by Gibson himself as "speculative novels of last Wednesday", that is, novels set in the contemporary world but viewed through a science fictional perspective, showing readers the present through a futuristic lens.

The Blue Ant trilogy centers on the character of Hubertus Bigend, an advertising executive and tech magnate who serves as the series' amoral antihero. Though Bigend dominates the trilogy as whole, Spook Country focuses on the intertwining stories of three characters in particular: Hollis Henry, a journalist hired by Bigend to write a story on the phenomenon of 'locative art'; Chinese-Cuban Tito, a member of a family of criminals who gets bound up in American secret intelligence operations; and Milgrim, a drug addict being held in captivity by a mysterious covert operative named Brown. The novel, set in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and explores the uses and misuses of locative technology, the eversion of cyberspace, and the changed political climate of the United States following the attacks. It was nominated for the 2008 Locus award for Best SF Novel, the 2009 Imaginaire Award, and the 2017 Prix Aurora for Best of the Decade.

Both versions are housed in clamshell boxes within the larger enclosure. The first box contains the autographed typescript of the novel, with heavy corrections and copyedits. The second box holds the autographed and corrected unbound proofs.

This collection contains materials relating to the life and career of Texas-based science fiction and fantasy writer Jessica Reisman. Materials include typescript drafts for many of her published and unpublished stories, as well as drafts and notes from stories written before her professional career began. Other items in the collection include spec scripts and screenplays written by Reisman, academic writing from her undergraduate days, and assorted other materials.

This collection contains official documents from the Office of the President at Texas A&M University. A PDF finding aid is available upon request.

Presidents included are:

Gibb Gilchrist, C. E.

• President May 27, 1944 - September 1, 1948
• Chancellor of the Texas A&M System September 1, 1948 - August 31, 1953
• Born: Wills Point, Texas; December 23, 1887
• Died: College Station, Texas; May 12, 1972; buried in College Station
• Appointed dean of the School of Engineering in 1937; elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas May 27, 1944; served until September 1, 1948, when the Texas A&M System was created and he became the first chancellor of the System, serving until his retirement on August 31, 1953.

Marion Thomas Harrington, Ph.D.

• President June 3, 1950 - September 1, 1953, and September 1, 1957 - July 1, 1959
• Chancellor September 1, 1953 - August 31, 1965
• Born: Plano, Texas; September 8, 1901
• Dean of the College when elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas on September 22, 1949, effective "at the end of the present school year." This was interpreted to be June 3, 1950, and on that date, he officially took over the reins of the presidency. He served until September 1, 1953; when he became the second chancellor of the System, succeeding Mr. Gilchrist. Dr. Harrington was elected president a second time on August 23, 1957, and in addition to his duties as chancellor served as president from September 1, 1957, until July 1, 1959. He retired as chancellor on August 31, 1965. He was the first graduate of Texas A&M University to serve as president and also as chancellor.

David Hitchens Morgan, Ph.D.

• President September 1, 1953 - December 21, 1956
• Born: Portsmouth, Virginia; January 2, 1909
• Died: St. Petersburg, FL; April 21, 1974
• Dean of the College when elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas on June 17, 1953, effective September 1, 1953; resigned December 21, 1956.

David Willard Williams, M.S.

• Acting President December 22, 1956 - September 1, 1957
• Born: Venedocia, Ohio; August 20, 1892
• Died: Bryan, TX; October 30, 1985; buried in Bryan.
• Vice President for agriculture when appointed acting President on December 22, 1956; served until September 1, 1957.

James Earl Rudder, LL.D.

• President of Texas A&M University July 1, 1959 - March 23, 1970
• President of the Texas A&M University system September 1, 1965 - March 23, 1970
• Born: Eden, Texas; May 6, 1910
• Died: Houston, Texas; March 23, 1970; buried at College Station.
• Vice President when elected president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas June 27, 1959, effective July 1, 1959. On September 1, 1965, when Dr. Harrington retired as chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, the title was changed to president, and Mr. Rudder, in addition to his duties as president of Texas A&M University, became president of the Texas A&M University System, which dual position he held until his death on March 23, 1970.

Alvin Roubal Luedecke, LL.D.

• Acting President March 30, 1970 - November 1, 1970
• Born: Eldorado, Texas; October 1, 1910
• Died: San Antonio, Texas; August 9, 1998; buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.
• Associate dean of the College of Engineering when appointed acting president on March 30, 1970; served until November 1, 1970.

Jack Kenny Williams, Ph.D.

• President of Texas A&M University November 1, 1970 - July 31, 1977
• President of the Texas A&M University System November 1, 1970 - July 31, 1977
• Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System August 1, 1977 - January 24, 1979
• Born: Galax, Virginia; April 5, 1920
• Died: Houston, Texas; September 28, 1981; buried in Clemson, South Carolina, on the campus of Clemson University.
• Vice-President for academic affairs, University of Tennessee System, when elected President of Texas A&M University and president of the Texas A&M University System on September 11, 1970, effective November 1, 1970; Elevated to Chancellor of the System on May 24, 1977; Resigned as Chancellor on January 24, 1979, to return to teaching.

This collection consists of reports and other materials for chapters of the Camarilla, the official fan club of White Wolf Publishing's Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing universe. Materials include membership applications submitted to the central office, club chapter reports, membership lists, and other documentation relating to club administration and business.

The term "Camarilla" refers to one of the major vampire sects of the Vampire: The Masquerade universe. To quote White Wolf's official wiki, "The Camarilla is the most organized of the vampiric sects, an elite club that favours tradition and control of the mortal populace from behind the scenes. Across their domains, they enforce six major Traditions, chief among them being the Masquerade. All clans have an individual presence in the Ivory Tower, though a select group of pillar clans make up the core of its membership. Once the Camarilla welcomed all Kindred who obeyed its laws, but recent events have caused the leadership to adopt more exclusive membership rules. No Anarchs, Caitiff, or thin-blooded vampires are allowed to exist within the sect. In addition to preventing the growing mortals masses from discovering the existence of vampires, the Camarilla aims to maintain the status quo of Kindred society; as such, much of its structure and traditions mirror that of Cainite society in feudal Europe in the Dark Ages, and places it at odds with the agenda of the Sabbat and Anarchs, both of whom seek to overthrow archaic Kindred society. "

Vampire: The Masquerade:

The Vampire games, created by Mark Rein-Hagen and first released in 1991, are part of White Wolf's World of Darkness overall universe, set in an Earth much like ours, except that vampires, werewolves, and magic-users exist. Vampire was designed for players to be vampires rather than the more traditional player role as vampire hunters. The game is notable for the development of an elaborate social system and varied culture surrounding vampires. The game, to quote its WIkipedia entry, "uses the cursed, vampiric condition as a backdrop to explore themes of morality, depravity, the human condition (or appreciation of the human condition in its absence), salvation, and personal horror. The gloomy and exaggerated version of the real world that the vampires inhabit, called the "World of Darkness", forms an already bleak canvas against which the stories and struggles of characters are painted. The themes that the game seeks to address include retaining the character's sense of self, humanity, and sanity, as well as simply keeping from being crushed by the grim opposition of mortal and supernatural antagonists and, more poignantly, surviving the politics, treachery, and often violent ambitions of their own kind. " The game has inspired video games, novels, comic books, and the 1996 television show Kindred: The Embraced.

The term "Masquerade" refers to an ongoing disinformation campaign of self-protection directed by the Kindred (the vampires as a whole) and heavily enforced by the Camarilla to convince humans that vampires and other supernatural creatures do not really exist.

The Masquerade universe is also known for its commitment to LARP (Live Action Role-Play). LARPing is an activity in which participants not only create role-playing game characters but physically portray them in established campaigns, LARPs can be played in both public or private areas, and events can vary in size from a small handful of players to hundreds or even several thousands at once. In 1993, White Wolf released the first Vampire LARP game, Mind's Eye Theatre: The Masquerade, and a number of LARP publications based on the different World of Darkness games followed.

unprocessed

This collection contains two Black Heritage series of reel-to-reel tapes and films that cover the early history of African Americans. Included are 40 audio programs produced by Classroom World Productions on African-American topics. They are monophonic, 1/2 track reel-to-reel audio tapes including some titles, no dates, but a search for similar items date from around the late 1960s to early 1970s.

This collection contains manuscripts from the works of fantasy writer Marie Brennan. Included are the original manuscripts and the page proofs for the four books of Brennan's _Onyx Court_series. The _Onyx Court_novels are comprised of a series of semi-standalone historical fantasy novels set in London at different points in English history. Also included are proofs for several volumes in Brennan's more recent Victorian pastiche fantasy series The Memoirs of Lady Trent.

Also included in the collection are copies of literary magazines that contain short stories by Brennan.

This collection consists of two large leather account books from the old store owned and operated by David Verplank Ackerman and James McMiller that was at Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas. The account book labeled "ledger" [box 1] dates from 1855 to 1865 and lists the accounts of individuals while the other one labeled "journal" [box 2] records the chronological expenses beginning in April 1854 and ending in January 1861.

Artificial collection of Corp of Cadets Unit photos

The Texas A&M University Zine Collection is a generalized "floating" collection of zines tied to a set of particular collecting criteria:

• Zines created by Texans, Southwesterners or other Southerners and/or concern Texas, the Southwest and the South; zines created by minorities across Texas, the Southwest or the South; zines created by TAMU students or former students; and Artzines concerned with printing and/or designed as print art objects.

The collection has "Texas A&M University" in the title to reflect the collecting criterion of zines created by A&M students or former students. More importantly, however, the inclusion of the A&M name in the collection title reinforces the collection's connection to the university as well as its major purpose, to help make TAMU a center for the preservation of regional alternative voices.

This collection contains a transcript from the student strike in 1908.

This collection contains files accumulated by Robert W. "Bill" Barzak as a member of the ad hoc Committee to Propose a Faculty Grievance System, 1972; of the Faculty Advisory Committee, 1970-1971; and the ad hoc Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure, circa 1965-1970.