worldbuilder n.

a writer who engages in world-building n.

SF Criticism

  • 1892 J. Tait Mind in Matter (ed. 3) 158

    Imaginary world-builders, like Mr. Spencer, lay their foundations in shallows.

  • 1942 R. A. Palmer Editor’s Notebook in Fantastic Adventures June 7/1 page image Raymond A. Palmer

    Now he [sc. Edmond Hamilton] ought to have the title of ‘world-builder’! Because he has a knack of building a whole new world of thrilling adventure with a few typewritten words.

  • 1993 M. Bishop Books in Science Fiction Age Jan. 15/1 page image Michael Bishop

    Once you step Inside the Funhouse…you will see that the world-builders are just as weird as the worlds they build.

  • 2006 A. Roberts History of SF x. 203 page image Adam Roberts bibliography

    He is a world-builder, an imaginary anthropologist, and above all a stylist; and it is the conjunction of the unflagging fertility of his imagination and the elegant, chill mannerisms of his prose that generate the distinctive Vance quiddity.

  • 2012 N. Spinrad On Books in Asimov’s Science Fiction Oct.–Nov. 188/2 page image Norman Spinrad

    When the fictional world-builder is a seasoned world traveler like Alan Dean Foster, who is thoroughly and enthusiastically familiar with the cultural, ecological, and geographic multiplexities of the real world in realtime, the depth, detail, and emotional connection of his fictional one becomes something special.

Research requirements

any evidence 1892
Earliest cite

James Tait, 'Mind in Matter'
Research History
Ben Ostrowsky submitted a 2006 cite from Adam Roberts.

We would like to get examples from any other sources, to fill out this entry.

Last modified 2021-02-25 15:10:29
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.