Playboy : Anthologies


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For decades beginning in the 1950s the US men's magazine Playboy was the source of more SF and fantasy stories than any magazine outside the genre. It included genre stories only occasionally, but paid well and thus attracted top writers; there are classic stories in the list below by Ballard, Bradbury, Clarke, Knight, Le Guin, and others. (At the same time, Clarke's longish "A Meeting with Medusa" has never been included in any of these anthologies.)

In the mid-1960s the magazine's own book publishing arm released three anthologies, two hardcover and one paperback, all credited anonymously to "the editors of Playboy" though both SFE and Isfdb credit Ray Russell. Then in 1971 eight mass market paperbacks with matching cover designs were released, reprinting some of the stories in the earlier books and adding many more, again anonymously edited. (Five are shown in the photo.)

Finally in 1998 long-time Playboy fiction editor Alice K. Turner published an anthology of 25 stories from 1965 to 1997, half of them from years following 1971, with Harper Prism.

Authors most often reprinted: Robert Sheckley (13), then Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Russell, and Henry Slesar (9 each).

  • The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, (Playboy, 1966) [isfdb]
  • The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural, (Playboy, 1967) [isfdb]
  • Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange, (Playboy, 1969) [isfdb]
  • Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge, (Playboy, 1971) [isfdb]
  • Weird Show, (Playboy, 1971) [isfdb]
  • Transit of Earth, (Playboy, 1971) [isfdb]
  • From the "S" File, (Playboy, 1971) [isfdb]
  • Last Train to Limbo, (Playboy, 1971) [isfdb]
  • Masks, (Playboy, 1971) [isfdb]
  • The Fiend, (Playboy, 1971) [isfdb]
  • The Dead Astronaut, (Playboy, 1971) [isfdb]
  • The Playboy Book of Science Fiction, Alice K. Turner, ed. (HarperPrism, 1998) [isfdb]



Combined Contents by Author and Title


Vance Aandahl
  • Adam Frost (Playboy Apr 1962) -- The Fiend
  • John Atherton
  • Waste Not, Want Not (Playboy Jun 1959) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Transit of Earth
  • Asa Baber
  • Last Train to Limbo (Playboy Jul 1970) -- Last Train to Limbo
  • J. G. Ballard
  • The Dead Astronaut (Playboy May 1968) -- The Dead Astronaut
          -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Souvenir (The Terminal Beach, 1964) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Transit of Earth
  • Thomas Baum
  • On Location (Playboy Jul 1970) -- Last Train to Limbo
  • Charles Beaumont
  • Black Country (Playboy Sep 1954) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Blood Brother (Playboy Apr 1961) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • The Crooked Man (Playboy Aug 1955) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- The Fiend
  • The Dark Music (Playboy Dec 1956) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
  • The Monster Show (Playboy May 1956) -- Last Train to Limbo
  • Perchance to Dream (Playboy Oct 1958) -- Masks
  • Sorcerer's Moon (Playboy Jul 1959) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • You Can't Have Them All (Playboy Aug 1956) -- The Fiend
  • Thomas Berger
  • Professor Hyde (Playboy Dec 1961) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • Terry Bisson
  • An Office Romance (Playboy Feb 1997) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Robert Bloch
  • Beelzebub (Playboy Dec 1963) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • I Like Blondes (Playboy Jan 1956) -- The Fiend
  • The Traveling Salesman (Playboy Feb 1957) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Word of Honor (Playboy Aug 1958) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Last Train to Limbo
  • Ray Bradbury
  • Heavy-Set (Playboy Oct 1964) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • The Illustrated Woman (Playboy Mar 1961) -- Last Train to Limbo
  • The Life Work of Juan Diaz (Playboy Sep 1963) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • The Lost City of Mars (Playboy Jan 1967) -- Last Train to Limbo
          -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • The Machineries of Joy (Playboy Dec 1962) -- Transit of Earth
  • The Man in the Rorschach Shirt (Playboy Oct 1966) -- Transit of Earth
  • A Miracle of Rare Device (Playboy Jan 1962) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • The Vacation (Playboy Dec 1963) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • Fredric Brown
  • Double Standard (Playboy Apr 1963) -- The Fiend
  • It Didn't Happen (Playboy Oct 1963) -- Transit of Earth
  • Nasty (Playboy Apr 1959) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- Weird Show
  • Puppet Show (Playboy Nov 1962) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Last Train to Limbo
  • T. K., Brown III
  • Man with a Past (Playboy May 1963) -- Last Train to Limbo
  • Algis Budrys
  • The Ultimate Brunette (Playboy Sep 1965) -- The Fiend
  • Italo Calvino
  • The Origin of Everything (Playboy Mar 1968) -- Last Train to Limbo
  • John Cheever
  • The Yellow Room (Playboy Jan 1968) -- Masks
  • John Christopher
  • Rendezvous (Playboy Sep 1966) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Arthur C. Clarke
  • Dial "F" for Frankenstein (Playboy Jan 1965) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Last Train to Limbo
  • The Food of the Gods (Playboy May 1964) -- Last Train to Limbo
  • I Remember Babylon (Playboy May 1960) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- The Fiend
  • Let There Be Light (Dundee Sunday Telegraph Sep 5 1957) -- Transit of Earth
  • Maelstrom II (Playboy Apr 1965) -- The Dead Astronaut
  • Transit of Earth (Playboy Jan 1971) -- Transit of Earth
          -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • John Collier
  • Softly Walks the Beetle (Playboy Jan 1960) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- Weird Show
  • Robert Coover
  • The Hat Act (Playboy Feb 1968) -- Masks
  • Billy Crystal
  • Earth Station Charlie (Playboy Dec 1986) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Avram Davidson
  • The Invasion (Playboy Jul 1965) -- Transit of Earth
  • The Sensible Man (Playboy Feb 1959) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- The Dead Astronaut
  • Philip K. Dick
  • Frozen Journey (Playboy Dec 1980) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Roger Dionne
  • Accidents of a Country Road (Playboy Nov 1970) -- Weird Show
  • Thomas M. Disch
  • Cephalotron (Playboy Dec 1966) -- Transit of Earth
  • Frank Dobinson
  • The Master Copy (Playboy May 1966) -- The Fiend
  • Stan Dryer
  • The Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge (Playboy Jul 1968) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • David Duncan
  • Requiem on the Moon (Playboy Oct 1964) -- The Dead Astronaut
  • George Alec Effinger
  • Slow, Slow Burn (Playboy May 1988) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Harlan Ellison
  • All the Birds Come Home to Roost (Playboy Mar 1979) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • David Ely
  • The Academy (Playboy Jun 1965) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- Weird Show
  • Jack Finney
  • Double Take (Playboy Apr 1965) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • Hey, Look at Me! (Playboy Sep 1962) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Hugh G. Foster
  • The Taste of Fear (Playboy Sep 1959) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- Weird Show
  • Bruce Jay Friedman
  • A Foot in the Door (Playboy Oct 1960) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • The Investor (Playboy Feb 1962) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
  • The Killer in the TV Set (Playboy Aug 1961) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • Herbert Gold
  • Weird Show (Playboy Apr 1958) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- Weird Show
  • Ron Goulart
  • A Man's Home Is His Castle (Playboy Mar 1969) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • The Trouble with Machines (Playboy Aug 1968) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • Gerald Green
  • The Dispatcher (Playboy Aug 1967) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
  • Walt Grove
  • John Grant's Little Angel (Playboy Jul 1964) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • Joe Haldeman
  • More Than the Sum of His Parts (Playboy May 1985) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Gerald Kersh
  • Somewhere Not Far from Here (Playboy Mar 1965) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
  • Stephen King
  • The Word Processor (Playboy Jan 1983) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Damon Knight
  • Masks (Playboy Jul 1968) -- Masks
          -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Arthur Koestler
  • The Chimeras (Playboy May 1969) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • George Langelaan
  • The Fly (Playboy Jun 1957) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Nine Lives (Playboy Nov 1969) -- The Dead Astronaut
          -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Doris Lessing
  • Report on the Threatened City (Playboy Nov 1971) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • John D. MacDonald
  • The Annex (Playboy May 1968) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
  • Richard Matheson
  • Button, Button (Playboy Jun 1970) -- Transit of Earth
  • By Appointment Only (Playboy Apr 1970) -- Weird Show
  • First Anniversary (Playboy Jul 1960) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • No Such Thing as a Vampire (Playboy Oct 1959) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • The Splendid Source (Playboy May 1956) -- Last Train to Limbo
  • Patrick McGivern
  • Number Eight (Playboy Jun 1970) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • Jeremiah McMahon
  • Mr. Swift and His Remarkable Thing (Playboy Oct 1968) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • Robert McNear
  • Death's Door (Playboy Mar 1969) -- Masks
  • R. K. Narayan
  • A Breath of Lucifer (Playboy Jul 1969) -- Masks
  • H. C. Neal
  • Who Shall Dwell... (Playboy Jul 1962) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Last Train to Limbo
  • Hugh Nissenson
  • The Mission (Playboy Dec 1964) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- The Fiend
  • Larry Niven
  • Leviathan! (Playboy Aug 1970) -- Last Train to Limbo
          -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • William F. Nolan
  • Papa's Planet (Playboy Apr 1968) -- Last Train to Limbo
  • The Party (Playboy Apr 1967) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- Weird Show
  • Alan E. Nourse
  • Hard Bargain (Playboy May 1958) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • Frederik Pohl
  • The Fiend (Playboy Apr 1964) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- The Fiend
  • Lovemaking (Playboy Dec 1966) -- The Fiend
  • Punch (Playboy Jun 1961) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • The Schematic Man (Playboy Jan 1969) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Speed Trap (Playboy Nov 1967) -- Transit of Earth
  • Ken W. Purdy
  • The Convert (Playboy Mar 1970) -- Weird Show
  • For the Rich They Sing—Sometimes (Playboy May 1962) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • The Golden Frog (Playboy Jan 1963) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
  • The Noise (Playboy Mar 1959) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • Untitled (Playboy Oct 1966) -- Masks
  • John Reese
  • Double Exposure (Playboy Feb 1965) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- Weird Show
  • Brian Rencelaw
  • Skin-Deep (Playboy Jun 1963) -- The Dead Astronaut
  • Mack Reynolds
  • Burnt Toast (Playboy Nov 1955) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Frank M. Robinson
  • A Life in the Day Of (Playboy Jun 1969) -- Weird Show
  • The Wreck of the Ship John B. (Playboy Jun 1967) -- The Dead Astronaut
  • Rick Rubin
  • Winter in This Latitude (Playboy Dec 1962) -- Masks
  • Ray Russell
  • The Better Man (Playboy Jul 1966) -- The Fiend
  • Comet Wine (Playboy Mar 1967) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Here Comes John Henry (Playboy Sep 1968) -- The Dead Astronaut
  • Put Them All Together, They Spell Monster (Playboy Oct 1956) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • Ripples (Playboy Oct 1967) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
  • The Room (Playboy Feb 1961) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • Sardonicus (Playboy Jan 1961) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Space Opera (Playboy Dec 1961) -- Fully Automated Love Life of Henry Keanridge
  • Xong of Xuxan (Playboy Oct 1970) -- Weird Show
  • William Sambrot
  • Control Somnambule (Playboy May 1962) -- From the "S" File
          -- Transit of Earth
  • Charles Schafhauser
  • I'm Yours (Playboy Dec 1954) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- Weird Show
  • Allan Seager
  • Colorless in Limestone Caverns (Playboy Nov 1968) -- Masks
  • Jack Sharkey
  • Conversation with a Bug (Playboy Oct 1961) -- From the "S" File
  • The Pool (Playboy Nov 1964) -- From the "S" File
  • Irwin Shaw
  • The Mannichon Solution (Playboy Dec 1967) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
  • Robert Sheckley
  • Can You Feel Anything When I Do This? (Playboy Aug 1969) -- From the "S" File
          -- The Fiend
          -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Cordle to Onion to Carrot (Playboy Dec 1969) -- From the "S" File
  • Duplication (Playboy May 1959) -- From the "S" File
  • Judication (Playboy May 1959) -- From the "S" File
  • Love, Incorporated (Playboy Sep 1956) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- The Fiend
  • Lubrication (Playboy May 1959) -- From the "S" File
  • The Same to You Doubled (Playboy Mar 1970) -- From the "S" File
  • Spy Story (Playboy Sep 1955) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- The Dead Astronaut
  • The World of Heart's Desire (Playboy Sep 1959) -- From the "S" File
  • Lucius Shepard
  • Fire Zone Emerald (Playboy Feb 1986) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Robert Silverberg
  • Gianni (Playboy Feb 1982) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • John Sladek
  • The Man from Not-Yet (Playboy Jun 1968) -- From the "S" File
  • Henry Slesar
  • After (Playboy Jun 1960) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- From the "S" File
  • Examination Day (Playboy Feb 1958) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- From the "S" File
  • I Do Not Like Thee, Dr. Feldman (Playboy Jun 1969) -- Weird Show
  • The Jam (Playboy Nov 1958) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- From the "S" File
  • Melodramine (Playboy Aug 1965) -- From the "S" File
  • Victory Parade (Playboy Apr 1957) -- From the "S" File
  • Norman Spinrad
  • Deathwatch (Playboy Nov 1965) -- From the "S" File
          -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Theodore Sturgeon
  • The Nail and the Oracle (Playboy Oct 1965) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- From the "S" File
  • G. L. Tassone
  • Room 312 (Playboy Aug 1967) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
  • William Tenn
  • Bernie the Faust (Playboy Nov 1963) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Transit of Earth
  • The Ghost Standard (Playboy Dec 1994) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Walter S. Tevis
  • The Apotheosis of Myra (Playboy Jul 1980) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Theodore Thomas
  • December 28th (Playboy Dec 1959) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- Last Train to Limbo
  • John Tomerlin
  • Side by Side (Playboy Sep 1964) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Calvin Tomkins
  • Virginia (Playboy Mar 1967) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  • Welcome to the Monkey House (Playboy Jan 1968) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange
          -- The Fiend
          -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Howard Waldrop
  • Heirs of the Perisphere (Playboy Jul 1985) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Leland Webb
  • A Man for the Moon (Playboy Aug 1960) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
          -- The Dead Astronaut
  • Donald Westlake
  • Interstellar Pigeon (Playboy May 1982) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Charles Willeford
  • The Machine in Ward Eleven (Playboy Mar 1961) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
          -- Weird Show
  • Tennessee Williams
  • A Recluse and His Guest (Playboy Jan 1970) -- Weird Show
  • Chet Williamson
  • Sen Yet Babbo & the Heavenly Host (Playboy Aug 1987) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
  • Gahan Wilson
  • The Manuscript of Dr. Arness (Playboy Aug 1966) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • The Sea Was Wet as Wet Could Be (Playboy May 1967) -- The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural
  • Bernard Wolfe
  • The Dot and Dash Bird (Playboy Dec 1964) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • The Never-Ending Penny (Playboy Sep 1960) -- The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy
  • John Wyndham
  • Wise Child (Argosy (UK) Nov 1962) -- Playboy's Stories of the Sinister & Strange

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    This page last updated Thursday 3 Sep 2020 at 10:23 PT