Thomas George Lawrence Cockcroft, who published under the name T.G.L. Cockcroft, was born on July 28, 1926, and lived in the suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand. By day, Mr. Cockcroft dealt in IBM punch cards. By night, he devoted himself to weird fiction and fantasy fiction. According to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database, Mr. Cockcroft's first book was The Tales of Clark Ashton Smith (1951). Fantasy fans must forever be grateful to Tom Cockcroft for his indexes to their favorite genres: Index To the Verse in Weird Tales (1960), Index To the Weird Fiction Magazines: Index by Title (1962), and Index To the Weird Fiction Magazines: Index by Author (1964, 1967). Mr. Cockcroft's fourth index, Letters in Weird Tales, Strange Tales, Strange Stories, Oriental Stories, The Magic Carpet, and Golden Fleece (no date), is available on the website of The FictionMags Index, here. (Mr. Cockcroft also published Index to Fiction in Radio News and Other Magazines [1970].) He corresponded with fans from all over the world.
Thomas G.L. Cockcroft died this year, on April 12, 2013. He was eighty-five years old. We should all take a moment to remember him and the fine work he did.
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Thomas Cockcroft compiled indexes to a number of magazines under the heading of weird fiction. In alphabetical order, they are:
- Golden Fleece Historical Adventure
- The Magic Carpet Magazine
- Oriental Stories
- Strange Stories
- Strange Tales of Mystery and Terror
- Strange Tales of the Mysterious and Supernatural (British)
- The Thrill Book
- Weird Tales
In his introduction to the index by title, Mr. Cockcroft recognized that only Weird Tales, Strange Stories, and the two magazines entitled Strange Tales are "true 'weird fiction' magazines." But in the interest of carrying on his work, I will include the other titles in this series on weird fiction and fantasy fiction magazines. I have already covered Weird Tales, Oriental Stories, and The Magic Carpet Magazine. The Thrill Book is next.
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| Collector, fan, author, indexer, and publisher Thomas G.L. Cockcroft (1926-2013). |
Text copyright 2013, 2023 Terence E. Hanley
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