Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition will be released online later this year... and the text will be free...

Encyclopedia of Science Fiction to be published online, with text available free (Press Release) 

"The third edition of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, the definitive reference work in the field, will be released online later this year by the newly-formed ESF, Ltd, in association with Victor Gollancz, the SF & Fantasy imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, whose support will enable the text to be available free to all users. This initial “beta” version, containing about three-quarters of the total projected content, will be unveiled in conjunction with Gollancz’s celebrations of its 50th anniversary as a science fiction publisher.

The first edition of the Encyclopedia, whose founder and general editor was Peter Nicholls, appeared in 1979, and contained over 700,000 words. A second edition, edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, appeared in 1993 and contained over 1.3 million words. Both editions won the Hugo Award from the World Science Fiction Convention, in addition to numerous other honours. The beta version of the third edition will contain some 3 million words, including about 12,000 entries and well over 100,000 internal links. The entries cover every area of science fiction, including authors, illustrators, movies, music, games, and fanzines. The text will be completed, through monthly updates, by the end of 2012.

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The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

"The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an unparalleled reference work of unrivalled authority. First published in 1979, and revised in 1993, the forthcoming online third edition will provide coverage of:

• Authors
• Films
• TV series

• Themes in sf
• Magazines
• Manga and anime

...and much more.

Press release, July 5th (PDF 91KB)

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Shinny!

(via TOR.com - Encyclopedia of Science Fiction to be Available Online—for Free)