H. G. Wells Society

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H. G. Wells in 1943.

The H.G. Wells Society, founded in 1960, is an international association composed of people interested in the life, work and thought of the British writer and thinker Herbert George Wells (1866–1946), and encouraging a wider interest in his writings and ideas. The Society has published a comprehensive bibliography of Wells's published works, and has printed the following other publications, several of which are works by Wells which had been hitherto out of print for many years:

- H. G. Wells, The Last Books of H. G. Wells: The Happy Turning and Mind at the End of its Tether, ed. G. P. Wells (1982).

- H.G. Wells Society, A Comprehensive Bibliography, foreword by Kingsley Martin (1985).

- H. G. Wells, The Discovery of the Future with The Commonsense of World Peace and The Human Adventure, ed. Patrick Parrinder (1989).

- H. G. Wells, Select Conversations with an Uncle (Now Extinct) with Two Hitherto Unreprinted Conversations, ed. David C. Smith and Patrick Parrinder, foreword by Michael Foot (1992).

- John Hammond, The H.G. Wells Society: A Short History (2000).

- H.G. Wells, The Betterave Papers, ed. John Hammond (2001).

- James Dilloway, Human Rights and World Order, 2nd edn (1998).

- John S. Partington, The Wellsian: Selected Essays on H. G. Wells (2003).

- John S. Partington, H. G. Wells's Fin de Siecle: Twenty-first Century Reflections on the Early H. G. Wells. A Selection from The Wellsian (2007).

According to the Society, their objective is "to promote and encourage universally an active interest in, and appreciation of, the life, work and thought of Herbert George Wells".

Its specific aims are:

To encourage a greater interest in the works of H.G. Wells on the part of publishing, press and broadcasting organisations.
To promote a wider knowledge of the ideas and ideals of H.G. Wells and to assist in promoting their understanding and dissemination.
To organise lectures, meetings and conferences, to issue publications, and to engage in such other educational work as will assist towards the realisation of the Society's aims.

Each year the Society organises a September conference where aspects of Wells's life and work are discussed. All members receive a triannual newsletter and an annual journal, entitled The Wellsian.

Over the years, the Society has accumulated a substantial collection of books and pamphlets by Wells, and an archive of press cuttings relating to Wells. This collection is currently housed in the Learning Centre at the Holloway Road campus of the London Metropolitan University. The Society is also closely associated with the Wells Collections at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Bromley Central Library, South London, the former being the repository of the Wells papers.

The President of the Society is Dr John Hammond, its founder, and it has a number of distinguished Vice-presidents, including Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Foot, Brian Aldiss, Christopher Priest and Stephen Baxter.

[edit] Sources

Information leaflets & Newsletters published by the H. G. Wells Society
The Wellsian, official journal, annually published by the H. G. Wells Society