This collection includes representative works of the first five recipients of the Science Fiction Writers of America's prestigious position of honor, Author Emeritus. The position was created in 1994 by SFWA's then central/south regional director, author/editor Robin Wayne Bailey, as a way of recognizing living authors who were pioneers in the genre. The authors whose works are collected here are:

Emil Petaja (inducted in 1995)
Wilson Tucker (1996)
Judith Merril (1997)
Nelson Bond (1998)
and Philip Klass, who wrote under the pen-name William Tenn (1999).