Lee Hoffman

Who was Lee Hoffman?

Lee Hoffman, born Shirley Bell Hoffman, was an American science fiction fan, an editor of early folk music fanzines, and an author of science fiction, Western and romance novels.

In 1950-53, she edited and published the highly regarded science fiction fanzine, Quandry. In November 1951, she began publication of Science-Fiction Five-Yearly, which has appeared regularly since then. Briefly married to editor Larry Shaw from 1956 to 1958, she was the assistant editor on the science fiction magazines he edited, Infinity Science Fiction and Science Fiction Adventures. During that same time, she began editing and publishing her folk music publications, Caravan and Gardyloo, which found a readership through Izzy Young's Folklore Center as the folk music scene expanded during the late 1950s.

Hoffman won the Western Writers of America Spur Award for her novel The Valdez Horses. In Spain, John Sturges directed the 1973 film adaptation, The Valdez Horses/Valdez, il Mezzosangue, starring Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland. Under the pseudonym Georgia York, she wrote historical romances for Fawcett Books during the years 1979 to 1983.