Description:

Forrest J Ackerman, the man who coined the term "sci-fi" in 1954, published the world's shortest science fiction story, "Cosmic Report Card: Earth," in Vertex Magazine (1973). It has since been translated into eight languages. Ackerman, now 89, is known by millions as the former editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine; literary agent to sci-fi luminaries such as Ray Bradbury, L. Ron Hubbard, A.E. Van Vogt; ill-iterary agent to Ed Wood Jr; and also a super fan and collector. "Uncle Forry" is considered a mentor by notables like Stephen Spielberg, John Landis and Peter Jackson. Says Ackerman, "At the time, it was considered that Fredric Brown had written the world’s shortest; "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door…" So I penned the shortest possible story I could imagine, suggesting that aliens were grading all the planets in our solar system."