More years ago than I care to admit as a 10-yr-old I discovered science fiction in the form of a young adult series of novels. Tom Swift Jr. became a gateway for me to other, more involved and adult forms of scifi that led to a lifelong passion and actually inspired me at some point to become a screenwriter and write scifi. In fact, I always thought Tom Swift would make a great young adult TV series that I would love to write. Several attempts have been made for both TV and film but nothing has gotten far yet. So maybe there's hope.
Victor Appleton is listed as the author of the books but it was actually Edward Stratemeyer, a writer from New Jersey who created them in 1910. The individual books were ghostwritten by many authors, including Stratemeyer, but Appleton is always the author listed.
Today, 100 years later, there is still a legacy of new, updated adventures although they have never really achieved the prominence and popularity of the series I read, Tom Swift, Jr.
Edward Stratemeyer , the creator of the boy inventor, was a remarkable man. He created the Tom Swift Sr. series that led to all the further iterations of the boy inventor including his son, Tom Jr., who, with his fast friend, Bud, had many dozens of adventures - 33 books and I excitedly read them all.
But Stratemeyer was so much more than Tom Swift. He also created Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and many other children's series characters. Imagine
the hundreds of thousands of lives this man’s legacy has touched. A remarkable achievement.
The Jr. series was insanely good. They were exciting, innovative and cutting edge - utilizing concepts that were in the news or the imaginations of the world at the time. The first I ever heard of a VTOL airplane was in Tom Swift and his Flying Lab; rockets, atomic power, robots...they all played out in the books that I so eagerly devoured.
Listen to some of these titles: Tom Swift and his Flying Lab; Jetmarine,; Giant Robot; Diving Seacopter; Caves of Nuclear Fire; Deep-Sea Hydrodome; Polar-Ray Dynasphere - how could you not be intrigued and then captivated? With Tom, I flew high, dove deep and explored "brave new worlds and new civilizations..."
On July 16th, 17th and 18th, in San Diego, a convention celebrating the 100th year of the creation of Tom Swift is being put on by collectors and fans of the eternally-young scientist whose explorer spirit touched and infuses many of us.
I’m going to try to get down there for at least one day. I owe it to Tom for giving me a lifelong joy for reading in general and scifi specifically. It sounds like the organizers have really done a bang-up job of putting this together and there’s a lot to do and see.
I’ll copy and paste the information I received from James Keeline, the man who is putting this on, so I don’t mess it up.
Here is the main website: CLICK
From the organizer, James Keeline:
"Friday (16th) is the museum and library tour. At the end of the day we'll arrive at UCSD Geisel Library to see the Tom Swift Centennial exhibit that we helped to put together, including loaning several items from our collections and those of a friend. Around 4 pm we'll see a live performance in a radio drama style based on Tom Swift and the Visitor from Planet X (1961 PD). We'll have at least three voice actors from San Diego's WriteOutLoud plus the sound effects and voice talents of Scott Paulson of UCSD Library.
"Saturday (17th) and Sunday (18th) are the main convention days with about 14 presentations on the schedule between 9 am and 5 pm. We'll have a 90-minute break for people to get lunch and an open-mic session each day with themes like "How I found Tom Swift" and "What Tom Swift Means to 
Me" on Saturday and "My Greatest Collecting Find(s)" or "The One(s) That Got Away" on Sunday. I imagine some may bring books or other items for show and tell during that period of time.
"Saturday evening we'll have a dinner from 5:30-7:30 with trivia, raffles, and possibly a Chinese Auction-style gift exchange if people bring nominal-value items of interest to Tom Swift fans.
"After the dinner on Saturday we'll have another radio show. This time it will be based on one of the original volumes, Tom Swift and His Airship (1910 PD). This show was performed at UCSD library on June 14.
"We have some samples of the Airship radio show and previews for Visitor From Planet X and the convention in general on YouTube .
"On Sunday one of our presentations will feature a museum curator who portrays
Glenn Curtiss, the motorcycle and aviation pioneer who is thought to be a model for Tom Swift. He did a lot of his experimental work in Hammondsport, NY on Keuka Lake. This would make them the models for Shopton, NY and Lake Carlopa of the books. Curtiss also participated in the first U.S. air meet at Rancho San Dominguez in Los Angeles in 1910 and did some early flying boat and aircraft carrier experiments in San Diego.
"In addition to the presentations, we will also have a sale room with historical displays. These may include books and other Tom Swift collectibles plus old chemistry sets and a few parts from the full-scale "Aeroship" built for an attempt by 20th C.-Fox to make a Tom Swift film 
(1966-69.).
"We have some sellers who will set up tables and offer series books like Tom Swift and science fiction. One or two sellers may bring original cover art for series books that they have acquired and offer for sale. We will bring the Tom Swift cover art we have acquired for display."
Again, this sounds like a fantastic opportunity to learn about this seminal character or share your enthusiam for the boy inventor. I doubt you'll get another opportunity like this in the near future so grab your jetpack, hop on the 5 SkyWay South and head into the future as envisioned by many generations of writers and fans.
