# ID the author of a SF story? And maybe the title, too **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-author-of-a-sf-story-and-maybe-the-title-too/605641 "2011-12-09T16:58:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-author-of-a-sf-story-and-maybe-the-title-too/605641/1 "2011-12-09T16:58:28Z")
Jeneva posted this in a thread in the Pit, and it sounds interesting: > [@And here's your Dec. rants thread - Merry Christbitchmas!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-heres-your-dec-rants-thread-merry-christbitchmas/604693/236): > > No, it was a short story in IASFM in the early to mid 80s. I think it was called “Hunger”, and I can’t remember the author. The main character was an artist who did paintings for the ceilings of the shopping mall, which (he eventually found out) were infused with the subliminal messages that made people consume more. Since he lived in the mall where he worked, he was subject to these messages all the time, and ate more and more and got fatter and fatter, until he found out what was going on and was outraged. Then he decided to hack the system and change the subliminal message to something else, something which made for a really interesting day at the mall. 😉 By any chance, does anyone know the author’s name? And the correct title, if she didn’t remember it right? Thanks! (Heck, if you know the date of the issue, that would be splendiferous too.) ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-author-of-a-sf-story-and-maybe-the-title-too/605641/2 "2011-12-09T17:14:11Z")
I did a search of the Internet Speculative Fiction Database and found [The Artist of Hunger](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?42837), which seems to fit the description. Unfortunately, My collection of _Asimov’s_ from the early 80s is packed away, so I can’t confirm further. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-author-of-a-sf-story-and-maybe-the-title-too/605641/3 "2011-12-09T17:50:15Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > I did a search of the Internet Speculative Fiction Database and found [The Artist of Hunger](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?42837), which seems to fit the description. Unfortunately, My collection of _Asimov’s_ from the early 80s is packed away, so I can’t confirm further. I’m pretty sure that’s right - I remember readnig that story when it first came out, and at the time the only magazine I would have been reading was “Asimovs”. I’ll check to see if I have the copy somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-author-of-a-sf-story-and-maybe-the-title-too/605641/4 "2011-12-09T22:40:54Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > I did a search of the Internet Speculative Fiction Database and found [The Artist of Hunger](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?42837), which seems to fit the description. Unfortunately, My collection of _Asimov’s_ from the early 80s is packed away, so I can’t confirm further. Thank you! With the help of that info I found out the story was reprinted in an anthology called “The Science Fiction Weight Loss Book.” Which is OOP, but I was able to request it through ILL so I am happy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-author-of-a-sf-story-and-maybe-the-title-too/605641/5 "2011-12-09T22:48:14Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I’m pretty sure that’s right - I remember readnig that story when it first came out, and at the time the only magazine I would have been reading was “Asimovs”. I’ll check to see if I have the copy somewhere. I found my copy (after some effort) - it’s the right story. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-author-of-a-sf-story-and-maybe-the-title-too/605641/6 "2011-12-09T22:57:53Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I found my copy (after some effort) - it’s the right story. Thank you, too! I hope it wasn’t too big a hassle. Or at least that you found some stories you now want to reread… ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-author-of-a-sf-story-and-maybe-the-title-too/605641/7 "2011-12-09T23:53:32Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Thank you, too! > > I hope it wasn’t too big a hassle. Or at least that you found some stories you now want to reread… Not too much of a hassle - just a reminder that I really need to get my old “Asimovs” issues organized. And as you suggest, now I can reread some old stories that I haven’t read in a while ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-the-author-of-a-sf-story-and-maybe-the-title-too/605641/8 "2011-12-10T00:00:47Z")
It’s easy to find this story using the Advanced Search page from the Internet Speculation Fiction Database. If you specify that you want only short stories that contain the word “hunger”, you get a page-long list. You then check which ones appeared in Asimov’s in the mid-80’s and you get your story.