The Mañana Literary Society was an informal meeting of science fiction writers in Los Angeles , California. Hosted by Robert A. Heinlein and his second wife Leslyn at their Laurel Canyon home, the membership included authors such as Anthony Boucher , Arthur K. Barnes , Edmond Hamilton , L. Ron Hubbard , Henry Kuttner , C.L. Moore , L. Sprague de Camp , Cleve Cartmill , Leigh Brackett , Roby Wentz, and Jack Williamson . The young Ray Bradbury , who had not yet made his first story sale, was a guest at one or two meetings. The weekly meetings took place in 1940 and 1941, until the Pearl Harbor attack resulting in the U.S. entering World War II.
21-1187: The society and many of its members appear, thinly veiled, in Boucher's Rocket to the Morgue , whose dedication (in the first edition , read "For The Mañana Literary Society and in particular for Robert Heinlein and Cleve Cartmill." Rocket to the Morgue is something of a roman à clef . Many characters are thinly-veiled versions of personalities such as Robert A. Heinlein ("Austin Carter"), L. Ron Hubbard ("D. Vance Wimpole"), then- literary agent Julius Schwartz ("M. Halstead Phynn") and rocket scientist / occultist /fan Jack Parsons ("Hugo Chantrelle"); or recognizable composites of two writers ("Matt Duncan" - Cleve Cartmill and Henry Kuttner ; "Joe Henderson" - Jack Williamson and Edmond Hamilton ). Some writers' actual pseudonyms appear as minor characters, most prominently "Don Stuart, editor of Surprising " ( John W. Campbell , editor of Astounding Science Fiction ); but also "Anson Macdonald", "Lyle Monroe" (both Heinlein pseudonyms)... and Anthony Boucher (whose real name
42-973: A roman à clef about the Southern California science fiction scene of the time. Many characters are thinly-veiled versions of personalities such as Robert A. Heinlein ("Austin Carter"), L. Ron Hubbard ("D. Vance Wimpole"), then- literary agent Julius Schwartz ("M. Halstead Phynn") and rocket scientist / occultist /fan Jack Parsons ("Hugo Chantrelle"); or recognizable composites of two writers ("Matt Duncan" – Cleve Cartmill and Henry Kuttner ; "Joe Henderson" – Jack Williamson and Edmond Hamilton ). Some writers' actual pseudonyms appear as minor characters, most prominently "Don Stuart, editor of Surprising " ( John W. Campbell , editor of Astounding Science Fiction ); but also "Anson Macdonald" and "Lyle Monroe" (both Heinlein pseudonyms), and Boucher himself (under his real name of William Anthony Parker White). The science fiction culture
63-399: A "properly science-fictional though strictly prosaic murder by rocket". In 2017, James Nicoll noted that, unlike of much of Boucher's work, Rocket to the Morgue was not out of print ; he attributed this to "catering to SF fans’ egos." Nicoll also noted that Boucher's afterword "is coy about which particular notoriously litigious estates inspired" Hilary's character; but hypothesized that
84-460: A pre-adolescent: "[a]n infant with pink and downy cheeks". The first edition was published in 1942 (as by "H. H. Holmes") by Duell, Sloan and Pearce . The first paperback edition in 1943 was the first and only book published under the imprint "A Phantom Mystery". It has been repeatedly reprinted (after 1944, as by Anthony Boucher), beginning with a 1952 Dell edition. Out of print An out-of-print ( OOP ) or out-of-commerce item or work
105-430: Is exhausted, but is usually soon reprinted. Publishers will often let a book go out of stock for long periods, then reprint the book, usually with a new cover and formatting, to catch the presumably built up demand for the book. The author or their estate may have copyright reverted to them once the publisher has declared it out of print. Most publishing contracts contain reversion clauses allowing authors to regain
126-512: Is in danger, and asks for police help. Police Detective Inspector Terry Marshall arrives at the house just as a ticking "box of chocolates" is delivered. The novel features two investigators from Boucher/Holmes' earlier locked room mystery Nine Times Nine : Sister Ursula of the convent of the fictitious "Sisters of Martha of Bethany ," and police detective Terence "Terry" Marshall. Dave Langford considers Rocket to be "weaker" than its predecessor Nine Times Nine , and observes that it has
147-690: Is known around the world. The author's son and heir Hilary Foulkes takes a fiercely protective, even predatory, view of the value of this heritage. Hilary has made many enemies due to his inflexibility and greed. His niece Jenny lives in the Foulkes house and works as Hilary's private secretary. Jenny is devoted to Hilary; but her fiancé, Hilary's brother-in-law D. Vance Wimpole (a science fiction writer), wants money (to pay off blackmailers); and he's recently had unpleasant encounters with two other local science fiction authors, Matt Duncan and Joe Henderson. After two suspicious "accidents," Hilary suspects that his life
168-506: Is portrayed in a familiar manner, complete with references to Denvention , the 1941 World Science Fiction Convention in Denver , and the appearance of a quintessential science fiction fan , one Arthur Waring, member of a science fiction society and publisher of a science fiction fanzine , whose sophisticated language and scientific knowledge displayed in a fan letter have impressed Detective Marshall, but who when interviewed turns out to be
189-574: Is something that is no longer being published . The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings , and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book that is no longer being published . The term can apply to specific editions of more popular works, which may then go in and out of print repeatedly, or to the sole printed edition of a work, which is not picked up again by any future publishers for reprint. Most works that have ever been published are out of print at any given time, while certain highly popular books, such as
210-484: The Bible , are always "in print". Less popular out-of-print books are often rare and may be difficult to acquire unless scanned or electronic copies of the books are available. With the advent of book scanning , and print-on-demand technology, fewer and fewer works are now considered truly out of print. A publisher creates a print run of a fixed number of copies of a new book. Print runs for most modern books number in
231-432: The copyright to their books. One of the triggering conditions for this is an out-of-print clause which makes a book eligible for reversion to the author when a publisher no longer keeps a book in print. Often, rights do not automatically revert to the author . Instead, the author is responsible for requesting the book be put back in-print or, if the publisher declines, demand their rights back. In recent years, with
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#1732787481119252-471: The Internet has made this process much easier, as many websites sell used books offered by bookstores and individuals. Some publishers intentionally limit the print run of some or all titles to fewer copies than the anticipated demand, in creating limited editions marketed to collectors . In these cases, there is an implicit or explicit promise to collectors that the book will not be reprinted, at least in
273-441: The Morgue is a 1942 American locked room mystery novel by Anthony Boucher (originally published as by " H. H. Holmes ", Boucher's frequent pseudonym when writing mysteries or writing about mysteries, and the pseudonym of a 19th-century American serial killer ). Now-dead author Fowler Foulkes and his literary creation "Dr. Derringer" occupy a major position in science fiction: the character has entered popular culture, and
294-415: The book in the same manner as the original publisher might have reprinted it. In some cases, an out-of-print book, even one that sold very poorly, may be republished if the author becomes popular again. A reader who wishes to purchase an out-of-print book must either find a bookseller who still has a copy, wait for another print run, or find someone who will sell their own copy as a used book . The advent of
315-468: The character was inspired by the estates of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Arthur Conan Doyle . The Heinlein Society felt that "As a mystery novel, [it] falls a bit short," and it has "too many characters," but conceded that it is "an intriguing look into the beginnings of science fiction as we know it today"; they also noted that Heinlein's " ...And He Built a Crooked House " was published at approximately
336-453: The development of print-on-demand services and electronic formats of books, there has been much contention between publishers and authors as to what deems a book out-of-print. Publishers have begun to explicitly state which book formats qualify as in print, and typically include print-on-demand and electronic copies . At least one publishing company has adjusted their contracts to account for this change in publishing options by removing
357-409: The lower limit for book sales, meaning that no matter how few copies of a book sells, if it is available through a print-on-demand vendor or electronically, it is still considered in-print. The longer a book has been out of print, the more difficult it may be to obtain a copy. If there is enough demand for an out-of-print book, and all copyright issues can be resolved, another publisher may republish
378-405: The publisher will cease to print additional copies, and may remainder or pulp the remaining unsold copies. When all of the books in a print run have been sold to booksellers, the book is said to be "out of print", meaning that a bookseller cannot get any further copies from the publisher. If a book sells out unexpectedly quickly, it may be considered out of print briefly when its initial print run
399-487: The same time as when Boucher was writing the chapter in which characters discuss four-dimensional space . Boucher was the friend and mentor of many science fiction writers of that era, and a member of the Mañana Literary Society . The dedication to the first edition reads, "For The Mañana Literary Society and in particular for Robert Heinlein and Cleve Cartmill." Rocket to the Morgue is something of
420-432: The thousands. These books can be ordered in bulk by booksellers , and when all the bookseller's copies are sold, the bookseller has the option to order additional copies. If the initial print run sells out and demand still exists, the publisher will have more copies printed, if possible. When the book is no longer selling either at a rate fast enough to pay for the inventory or stock costs, or to justify another print run,
441-463: Was William Anthony Parker White). The order of Martha of Bethany , Joe R. Christopher, Extrapolation , December 2002. This article about a science fiction organization is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a United States arts organization is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rocket to the Morgue Rocket to
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