David Lasser (March 20, 1902 – May 5, 1996) was an American writer and political activist. Lasser is remembered as an influential figure of early science fiction writing, working closely with Hugo Gernsback . He was also heavily involved in the workers’ rights struggles of the Great Depression .
103-574: Wonder Stories was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories , when his media company Experimenter Publishing went bankrupt. Within a few months of the bankruptcy, Gernsback launched three new magazines: Air Wonder Stories , Science Wonder Stories , and Science Wonder Quarterly . Air Wonder Stories and Science Wonder Stories were merged in 1930 as Wonder Stories , and
206-668: A bedsheet science fiction magazine were " A Martian Odyssey " by Stanley G. Weinbaum and "The Gostak and the Doshes" by Miles Breuer , who influenced Jack Williamson. "The Gostak and the Doshes" is one of the few stories from that era still widely read today. Other stories of interest from the bedsheet magazines include the first Buck Rogers story , Armageddon 2419 A.D , by Philip Francis Nowlan , and The Skylark of S pace by coauthors E. E. Smith and Mrs. Lee Hawkins Garby , both in Amazing Stories in 1928. There have been
309-417: A cover by Frank R. Paul illustrating Off on a Comet by Jules Verne . After many minor changes in title and major changes in format, policy and publisher, Amazing Stories ended January 2005 after 607 issues. Except for the last issue of Stirring Science Stories , the last true bedsheet size sf (and fantasy) magazine was Fantastic Adventures , in 1939, but it quickly changed to the pulp size, and it
412-402: A few science fiction stories each year. Some upmarket "slicks" such as McClure's , which paid well and were aimed at a more literary audience, also carried scientific stories, but by the early years of the 20th century, science fiction (though it was not yet called that) was appearing more often in the pulp magazines than in the slicks. The first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories ,
515-955: A few unsuccessful attempts to revive the bedsheet size using better quality paper, notably Science-Fiction Plus edited by Hugo Gernsback (1952–53, eight issues). Astounding on two occasions briefly attempted to revive the bedsheet size, with 16 bedsheet issues in 1942–1943 and 25 bedsheet issues (as Analog , including the first publication of Frank Herbert 's Dune ) in 1963–1965. The fantasy magazine Unknown , also edited by John W. Campbell, changed its name to Unknown Worlds and published ten bedsheet-size issues before returning to pulp size for its final four issues. Amazing Stories published 36 bedsheet size issues in 1991–1999, and its last three issues were bedsheet size, 2004–2005. Astounding Stories began in January 1930. After several changes in name and format ( Astounding Science Fiction , Analog Science Fact & Fiction , Analog ) it
618-416: A format that continues into the present day. Many also contain editorials , book reviews or articles, and some also include stories in the fantasy and horror genres. Malcolm Edwards and Peter Nicholls write that early magazines were not known as science fiction: "if there were any need to differentiate them, the terms scientific romance or 'different stories' might be used, but until the appearance of
721-587: A further seven from 1952 to 1953. Another four issues appeared from Pemberton between 1953 and 1954; these were numbered from 101 to 104. There were Canadian editions in 1945–1946 and 1948–1951. Science fiction magazine A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction , either in a hard-copy periodical format or on the Internet. Science fiction magazines traditionally featured speculative fiction in short story , novelette , novella or (usually serialized ) novel form,
824-652: A ground-breaking story about inter-species sex, in Startling . He followed this in 1953 with another taboo-breaking story from Farmer, "Mother", in Thrilling Wonder , in which a spaceman makes his home in an alien womb. In the December 1952 Thrilling Wonder , Mines published Edmond Hamilton's "What's It Like Out There?", a downbeat story about the realities of space exploration that had been considered too bleak for publication when it had originally been written in
927-535: A list of qualifying magazine and short fiction venues that contains all current web-based qualifying markets. The World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) awarded a Hugo Award each year to the best science fiction magazine , until that award was changed to one for Best Editor in the early 1970s; the Best Semi-Professional Magazine award can go to either a news-oriented magazine or a small press fiction magazine. Magazines were
1030-618: A magazine specifically devoted to sf there was no need of a label to describe the category. The first specialized English-language pulps with a leaning towards the fantastic were Thrill Book (1919) and Weird Tales (1923), but the editorial policy of both was aimed much more towards weird-occult fiction than towards sf." Major American science fiction magazines include Amazing Stories , Astounding Science Fiction , Galaxy Science Fiction , The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine . The most influential British science fiction magazine
1133-580: A man could one day travel into outer space. The book was an inspiration to a generation of science-fiction writers, including Arthur C. Clarke . From 1929 to 1933, Lasser worked as the Managing Editor of Hugo Gernsback’s Stellar Publishing Corporation. He was responsible for editing all the issues of Science Wonder Stories and Wonder Stories Quarterly , as well as identifying and retaining promising writers. Lasser also edited Gernsback’s Wonder Stories from June 1930 to October 1933. Lasser
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#17327870431891236-568: A manuscript and decided that the results were satisfactory. Hornig was hired at an initial salary of $ 20 per week. That same year, Gernsback dissolved Stellar Publications and created Continental Publications as the new publisher for Wonder Stories . The schedule stuttered for the first time, missing the July and September 1933 issues; the recent bankruptcy of the company's distributor, Eastern Distributing Corporation , may have been partly responsible for this disruption. The first issue with Continental on
1339-555: A moment in the story where the earthmen have to decipher a written Martian language: "You must be sure and make it convincing how they did it; for they have absolutely no method of approach to a written language of another world." On one occasion Lasser's work with his authors extended to collaboration: "The Time Projector", a story which appeared in the July 1931 issue of Wonder Stories , was credited to David H. Keller and David Lasser. Both Lasser and, later, Hornig, were given almost complete editorial freedom by Gernsback, who reserved only
1442-459: A novel, The Revolt of the Scientists . Reviews of fiction and popular science books were published, and there was a science column which endeavored to answer readers' questions. These features were at first of good quality, but deteriorated after Lasser's departure, although it is not certain that Lasser wrote the content of either one. An influential non-fiction initiative was the creation of
1545-489: A picture feature by Jack Binder entitled IF —! . Binder's earlier training as a fine artist helped him create detailed renderings of space ships, lost cities, future cities, landscapes, indigenous peoples, and even ancient Atlantins . IF —!' s pen and ink drawings are hand-lettered and rendered in black and white. These one-to-two page studies presented readers with possible outcomes to early 20th-century scientific quandaries. These included: When Air Wonder Stories
1648-425: A scientific invention or discovery. ... In other words, allow yourself one fundamental assumption—that a certain machine or discovery is possible—and then show what would be its logical and dramatic consequences upon the world; also what would be the effect upon the group of characters that you pick to carry your theme." Lasser provided ideas to his authors and commented on their drafts, attempting to improve both
1751-467: A screen, and many of them pay little or nothing to the authors, thus limiting their universe of contributors. However, multiple web-based magazines are listed as "paying markets" by the SFWA , which means that they pay the "professional" rate of 8c/word or more. These magazines include popular titles such as Strange Horizons , InterGalactic Medicine Show , and Clarkesworld Magazine . The SFWA publishes
1854-489: A team, with Margulies listed as editor-in-chief on the magazines and having final say. However, since Weisinger knew science fiction well, Weisinger was quickly given more leeway, and bibliographers generally list Weisinger as the editor for this period of the magazine's history. The title was changed to Thrilling Wonder Stories to match the rest of the "Thrilling" line. The first issue appeared in August 1936—four months after
1957-694: A third of the stories in the corresponding issues of Wonder Stories could be so described. Wonder Stories Quarterly added a banner reading "Interplanetary Number" to the cover of the Winter 1931 issue, and retained it, as "Interplanetary Stories", for subsequent issues. Lasser and Gernsback were also briefly involved with the fledgling Technocracy movement . Gernsback published two issues of Technocracy Review , which Lasser edited, commissioning stories based on technocratic ideas from Nat Schachner . These appeared in Wonder Stories during 1933, culminating in
2060-491: A winged man against the background of a glass mountain was taken from the Noel Loomis story, "The Glass Mountain." By the summer of 1949 Street & Smith , one of the largest pulp publishers, had shut down every one of their pulps. This format was dying out, though it took several more years before the pulps completely disappeared from the newsstands. Both Thrilling Wonder and Startling went quarterly in 1954, and at
2163-516: A year, and then in November 1933 became a pulp magazine for good. The pulp issues all had 144 pages; the bedsheet issues generally had 96 pages, though five issues from November 1932 to March 1933 had only 64 pages. Those five issues coincided with a price cut to 15 cents, which was reversed with the April 1933 issue. Gernsback cut the price to 15 cents again from June 1935 until
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#17327870431892266-517: Is known for clichés such as stereotypical female characters, unrealistic gadgetry, and fantastic monsters of various kinds. However, many classic stories were first published in pulp magazines. For example, in the year 1939, all of the following renowned authors sold their first professional science fiction story to magazines specializing in pulp science fiction: Isaac Asimov , Robert A. Heinlein , Arthur C. Clarke , Alfred Bester , Fritz Leiber , A. E. van Vogt and Theodore Sturgeon . These were among
2369-425: Is no evidence that the men on the panel—some of whom, such as Lee De Forest , were well-known scientists—had any editorial influence. However, Donald Menzel , the astrophysicist on the panel, said that Gernsback sent him manuscripts and made changes to stories as a result of Menzel's commentary. In 1930, Gernsback decided to merge Science Wonder Stories and Air Wonder Stories into Wonder Stories . The reason for
2472-418: Is still published today (though it ceased to be pulp format in 1943). Its most important editor, John W. Campbell, Jr. , is credited with turning science fiction away from adventure stories on alien planets and toward well-written, scientifically literate stories with better characterization than in previous pulp science fiction. Isaac Asimov 's Foundation Trilogy and Robert A. Heinlein 's Future History in
2575-460: The 1930s. Sherwood Springer's "No Land of Nod", in the same issue, dealt with incest between a father and his daughter in a world in which they are the only two survivors. These stories were all well received by the readership. For a few years, Lasser was the dominant force in American science fiction. Under him, Wonder Stories was the best of the science fiction magazines of the early 1930s, and
2678-422: The 1940s, Hal Clement 's Mission of Gravity in the 1950s, and Frank Herbert 's Dune in the 1960s, and many other science fiction classics all first appeared under Campbell's editorship. By 1955, the pulp era was over, and some pulp magazines changed to digest size . Printed adventure stories with colorful heroes were relegated to the comic books. This same period saw the end of radio adventure drama (in
2781-701: The American Interplanetary Society on April 4, 1930. They renamed it the American Rocket Society in 1934, and under the later leadership of Pendray, George P. Sutton and William H. Pickering, it became the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1963. Lasser used his expertise in science, engineering, and rocketry to write The Conquest of Space (1931). It was the first non-fiction English-language book to deal with spaceflight and detailed how
2884-785: The Army in World War I , lying about his age. After being gassed on the front lines in France, he was honourably discharged as a Sergeant in 1919. Despite never graduating from high school, he was admitted to M.I.T. , graduating with a B.S. in Engineering Administration. In the late 1920s, Lasser moved to New York City, where his engineering background helped him land a job as managing editor of Hugo Gernsback's new science fiction magazine, Science Wonder Stories . Lasser and his writers, who included G. Edward Pendray , founded
2987-539: The August 1937 issue, and finally, starting with the Fall 1943 issue, Standard Magazines. Gernsback experimented with the price and format, looking for a profitable combination. Both Air Wonder and Science Wonder were bedsheet-sized (8.5 × 11.75 in, or 216 × 298 mm) and priced at 25 cents, as were the first issues of Wonder Stories . With the November 1930 issue Wonder Stories changed to pulp format, 6.75 × 9.9 in (171 × 251 mm). It reverted to bedsheet after
3090-746: The Communist Unemployed Councils, became Vice President of the Alliance. In 1939 Lasser resigned from the Workers Alliance, claiming that it was Communist-dominated. Even so, the U.S. Congress passed legislation specifically banning Lasser by name from employment by the federal government. He then served as economics and research director of the International Union of Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers until his retirement in 1969. Lasser's leadership of
3193-507: The Covenant . Writers who first appeared in the pages of these magazines include Neil R. Jones , Ed Earl Repp , Raymond Z. Gallun and Lloyd Eshbach . The quality of published science fiction at the time was generally low, and Lasser was keen to improve it. On 11 May 1931 he wrote to his regular contributors to tell them that their science fiction stories "should deal realistically with the effect upon people, individually and in groups, of
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3296-641: The December 1934 – January 1935 issue of Hornig's fanzine , Fantasy Magazine , he took the unusual step of listing several stories that he had rejected as lacking novelty, but which had subsequently appeared in print in other magazines. The list includes several by successful writers of the day, such as Raymond Z. Gallun and Miles Breuer . The most prominent story named is Triplanetary by E. E. Smith , which appeared in Amazing . Both Lasser and Hornig printed fiction translated from French and German writers, including Otfrid von Hanstein and Otto Willi Gail . With
3399-602: The February 1930 issue of Air Wonder Stories , asked for a slogan for the magazine. John Wyndham , later to become famous as the author of The Day of the Triffids , won with "Future Flying Fiction", submitted under his real name of John Beynon Harris. Later that year a contest in Science Wonder Quarterly asked readers for an answer to the question "What I Have Done to Spread Science Fiction". The winner
3502-622: The Golden Age and well into the 1950s. The publisher was Stellar Publishing company based in New York City. Gernsback's new magazine, Amazing Stories , was successful, but Gernsback lost control of the publisher when it went bankrupt in February 1929. By April he had formed a new company, Gernsback Publications Incorporated, and created two subsidiaries: Techni-Craft Publishing Corporation and Stellar Publishing Corporation. Gernsback sent out letters advertising his plans for new magazines;
3605-497: The Science Fiction League, an organization that brought together local science fiction fan clubs across the country. Gernsback took the opportunity to sell items such as buttons and insignia, and it was undoubtedly a profitable enterprise for him as well as a good source of publicity. It was ultimately more important in becoming one of the foundations of science fiction fandom . When Hornig took over from Lasser at
3708-496: The United States). Later attempts to revive both pulp fiction and radio adventure have met with very limited success, but both enjoy a nostalgic following who collect the old magazines and radio programs. Many characters, most notably The Shadow, were popular both in pulp magazines and on radio. Most pulp science fiction consisted of adventure stories transplanted, without much thought, to alien planets. Pulp science fiction
3811-620: The Workers Alliance brought him under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a possible subversive. His name was not officially cleared until 1980 when he was sent a personal letter of apology by President Jimmy Carter . Lasser died in 1996 at the Remington Senior Care Facility in Rancho Bernardo, California . He was 94 years old and was survived by his third wife and a son. There
3914-536: The bimonthly schedule resumed after April 1941. Weisinger left that summer and was replaced at both Startling and Thrilling Wonder by Oscar J. Friend , a pulp writer with more experience in Westerns than science fiction, though he had published a novel, The Kid from Mars , in Startling Stories just the year before. In mid-1943 both magazines went to a quarterly schedule, and at the end of 1944 Friend
4017-510: The blame lay with dealers who were returning magazine covers as unsold copies, and then selling the stripped copies at a reduced rate. To bypass the dealers, he made a plea in the March 1936 issue to his readers, asking them to subscribe, and proposing to distribute Wonder Stories solely by subscription. There was little response, and Gernsback decided to sell. He made a deal with Ned Pines of Beacon Magazines and on 21 February 1936 Wonder Stories
4120-687: The cost of publishing a print magazine, and as a result, some believe the e-zines are more innovative and take greater risks with material. Moreover, the magazine is internationally accessible, and distribution is not an issue—though obscurity may be. Magazines like Strange Horizons , Ideomancer , InterGalactic Medicine Show , Jim Baen's Universe , and the Australian magazine Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine are examples of successful Internet magazines. (Andromeda provides copies electronically or on paper.) Web-based magazines tend to favor shorter stories and articles that are easily read on
4223-418: The early 1930s were more realistic than most contemporary space fiction. Examples include Edmond Hamilton 's "A Conquest of Two Worlds", P. Schuyler Miller 's "The Forgotten Man of Space", and several stories by Frank K. Kelly , including "The Moon Tragedy". Lasser was one of the founders of the American Rocket Society which, under its initial name of the "Interplanetary Society", announced its existence in
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4326-519: The editors involved actually obtained control of the magazine contents, instead of when their names appeared on the masthead. The publisher only changed once through the lifetime of the magazine, when Gernsback sold Wonder Stories in 1936. However, Gernsback changed the name of his company from Stellar Publishing Corporation to Continental Publications, Incorporated, with effect from December 1933. Thrilling Wonder 's publisher went by three names: Beacon Publications initially, then Better Publications from
4429-503: The editorship of Cele Goldsmith , Amazing and Fantastic changed in notable part from pulp style adventure stories to literary science fiction and fantasy. Goldsmith published the first professionally published stories by Roger Zelazny (not counting student fiction in Literary Cavalcade ), Keith Laumer , Thomas M. Disch , Sonya Dorman and Ursula K. Le Guin . There was also no shortage of digests that continued
4532-421: The end it was unable to escape its roots in the pulp industry, and died in the carnage that swept away every remaining pulp magazine in the 1950s. The editorial duties at Wonder Stories and its related magazines were not always performed by the person who bore the title of "editor" in the magazine's masthead. From the beginning until the sale to Beacon Publications, Gernsback was listed as editor-in-chief; Lasser
4635-409: The end of 1933 he attempted to continue and expand Lasser's approach. Hornig introduced a "New Policy" in the January 1934 issue, emphasizing originality and barring stories that merely reworked well-worn ideas. He asked for stories that included good science, although "not enough to become boring to those readers who are not primarily interested in the technicalities of the science". However, Astounding
4738-414: The end of 1955 before finally succumbing to the decline of the pulp magazine industry. The editors under Gernsback's ownership were David Lasser , who worked hard to improve the quality of the fiction, and, from mid-1933, Charles Hornig . Both Lasser and Hornig published some well-received fiction, such as Stanley Weinbaum 's " A Martian Odyssey ", but Hornig's efforts in particular were overshadowed by
4841-525: The end of that year Mines left. The magazines did not survive him for long; only two more issues of Thrilling Wonder appeared, both edited by Alexander Samalman . After the beginning of 1955, Thrilling Wonder was merged with Startling , which itself ceased publication at the end of 1955. After the demise of Thrilling Wonder Stories the old Wonder Stories title was revived for two issues, published in 1957 and 1963. These were both edited by Jim Hendryx Jr. They were numbered vol. 45, no. 1 and 2, continuing
4944-444: The fall of 1929. Three issues were produced under this title, but after the merger Gernsback changed the companion magazine's title to Wonder Stories Quarterly , and produced a further eleven issues under that title. In July 1933, Gernsback dismissed Lasser as editor. Lasser had become active in promoting workers' rights and was spending less time on his editorial duties. According to Lasser, Gernsback told him "if you like working with
5047-441: The fiction, and by the end of the 1940s, in the opinion of science fiction historian Mike Ashley , the magazine briefly rivaled Astounding . By the end of the 19th century, stories centered on scientific inventions and set in the future, in the tradition of Jules Verne , were appearing regularly in popular fiction magazines. Magazines such as Munsey's Magazine and The Argosy , launched in 1889 and 1896 respectively, carried
5150-406: The grounds that it was clearly educational. Concerns about the marketability of titles seem to have surfaced in the last two issues of Science Wonder , which had the word "Science" printed in a color that made it difficult to read. On the top of the cover appeared the words "Mystery-Adventure-Romance", the last of which was a surprising way to advertise a science fiction magazine. The first issue of
5253-502: The last Gernsback Wonder Stories appeared. Wonder Stories had been monthly until the last few Gernsback issues; Thrilling Wonder was launched on a bimonthly schedule. In February 1938 Weisinger asked for reader feedback regarding the idea of a companion magazine; the response was positive, and in January 1939 the first issue of Startling Stories appeared, alternating months with Thrilling Wonder . A year later Thrilling Wonder went monthly; this lasted fewer than eighteen months, and
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#17327870431895356-477: The late 1940s Thrilling Wonder became a serious rival to Astounding' s long domination of the field. However, this is not a universal opinion, as the magazine is elsewhere described during Merwin's tenure as "evidently secondary to Startling ". Samuel Mines took over from Merwin at the end of 1951, both at Startling Stories and Thrilling Wonder . He argued against restrictions in science fiction themes , and in 1952 published Philip José Farmer 's "The Lovers",
5459-744: The left" policy, the Communists stopped attacking the Socialist Party and suggested that they merge their unemployed efforts. The result of the merger of the Socialist Unemployed Leagues and the Communist Unemployed Councils was the Workers Alliance of America . In a spirit of unity, the Communists deferred to the Socialists and Lasser was elected president of the Workers Alliance. Herbert Benjamin, head of
5562-501: The letter column to become a free discussion of ideas and values, and published stories dealing with topics such as the relationship between the sexes. One such story, Thomas S. Gardner's "The Last Woman", portrayed a future in which men, having evolved beyond the need for love, keep the last woman in a museum. In "The Venus Adventurer", an early story by John Wyndham , a spaceman corrupts the innocent natives of Venus. Lasser avoided printing space opera , and several stories from Wonder in
5665-399: The level of scientific literacy and the quality of the writing. Some of his correspondence has survived, including an exchange with Jack Williamson , whom Lasser commissioned in early 1932 to write a story based on a plot provided by a reader—the winning entry in one of the magazine's competitions. Lasser emphasized to Williamson the importance of scientific plausibility, citing as an example
5768-804: The look of Thrilling Wonder Stories by foregrounding human figures in space, focusing on the anatomy of women in implausibly revealing spacesuits and his trademark "brass brassières". Merwin, who took over with the Winter 1945 issue, adopted a more mature approach than Friend's. He obtained fiction from writers who had previously been publishing mainly in John Campbell's Astounding . The Summer 1945 issue of Thrilling Wonder included Jack Vance 's first published story, "The World Thinker". Merwin also published several stories by Ray Bradbury , some of which were later included in Bradbury's collection The Martian Chronicles . Other well-known writers that Merwin
5871-457: The mailing lists he used almost certainly were compiled from the subscription lists of Amazing Stories . This would have been illegal, as the lists were owned by Irving Trust, the receiver of the bankruptcy. Gernsback denied using the lists under oath, but historians have generally agreed that he must have done so. The letters also asked potential subscribers to decide the name of the new magazine; they voted for "Science Wonder Stories", which became
5974-565: The mainstream of development of the science fiction genre. As Thrilling Wonder the magazine was much less influential. Until the mid-1940s it was focused on younger readers, and by the time Merwin and Mines introduced a more adult approach, Astounding Science Fiction had taken over as the unquestioned leader of the field. Thrilling Wonder could not compete with John Campbell and the Golden Age of science fiction that he brought into being, but it did periodically publish good stories. In
6077-455: The masthead, and the first listing Hornig as editor, was November 1933. Wonder Stories had a circulation of about 25,000 in 1934, comparable to that of Amazing Stories , which had declined from an early peak of about 100,000. Gernsback considered issuing a reprint magazine in 1934, Wonder Stories Reprint Annual , but it never appeared. That year he experimented with other fiction magazines— Pirate Stories and High Seas Adventures —but neither
6180-459: The merged magazine appeared in June 1930, still on a monthly schedule, with Lasser as editor. The volume numbering continued that of Science Wonder Stories , therefore Wonder Stories is sometimes regarded as a retitling of Science Wonder Stories . Gernsback had also produced a companion magazine for Science Wonder Stories , titled Science Wonder Quarterly , the first issue of which was published in
6283-429: The merger is unknown, although it may have been that he needed the space in the printing schedule for his new Aviation Mechanics magazine. Bleiler has suggested that the merger was caused by poor sales and a consequent need to downsize. In addition, Air Wonder Stories was probably focused on too specialized a niche to succeed. In an editorial just before Science Wonder Stories changed its name, Gernsback commented that
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#17327870431896386-413: The most important science fiction writers of the pulp era, and all are still read today. After the pulp era, digest size magazines dominated the newsstand. The first sf magazine to change to digest size was Astounding , in 1943. Other major digests, which published more literary science fiction, were The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction , Galaxy Science Fiction and If . Under
6489-502: The most successful of all Gernsback's forays into the field. Lasser shaped a new generation of writers, who in many cases had no prior writing experience of any kind; Wonder Stories was part of a "forcing ground", according to Isaac Asimov, where young writers learned their trade. The magazine was less constrained by pulp convention than its competitors, and published some novels such as Eric Temple Bell 's The Time Stream and Festus Pragnell 's The Green Man of Graypec , which were not in
6592-670: The name of one of Gernsback's new magazines. Gernsback's recovery from the bankruptcy judgment was remarkably quick. By early June he had launched three new magazines, two of which published science fiction. The June 1929 issue of Science Wonder Stories appeared on newsstands on 5 May 1929, and was followed on 5 June by the July 1929 issue of Air Wonder Stories . Both magazines were monthly, with Gernsback as editor-in-chief and David Lasser as editor. Lasser had no prior editing experience and knew little about science fiction, but his recently acquired degree from MIT convinced Gernsback to hire him. Gernsback claimed that science fiction
6695-440: The next year. In 2007, Winston Engle published a new magazine in book format, titled Thrilling Wonder Stories , with a cover date of Summer 2007. Engle commented that it was "not a pastiche or nostalgia exercise as much as modern SF with the entertainment, inspirational value, and excitement of the golden age". A second volume appeared in 2009. Six months after the debut of Thrilling Wonder Stories , its June 1937 issue contained
6798-486: The only way to publish science fiction until about 1950, when large mainstream publishers began issuing science fiction books. Today, there are relatively few paper-based science fiction magazines, and most printed science fiction appears first in book form. Science fiction magazines began in the United States, but there were several major British magazines and science fiction magazines that have been published around
6901-500: The pages of the June 1930 Wonder Stories . Several of Wonder 's writers were also members of the Interplanetary Society, and perhaps as a consequence of the relationship Wonder Stories Quarterly began to focus increasingly on fiction with interplanetary settings. A survey of the last eight issues of Wonder Stories Quarterly by Bleiler found almost two-thirds of the stories were interplanetary adventures, while only
7004-500: The phrase subsequently entered the dictionary as a word for an alien. Several well-known writers contributed, including Ray Cummings , and John W. Campbell , whose "Brain-Stealers of Mars" series began in Thrilling Wonder in the December 1936 issue. A comic-strip began in August 1936, the first issue of the Beacon Publications version. It was illustrated and possibly written by Max Plaisted. The strip, titled Zarnak ,
7107-412: The pulp phenomenon, like the comic book, was largely a US format. By 2007, the only surviving major British science fiction magazine is Interzone , published in "magazine" format, although small press titles such as PostScripts and Polluto are available. During recent decades, the circulation of all digest science fiction magazines has steadily decreased. New formats were attempted, most notably
7210-442: The pulp tradition of hastily written adventure stories set on other planets. Other Worlds and Imaginative Tales had no literary pretensions. The major pulp writers, such as Heinlein, Asimov and Clarke, continued to write for the digests, and a new generation of writers, such as Algis Budrys and Walter M. Miller, Jr. , sold their most famous stories to the digests. A Canticle for Leibowitz , written by Walter M. Miller, Jr.,
7313-443: The quarterly was renamed Wonder Stories Quarterly . The magazines were not financially successful, and in 1936 Gernsback sold Wonder Stories to Ned Pines at Beacon Publications , where, retitled Thrilling Wonder Stories , it continued for nearly 20 years. The last issue was dated Winter 1955, and the title was then merged with Startling Stories , another of Pines' science fiction magazines. Startling itself lasted only to
7416-416: The right to give final approval to the contents. This was in contrast to the more detailed control Gernsback had exerted over the content of Amazing Stories in the first years of its existence. Science fiction historian Sam Moskowitz has suggested that the reason was the poor financial state of Wonder Stories —Gernsback perhaps avoided corresponding with authors as he owed many of them money. Lasser allowed
7519-595: The rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany in the 1930s a few readers (including Donald Wollheim ) wrote letters complaining about the inclusion of German stories. The editorial response was a strong defense of the translations; Gernsback argued that events in Germany were irrelevant to the business of selecting fiction. The covers for almost every issue of Air Wonder , Science Wonder , Wonder Stories and Wonder Stories Quarterly were painted by Frank R. Paul , who had followed Gernsback from Amazing Stories . The only exception
7622-485: The sale to Beacon Publications in 1936, though this time he did not reduce the page count. The short duration of these price cuts suggests Gernsback rapidly realized that the additional circulation they gained him cost too much in lost revenue. Under Beacon Publications Thrilling Wonder remained pulp-sized throughout. There were two British reprint editions of Thrilling Wonder . The earlier edition, from Atlas Publishing, produced three numbered issues from 1949 to 1950, and
7725-523: The size of Reader's Digest , although a few are in the standard roughly 8.5" x 11" size, and often have stapled spines, rather than glued square spines. Science fiction magazines in this format often feature non-fiction media coverage in addition to the fiction. Knowledge of these formats is an asset when locating magazines in libraries and collections where magazines are usually shelved according to size. The premiere issue of Amazing Stories (April 1926), edited and published by Hugo Gernsback , displayed
7828-553: The slick-paper stapled magazine format, the paperback format and the webzine. There are also various semi-professional magazines that persist on sales of a few thousand copies but often publish important fiction. As the circulation of the traditional US science fiction magazines has declined, new magazines have sprung up online from international small-press publishers. An editor on the staff of Science Fiction World , China's longest-running science fiction magazine, claimed in 2009 that, with "a circulation of 300,000 copies per issue", it
7931-630: The state of science fiction magazines. Gardner Dozois presents a summary of the state of magazines in the introduction to the annual The Year's Best Science Fiction volume. Locus lists the circulation and discusses the status of pro and semi-pro SF magazines in their February year-in-review issue, and runs periodic summaries of non-US science fiction. David Lasser Lasser was born in Baltimore, Maryland , to Jewish immigrant parents from Russia. His family moved to Newark, New Jersey , where he grew up. He left high school at 16 to enlist in
8034-413: The success of Astounding Stories , which had become the leading magazine in the new field of science fiction. Under its new title, Thrilling Wonder Stories was initially unable to improve its quality. For a period in the early 1940s it was aimed at younger readers, with a juvenile editorial tone and covers that depicted beautiful women in implausibly revealing spacesuits . Later editors began to improve
8137-454: The unemployed so much, I suggest you go and join them". It is likely that cost-cutting was also a consideration, as Lasser was paid $ 65 per week, a substantial salary in those days. Soon after Lasser was let go, Gernsback received a fanzine , The Fantasy Fan , from a reader, Charles Hornig . Gernsback called Hornig to his office to interview him for the position of editor; Hornig turned out to be only 17, but Gernsback asked him to proofread
8240-541: The unemployed so much, I suggest you go join them." He fired Lasser, after which Lasser threw himself even more into the unemployed movement. Simultaneously, and in opposition to the Socialist Party, the Communist Party was organizing the unemployed through its Unemployed Councils . In 1935 the Communists internationally were ordered to form coalitions with similar organizations. Under the new "no enemies to
8343-404: The volume numbering of Thrilling Wonder . Both were selections from past issues of Thrilling Wonder ; the second one convinced Ned Pines, the publisher who had bought Wonder Stories from Gernsback in 1936 and who still owned the rights to the stories, to start a reprint magazine called Treasury of Great Science Fiction Stories in 1964; a companion, Treasury of Great Western Stories , was added
8446-423: The word "Science" in the title "has tended to retard the progress of the magazine, because many people had the impression that it is a sort of scientific periodical rather than a fiction magazine". Ironically, the inclusion of "science" in the title was the reason that science fiction writer Isaac Asimov began reading the magazine; when he saw the August 1929 issue he obtained permission to read it from his father on
8549-423: The world, for example in France and Argentina . The first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories , was published in a format known as bedsheet , roughly the size of Life but with a square spine. Later, most magazines changed to the pulp magazine format, roughly the size of comic books or National Geographic but again with a square spine. Now, most magazines are published in digest format, roughly
8652-513: Was New Worlds ; newer British SF magazines include Interzone and Polluto . Many science fiction magazines have been published in languages other than English, but none has gained worldwide recognition or influence in the world of anglophone science fiction. There is a growing trend toward important work being published first on the Internet , both for reasons of economics and access. A web-only publication can cost as little as one-tenth of
8755-490: Was Tales of Wonder , pulp size, 1937–1942, 16 issues, (unless Scoops is taken into account, a tabloid boys' paper that published 20 weekly issues in 1934). It was followed by two magazines, both named Fantasy , one pulp size publishing three issues in 1938–1939, the other digest size, publishing three issues in 1946–1947. The British science fiction magazine, New Worlds , published three pulp size issues in 1946–1947, before changing to digest size. With these exceptions,
8858-543: Was Raymond Palmer who later became editor of Gernsback's original magazine, Amazing Stories . He won the contest for his role in founding a "Science Correspondence Club". Science Wonder' s first issue included the first part of a serial, The Reign of the Ray , by Fletcher Pratt and Irwin Lester, and short stories by Stanton Coblentz and David H. Keller . Air Wonder began with a reprinted serial, Victor MacClure 's Ark of
8961-521: Was "the World's most-read SF periodical", although subsequent news suggests that circulation dropped precipitously after the firing of its chief editor in 2010 and the departure of other editors. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America lists science fiction periodicals that pay enough to be considered professional markets. For a complete list, including defunct magazines, see List of science fiction magazines . Several sources give updates on
9064-410: Was 19 when he sold his first story to Amazing Stories . His writing improved greatly over time, and until his death in 2006, he was still a publishing writer at age 98. Some of the stories in the early issues were by scientists or doctors who knew little or nothing about writing fiction, but who tried their best, for example, David H. Keller . Probably the two best original sf stories ever published in
9167-467: Was a cover image composed of colored dots, which appeared on the November 1932 issue. When the magazine moved to Beacon Publications, as Thrilling Wonder , the fiction began to focus more on action than on ideas. The covers, often by Earle K. Bergey , typically depicted bizarre aliens and damsels in distress . In 1939, a reader, Martin Alger, coined the phrase "bug-eyed monster" to describe one such cover;
9270-419: Was able to attract included Theodore Sturgeon , A. E. van Vogt , and Robert A. Heinlein . Thrilling Wonder often published intelligent, thoughtful stories, some of which Campbell would have been unlikely to accept at Astounding : he did not like to publish stories that showed the negative consequences of scientific advances such as nuclear power. In the opinion of science fiction historian Mike Ashley, during
9373-614: Was at this same time a member of the Socialist Party and active in the unemployed movement in New York City. In 1933, the Socialist Party made Lasser national head of its Unemployed Leagues . The Party had founded these to organize the unemployed to demand more relief and to represent workers employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). One day, after returning from an unemployed rally at city hall, Lasser's boss, Hugo Gernsback, told him, "You love
9476-529: Was educational. He repeatedly made this assertion in Amazing Stories , and continued to do so in his editorials for the new magazines, stating, for example, that "teachers encourage the reading of this fiction because they know that it gives the pupil a fundamental knowledge of science and aviation." He also recruited a panel of "nationally known educators [who] pass upon the scientific principles of all stories". Science fiction historian Everett Bleiler describes this as "fakery, pure and simple", asserting that there
9579-629: Was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction . Most digest magazines began in the 1950s, in the years between the film Destination Moon , the first major science fiction film in a decade, and the launching of Sputnik , which sparked a new interest in space travel as a real possibility. Most survived only a few issues. By 1960, in the United States, there were only six sf digests on newsstands, in 1970 there were seven, in 1980 there were five, in 1990 only four and in 2000 only three. The first British science fiction magazine
9682-444: Was later absorbed by its digest-sized stablemate Fantastic in 1953. Before that consolidation, it ran 128 issues. Much fiction published in these bedsheet magazines, except for classic reprints by writers such as H. G. Wells , Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe , is only of antiquarian interest. Some of it was written by teenage science fiction fans, who were paid little or nothing for their efforts. Jack Williamson for example,
9785-417: Was launched in 1926 by Hugo Gernsback at the height of the pulp magazine era. It helped to form science fiction as a separately marketed genre, and by the end of the 1930s a " Golden Age of Science Fiction " had begun, inaugurated by the efforts of John W. Campbell, the editor of Astounding Science Fiction . Wonder Stories was launched in the pulp era, not long after Amazing Stories , and lasted through
9888-500: Was launched in the middle of 1929 there were already pulp magazines such as Sky Birds and Flying Aces which focused on aerial adventures. Gernsback's first editorial dismissed these as being of the "purely 'Wild West'-world war adventure-sky busting type". By contrast, Gernsback said he planned to fill Air Wonder solely with "flying stories of the future, strictly along scientific-mechanical-technical lines, full of adventure, exploration and achievement." Non-fiction material on aviation
9991-460: Was moving into the lead position in the science fiction magazine field at this time, and Hornig had difficulty in competing. His rates of payment were lower than Astounding' s one cent per word; sometimes his writers were paid very late, or not at all. Despite these handicaps, Hornig managed to find some good material, including Stanley G. Weinbaum 's " A Martian Odyssey ", which appeared in the July 1934 Wonder and has been frequently reprinted. In
10094-419: Was not a success, and was cancelled after eight issues. Weisinger's successor, Friend, gave the magazine a significantly more juvenile feel. He used the alias "Sergeant Saturn" and was generally condescending to the readers; this may not have been his fault as Margulies, who was still the editorial director, probably wanted him to attract a younger readership. Under Friend's direction, Earle K. Bergey transformed
10197-429: Was printed, including quizzes, short popular articles, and book reviews. The letters column made it clear that the readership comprised more science fiction fans than aviation fans, and Gernsback later commented that the overlap with Science Wonder readers was 90% (a figure that presumably referred only to the subscription base, not to newsstand sales). Gernsback frequently ran reader contests, one of which, announced in
10300-436: Was replaced in his turn by Sam Merwin, Jr. The quarterly schedule lasted until well after World War II ended: Thrilling Wonder returned to a bimonthly schedule with the December 1946 issue and again alternated with Startling which went bimonthly in January 1947. Merwin left in 1951 in order to become a freelance editor, and was replaced by Samuel Mines , who had worked for Ned Pines since 1942. The Thrilling Wonder logo,
10403-429: Was sold. Pines' magazines included several with "Thrilling" in the title, such as Thrilling Detective and Thrilling Love Stories . These were run by Leo Margulies , who had hired Mort Weisinger (among others) as the workload increased in the early 1930s. Weisinger was already an active science fiction fan, and when Wonder Stories was acquired, Margulies involved him in the editorial work. Margulies' group worked as
10506-400: Was successful. Wonder Stories was also failing, and in November 1935 it started publishing bimonthly instead of monthly. Gernsback had a reputation for paying slowly and was therefore unpopular with many authors; by 1936 he was even failing to pay Laurence Manning , one of his most reliable authors. Staff were sometimes asked to delay cashing their paychecks for weeks at a time. Gernsback felt
10609-405: Was variously listed as "literary editor" and "managing editor", while Hornig was always listed as "managing editor". Similarly, under Beacon Publications, the nominal editor (initially Leo Margulies) was not always the one to work on the magazine. The following list shows who actually performed the editorial duties. More details are given in the publishing history section, above, which focuses on when
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