58-463: Marvel Tales and Unusual Stories were two related American semi-professional science fiction magazines published in 1934 and 1935 by William L. Crawford . Crawford was a science fiction fan who believed that the pulp magazines of the time were too limited in what they would publish. In 1933, he distributed a flyer announcing Unusual Stories , and declaring that no taboos would prevent him from publishing worthwhile fiction. The flyer included
116-539: A "thought variant" policy was announced in the December 1933 issue, aimed at publishing more original stories; and Charles Hornig , who was shortly to become editor of Wonder Stories , where he instituted a "new policy" in the January 1934 issue which emphasized originality and barred stories that merely reworked well-worn ideas. Crawford followed the flyer with the first issue of Unusual Stories , dated March 1934; it
174-668: 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
232-401: A couple of months later, dated July/August 1934, with the number of pages increased from 40 to 60. This featured stories by Frank Belknap Long and Manly Wade Wellman , along with Robert E. Howard's "The Garden of Fear", printed under the pseudonym "James Allison"; this was the only publication of "The Garden of Fear" until Crawford reprinted it in an anthology in 1946. Crawford also announced
290-417: 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
348-900: 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
406-473: 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
464-535: 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
522-496: A page from P. Schuyler Miller 's "The Titan", which Miller had been unable to sell to the professional magazines because of its sexual content. A partial issue of Unusual Stories was distributed in early 1934, but Crawford then launched a new title, Marvel Tales , in May 1934. A total of five issues of Marvel Tales and three of Unusual Stories appeared over the next two years. Fiction included work by well-known writers, including
580-494: A poem by Robert Lowndes . For the last issue of Marvel Tales , dated Summer 1935, Crawford increased the size from digest to pulp format. Moskowitz describes the change as a step backwards: "the atmosphere of compact, balanced professionalism...was lost completely", but praises the quality of the contents, singling out "Mars Colonizes" by Miles Breuer as one of Breuer's best stories. The issue also included short stories by Carl Jacobi , Emil Petaja , and Ralph Milne Farley, and
638-467: 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
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#1732782654072696-725: A story competition. The third issue, dated Winter 1934, increased in size again, this time to 68 pages. "The Titan", by P. Schuyler Miller, which had been advertised in the original flyer for Unusual Stories , began serialization, and Robert Bloch 's first published fiction, "Lilies", appeared, along with "The Golden Bough" by David H. Keller . Four winners of the story competition were announced, though only two ever saw print: Crawford printed "The Elfin Lights" by W. Anders Drake (a pseudonym for Eshbach), and R. DeWitt Miller 's submission, "The Shapes", appeared in Astounding Stories
754-488: Is a fantasy story by American horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft , written in early November 1920 and first published in the May 1922 issue of the Rainbow . It is part of the body of work which later came to be known as Lovecraft's Dream Cycle . The title refers to a fictional city that later appears in other Dream Cycle stories, including Lovecraft's novella The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1926). Celephaïs
812-464: 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, a format that continues into the present day. Many also contain editorials , book reviews or articles, and some also include stories in
870-517: 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
928-418: 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
986-551: The New York Public Library and the Library of Congress , have holdings. Six of those university libraries also have holdings of Unusual Stories . In 1946, Crawford published an anthology, The Garden of Fear and Other Stories , with the contents drawn from Marvel Tales . A facsimile edition of Marvel Tales appeared in 2012 as a single volume. Science fiction magazine A science fiction magazine
1044-422: 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
1102-484: The Crater by Andrew North (a pseudonym for Andre Norton ), and The Missing Link by Ralph Milne Farley , and a series of pamphlets containing short stories. Two more issues of Unusual Stories duly appeared, a May/June 1935 issue that included poems by Forrest Ackerman and Donald Wollheim and a short story by P. Schuyler Miller, and the final issue, dated Winter 1935, which included a short story by Robert Bloch, and
1160-496: 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
1218-687: 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
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#17327826540721276-503: The costs were too great for Crawford, and the issue never appeared. The proof copy included the final instalment of Miller's "The Titan", reprints of two round-robin stories (both titled The Challenge From Beyond ) by well-known authors that had previously appeared in Fantasy Magazine , H. P. Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth , and several short stories, with artwork by Clay Ferguson and Frank Utpatel . Although
1334-503: 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
1392-422: 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 a magazine specifically devoted to sf there was no need of a label to describe the category. The first specialized English-language pulps with
1450-511: The first issue of Marvel Tales , dated May 1934. This included material that had been planned for Unusual Stories , so it seemed that this was the same magazine under a new title. David H. Keller's "Binding Deluxe", which was horror, rather than sf, appeared, along with a story by H. P. Lovecraft, " Celephais ", that had previously only been published in an amateur magazine edited by his wife, Sonia Greene . A second issue of Marvel Tales , which Crawford printed with two different covers, appeared
1508-422: The first publication of Robert E. Howard 's "The Garden of Fear"; a story by H. P. Lovecraft , " Celephaïs ", that had previously only appeared in a literary magazine ; and Clifford D. Simak 's "The Creator", which had been rejected by professional markets because of its religious theme. By the start of 1936, Crawford had plans to expand his enterprise, including newsstand distribution for Marvel Tales and
1566-595: The following February. Moskowitz considers the fourth issue, dated March/April 1935, to have finally reached the level of quality that Crawford had been aiming for, with fully professional artwork, layout, and presentation. The page count had been expanded again, to 108 pages. The issue included "The Creator", by Clifford D. Simak, which Simak had been unable to sell elsewhere because of its religious content; " The Doom That Came to Sarnath ", another H. P. Lovecraft story reprinted from an amateur magazine; "The Cathedral Crypt", by John Beynon Harris, later better known under
1624-528: The horses drifting off the cliff may derive from Ambrose Bierce 's A Horseman in the Sky (1891). The fictional village of Innsmouth in England is said to be based on the fishing town of Fleetwood , Lancashire which bears an uncanny resemblance to the description of the village in the later Shadow Over Innsmouth and its inhabitants. In the original short story, Celephaïs is described as being situated in
1682-511: The king and chief god of the city, though his body washes up by his ancestors' tower, now owned by a parvenu . In The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath , Randolph Carter pays a visit to Kuranes, finding that the great dreamer has grown so homesick for his native Cornwall , he has dreamed parts of Celephaïs to resemble the land of his boyhood. Kuranes advises Carter, on a mission to find his own dream-city, to be careful what he wishes for—he might get it. Like many of Lovecraft's stories, "Celephaïs"
1740-517: The letter columns of the professional magazines. Amateur magazines, eventually known as fanzines , quickly followed. William L. Crawford was an early science fiction fan, who, unusually, had enough money to acquire his own printing press. In late 1933, with the help of another fan, Lloyd Arthur Eshbach , Crawford prepared a flyer announcing a new magazine, to be titled Unusual Stories. He intended to print fantasy and horror in addition to science fiction; sf historian Sam Moskowitz suggests that this
1798-439: The magazine never appeared, Crawford did manage to publish a hardcopy edition of The Shadow Over Innsmouth in 1936. Crawford's ambition was to demonstrate that the existing professional sf magazines were limiting the field by turning down good stories that did not fit their idea of what was acceptable. Moskowitz considers that Crawford proved his case, but without the finances to support national distribution of his magazines, he
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1856-413: 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
1914-469: The names of several well-known writers of the day, including H. P. Lovecraft , Clifford D. Simak , and Robert E. Howard , and also included a page from P. Schuyler Miller 's story "The Titan", which Miller had been unable to publish because of its sexual content. Science fiction historian Mike Ashley speculates that the flyer may have influenced two editors of professional sf magazines: Desmond Hall, an assistant editor at Astounding Stories , where
1972-550: The next instalments of both the serials in progress, by England and Miller. There was also a non-fiction piece by Forrest Ackerman. In 1936, Crawford announced in a fanzine, Fantasy Magazine , that he had obtained newsstand distribution for Marvel Tales , and gave details of his plans to convert it to a fully professional magazine. The next issue was to be 64 pages, priced at 15 cents, and would include stories by H. P. Lovecraft, E. E. Smith , Donald Wandrei , Murray Leinster , and others. Partial proofs were prepared, but
2030-486: 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
2088-513: The pseudonym John Wyndham ; and two serial instalments: the second part of Miller's "The Titan", and part one of "The Nebula of Death", a novel by George Allan England that had been serialized in People's Favorite Magazine in 1918. Crawford announced in this issue that Unusual Stories would reappear, and also announced plans to expand into book publishing, with the initial titles projected to be Mars Mountain by Eugene George Key , People of
2146-405: The publication of a series of pamphlets and hardcover books, but his finances were unequal to his ambitions, and no further issues of the magazines appeared. The first science fiction (sf) magazine, Amazing Stories , was published in 1926, and it was soon followed by the appearance of organized groups of science fiction fans , who contacted each other by mail, using the addresses published in
2204-412: 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
2262-442: 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.,
2320-579: The run was 15 cents; the March 1934 issue of Unusual Stories was 20 cents, and the following two issues were 10 cents. The page count varied from 40 to 68 pages, except the March/April 1935 Marvel Tales , which was 108 pages, and the March 1934 issue of Unusual Stories , which was 16 pages. The volume numbering ran from volume 1 number 1 through volume 1 number 5 for Marvel Tales ; the first two issues of Unusual Stories were both volume 1 number 1, and
2378-523: 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
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2436-553: 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
2494-442: 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. Celepha%C3%AFs " Celephaïs " ( / ˈ s ɛ l ə f eɪ s / )
2552-419: The third and final issue was numbered volume 1 number 2. The sequence in which the magazines were issued was as follows: The second issue of Marvel Tales , dated July/August 1934, appeared in two variations, with the covers and paper quality differing, and the story titles slightly changed for each version. Other than that the contents of the issues were identical. A number of university libraries, as well as
2610-633: The valley of Ooth-Nargai beside the Cerenerian Sea. Its most remarkable feature is that it is unaffected by the passage of time, and takes no decay or wear, so that a person may leave it and return many years later to find that nothing has changed. Important landmarks in Celephaïs are the turquoise temple of Nath-Horthath and the Street of Pillars. Nearby rises snow-capped Mount Aran, whose lower slopes are replete with ginkgo trees. Galleys from
2668-476: 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
2726-513: 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
2784-490: 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,
2842-521: 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
2900-408: Was "the man who made the greatest effort to bridge the gap between the amateur and professional magazines". Both Unusual Stories and Marvel Tales were published by Fantasy Publications of Everett, Pennsylvania, and edited by William L. Crawford. All were digest-sized except for the final issue of Marvel Tales , which was pulp-sized. The first issue of Marvel Tales was 10 cents, and the rest of
2958-410: 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
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#17327826540723016-484: Was an attempt to broaden the potential subscription base for the magazine. Crawford could not afford to pay for the stories, but offered contributors a lifetime subscription instead. In the flyer, which appeared in November 1933, Crawford complained that science fiction in the professional magazines was being stifled by publishing taboos, and asserted that no such taboos would apply to Unusual Stories . The flyer listed
3074-476: Was created in a dream by Kuranes (which is his name in dreams—his real name is not given) as a child of the English landed gentry . As a man in his forties, alone and dispossessed in contemporary London, he dreams it again and then, seeking it, slowly slips away to the dream-world. Finally knights guide him through medieval England to his ancestral estate, where he spent his boyhood, and then to Celephaïs. He became
3132-405: Was doomed to fail. Science fiction historians Frank Parnell and Mike Ashley agree. Ashley describes Marvel Tales as "a worthwhile and exciting experiment that could have had a significant impact on the development of SF had it succeeded", and Crawford as a pioneer in his attempts to prove that science fiction need not adhere to the standard pulp formulas. Parnell and Ashley consider that Crawford
3190-629: 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
3248-479: Was inspired by a dream, recorded in his commonplace book as "Dream of flying over city." The story resembles a tale by Lord Dunsany , The Coronation of Mr. Thomas Shap in The Book of Wonder , in which the title character becomes more and more engrossed in his imaginary kingdom of Larkar until he begins to neglect business and routine tasks of daily living, and ultimately is placed in a madhouse. The imagery of
3306-444: 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,
3364-520: Was mailed out in two parts, which when combined included one full story: "When the Waker Sleeps", by Cyril G. Wates. Not every subscriber received the second part of the issue. It was apparent that more parts of the issue were planned, but they never appeared, and an incomplete story, "Tharda, Queen of the Vampires", by Richard Tooker, never saw full publication. Two months later Crawford issued
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