Donald A. Wollheim
Encyclopedia
Donald Allen Wollheim was an American
science fiction
(sf) editor, publisher
, writer, and fan
. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell.
A founding member of the Futurians
, he was a leading influence on science fiction development and fandom in the 20th century United States.
Wollheim organized the first science fiction convention. A group from New York met with a group from Philadelphia on 22 October 1936 in Philadelphia. The modern Philcon
convention claims descent from this event. Out of this meeting, plans were formed for regional and national meetings, including the first Worldcon.
Wollheim was a member of the New York Science Fiction League, one of the clubs established by Hugo Gernsback
to promote science fiction. When payment was not forthcoming for the first story he sold to Gernsback, Wollheim formed a group with several other authors, and successfully sued for payment. He was expelled from the Science Fiction League as "a disruptive influence " but was later reinstated.
In 1937 Wollheim founded the Fantasy Amateur Press Association
, whose first mailing (July 1937) included this statement from Wollheim: "There are many fans desiring to put out a voice who dare not, for fear of being obliged to keep it up, and for the worry and time taken by subscriptions and advertising. It is for them and for the fan who admits it is his hobby and not his business that we formed the FAPA." In 1938, with several friends, he formed the Futurians
-- arguably the best-known of the science fiction clubs. At one time or another, the membership included Isaac Asimov
, Frederik Pohl
, Cyril Kornbluth, James Blish
, John Michel
, Judith Merril
, Robert A. W. Lowndes
, Richard Wilson
, Damon Knight
, Virginia Kidd
, and Larry T. Shaw. In 1943 Wollheim married fellow Futurian Elsie Balter (1910–1996). It proved to be a lasting marriage and a publishing partnership.
The Futurians became less fan-oriented and more professional after 1940. Its conferences and workshops focused on writing, editing, and publishing, with many of its members interested in all three.
when he was nineteen. He was not paid for the story, and he learned that other authors hadn't been paid either and said so in the Bulletin of the Terrestrial Fantascience Guild. Publisher Hugo Gernsback
eventually settled with Wollheim and the other authors out of court for $75, but when Wollheim submitted another story to Gernsback under the pseudonym "Millard Verne Gordon," he was again not paid.
His stories began to be published regularly by the 1940s; at the same time he was becoming an important editor. In the 1950s and 60s he wrote chiefly novels. He usually used pseudonyms for works aimed at grownups, and wrote children's novels under his own name. Notable and popular were the eight "Mike Mars" books for children, which explored different facets of the NASA space program. Also well-received were the "Secret" books for young readers: The Secret of Saturn's Rings (1954), Secret of the Martian Moons (1955), and The Secret of the Ninth Planet (1959). As Martin Pearson he published the "Ajax Calkins" series, which became the basis for his novel Destiny's Orbit (1962). A sequel, Destination: Saturn was published in 1967 in collaboration with Lin Carter
. One of his most important books, however, was nonfiction; The Universe Makers (1971) is a discussion of themes and philosophy in science fiction.
One of Wollheim's short stories, "Mimic," was made into the feature film
of the same name, released in 1997.
"In true editorial fashion, he was honest about the quality of his own writing," says his daughter Betsy. "He felt it was fair to middling at best. He always knew that his great talent was as an editor."
said that Donald Wollheim was "one of the most significant figures in 20th century American science fiction publishing", adding, "A plausible case could be made that he was the most significant figure — responsible in large measure for the development of the science fiction paperback, the science fiction anthology, and the whole post-Tolkien boom in fantasy fiction."
Wollheim edited the first science fiction anthology to be mass-marketed, The Pocket Book of Science Fiction (1943). It was also the first book containing the words "science fiction" in the title. It included works by Robert A. Heinlein
, Theodore Sturgeon
, T. S. Stribling
, Stephen Vincent Benét
, Ambrose Bierce
, and H. G. Wells
. Shortly before World War II, he edited two of the earliest periodicals devoted entirely to science fiction, Stirring Science Stories and Cosmic Stories.
In 1945 Wollheim edited the first hardcover anthology from a major publisher and the first omnibus, The Viking Portable Novels of Science. He also edited the first anthology of original sf, The Girl With the Hungry Eyes (1947), although there is evidence that this last was originally intended to be the first issue of a new magazine. Between 1947 and 1951 he was the editor at the pioneering paperback publisher Avon Books
, where he made available highly affordable editions of the works of A. Merritt
, H. P. Lovecraft
, and C. S. Lewis
' Silent Planet space trilogy, bringing these previously little-known authors a wide readership. During this period he also edited the influential Avon Fantasy Reader
for eighteen issues, and the Avon Science Fiction Reader for three. These periodicals contained mostly reprints and a few original stories.
In 1952 Wollheim left Avon to work for A. A. Wyn
at the Ace Magazine Company and spearhead a new paperback book list, Ace Books
. In 1953 he introduced science fiction to the Ace lineup, and for 20 years as editor-in-chief was responsible for their multi-genre list and, most important to him, their renowned sf list. Wollheim invented the Ace Doubles series which consisted of pairs of books, usually by different authors, bound back-to-back with two "front" covers. Because these paired books had to fit a fixed total page length, one or both were usually abridged to fit, and Wollheim often made other editorial alterations — as witness the differences between Poul Anderson
's Ace novel War of the Wing-Men and its definitive revised edition, The Man Who Counts. Among the authors who made their paperback debuts in Ace Doubles were Philip K. Dick
, Samuel R. Delany
, Leigh Brackett
, Ursula K. Le Guin
, and John Brunner
. William S. Burroughs
' first book, Junkie
, was published as an Ace Double. Wollheim also helped develop, Marion Zimmer Bradley
, Robert Silverberg
, Avram Davidson
, Fritz Leiber
, Andre Norton
, Thomas Burnett Swann
, Jack Vance
, and Roger Zelazny
, among others. While at Ace, he and co-editor Terry Carr began an annual anthology series, The World's Best Science Fiction, the first collection of what they considered the best of the prior year's short stories, from magazines, hardcovers, paperback collections and other anthologies.
In the early 1960s Ace reintroduced Edgar Rice Burroughs' work, which had long been out of print, and in 1965, Ace bought the paperback rights to Dune
. (Herbert's title worried Wollheim, who feared it would be mistaken for a western.) Eventually, Ace introduced single paperback books and became one of the preeminent genre publishers. Ace and Ballantine dominated sf in the 1960s and built the genre by publishing original material as well as reprints.
There was a time when no paperback publisher would publish fantasy. It was believed that there was no public for fantasy and that it wouldn't sell. Then Wollheim changed everything when he brought out an unauthorized paperback edition of J. R. R. Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings
in three volumes — the first mass-market paperback edition of Tolkien's epic. In a 2006 interview, his daughter Elizabeth said:
Tolkien had authorized a paperback edition of The Hobbit
in 1961, though that edition was never made available outside the U.K. Eventually, he supported paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings
and several of his other texts, but it is difficult to say whether he was persuaded to do so by the manifest economic wisdom evident in sales of the Ace editions. In any case, Ace was forced to cease publishing the unauthorized edition and to pay Tolkien for their sales following a grass-roots campaign by Tolkien's U.S. fans. A 1993 court determined that the copyright loophole suggested by Ace Books was incorrect and its paperback edition was found to have been a violation of copyright under US law. In the LOCUS obituary for Donald Wollheim, however, more detail emerges.
describes the circumstances:
Upon leaving Ace, he founded DAW Books
, named for his initials. DAW can claim to be the first mass market specialist science fiction and fantasy fiction publishing house. DAW issued its first four titles in April 1972. Most of the writers whom he had developed at Ace went with him to DAW: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, Philip K. Dick, John Brunner, A. Bertram Chandler
, Kenneth Bulmer
, Gordon R. Dickson
, A. E. van Vogt
, and Jack Vance
. In later years, when his distributor, New American Library
, threatened to withhold Thomas Burnett Swann
's Biblical fantasy How Are the Mighty Fallen (1974) because of its homosexual content, Wollheim fought vigorously against their decision. They relented.
His later author discoveries included Tanith Lee
, Jennifer Roberson
, Michael Shea
, Ian Wallace
, Tad Williams
, Celia S. Friedman
, and C. J. Cherryh
, whose Downbelow Station (1982) was the first DAW book to win the Hugo Award for best novel. He was also able to give a number of British writers — Michael Moorcock
, E. C. Tubb
, Brian Stableford
, Barrington Bayley, Michael Coney — a new American audience. He published translations of international sf as well as anthologies of translated stories, Best From the Rest of the World. With the help of Arthur W. Saha
, Wollheim also edited and published the popular "Annual World's Best Science Fiction" anthology from 1971 until his death.
Robert Jordan
credits Wollheim for helping to launch his (Jordan's) career. Wollheim made an offer for Jordan's first novel, Warriors of the Ataii, though he withdrew the offer when Jordan requested some minor changes to the contract. Jordan claims that Wollheim's first, 'laudatory' letter convinced him that he could write, and so he chose to remember the first letter and forget about the second. The novel was never published, but Jordan went on to write the immensely successful Wheel of Time
series for a different publisher.
Marion Zimmer Bradley refers to him as "a second father," Frederik Pohl calls him "a founder," and Robert Silverberg says he was "seriously underrated" and "one of the great shapers of science-fiction publishing in the United States."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
(sf) editor, publisher
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, writer, and fan
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...
. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell.
A founding member of the Futurians
Futurians
The Futurians were a group of science fiction fans, many of whom became editors and writers as well. The Futurians were based in New York City and were a major force in the development of science fiction writing and science fiction fandom in the years 1937-1945.-Origins of the group:As described...
, he was a leading influence on science fiction development and fandom in the 20th century United States.
Wollheim as fan
The 1979 Encyclopedia of Science Fiction calls Wollheim "one of the first and most vociferous sf fans." He published numerous fanzines and co-edited the early Fanciful Tales of Space and Time. His importance to early fandom is chronicled in his 1974 book The Immortal Storm by Sam Moskowitz and in the 1977 book The Futurians by Damon Knight.Wollheim organized the first science fiction convention. A group from New York met with a group from Philadelphia on 22 October 1936 in Philadelphia. The modern Philcon
Philcon
Philcon, also known as the "Philadelphia Science Fiction Conference", is an annual science fiction convention, which has been held in or near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, nearly every year since 1936. The convention is run by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society...
convention claims descent from this event. Out of this meeting, plans were formed for regional and national meetings, including the first Worldcon.
Wollheim was a member of the New York Science Fiction League, one of the clubs established by Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback , born Hugo Gernsbacher, was a Luxembourgian American inventor, writer, editor, and magazine publisher, best remembered for publications that included the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publisher were so significant that, along with H. G...
to promote science fiction. When payment was not forthcoming for the first story he sold to Gernsback, Wollheim formed a group with several other authors, and successfully sued for payment. He was expelled from the Science Fiction League as "a disruptive influence " but was later reinstated.
In 1937 Wollheim founded the Fantasy Amateur Press Association
Fantasy Amateur Press Association
The Fantasy Amateur Press Association or FAPA is science fiction fandom's longest-established amateur press association . It was founded in 1937 by Donald A. Wollheim and John Michel. They were inspired to create FAPA by their memberships in some of the non-science fiction amateur press...
, whose first mailing (July 1937) included this statement from Wollheim: "There are many fans desiring to put out a voice who dare not, for fear of being obliged to keep it up, and for the worry and time taken by subscriptions and advertising. It is for them and for the fan who admits it is his hobby and not his business that we formed the FAPA." In 1938, with several friends, he formed the Futurians
Futurians
The Futurians were a group of science fiction fans, many of whom became editors and writers as well. The Futurians were based in New York City and were a major force in the development of science fiction writing and science fiction fandom in the years 1937-1945.-Origins of the group:As described...
-- arguably the best-known of the science fiction clubs. At one time or another, the membership included Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
, Frederik Pohl
Frederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
, Cyril Kornbluth, James Blish
James Blish
James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
, John Michel
John Michel
Field Marshal Sir John Michel GCB, PC was a British Army officer.-Military career:Educated at Eton College, Michel was commissioned into the 64th Regiment of Foot in 1823. In 1835 he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to General Sir Henry Fane in India...
, Judith Merril
Judith Merril
Judith Josephine Grossman , who took the pen-name Judith Merril about 1945, was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist....
, Robert A. W. Lowndes
Robert A. W. Lowndes
Robert Augustine Ward "Doc" Lowndes was an American science fiction author, editor and fan. He was known best as the editor of Future Science Fiction, Science Fiction, and Science Fiction Quarterly, among many other crime-fiction, western, sports-fiction, and other pulp and digest-sized magazines...
, Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson (author)
Richard Wilson was a Nebula Award winning American science fiction writer and fan. He was a member of the Futurians, and was married at one time to Leslie Perri....
, Damon Knight
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
, Virginia Kidd
Virginia Kidd
Virginia Kidd was an American literary agent, writer and editor, particularly influential in science fiction and related fields. She represented some of science fiction's most important authors, including Ursula K. Le Guin, R.A. Lafferty, Anne McCaffrey, and Gene Wolfe...
, and Larry T. Shaw. In 1943 Wollheim married fellow Futurian Elsie Balter (1910–1996). It proved to be a lasting marriage and a publishing partnership.
The Futurians became less fan-oriented and more professional after 1940. Its conferences and workshops focused on writing, editing, and publishing, with many of its members interested in all three.
Wollheim as author
Wollheim's first story, "The Man from Ariel," was published in the January 1934 issue of Wonder StoriesWonder Stories
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...
when he was nineteen. He was not paid for the story, and he learned that other authors hadn't been paid either and said so in the Bulletin of the Terrestrial Fantascience Guild. Publisher Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback , born Hugo Gernsbacher, was a Luxembourgian American inventor, writer, editor, and magazine publisher, best remembered for publications that included the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publisher were so significant that, along with H. G...
eventually settled with Wollheim and the other authors out of court for $75, but when Wollheim submitted another story to Gernsback under the pseudonym "Millard Verne Gordon," he was again not paid.
His stories began to be published regularly by the 1940s; at the same time he was becoming an important editor. In the 1950s and 60s he wrote chiefly novels. He usually used pseudonyms for works aimed at grownups, and wrote children's novels under his own name. Notable and popular were the eight "Mike Mars" books for children, which explored different facets of the NASA space program. Also well-received were the "Secret" books for young readers: The Secret of Saturn's Rings (1954), Secret of the Martian Moons (1955), and The Secret of the Ninth Planet (1959). As Martin Pearson he published the "Ajax Calkins" series, which became the basis for his novel Destiny's Orbit (1962). A sequel, Destination: Saturn was published in 1967 in collaboration with Lin Carter
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
. One of his most important books, however, was nonfiction; The Universe Makers (1971) is a discussion of themes and philosophy in science fiction.
One of Wollheim's short stories, "Mimic," was made into the feature film
Mimic (film)
Mimic is an American science fiction horror film, with elements of a slasher film, released in 1997. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, the script was inspired by a short story of the same name by Donald A. Wollheim. Mimic, whose U.S...
of the same name, released in 1997.
"In true editorial fashion, he was honest about the quality of his own writing," says his daughter Betsy. "He felt it was fair to middling at best. He always knew that his great talent was as an editor."
Wollheim as editor and publisher
Robert SilverbergRobert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
said that Donald Wollheim was "one of the most significant figures in 20th century American science fiction publishing", adding, "A plausible case could be made that he was the most significant figure — responsible in large measure for the development of the science fiction paperback, the science fiction anthology, and the whole post-Tolkien boom in fantasy fiction."
Wollheim edited the first science fiction anthology to be mass-marketed, The Pocket Book of Science Fiction (1943). It was also the first book containing the words "science fiction" in the title. It included works by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
, Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
, T. S. Stribling
Thomas Sigismund Stribling
Thomas Sigismund Stribling was an American writer and lawyer who published under the name T.S. Stribling. He won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1933 for his novel The Store.-Life:...
, Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét was an American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Benét is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Brown's Body , for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929, and for two short stories, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "By...
, Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
, and H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
. Shortly before World War II, he edited two of the earliest periodicals devoted entirely to science fiction, Stirring Science Stories and Cosmic Stories.
In 1945 Wollheim edited the first hardcover anthology from a major publisher and the first omnibus, The Viking Portable Novels of Science. He also edited the first anthology of original sf, The Girl With the Hungry Eyes (1947), although there is evidence that this last was originally intended to be the first issue of a new magazine. Between 1947 and 1951 he was the editor at the pioneering paperback publisher Avon Books
Avon (publishers)
Avon Publications was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. As of 2010, it is an imprint of HarperCollins, publishing primarily romance novels.-History:...
, where he made available highly affordable editions of the works of A. Merritt
A. Merritt
Abraham Grace Merritt — known by his byline, A. Merritt — was an American editor and author of works of fantastic fiction.-Life:...
, H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
, and C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
' Silent Planet space trilogy, bringing these previously little-known authors a wide readership. During this period he also edited the influential Avon Fantasy Reader
Avon Fantasy Reader
Avon Fantasy Reader was a magazine which reprinted science fiction and fantasy literature by now well known authors.-Writers:...
for eighteen issues, and the Avon Science Fiction Reader for three. These periodicals contained mostly reprints and a few original stories.
In 1952 Wollheim left Avon to work for A. A. Wyn
A. A. Wyn
Aaron A. Wyn , born Aaron Weinstein, was an American publisher. He edited pulp magazines for Harold Hersey's Magazine Publishers. When Hersey departed the company in the summer of 1929, Wyn, after a brief interlude from Harold S. Goldsmith, took charge of the company. Hersey's swastika logo was...
at the Ace Magazine Company and spearhead a new paperback book list, Ace Books
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
. In 1953 he introduced science fiction to the Ace lineup, and for 20 years as editor-in-chief was responsible for their multi-genre list and, most important to him, their renowned sf list. Wollheim invented the Ace Doubles series which consisted of pairs of books, usually by different authors, bound back-to-back with two "front" covers. Because these paired books had to fit a fixed total page length, one or both were usually abridged to fit, and Wollheim often made other editorial alterations — as witness the differences between Poul Anderson
Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
's Ace novel War of the Wing-Men and its definitive revised edition, The Man Who Counts. Among the authors who made their paperback debuts in Ace Doubles were Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
, Samuel R. Delany
Samuel R. Delany
Samuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
, Leigh Brackett
Leigh Brackett
Leigh Douglass Brackett was an American author, particularly of science fiction. She was also a screenwriter, known for her work on famous films such as The Big Sleep , Rio Bravo , The Long Goodbye and The Empire Strikes Back .-Life:Leigh Brackett was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California...
, Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
, and John Brunner
John Brunner (novelist)
John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
. William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
' first book, Junkie
Junkie (novel)
Junkie is a 1953 semi-autobiographical novel by William S. Burroughs. It was his first published novel and has come to be considered a seminal text on the lifestyle of heroin addicts in the early 1950s. Burroughs' working title was Junk.-Inspiration:The novel was considered unpublishable more than...
, was published as an Ace Double. Wollheim also helped develop, Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series. Many critics have noted a feminist perspective in her writing. Her first child, David R...
, Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
, Avram Davidson
Avram Davidson
Avram Davidson was an American writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche...
, Fritz Leiber
Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open.. With...
, Andre Norton
Andre Norton
Andre Alice Norton, née Alice Mary Norton was an American science fiction and fantasy author under the noms de plume Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston...
, Thomas Burnett Swann
Thomas Burnett Swann
Thomas Burnett Swann was an American poet, critic and fantasy author.His criticism includes works on the poetry of H.D. and Christina Rossetti.-Poetry:...
, Jack Vance
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
, and Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
, among others. While at Ace, he and co-editor Terry Carr began an annual anthology series, The World's Best Science Fiction, the first collection of what they considered the best of the prior year's short stories, from magazines, hardcovers, paperback collections and other anthologies.
In the early 1960s Ace reintroduced Edgar Rice Burroughs' work, which had long been out of print, and in 1965, Ace bought the paperback rights to Dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
. (Herbert's title worried Wollheim, who feared it would be mistaken for a western.) Eventually, Ace introduced single paperback books and became one of the preeminent genre publishers. Ace and Ballantine dominated sf in the 1960s and built the genre by publishing original material as well as reprints.
There was a time when no paperback publisher would publish fantasy. It was believed that there was no public for fantasy and that it wouldn't sell. Then Wollheim changed everything when he brought out an unauthorized paperback edition of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
in three volumes — the first mass-market paperback edition of Tolkien's epic. In a 2006 interview, his daughter Elizabeth said:
He called Professor Tolkien in 1964 and asked if he could publish Lord of the Rings as Ace paperbacks. Tolkien said he would never allow Lord of the Rings, his great work, to appear in 'so degenerate a form’ as the paperback book. Don was one of the fathers of the entire paperback industry. He'd spearheaded the Ace line, he was the originating editor-in-chief of the Avon paperback list in 1945, and I think he was hurt and took it personally. He did a little research and discovered a loophole in the copyright. Houghton Mifflin, Tolkien’s American hardcover publisher, had neglected to protect the work in the United States. So, incensed by Tolkien’s response, he realized that he could legally publish the trilogy and did. This brash act (which ultimately benefited his primary competitors as well as Tolkien) was really the Big Bang that founded the modern fantasy field, and only someone like my father could have done that. He did pay Tolkien, and he was responsible for making not only Tolkien but Ballantine Books extremely wealthy. And if he hadn’t done it, who knows when — or if — those books would have been published in paperback.
Tolkien had authorized a paperback edition of The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
in 1961, though that edition was never made available outside the U.K. Eventually, he supported paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
and several of his other texts, but it is difficult to say whether he was persuaded to do so by the manifest economic wisdom evident in sales of the Ace editions. In any case, Ace was forced to cease publishing the unauthorized edition and to pay Tolkien for their sales following a grass-roots campaign by Tolkien's U.S. fans. A 1993 court determined that the copyright loophole suggested by Ace Books was incorrect and its paperback edition was found to have been a violation of copyright under US law. In the LOCUS obituary for Donald Wollheim, however, more detail emerges.
Houghton-Mifflin had imported sheets instead of printing their own edition, but they didn't want to sell paperback rights. Ace printed the first paperback edition and caused such a furor that Tolkien rewrote the books enough to get a new copyright, then sold them to Ballantine. The rest is history. Although Ace and Wollheim have become the villains in the Tolkien publishing gospel, it's probable that the whole Tolkien boom would not have happened if Ace hadn't published them.
DAW Books
Wollheim left Ace in 1971. Frederik PohlFrederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
describes the circumstances:
Unfortunately, when Wyn died [in 1968] the company was sold to a consortium headed by a bank. . . . Few of them had any publishing experience before they found themselves running Ace. It showed. Before long, bills weren't being paid, authors' advances and royalties were delayed, budgets were cut back, and most of Donald's time was spent trying to soothe authors and agents who were indignant, and had every right to be, at the way they were treated.
DAW Books
DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company therefore claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy." The first DAW Book published was...
, named for his initials. DAW can claim to be the first mass market specialist science fiction and fantasy fiction publishing house. DAW issued its first four titles in April 1972. Most of the writers whom he had developed at Ace went with him to DAW: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, Philip K. Dick, John Brunner, A. Bertram Chandler
A. Bertram Chandler
Arthur Bertram Chandler was a British-Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M....
, Kenneth Bulmer
Kenneth Bulmer
Henry Kenneth Bulmer was a British author, primarily of science fiction.-Life:Born in London, he married Pamela Buckmaster on 7 March 1953. They had one son and two daughters, and were divorced in 1981...
, Gordon R. Dickson
Gordon R. Dickson
Gordon Rupert Dickson was an American science fiction author.- Biography :Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1923. After the death of his father, he moved with his mother to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1937...
, A. E. van Vogt
A. E. van Vogt
Alfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded by some as one of the most popular and complex science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century: the "Golden Age" of the genre....
, and Jack Vance
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
. In later years, when his distributor, New American Library
New American Library
New American Library is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948; it produced affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works, as well as popular, pulp, and "hard-boiled" fiction. Non-fiction, original, and hardcopy issues were also produced.Victor Weybright and Kurt...
, threatened to withhold Thomas Burnett Swann
Thomas Burnett Swann
Thomas Burnett Swann was an American poet, critic and fantasy author.His criticism includes works on the poetry of H.D. and Christina Rossetti.-Poetry:...
's Biblical fantasy How Are the Mighty Fallen (1974) because of its homosexual content, Wollheim fought vigorously against their decision. They relented.
His later author discoveries included Tanith Lee
Tanith Lee
Tanith Lee is a British writer of science fiction, horror and fantasy. She is the author of over 70 novels and 250 short stories, a children's picture book and many poems. She also wrote two episodes of BBC science fiction series Blake's 7...
, Jennifer Roberson
Jennifer Roberson
Jennifer Mitchell Roberson is an author of fantasy and historical literature.Roberson has lived in Arizona since 1957. She grew up in Phoenix, but in 1999 relocated to Flagstaff. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in journalism from Northern Arizona University in 1982 as an adult student...
, Michael Shea
Michael Shea
Michael Shea is an American fantasy, horror, and science fiction author living in California. He is a multiple winner of the World Fantasy Award.-Life and work:...
, Ian Wallace
Ian Wallace (author)
Ian Wallace was the pen name of science-fiction author John Wallace Pritchard .-Introduction:Ian Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois but spent most of his life living in and around Detroit, Michigan. Wallace was a practicing clinical psychologist for many years, and also had an extensive...
, Tad Williams
Tad Williams
Robert Paul "Tad" Williams, born in San Jose, California, is the author of several fantasy and science fiction novels, including Tailchaser's Song, the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, the Otherland series, and The War of the Flowers....
, Celia S. Friedman
Celia S. Friedman
Celia S. Friedman is a writer of science fiction and fantasy.Friedman writes epic science fiction and fantasy novels which feature complex interweavings of plot and richly detailed settings. To date she has published eight novels, several short stories, and a sourcebook for White Wolf's Vampire:...
, and C. J. Cherryh
C. J. Cherryh
Carolyn Janice Cherry , better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is a United States science fiction and fantasy author...
, whose Downbelow Station (1982) was the first DAW book to win the Hugo Award for best novel. He was also able to give a number of British writers — Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
, E. C. Tubb
Edwin Charles Tubb
Edwin Charles Tubb was a British writer of science fiction, fantasy and western novels. The author of over 140 novels and 230 short stories and novellas, Tubb is best known for The Dumarest Saga an epic science-fiction saga set in the far future...
, Brian Stableford
Brian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published as by Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford...
, Barrington Bayley, Michael Coney — a new American audience. He published translations of international sf as well as anthologies of translated stories, Best From the Rest of the World. With the help of Arthur W. Saha
Arthur W. Saha
Arthur William Saha was an American speculative fiction editor and anthologist, closely associated with publisher Donald A. Wollheim.-Life:...
, Wollheim also edited and published the popular "Annual World's Best Science Fiction" anthology from 1971 until his death.
Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. , under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.-Biography:Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina...
credits Wollheim for helping to launch his (Jordan's) career. Wollheim made an offer for Jordan's first novel, Warriors of the Ataii, though he withdrew the offer when Jordan requested some minor changes to the contract. Jordan claims that Wollheim's first, 'laudatory' letter convinced him that he could write, and so he chose to remember the first letter and forget about the second. The novel was never published, but Jordan went on to write the immensely successful Wheel of Time
Wheel of time
The Wheel of time or wheel of history is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism and Buddhism, which regard time as cyclical and consisting of repeating ages...
series for a different publisher.
Marion Zimmer Bradley refers to him as "a second father," Frederik Pohl calls him "a founder," and Robert Silverberg says he was "seriously underrated" and "one of the great shapers of science-fiction publishing in the United States."
World's Best Science Fiction, 1965-1971 (with Terry Carr)
- World's Best Science Fiction: 1965World's Best Science Fiction: 1965World's Best Science Fiction: 1965 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, the first volume in a series of seven. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1965...
(=World's Best Science Fiction: First Series) (1965) - World's Best Science Fiction: 1966World's Best Science Fiction: 1966World's Best Science Fiction: 1966 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, the second volume in a series of seven. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1966. It was reprinted by the same publisher in 1970 under the alternate title...
(=World's Best Science Fiction: Second Series) (1966 - World's Best Science Fiction: 1967World's Best Science Fiction: 1967World's Best Science Fiction: 1967 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, the third volume in a series of seven. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1967...
(=World's Best Science Fiction: Third Series) (1967) - World's Best Science Fiction: 1968World's Best Science Fiction: 1968World's Best Science Fiction: 1968 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, the fourth volume in a series of seven. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1968. It was reprinted by the same publisher in 1970 under the alternate title...
(=World's Best Science Fiction: Fourth Series) (1968) - World's Best Science Fiction: 1969World's Best Science Fiction: 1969World's Best Science Fiction: 1969 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, the fifth volume in a series of seven...
(1969) - World's Best Science Fiction: 1970World's Best Science Fiction: 1970World's Best Science Fiction: 1970 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, the sixth volume in a series of seven...
(1970) - World's Best Science Fiction: 1971World's Best Science Fiction: 1971World's Best Science Fiction: 1971 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, the seventh volume in a series of seven. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in 1971, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the same year by...
(1971)
The Annual World’s Best SF, 1972-1990 (with Arthur W. Saha)
- The 1972 Annual World's Best SFThe 1972 Annual World's Best SFThe 1972 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the initial volume in a series of nineteen...
(=Wollheim’s World’s Best SF: Series One) (1972) - The 1973 Annual World's Best SFThe 1973 Annual World's Best SFThe 1973 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the second volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1973, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same...
(=Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Two) (1973) - The 1974 Annual World's Best SFThe 1974 Annual World's Best SFThe 1974 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the third volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1974, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the same...
(=Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Three) (1974) - The 1975 Annual World's Best SFThe 1975 Annual World's Best SFThe 1975 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1975, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the same...
(=Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Four) (1975) - The 1976 Annual World's Best SFThe 1976 Annual World's Best SFThe 1976 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fifth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1976, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same year...
(=Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Five) (1976) - The 1977 Annual World's Best SFThe 1977 Annual World's Best SFThe 1977 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the sixth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1977, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the same...
(=Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Six) (1977) - The 1978 Annual World's Best SFThe 1978 Annual World's Best SFThe 1978 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the seventh volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1978, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same...
(=Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Seven) (1978) - The 1979 Annual World's Best SFThe 1979 Annual World's Best SFThe 1979 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the eighth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1979...
(=Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Eight) (1979) - The 1980 Annual World's Best SFThe 1980 Annual World's Best SFThe 1980 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the ninth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1980, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the same...
(=Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Nine) (1980) - The 1981 Annual World's Best SFThe 1981 Annual World's Best SFThe 1981 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the tenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1981, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same year...
(1981) - The 1982 Annual World's Best SFThe 1982 Annual World's Best SFThe 1982 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the eleventh volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1982, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the...
(1982) - The 1983 Annual World's Best SFThe 1983 Annual World's Best SFThe 1983 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the twelfth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1983, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the same...
(1983) - The 1984 Annual World's Best SFThe 1984 Annual World's Best SFThe 1984 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the thirteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1984, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the...
(1984) - The 1985 Annual World's Best SFThe 1985 Annual World's Best SFThe 1985 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1985, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the...
(1985) - The 1986 Annual World's Best SFThe 1986 Annual World's Best SFThe 1986 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1986, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the...
(1986) - The 1987 Annual World's Best SFThe 1987 Annual World's Best SFThe 1987 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1987, followed by a hardcover edition issued in July of the same...
(1987) - The 1988 Annual World's Best SFThe 1988 Annual World's Best SFThe 1988 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the seventeenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1988, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the...
(1988) - The 1989 Annual World's Best SFThe 1989 Annual World's Best SFThe 1989 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the eighteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1989, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the...
(1989) - The 1990 Annual World's Best SFThe 1990 Annual World's Best SFThe 1990 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the nineteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in July 1990, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the...
(1990)
Novels
- Across Time (as David Grinnell)
- Destination: Saturn (as David Grinnell)
- Destiny's Orbit (as David Grinnell) (published as an Ace Double with John BrunnerJohn Brunner (novelist)John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
's "Times Without NumberTimes Without NumberTimes Without Number is a time travel/alternate history novel by John Brunner.-Publication History:Originally Brunner wrote three stories published in 1962 in consecutive issues of the British magazine Science Fiction Adventures: "Spoil of Yesterday" in #25, "The Word Not Written" in #26, and "The...
) - The Edge of Time (as David Grinnell)
- The Martian Missile (as David Grinnell)
- Secret of the Martian Moons (Winston Science Fiction series)
- Mike Mars and the Mystery Satellite
- Mike Mars in Orbit"
- Mike Mars Around the Moon
- Mike Mars, Astronaut
- Mike Mars at Cape Canaveral (vt "Mike Mars at Cape Kennedy")
- Mike Mars Flies the Dyna-Soar
- Mike Mars Flies the X-15
- Mike Mars, South Pole Spaceman
- One Against the Moon
- The Secret of The Martian Moons (Winston Science Fiction series)
- The Secret of The Ninth Planet (Winston Science Fiction series)
- The Secret of Saturn's Rings (Winston Science Fiction series)
- To Venus! To Venus! (as David Grinnell)
External links
- DAW Books
- Donald A. Wollheim on H. Rider Haggard and She (full text)
- Bibliography at fantasticfiction.co.uk
- Bibliography at geometry.net
- Anthopology 101: Pocketbooks and Portable Libraries by Bud WebsterBud WebsterClarence Howard "Bud" Webster is a science fiction and fantasy writer who is also known for his essays on both the history of science fiction and sf/fantasy anthologies as well. He is perhaps best known for the Bubba Pritchert series, which have won two Analytical Laboratory readers' awards from...
at Galactic Central - Anthopology 101: The Real Macabre by Bud WebsterBud WebsterClarence Howard "Bud" Webster is a science fiction and fantasy writer who is also known for his essays on both the history of science fiction and sf/fantasy anthologies as well. He is perhaps best known for the Bubba Pritchert series, which have won two Analytical Laboratory readers' awards from...
at Galactic Central - Audio recording of Donald Wollheim participating in panel discussion at the First World Fantasy Convention at archive.org