Fantasy Review #3
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FA NI TASY RT VI TVV Vol. f, No. 3 SIXPENCE JUN.-JUL. 1947 Wa,lter Gilling:s' [.ANTASIA Noted American science flctionist Theodore Sturgeon carried ofi €250 prize ofiered by English Argosy in slrort story contest. Winning piece, presented ..with pride,' in May issue, praised for its "strange imaginative quality,,' was "Bianca's Hands," reputedly spurned by several U.S. mags. including Unknown Worlds, in which Stu-rgeon started. British fantasy authors who entered contest feeling slighily piqued . "Homecoming," story by Ray Bradbury originally in Street & Smith's Ma.demoiselle, setected for O. Henry Memoria,l Award, to be reprinted in ,{von Fantasy Reader. His fantastic "The Meadow" also won prize in radioscript contest. Collection of his weird tales, ,.Dark Carnival,'! forthcoming from Arkham House . Recipient of Ailantic Award to encourage novel writers is C. S. youd, editor New Frontiers, now suspended. Television version of "Mr. Mergenthwirker's Lobblies," much-radioed fantasy by Nelson S. Bond (see book reviews, last issue), presented recently from London . Following death at 81 of M. P. Shiel, appreciation of his work, wittr special reference to "T'lre Purple Cloud," given on T'lrird hogramme . H. F. Ileard, author of ,'Doppelgangers" (reviewed Nhiis issue), and "The Great Fog and Other Welrd Tales," ls--{r was-famous British science writer Gerald Heard, now living in Ilollywood . .. ANOTHER, MAG. COMING l{ew magazine to carry original s-f, fantasy, weird and ghost story material, with Donald A. Wollheim editing, being planned by Avon Publications, New York, producers of Fantasy R€ader. First issue due before year's end . L€o Margulies, Thrtlting Wonder's editorial director, writing in American Writer on science flction fleld, warned would-be specialists its readers were "most articulate group in the world." . Max J. Hertzberg, prominent U.S. educator, literary editor Newark Evening News, encourages reading of s-f among pupiis . Saturday Review of Literature featur€d article by t. Sprague de Camp, "Ttre Unwritten Classics," dealing with flctitious books invented by fantasy writers, e.g. Lovecraft's "Necronomicon" . Earlier issue carried letters from P. Schuyler Miller, trTederick B. Shfoyer, on current s-f book boom and tsfforts to compile bibliography of fantasy, now proceeding in various directions . lOontinued on Page g] 2 FA NTASY Among the Magazines ,POLICY''S LOS'NG READERS Says SAM MOSKOYI/ITZ fs the fetish of "editorial slant" driving fantasy magazines into a rut, discouraging new writers, alienating once enthusia.stic readers? The well-known American critic cf the field, in this outspoken a,rticle+, tra.ces.the prevailing preference for books to the lowered standards of magazine fiction which have be€n evident of recent years. As the science fiction and falrtasy science nction antlrologies of thls magazines graduate more and more of calibre will, I think, drop the bottoE thei.r once inseparable readers into the out of the horfor rage and leave only placid respectability of hard-cover limited editlon groups dominant in this books, it b€comes necessary to deter- neld. mine what is responsible for this trend. Every science flction magazine, wibh- That anthologies of weird, horror and out exception, has a deflnite "policy." fantasy stories have sold so weU ol It is these policies, a^nd even personal 1'ecent years ostensibly proves there is editorial prejudices, s/hich are the prin- a good audience for the macabre. But cipal faptors in limiting their appeal. they have actually been purchased to a The policies have been maintained gleat extent by dyed-in-the-wool science through the war years when most flction readers who, unable to obtain magazines sold well and interest ln enough magazine flction and saddened speculative scientifi.c subjects was by its generally low quality, have taken aroused. 'But €ditors and publishers to reading ghost books as an alt€rna- have become convinced that th€ir tive. This is evident from the fact that "slant" has been selling their magazine, both "The Best in Science Ftction" and and have narrowed down story require- ''Adventures in Time and Space" have ments from an avenue to an alley. scared into the best-seller class and a.re T'he result is that the book companies still selling at peak tempo. A few more are harvesting the dissatisfled cus. tomers from the pulps, The devoted scientifi.ctionist, who has always said he would be satisfi.ed with one good FANTASY REVIEW story an issue, ls finding it actually (Incorporating SCIENTIFTCTION cheaper to pay three dollars for a book and TO-MORROW-Magazine of and be guaranteed 30 or 40 good stories the Future) in one volume; and he has always b€en A Journal for Readers, writers and a collector at hea"rt. Collectors Imaginative Fiction of Astounding Science-Faction, generally BI-MONTHLY: SIXPENCE accepted the best periodical in the Editorial, Advertising and Pub- fleld, has long since driven itself into lishing Office: 15 Shere Road, the deep rut of all-encompassing Ilford, Essex. "policy," with its resultant doldruns. Subscription rates: In Great Editor John W. Campbell has for some Britain and Dominions (except fime been slanting his magazine to- Canada) 3/6 per year. Single cop- wards the technicians. He bas do- ies, 7d., post free. In Canada and veloped an ultra-conservative format, U.S.A., 75c. per year. Single copies, printed quite 15c., post free. several technical articles, and insisted that his writers accept Vol. I, No. 3 Jun.-Jul. 1947 future advances as completely normal Etlitor: Walter GiUings. setting and write of things perfectly Associate Editors: John Carnell, adapted to suctr a s€tting. A technical J. Mlchael Rosenblum, D. R,. Smith, problem of the future is enough a Arthur F. Hillman, FYed C. Brown, for Nigel Lindsay, R. George Medhujst. writer like George O. Smitll and the John C. Craig. xcondensed A m e r i can Corresponderrts: from PSFS News, organ of David Iishl (New York), Forrest the Philadelphia Science Fiction J. Ackerman (Los Angeles). Society, published at 122 South l8tJx St., Philadelphia! Penna., U.SA. REVIEW 3 difficulties oi keeping intact an inter- fairy tales. He has attended several galactic empire will carry Isaac Asimov major fan gatherings, and is no longer along indefinitely. completely certain that, the bulk of his It cannot be claimed that every story audience lies in the teen-age group. Astounding uses may be aptly categor- This change of thinking is reflected in ised and placed in its niche; nor that the defi,nite a.dult trend which has lately even the "typed" stories are lacking in been apparent in the readers'columns new ideas, interest and entertainment. of Wonder; while an attempt to main- But no matter how an author twists and tain a mature writing standard is turns, a celtain sameness is always evident in the constant use of Murray present, and bol'edom sets in as a re- Lcinster and Henry Iluttner and the sult. The facts are that sel'en authols acquisition of Theodore Sturgeon, L. and author-teams wrote close to 70 p€r Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratb a,nd cent. of all the stories printed in this others. magazine in the three years 1944-46, Startling still carries a more juvenlle most of them producing a quantity of appeal with the regular printing of wordage that does not permit a con- "Captain Future" novels. But Standard stant high grade of quality. That seem reluctant to disengage any section these seven should have predominated of their readers; they print science flc- fol' so long a period shows that tion of ail types, and even occasional Astounding's policy does not attract weild tales. They cat€r for the fans any number of n€w writers, and that and have enlarged their fan depart- formula is drowning inspiration. ments; their policy seems to be catch- The new publishers of Famous Fan- as-catch-can, but both their magazines, tastic Mysteries, as leaders in the ant! especiallv Wonder, are in a state of flux leprint campaign, found themselves and it rvill be some time before their rvith a replint science flction magazine trend can be accurately determined. on their hands. But they managed to The Ziff-Davis Amazing Stories and calry it on by hobbling it with a "re- Fantastic Adventures are edited with print from books only" policy; and mass-appeal in mind. Stolies that are guided by some nebulous principle "wlitten down" a1e the norm. Once never adequately outlined, it has dis- there was a semblance of differentiation calded, for one reason or another, some in the policies of the lwo magazine; now of the gleatest book classics in the field. science fiction, fantasies and weirds Soon after the inception of the new ale jumbled indiscriminately in both. publishers a tlend towards well-wdtt€n, The editor, RaJ,Tnond A. Palmer, has unusual advanture stories became ap- been impervious to criticism, depending parent, with a whole string of prehis- upon low appeal and bulky appearance toric tales followed by a lost continent to keep his magazines weII up in the cycle. But more rec€ntly there has been cilculation brackets. a leaning towards horror, or an attempt The intefplanetary story has long to emphasise what horror is to be found been the most popular type of science in fhe particular story featured. fiction, and Planet Stories has adopted llhis new trend is too obvious and an "all interplanetary" policy with great persistent to Lre coincid€nce, as the ad- success. Its covers, which invariably venture cycle was reputed to be. portray "a gft| a guy and a goon," Straight horlol magazines, unadulter- mirrol the action to be found in its ated by sex, have not been too success- stofies, but do not lead one to expecL ful in the past, and there is no reason the very vrell-written brand of action to suppose that Famous Fantastic's stoly that is actr"lally used.