Amazing Stories Synopsis

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Amazing Stories
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amazing Stories is an American science fiction magazine

launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter
Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science
fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances in
other magazines, including some published by Gernsback, but
Amazing helped define and launch a new genre of pulp fiction.
Amazing was published, with some interruptions, for almost

eighty years, going through a half-dozen owners and many
editors as it struggled to be profitable. Gernsback was forced into
bankruptcy and lost control of the magazine in 1929, and by
1938 it was purchased by Ziff-Davis, who hired Raymond A.
Palmer as editor. Palmer made the magazine successful though it
was not regarded as a quality magazine within the science fiction
community. In the late 1940s Amazing presented as fact stories
about the Shaver Mystery, a lurid mythos that explained
accidents and disaster as the work of robots named deros, which
led to dramatically increased circulation but widespread ridicule. First issue of Amazing Stories, art by
Amazing switched to a digest size format in 1953, shortly before Frank R. Paul. This copy was
the end of the pulp-magazine era. It was sold to Sol Cohen's autographed by Hugo Gernsback in
Universal Publishing Company in 1965, which filled it with 1965
reprinted stories but did not pay a reprint fee to the authors,
creating a conflict with the newly formed Science Fiction
Writers of America. Ted White took over as editor in 1969, eliminated the reprints and made the
magazine respected again: Amazing was nominated for the prestigious Hugo award three times during
his tenure in the 1970s. Several other owners attempted to create a modern incarnation of the magazine
in the following decades, but publication was suspended after the March 2005 issue. A new incarnation
appeared in July 2012 as an online magazine.
Gernsback's initial editorial approach was to blend instruction with entertainment; he believed science
fiction could educate readers. His audience rapidly showed a preference for implausible adventures,
however, and the movement away from Gernsback's idealism accelerated when the magazine changed
hands in 1929. Despite this, Gernsback had an enormous impact on the field: the creation of a specialist
magazine for science fiction spawned an entire genre publishing industry. The letter columns in
Amazing, where fans could make contact with each other, led to the formation of science fiction fandom,
which in turn had a strong influence on the development of the field. Writers whose first story was
published in the magazine include John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Howard Fast, Ursula K. Le Guin,
Roger Zelazny, and Thomas M. Disch. Overall, though, Amazing itself was rarely an influential
magazine within the genre after the 1920s. Some critics have commented that by "ghettoizing" science
fiction, Gernsback in fact did harm to its literary growth, but this viewpoint has been countered by the
argument that science fiction needed an independent market to develop in to reach its potential.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Stories 6/9/2017
Contents
1 Origins
2 Publishing history
2.1 1920s
2.2 1930s
2.3 1940s
2.4 1950s
2.5 1960s
2.6 1970s
2.7 1980s to 2000s
3 Contents and reception
3.1 Gernsback era
3.2 Sloane, Palmer, Browne and Fairman
3.3 Cele Goldsmith
3.4 Reprint era and Ted White
3.5 After Ted White
3.6 Influence on the field
4 Publication details
4.1 Editors
4.2 Other bibliographic details
4.3 Media crossovers
5 See also
6 Notes
7 References
8 Sources
9 External links
Origins
By the end of the 19th century, stories centered on scientific inventions, and stories set in the future,
were appearing regularly in popular fiction magazines. The market for short stories lent itself to tales of
invention in the tradition of Jules Verne.[1] Magazines such as Munsey's Magazine and The Argosy,
launched in 1889 and 1896 respectively, carried a few science fiction stories each year. Some upmarket
"slick" magazines such as McClure's, which paid well and were aimed at a more literary audience, also
carried scientific stories, but by the early years of the 20th century, science fiction (though it was not yet
called that) was appearing more often in the pulp magazines than in the slicks.[2][3][4]
In 1908, Hugo Gernsback published the first issue of Modern Electrics, a magazine aimed at the
scientific hobbyist. It was an immediate success, and Gernsback began to include articles on imaginative
uses of science, such as "Wireless on Saturn" (December 1908).[5] In April 1911, Gernsback began the
serialization of his science fiction novel, Ralph 124C 41+, but in 1913 he sold his interest in the
magazine to his partner and launched a new magazine, Electrical Experimenter, which soon began to
publish scientific fiction. In 1920 Gernsback retitled the magazine

Science and Invention, and through the early 1920s he published much
scientific fiction in its pages, along with non-fiction scientific articles.[6]
Gernsback had started another magazine called Practical Electrics in

1921. In 1924, he changed its name to The Experimenter,[7] and sent a
letter to 25,000 people to gauge interest in the possibility of a magazine
devoted to scientific fiction; in his words, "the response was such that
the idea was given up for two years."[8] However, in 1926 he decided to
go ahead, and ceased publication of The Experimenter to make room in
his publishing schedule for a new magazine. The editor of The
Experimenter, T. O'Conor Sloane, became the editor of Amazing Stories.
The first issue appeared on 10 March 1926, with a cover date of April
A "scientific fiction" story 1926.[7]
illustrated by Frank R. Paul
in a 1922 issue of Science
and Invention
Publishing history
1920s
Initially the magazine focussed

on reprints; the first original Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
story was The Man From the 1926 1/1 1/2 1/3 1/4 1/5 1/6 1/7 1/8 1/9
Atom (Sequel) by G. Peyton 1927 1/10 1/11 1/12 2/1 2/2 2/3 2/4 2/5 2/6 2/7 2/8 2/9
Wertenbaker in the May 1926 1928 2/10 2/11 2/12 3/1 3/2 3/3 3/4 3/5 3/6 3/7 3/8 3/9
[9] 1929 3/10 3/11 3/12 4/1 4/2 4/3 4/4 4/5 4/6 4/7 4/8 4/9
issue. In the August issue,
new stories (still a minority) 1930 4/10 4/11 4/12 5/1 5/2 5/3 5/4 5/5 5/6 5/7 5/8 5/9
were noted with an asterisk in 1931 5/10 5/11 5/12 6/1 6/2 6/3 6/4 6/5 6/6 6/7 6/8 6/9
[10]
the table of contents. The 1932 6/10 6/11 6/12 7/1 7/2 7/3 7/4 7/5 7/6 7/7 7/8 7/9
editorial work was largely done 1933 7/10 7/11 7/12 8/1 8/2 8/3 8/4 8/5 8/6 8/7 8/8
by Sloane, but Gernsback 1934 8/9 8/10 8/11 8/12 9/1 9/2 9/3 9/4 9/5 9/6 9/7 9/8
retained final say over the 1935 9/9 9/10 9/11 10/1 10/2 10/3 10/4 10/5 10/6 10/7
fiction content. Two 1936 10/8 10/9 10/10 10/11 10/12 10/13
consultants, Conrad A. Brandt
1937 11/1 11/2 11/3 11/4 11/5 11/6
and Wilbur C. Whitehead, were
1938 12/1 12/2 12/3 12/4 12/5 12/6 12/7
hired to help find fiction to
reprint. Frank R. Paul, who had 1939 13/1 13/2 13/3 13/4 13/5 13/6 13/7 13/8 13/9 13/10 13/11 13/12
worked with Gernsback as early Issues of Amazing to 1939, identifying volume and issue numbers, and indicating
editors: Gernsback (yellow), Lynch (red), Sloane (blue), and Palmer (purple)
as 1914, became the cover
artist; Paul had produced many
illustrations for the fiction in The Electrical Experimenter. Amazing was issued in the large bedsheet
format, 8.5 11.75 in (216 298 mm), the same size as the technical magazines.[7] It was an immediate
success and by the following March reached a circulation of 150,000.[11] Gernsback saw there was an
enthusiastic readership for "scientifiction" (the term "science fiction" had not yet been coined), and in
1927 started a Discussions section[12] and issued Amazing Stories Annual. The annual sold out, and in
January 1928, Gernsback launched a quarterly magazine, Amazing Stories Quarterly, as a regular
companion to Amazing. It continued on a fairly regular schedule for 22 issues.[13][14] Gernsback was slow
to pay his authors and creditors; the extent of his investments limited his liquidity. On 20 February 1929
his printer and paper supplier opened bankruptcy proceedings against him.[15][16] It has been suggested
that Bernarr Macfadden, another magazine publisher, maneuvered to force the bankruptcy because
Gernsback would not sell his titles to Macfadden, but this is unproven.[17][18] Experimenter Publishing
did not file any defence and was declared bankrupt by default on 6 March 1929; Amazing survived with
its existing staff, but Hugo and his brother, Sidney, were forced out as directors. Arthur H. Lynch took
over as editor-in-chief, though Sloane continued to have effective control of the magazine's contents.
The receivers, Irving Trust, sold the magazine to Bergan A. Mackinnon on 3 April 1929.[16][19][20]
1930s
In August 1931, Amazing was acquired by Teck Publications, a subsidiary of Bernarr Macfadden's
Macfadden Publications.[21][22] Macfadden's deep pockets helped insulate Amazing from the financial
strain caused by the Great Depression.[23] The schedule of Amazing Stories Quarterly began to slip, but
Amazing did not miss an issue in the early 1930s.[14] However, it became unprofitable to publish over the
next few years. Circulation dropped to little more than 25,000 in 1934, and in October 1935 it switched
to a bimonthly schedule.[24][25]
By 1938, with Amazing's circulation down to only 15,000, Teck Publications was having financial
problems.[24] In January 1938 Ziff-Davis took over the magazine;[26] the April issue was assembled by
Sloane but published by Ziff-Davis. Bernard Davis, who ran Ziff-Davis's editorial department, attempted
to hire Roger Sherman Hoar as editor; Hoar turned down the job but suggested Raymond A. Palmer, an
active local science fiction fan. Palmer was hired that February, taking over editorial duties with the
June 1938 issue.[24] Ziff-Davis launched Fantastic Adventures, a fantasy companion to Amazing, in May
1939, also under Palmer's editorship.[27] Palmer quickly managed to improve Amazing's circulation, and
in November 1938, the magazine went monthly again, though this did not last throughout Palmer's
tenure: between 1944 and 1946 the magazine was bimonthly and then quarterly for a while before
returning to a longer-lasting monthly schedule.[14][28]
1940s
In September 1943 Richard Shaver, an Amazing reader, began to correspond with Palmer, who soon
asked him to write stories for the magazine. Shaver responded with a story called "I Remember
Lemuria", published in the March 1945 issue, which was presented by Palmer as a mixture of truth and
fiction. The story, about prehistoric civilizations, dramatically boosted Amazing's circulation, and
Palmer ran a new Shaver story in every issue, culminating in a special issue in June 1947 devoted
entirely to the Shaver Mystery, as it was called.[notes 1][30] Amazing soon drew ridicule for these stories. A
derisive article by William S. Baring-Gould in the September 1946 issue of Harper's prompted William
Ziff to tell Palmer to limit the

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec amount of Shaver-related material
1940 14/1 14/2 14/3 14/4 14/5 14/6 14/7 14/8 14/9 14/10 14/11 14/12 in the magazine; Palmer complied,
1941 15/1 15/2 15/3 15/4 15/5 15/6 15/7 15/8 15/9 15/10 15/11 15/12 but his interest (and possibly
1942 16/1 16/2 16/3 16/4 16/5 16/6 16/7 16/8 16/9 16/10 16/11 16/12 belief) in this sort of material was
1943 17/1 17/2 17/3 17/4 17/5 17/6 17/7 17/8 17/9 17/10 now significant, and he soon
1944 18/1 18/2 18/3 18/4 18/5 began planning to leave Ziff-
1945 19/1 19/2 19/3 19/4
Davis. In 1947 he formed Clark
Publications, launching Fate the
1946 20/1 20/2 20/3 20/4 20/5 20/6 20/7 20/8 20/9
following year, and in 1949 he
1947 21/1 21/2 21/3 21/4 21/5 21/6 21/7 21/8 21/9 21/10 21/11 21/12
resigned from Ziff-Davis to edit
1948 22/1 22/2 22/3 22/4 22/5 22/6 22/7 22/8 22/9 22/10 22/11 22/12
that and other magazines.[31]
1949 23/1 23/2 23/3 23/4 23/5 23/6 23/7 23/8 23/9 23/10 23/11 23/12
Issues of Amazing in the 1940s, with the volume/issue number identified. Ray Palmer
Howard Browne, who had been
was editor throughout the 1940s so only a single color is used.
on a leave of absence from Ziff-
Davis to write fiction, took over as
editor and began by throwing away 300,000 words of inventory that Palmer had acquired before he left.
[31]
Browne had ambitions of moving Amazing upmarket, and his argument was strengthened by Street &
Smith, one of the longest established and most respected publishers, who shut down all of their pulp
magazines in the summer of 1949. The pulps were dying, largely as a result of the success of
pocketbooks, and Street & Smith decided to concentrate on their slick magazines. Some pulps struggled
on for a few more years, but Browne was able to persuade Ziff and Davis that the future was in the
slicks, and they raised his fiction budget from one cent to a ceiling of five cents per word. Browne
managed to get promises of new stories from many well-known authors, including Isaac Asimov and
Theodore Sturgeon. He produced a dummy issue[32] in April 1950, and planned to launch the new
incarnation of Amazing in April 1951, the 25th anniversary of the first issue. However, the economic
impact of the Korean War, which broke out in June 1950, led to budget cuts. The plans were cancelled,
and Ziff-Davis never revived the idea.[33]
1950s
Browne's interest in Amazing

declined when the project to turn Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
it into a slick magazine was 1950 24/1 24/2 24/3 24/4 24/5 24/6 24/7 24/8 24/9 24/10 24/11 24/12
derailed. Although he stayed 1951 25/1 25/2 25/3 25/4 25/5 25/6 25/7 25/8 25/9 25/10 25/11 25/12
involved with Fantastic 1952 26/1 26/2 26/3 26/4 26/5 26/6 26/7 26/8 26/9 26/10 26/11 26/12
Adventures, another Ziff-Davis 1953 27/1 27/2 27/3 27/4 27/5 27/6 27/7 27/8
magazine, he left the editing work 1954 27/8 28/1 28/2 28/3 28/4 28/5
on Amazing to William Hamling 1955 29/1 29/2 29/3 29/4 29/5 29/6 29/7
and Lila Shaffer. In December
1956 30/1 30/2 30/3 30/4 30/5 30/6 30/7 30/8 30/9 30/10 30/11 30/12
1950, when Ziff-Davis moved
1957 31/1 31/2 31/3 31/4 31/5 31/6 31/7 31/8 31/9 31/10 31/11 31/12
their offices from Chicago to New
York, Hamling stayed behind in 1958 32/1 32/2 32/3 32/4 32/5 32/6 32/7 32/8 32/9 32/10 32/11 32/12
Chicago, and Browne revived his 1959 33/1 33/2 33/3 33/4 33/5 33/6 33/7 33/8 33/9 33/10 33/11 33/12
involvement with the magazine. Issues of Amazing in the 1950s, identifying volume and issue numbers, and
[34] indicating editors: Browne (green), Fairman (dark yellow), and Goldsmith (orange)
In 1952, Browne convinced Ziff-Davis to try a high-quality digest fantasy magazine. Fantastic, which
appeared in the summer of that year, focused on fantasy rather than science fiction and was so successful
that it persuaded Ziff-Davis to switch Amazing from pulp format to digest in early 1953 (while also
switching to a bimonthly schedule). Circulation fell, however, and subsequent budget cuts limited the
story quality in both Amazing and Fantastic. Fantastic began to print science fiction as well as fantasy.
Circulation increased as a result, but Browne, who was not a science fiction aficionado, once again lost
interest in the magazines.[35]
Paul W. Fairman replaced Browne as editor in September 1956.[36][37] Early in Fairman's tenure, Bernard
Davis decided to try issuing a companion series of novels, titled Amazing Stories Science Fiction
Novels. Readers' letters in Amazing had indicated a desire for novels, which Amazing did not have room
to run. The novel series did not last; only one, Henry Slesar's 20 Million Miles to Earth, appeared.
However, in response to readers' interest in longer fiction, Ziff-Davis expanded Amazing by 16 pages,
starting with the March 1958 issue, and the magazine began to run complete novels.[36]
Fairman left to edit Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine at the end of 1958, and his place was taken by
Cele Goldsmith. Goldsmith had been hired in 1955 as a secretary and became assistant editor to help
cope with the additional work created when Ziff-Davis launched two short-lived magazines, Dream
World and Pen Pals, in 1956. Ziff-Davis were not confident of Goldsmith's abilities as an editor, so
when Fairman left, a consultant, Norman Lobsenz, was hired to work with her. She performed well,
however, and Lobsenz's involvement soon became minimal.[38]
1960s
Goldsmith is well regarded by

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec science fiction historians for her
1960 34/1 34/2 34/3 34/4 34/5 34/6 34/7 34/8 34/9 34/10 34/11 34/12 innovation, and the impact she
1961 35/1 35/2 35/3 35/4 35/5 35/6 35/7 35/8 35/9 35/10 35/11 35/12 had on the early careers of
1962 36/1 36/2 36/3 36/4 36/5 36/6 36/7 36/8 36/9 36/10 36/11 36/12 writers such as Ursula K. Le
1963 37/1 37/2 37/3 37/4 37/5 37/6 37/7 37/8 37/9 37/10 37/11 37/12 Guin and Roger Zelazny,[38] but
1964 38/1 38/2 38/3 38/4 38/5 38/6 38/7 38/8 38/9 38/10 38/11 38/12 circulation lagged during her
1965 39/1 39/2 39/3 39/4 39/5 39/6 40/1 40/2 40/3 tenure. By 1964 Fantastic's
1966 40/4 40/5 40/6 40/7 40/8 40/9 circulation was down to 27,000,
1967 40/10 41/1 41/2 41/3 41/4 41/5 with Amazing doing little better.
The following March both
1968 41/6 42/1 42/2 42/3 42/4
Amazing and Fantastic were sold
1969 42/5 42/6 43/1 43/2 43/3 43/4
to Ultimate Publishing Company,
Issues of Amazing in the 1960s, identifying volume and issue numbers, and indicating
editors: Goldsmith (Lalli) (orange), Wrzos (purple), Harrison (green), Malzberg
run by Sol Cohen and Arthur
(yellow), and White (blue) Bernhard.[39][40] Goldsmith was
given the choice of going with
the magazines or staying with Ziff-Davis; she stayed, and Cohen hired Joseph Wrzos to edit the
magazines, starting with the August and September 1965 issues of Amazing and Fantastic, respectively.
Wrzos used the name "Joseph Ross" on the mastheads to avoid mis-spellings.[40] Both magazines
immediately moved to a bi-monthly schedule.[41][42]
Cohen had acquired reprint rights to the magazines' back issues, although Wrzos did get Cohen to agree
to print one new story every issue. Cohen was also producing reprint magazines such as Great Science
Fiction and Science Fiction Classics, but no payment was made to authors for any of these reprints. This
brought Cohen into conflict with the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), a professional
writers' organization formed in 1965. Soon SFWA called for a boycott of Ultimate's magazines until
Cohen agreed to make payments. Cohen agreed to pay a flat fee for all stories, and then in August 1967
this was changed to a graduated rate, depending on the length of the story.[43] Harry Harrison had acted
as an intermediary in Cohen's negotiations with SFWA, and when Wrzos left in 1967, Cohen asked
Harrison to take over. SF Impulse, which Harrison had been editing, had folded in February 1967, so
Harrison was available. He secured Cohen's agreement that the policy of printing almost nothing but
reprinted stories would be phased out by the end of the year, and took over as editor with the September
1967 issue.[43]
By February 1968 Harrison decided to leave, as Cohen was showing no signs of abandoning the reprints.
He resigned, and suggested Barry Malzberg to Cohen as a possible successor. Cohen knew Malzberg
from his work at the Scott Meredith Literary Agency, and thought that he might be more amenable than
Harrison to continuing the reprint policy. Malzberg took over in April 1968, but immediately came into
conflict with Cohen over the reprints, and then threatened to resign in October 1968 over a disagreement
about artwork Malzberg had commissioned for a cover. Cohen contacted Robert Silverberg, then the
president of SFWA, and told him (falsely) that Malzberg had actually resigned. Silverberg
recommended Ted White as a replacement. Cohen secured White's agreement and then fired Malzberg;
White assumed control with the May 1969 issue.[43]
1970s
When White took over as editor,

Amazing's circulation was about Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
38,500, only about 4% of which were 1970 43/5 43/6 44/1 44/2 44/3 44/4
subscribers (as opposed to newsstand 1971 44/5 44/6 45/1 45/2 45/3 45/4
sales). This was a very low ebb for 1972 45/5 45/6 46/1 46/2 46/3 46/4
subscriptions; Analog, by 1973 46/5 46/6 47/1 47/2 47/3 47/4
comparison, sold about 35% of its 1974 47/5 47/6 48/1 48/2 48/3 48/4
circulation through subscriptions. 1975 48/5 48/6 49/1 49/2 49/3
Cohen's wife mailed out the
1976 49/4 49/5 50/1 50/2 50/3
subscription copies from home, and
1977 50/4 50/5 51/1
Cohen had never tried to increase the
subscriber base as this would have 1978 51/2 51/3 51/4 52/1
1979 52/2 52/3 52/4 27/5
increased the burden on his wife.[44]
Issues of Amazing in the 1970s, identifying volume and issue numbers, and
White worked hard to increase the indicating editors: White (blue) and Mavor (pink). The apparently erroneous
circulation despite Cohen's lack of volume numbering for the November 1979 issue is in fact shown correctly.
support, but met with limited success.
One of his first changes was to reduce the typeface to increase the amount of fiction in the magazine. To
pay for this he increased the price of both Fantastic and Amazing to 60 cents, but this had a strong
negative effect on circulation, which fell about 10% from 1969 to 1970.[45][46]
In 1972, White changed the title to Amazing Science Fiction, distancing the magazine slightly from
some of the pulp connotations of "Amazing Stories".[45] White worked at a low wage, and his friends
often read manuscripts for free, but despite his efforts the circulation continued to fall. From near 40,000
when White joined the magazine, the circulation fell to about 23,000 in October 1975. White was
unwilling to continue with the very limited financial backing that Cohen provided, and he resigned in
1975. Cohen was able to convince White to remain; White promised to stay for one more year, but in the
event remained as editor until late 1978.[47]
Amazing raised its price from 75 cents to $1.00 with the November 1975 issue. The schedule switched to
quarterly beginning with the March 1976 issue; as a result, the 50th anniversary issue had a cover date
of June 1976. In 1977, Cohen announced that Amazing and Fantastic had lost $15,000, though
Amazing's circulation (at nearly 26,000) was as good as it had been for several years. Cohen looked for a
new publisher to buy the magazines, but in September of the following year sold his half-share in the
company to his partner, Arthur Bernhard.[46][48] White had occasionally suggested to Cohen that
Amazing would benefit from a redesign and investment; he made the same suggestions to Bernhard in
early October. According to White, Bernhard not only said no, but told him he would not receive a
salary until the next issue was turned in. White resigned, and returned all manuscripts in his possession
to their authors, even if copy-edited and ready for publication. White claimed Bernhard had told him to
do this, though Bernhard denied it.[49]
1980s to 2000s
Elinor Mavor took over as editor in early 1979. She had worked for Bernhard as an illustrator and in the
production department of several of his magazines, though not for Amazing. She had also been an editor
at Bill of Fare, a restaurant trade magazine. Mavor had read a good deal of science fiction but knew
nothing about the world of science fiction magazines when she took over. She was not confident that a
woman would be accepted as the editor of a science fiction magazine, so she initially used the
pseudonym "Omar Gohagen" for both Amazing and Fantastic, dropping it late in 1980. Circulation
continued to fall, and Bernhard refused to consider Mavor's request to undertake a subscription drive,
which might have helped. Instead, in late 1980, Bernhard decided to merge the two magazines.
Fantastic's last independent issue was October 1980; thereafter the combined magazine returned to a
bimonthly schedule. At the same time the title was changed to Amazing Science Fiction Stories.
Bernhard cut Mavor's salary after the merger, as she was editing only one magazine. Despite this, she
stayed with Amazing, but was unable to prevent circulation from dropping again, down to only 11,000
newsstand sales in 1982.[50]
Shortly after the merger, Bernhard decided to retire, and approached Edward Ferman, the editor of
Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Joel Davis, at Ziff-Davis, among others, about a possible sale of
Amazing. Jonathan Post, of Emerald City Publishing, believed he had concluded a deal with Bernhard,
and began to advertise for submissions, but the negotiations failed. Bernhard also approached George H.
Scithers, who declined, but put Bernhard in touch with Gary Gygax of TSR. On 27 May 1982 TSR, Inc.
acquired the trademarks and copyrights of Amazing Stories.[51] Scithers was taken on by TSR as editor
beginning with the November 1982 issue.[50] He was replaced by Patrick Lucien Price in September
1986, and then by Kim Mohan in May 1991. TSR ceased publication of Amazing with the Winter 1995
issue,[52] but in 1997, shortly after they were acquired by Wizards of the Coast,[53] the magazine was
relaunched, again with Mohan

Spring Summer Fall Winter as editor. This version only
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec lasted for ten issues, though it
1980 27/6 27/7 27/8 27/9 did include a special celebratory
1981 27/10 27/11 27/12 28/1 28/2 28/3 600th issue in early 2000. The
1982 28/4 28/5 28/6 28/7 28/8 science fiction trade journal
1983 28/9 56/5 57/1 57/2 57/3 57/4 Locus commented in an early
1984 57/5 57/6 58/1 58/2 58/3 58/4
review that distribution of the
magazine seemed to be weak.
1985 58/5 58/6 59/1 59/2 59/3 60/1
[54]
1986 60/2 60/3 61/1 61/2 61/3 61/4 The title proved unable to
survive: the last issue of this
1987 61/5 61/6 62/1 62/2 62/3 62/4
version was dated Summer
1988 62/5 62/6 63/1 63/2 63/3 63/4
2000. The title was then
1989 63/5 63/6 64/1 64/2 64/3 64/4 acquired by Paizo Publishing,
1990 64/5 64/6 65/1 65/2 65/3 65/4 who launched a new monthly
1991 65/5 65/6 66/1 66/2 66/3 66/4 66/5 66/6 66/7 66/8 version in September 2004. The
1992 66/9 66/10 66/11 67/1 67/2 67/3 67/4 67/5 67/6 67/7 67/8 67/9 February 2005 issue was the
1993 67/10 67/11 67/12 68/1 68/2 68/3 68/4 68/5 68/6 68/7 68/8 last printed;[52][55] a March 2005
1994 68/9 69/1 69/2 issue was released in PDF
1995 69/3 format, and in March 2006
Paizo announced that it would
1998 70/1 70/2
1999 70/3 71/1 71/2 71/3
no longer publish Amazing.[56]
In September 2011, the
2000 71/4 71/5 72/1 72/2
trademark for Amazing Stories
2004 73/1 73/2 73/3 73/4 was acquired by Steve
2005 74/1 74/2 74/3 Davidson,[57] and online
2012 0/1 0/2 publication began in 2012 with
2013 two issues in July and August.
[58]
2014 75/1
Issues of Amazing from the 1980s onwards, identifying volume and issue numbers,
and indicating editors: Mavor (pink), Scithers (green), Price (orange), Mohan (purple),
Gross (olive), Berkwits (yellow), Davidson (lt blue). The odd volume numbering in 1983 is correctly
Contents and
shown. Issue 71/5 was labelled "Special Edition" and was not dated with a month or
season. The volume numbering in 2012 is correctly shown.
reception
Gernsback era
Gernsback's editorial in the first issue asserted that "Not only do these amazing tales make tremendously
interesting readingthey are also always instructive".[59] He had always believed that "scientifiction", as
he called these stories, had educational power, but he now understood that the fiction had to entertain as
well as to instruct.[60] His continued belief in the instructional value of science fiction was not in keeping
with the general attitude of the public towards pulp magazines, which was that they were "trash".[61]
The first issue of Amazing contained only reprints, beginning with a serialization of Off on a Comet, by
Jules Verne. In keeping with Gernsback's new approach, this was one of Verne's least scientifically
plausible novels. Also included were H. G. Wells's "The New Accelerator", and Edgar Allan Poe's "The
Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"; Gernsback put the names of all three authors on the cover. He also
reprinted three more recent stories. Two came from his own magazine, Science and Invention; these
were "The Man from the Atom" by G. Peyton Wertenbaker and "The Thing from'Outside'" by George
Allan England. The third was Austin Hall's The Man Who Saved the Earth, which had appeared in All-
Story Weekly.[62]
In the June 1926 issue Gernsback announced a competition to write a short story to suit a cover drawn
by illustrator Frank R. Paul, with a first prize of $250. The competition drew over 360 entries, seven of
which were eventually printed in Amazing. The winner was Cyril G. Wates, who sold three more stories
to Gernsback in the late 1920s. Two other entrants went on to become successful writers: one was Clare
Winger Harris, whose story, "The Fate of the Poseidonia", took third place in the competition, and was
published in the June 1927 issue as by "Mrs. F.C. Harris". The other notable entrant was A. Hyatt
Verrill, with The Voice from the Inner World, which appeared in July 1927.[13][52]
A letter column, titled Discussions soon appeared, and became a regular feature with the January 1927
issue. Many science fiction readers were isolated in small communities, knowing nobody else who liked
the same fiction. Gernsback's habit of publishing the full address of all his correspondents meant that the
letter column allowed fans to correspond with each other directly. Science fiction fandom traces its
beginnings to the letter column in Amazing and its competitors,[13][52] and one historian of the field,
author Lester del Rey, has commented that the introduction of this letter column "may have been one of
the most important events in the history of science fiction".[63][notes 2]
For the first year, Amazing contained primarily reprinted material. It was proving difficult to attract new,
high-quality material, and Gernsback's slowness at paying his authors did not help. Writers such as H.P.
Lovecraft, H.G. Wells, and Murray Leinster all avoided Amazing because Gernsback took so long to pay
for the stories he printed. The slow payments were probably known to many of the other active pulp
writers, which would have further limited the volume of submissions. New writers did appear, but the
quality of their stories was often weak.[65]
Gernsback discovered that the audience he had attracted was less

interested in scientific invention stories than in fantastical adventures. A.
Merritt's The Moon Pool, which began serialization in May 1927, was an
early success; there was little or no scientific basis to the story, but it was
very popular with Amazing's readers.[65] The covers, all of which were
painted by Paul, were garish and juvenile, leading some readers to
complain. Raymond Palmer, later to become an editor of the magazine,
wrote that a friend of his was forced to stop buying Amazing "by reason
of his parents' dislike of the cover illustrations".[66] Gernsback
experimented with a more sober cover for the September 1928 issue, but
it sold poorly, and so the lurid covers continued.[65] The combination of
poor quality fiction with garish artwork has led some critics to comment
September 1928 issue. This that Gernsback created a "ghetto" for science fiction,[67] though it has
sober design sold poorly and also been argued that the creation of a specialized market allowed
Gernsback returned to lurid science fiction to develop and mature as a genre.[68]
action covers.
Among the regular writers for Amazing by the end of the 1920s were several who were influential and
popular at the time, such as David H. Keller and Stanton Coblentz, and some who would continue to be
successful for much longer, most notably Edward E. Smith and Jack Williamson. Smith's The Skylark of
Space, written between 1915 and 1920, was a seminal space opera that found no ready market when
Argosy stopped printing science fiction.[69] When Smith saw a copy of the April 1927 issue of Amazing,
he submitted it to Sloane, and it appeared in the AugustOctober 1928 issues.[70] It was such a success
that Sloane requested a sequel before the second installment had been published.[71] It was also in the
August 1928 issue that "Armageddon 2419 AD", by Philip Francis Nowlan, appeared; this was the
first appearance of Buck Rogers in print.[72]
Sloane, Palmer, Browne and Fairman
Sloane took over full control of the content of Amazing when Gernsback left in 1929.[73] He was
infamous for his slow response to manuscripts, and when Astounding Stories was launched in January
1930, with better rates and faster editorial response, some of Sloane's writers quickly defected.[74] Little
of quality appeared in Amazing during Sloane's tenure,[75] though "The Lost Machine", an early story by
John Wyndham, appeared in April 1932, under Wyndham's real name of John Beynon Harris. Both John
W. Campbell and Howard Fast sold their first stories to Sloane; Campbell's "When the Atoms Failed"
appeared in the January 1930 issue, and Fast's "Wrath of the Purple" was printed in the October 1932
issue.[76][77]
Raymond Palmer, who took over in 1938, was less interested in the educational possibilities of science
fiction than Sloane had been. He wanted the magazine to provide escapist entertainment, and had no
interest in scientific accuracy. His terse instruction"Gimme Bang-Bang"to one pulp writer sums up
his approach. Palmer disposed of almost all of Sloane's accumulated inventory, instead acquiring stories
from local Chicago writers he knew through his connections with science fiction fandom.[78][79][80] He
also added features such as a "Correspondence Corner" and a "Collectors' Corner" to appeal to fans, and
introduced a "Meet the Authors" feature, though on at least one occasion the featured author was a
pseudonym, and the biographical details were invented. An illustrated back cover was tried, and soon
became standard.[78][81] In 1939 Palmer acquired Isaac Asimov's first sale, "Marooned off Vesta".[82]
In the 1940s, several writers established themselves as a stable of reliable contributors to Amazing.
These included David Wright O'Brien and William P. McGivern, both of whom wrote an immense
amount for Ziff-Davis, much of it under house names such as Alexander Blade. John Russell Fearn
became a prolific contributor, using the pseudonyms "Thornton Ayre" and "Polton Cross".[83] Palmer
also encouraged long-time science fiction writers to return, publishing pulp authors such as Ed Earl
Repp and Eando Binder. This policy did not always meet with approval from Amazing's readers, who,
despite a clear preference for action and adventure stories, could not stomach the work of some of the
early pulp writers such as Harry Bates.[84]
The first Shaver Mystery story, "I Remember Lemuria", by Richard S. Shaver, appeared in the March
1945 issue. Shaver claimed that all the world's accidents and disasters were caused by an ancient race of
"detrimental robots" who lived in underground cities. This explanation for the world's ills, coming
towards the end of World War II, struck a chord with Amazing's readership. Palmer received over 2,500
letters, instead of the usual 40 or 50, and proceeded to print a Shaver

story in every issue. The June 1947 issue was given over entirely to the
Shaver Mystery.[85] From March 1948 the Shaver Mystery was dropped
as a regular feature of the magazine, at Ziff's insistence. Palmer left the
following year, and Browne, his successor, "was determined to make
sure that the lunatics were no longer in charge of the asylum", in the
words of science fiction historian Mike Ashley.[86]
Browne had acquired some good-quality material in the process of

planning the launch of a new slick version of Amazing, and when the
plan was abandoned this material appeared in the continuing pulp
version. This included "Operation RSVP" by H. Beam Piper, and
"Satisfaction Guaranteed", by Isaac Asimov. Despite the cancellation of
the planned change to a slick format, news had reached the writing June 1947 issue of Amazing
community of Amazing's new approach, and Browne began to receive Stories, featuring the Shaver
much better material than Palmer had been able to publish. The existing Mystery
stable of Amazing writers, such as Rog Phillips and Chester S. Geier,
were replaced by writers such as Fritz Leiber, Fredric Brown, and
Clifford D. Simak. Browne also discovered several writers who went on to success in the field,
publishing first stories by Walter M. Miller, Mack Reynolds, John Jakes, Milton Lesser and Charles
Beaumont, all within the space of nine months in late 1950 and early 1951.[87] Browne was disappointed
by the cancellation of the planned slick version, however, and to some extent reverted to Palmer's policy
of publishing sensational fiction. In 1952, for example, he serialized the anonymous Master of the
Universe, which purported to be a history of the future from 1975 to 2575.[7]
With the change to digest size in 1953, Browne once again attempted to use higher-quality fiction. The
first digest issue, dated AprilMay 1953, included stories by Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Richard
Matheson, Theodore Sturgeon, and Murray Leinster. Further well-regarded stories appeared over the
course of 1953, including Arthur C. Clarke's "Encounter in the Dawn", and Henry Kuttner's "Or Else".
[60]
Subsequent budget cuts meant that Browne was unable to sustain this level.[62] As in the 1940s,
Amazing gained a stable of writers who appeared frequently, though this time the quality of the writers
was rather higherit included Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, and Randall Garrettand the regular
writers were not appearing only in Ziff-Davis magazines. This remained the situation after Browne's
departure in 1956 and through Paul Fairman's tenure.[38]
Cele Goldsmith
Cele Goldsmith's tenure as editor began with the opportunity to showcase two very well-established
writers: E.E. Smith and Isaac Asimov. Smith's The Galaxy Primes began serialization in March 1959.
Asimov's first published story, "Marooned off Vesta", had appeared in the March 1939 issue of
Amazing, and Goldsmith reprinted it in March 1959 along with a sequel and Asimov's comments on the
story. She soon began to publish some of the better new writers. Cordwainer Smith's "Golden the Ship
WasOh! Oh! Oh!" appeared in April; and by the middle of the following year she had managed to
attract stories from Robert Sheckley, Alan E. Nourse, Fritz Leiber, Gordon R. Dickson, Robert Bloch,
and James Blish. The changes she made were enough to bring Robert Heinlein back as a subscriber;
Heinlein read a copy of the June 1961 issue, which, he said, "... caused me to think I had been missing
something."[88]
In September 1960 Amazing began to carry Sam Moskowitz's series of

author profiles, which had begun in Fantastic, the sister magazine. The
following month the cover and logo were redesigned. In April 1961, the
35th anniversary of the first issue, Goldsmith ran several reprints,
including stories by Ray Bradbury and Edgar Rice Burroughs.[38]
Goldsmith had little previous experience with science fiction, and
bought what she liked, rather than trying to conform to a notion of what
science fiction should be. The result was the debut of more significant
writers in her magazines than anywhere else at that time. She published
the first stories of Ursula K. Le Guin, Roger Zelazny, Piers Anthony and
Thomas M. Disch, among many others. Award-winning stories
published during Goldsmith's editorship include Zelazny's "He Who
Shapes", a story about the use of dream therapy to cure phobias. It was
March 1961 issue, featuring serialized in the January and February 1965 issues, and won a Nebula
James Blish's "A Dusk of Award, an annual award voted on by science fiction writers. Goldsmith
Idols" often wrote long, helpful letters to her authors: Zelazny commented in a
letter to her that "Most of anything I have learned was stimulated by
those first sales, and then I learned, and possibly even learned more,
from some of the later rejections". Disch and Le Guin have also acknowledged the influence Goldsmith
had on their early careers.[89]
The cover art for Amazing had been largely supplied by Ed Valigursky during the late fifties, but during
the early sixties a much wider variety of artists appeared, including Alex Schomburg, Leo Summers and
Ed Emshwiller. Frank Paul, who had painted all the covers for the first few years of Amazing,
contributed a wraparound cover for the April 1961 35th anniversary issue; this was his last cover art for
a science fiction magazine.[38]
Goldsmith's open-minded approach meant that Amazing and Fantastic published some writers who did
not fit into the other magazines. Philip K. Dick's sales to magazines had dropped, but his work began to
appear in Amazing, and Goldsmith also regularly published David R. Bunch's stories of Moderan, a
world whose inhabitants were part human and part metal. Bunch, whose stories were "bewildering,
exotic word pictures" according to Mike Ashley, had been unable to sell regularly elsewhere.[38]
Reprint era and Ted White
When Sol Cohen bought both Amazing and Fantastic in early 1965, he decided to maximize profits by
filling the magazines almost entirely with reprints. Cohen had acquired second serial rights from Ziff-
Davis to all stories that had been printed in both magazines, and also in the companion magazines such
as Fantastic Adventures. Joseph Wrzos, the new editor, persuaded Cohen that at least one new story
should appear in each issue; there was sufficient inventory left over from Goldsmith's tenure for this to
be done without acquiring new material. Readers initially approved of the policy, since it made available
some well-loved stories from earlier decades that

had not been reprinted elsewhere.[90] Both of
Wrzos's successors, Harry Harrison and Barry
Malzberg, were unable to persuade Cohen to use
more new fiction.[91]
When Ted White took over, it was on condition that

the reprints be phased out. This took some time: for
a while both Amazing and Fantastic continued to
include one reprint every issue. With the May 1972
issue, however, the transformation was complete, Annual circulation from 1960 to 1993
and all stories were new. In addition to eliminating
the reprints, White reintroduced several features
such as a letter column and "The Clubhouse," a fanzine review and fannish news column, and continued
the book review column, as well as a series of science articles by Gregory Benford and David Book. He
also redesigned the look of the magazine, making it, in science fiction historian Mike Ashley's words,
"far more modern and sophisticated".[92]
White was willing to print a variety of fiction, with traditional stories side-by-side with more
experimental material that was influenced by the British New Wave or by 1960s psychedelia. In 1971 he
serialized Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven, about a man whose dreams can modify reality. One
writer who was influenced by this was James Tiptree, Jr., who later wrote that "after first plowing into
the first pulpy pages of the 1971 Amazing in which Lathe came out, my toe-nails began to curl under and
my spine hair stood up."[93] White's willingness to experiment led to Amazing running more stories with
sexual content than other magazines. One such story, White's own "Growing Up Fast in the City", was
criticized as pornographic by some of Amazing's readers. Other stories, such as Rich Brown's "Two of a
Kind", about the violent rape of a black woman and the subsequent death of her rapists, also led to
controversy. White also printed more conventional fiction, however, much of it of high quality. The
magazine was nominated for the Hugo award (a readers' award, named for Hugo Gernsback) for best
editor three times during his tenure (1970, 1971 and 1972), finishing third each time.[94]
White's ability to attract new writers suffered because of the low rates he paid: one cent per word, as
compared to three or five cents per word at the leading competitive magazines. To compensate, White
cultivated new writers whose experimental work was not selling elsewhere. White made a deal in 1971
with Gordon Eklund, who was hesitating to become a full-time writer because of the financial risks.
White agreed to buy anything Eklund wrote, on condition that Eklund himself believed it was a good
story. The result was that much of Eklund's fiction appeared in Amazing and Fantastic over the next few
years.[95]
Amazing's reputation had been for formulaic science fiction almost since it began, but White was able to
bring the magazine to a higher standard than any other editor except Cele Goldsmith,[96] and gave
Amazing a respectable position in the field.[97] His successors were not able to maintain the level of
quality that he achieved.[96]
After Ted White
When Elinor Mavor took over, in early 1979, she had no experience with science fiction magazines, and
was unaware of the history of bad feeling within the science fiction community about the poor payments
for reprinted stories. She was given an extremely limited budget to work with, and had few stories on
hand to work with initially, and as a result her first issues contained several reprints. Mavor
experimented in her first year with some new ideas, such as starting a story on the back cover in order to
hook readers into buying the magazine to finish the story. She also began a serial story in graphic format
that used reader input to continue its plot. It was not a success and "thankfully", according to Mike
Ashley, the experiment was terminated after only three episodes.[50]
Over time Mavor was to some extent able to reverse the negative perceptions of Amazing among
established authors, but she was initially forced to work primarily with newer writers. Early discoveries
of hers include Michael P. Kube-McDowell, John E. Stith and Richard Paul Russo. In a notice published
in her first issue, she asked readers for help in assembling news, reviews and fan information, and soon
added columns that covered these areas. In 1981 Robert Silverberg began a series of opinion columns.
The artwork was of high quality, including work by Stephen Fabian, and later by David Mattingly.[50]
After the merger with Fantastic, Mavor continued to draw well-known writers to the magazine,
including Orson Scott Card, George R. R. Martin, and Roger Zelazny. Brad Linaweaver's Moon of Ice,
which appeared in March 1982, was nominated for a Nebula award; Martin's Unsound Variations, which
had appeared the issue before, was nominated for both a Nebula and a Hugo award.[50]
Historian James Gunn's assessment of Amazing in the 1980s is that Mavor, Scithers and Price, who
between them edited Amazing for a decade, were unable to sustain the standards established by Ted
White in the 1970s.[96] Brian Stableford, by contrast, comments that both Scithers and Price made efforts
to publish good material, and that the packaging, from 1991 onwards, was perhaps the best presented of
any science fiction magazine.[18]
With the Wizards of the Coast relaunch in 1998 the contents, under editor Kim Mohan, became more
media-focused. The initial plan was to have two or three stories per issue based on films, TV, and
games.[54][98] The 600th issue, in early 2000, included a Harlan Ellison story, as well as a story from the
100th issue, the 200th issue, and so on, up to the 500th issue. Pamela Sargent also contributed a story.[99]
The Paizo publishing relaunch, in 2004, was even more focused on media content than the Wizards of
the Coast version had been, with much more movie and comics-related material than science fiction.
Several well-known authors appeared in the first issue, including Harlan Ellison, Bruce Sterling, and
Gene Wolfe. Paizo also ran a blog for the magazine.[100][101] The fiction received positive reviews,[102]
but Paizo soon put the magazine on temporary hold, and canceled it permanently the following year.[56]
In 2012, New Hampshire entrepreneur Steve Davidson announced plans to relaunch the magazine, and
published one issue in April 2014, as well as using the name for an online publication at
AmazingStoriesMag.com.[103]
Influence on the field
Amazing Stories was influential simply by being the first of its kind. In the words of science fiction
writer and critic Damon Knight, the magazine was "a snag in the stream of history, from which a
V-shape spread out in dozens and then in hundreds of altered lives".[104] Many early fans of the field
began to communicate with each other through the letter column, and to publish fanzinesamateur fan
publications that helped establish connections among fans across the country. Many of these fans in turn
became successful writers; and the existence of an organized science fiction fandom, and of writers such
as Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, and Isaac Asimov, who came to writing directly from fandom, can
be dated to the creation of Amazing Stories.[104] After the first few years, when there was little or no
competition, Amazing Stories never again led the field in the eyes of critics or fans. Despite its long
history, the magazine rarely contributed much to science fiction beyond the initial creation of the genre,
[105]
though Gernsback himself is commemorated in the name Hugo, which is the almost universally
used term for the World Science Fiction Society's annually presented Science Fiction Achievement
Awards.[106][107] Gernsback has also been called the "Father of Science Fiction" for his role in creating
Amazing Stories.[108]
Publication details
Editors
Bibliographers do not always agree who should be listed as editor of any given issue of Amazing. For
example, Gernsback was in control for the first three years, but Sloane performed all the editorial duties
related to fiction, and he is sometimes described as the editor. Similarly, later editors were sometimes
under the supervision of editorial directors. The table below, and the charts above, generally follow the
mastheads in the magazines, with short notes added. More details are given in the publishing history
section, above, which focuses on when the editors involved actually obtained control of the magazine
contents, instead of when their names appeared on the masthead.
Hugo Gernsback (April 1926 April 1929). Sloane performed almost all the editorial duties
related to fiction.[7]
Arthur Lynch (May 1929 October 1929). As under Gernsback, Sloane was essentially the editor
during Lynch's tenure.[73]
T. O'Conor Sloane (November 1929 May 1938)
Raymond A. Palmer (June 1938 December 1949)
Howard Browne (January 1950 August 1956). Fairman actually took over editorial duties with
the May or June 1956 issue.[109]
Paul W. Fairman (September 1956 November 1958)
Cele Goldsmith Lalli (December 1958 June 1965). Norman Lobsenz was introduced as editor,
but in fact Cele Goldsmith did all the editorial work. When she married she used her married
name of Cele Lalli.[110]
Joseph Ross (August 1965 October 1967). A pseudonym for Joseph Wrzos.
Harry Harrison (December 1967 September 1968)
Barry N. Malzberg (November 1968 January 1969)
Ted White (March 1969 February 1979)
Elinor Mavor (May 1979 September 1982). From May 1979 August 1981 Mavor used the
pseudonym Omar Gohagen; subsequently she used her real name.
George H. Scithers (November 1982 July 1986)
Patrick Lucien Price (September 1986 March 1991)
Kim Mohan (May 1991 Winter 1995 and Summer 1998 Summer 2000)
Dave Gross (September 2004 December 2004)
Jeff Berkwits (January 2005 March 2005)
Steve Davidson (July 2012 present)
Other bibliographic details
Amazing began as a bedsheet format magazine and remained so until October 1933, when it switched to
pulp size. With the AprilMay 1953 issue Amazing became a digest.[111] Seven issues in the early 1980s,
from November 1980 to November 1981, were a half-inch taller than the regular digest size, but
thereafter the magazine reverted to the standard digest format.[52] In May 1991 the magazine returned to
a large format,[18] but this only lasted until the Winter 1994 issue, and the next three issues were digest-
sized again. When the magazine reappeared in 1998, it was in bedsheet format and remained that size
until the very end.[52] The last issue, March 2005, was only distributed as a PDF download, never as a
physical magazine.[56] The volume numbering contained some irregularities: the numbering given in the
tables above appears to be in error for the period from 1979 to 1983, but in fact it is given correctly in
the table. Note also that vol. 27 no. 8 was a single issue, not two, as it seems to be from the table; it was
dated Dec 1953/Jan 1954.[52]
Issue publishers[52][112][113][114][115]
Dates Publisher
April 1926 June 1929 Experimenter Publishing, New York
July 1929 October 1930 Experimenter Publications, New York
November 1930 September 1931 Radio-Science Publications, New York
October 1931 February 1938 Teck Publishing Corporation, New York
April 1938 February 1951 Ziff-Davis, Chicago
March 1951 June 1965 Ziff-Davis, New York
August 1965 February 1979 Ultimate Publishing, New York
May 1979 June 1982 Ultimate Publishing, Scottsdale, Arizona
September 1982 May 1985 Dragon Publishing, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
July 1985 Winter 1995 TSR, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
September 2004 March 2005 Paizo Publishing, Bellevue, Washington
July 2012 Experimenter Publishing Company, Hillsboro, New Hampshire
The title of the magazine changed several times:[52][55]
Dates Title
April 1926 February 1958 Amazing Stories
March 1958 April 1958 Amazing Science Fiction
May 1958 September 1960 Amazing Science Fiction Stories
October 1960 July 1970 Amazing Stories
September 1970 February 1979 Amazing Science Fiction Stories
May 1979 August 1980 Amazing Stories
November 1980 November 1984 Amazing Science Fiction Stories Combined with Fantastic
January 1985 March 1985 Amazing Science Fiction Stories Combined with Fantastic Stories
May 1985 January 1986 Amazing Science Fiction Stories
March 1986 March 2005 Amazing Stories
July 2012 Amazing Stories
Two different series of reprints of Amazing appeared in the United Kingdom. First came a single
undated issue from Ziff-Davis, in November 1946. In June 1950, Thorpe & Porter began a second series
that lasted until 1954, and totalled 32 issues. The Ziff-Davis issue and the first 24 issues from Thorpe &
Porter were pulp-sized; the last eight were digests.[18][111] The Thorpe & Porter issues were undated, but
the pulp issues were numbered from 1 to 24, and were initially bimonthly. The March 1951 issue was
followed by April and November, however, and in 1952 issues appeared in February, March, April,
June, July, September and November. 1953 saw nine pulp issues, omitting only March and May; and
with December came the change to digest-size and a perfectly regular bimonthly schedule that lasted
until February 1955. These last eight issues were numbered volume 1, numbers 1 to 8.[111] There was
also a Canadian edition, which lasted for 24 issues, from September 1933 to August 1935, from Teck
Publications; these were identical to the US editions except that the front covers were overprinted with
"Printed in Canada on Canadian Paper". A Japanese edition ran for seven issues in mid-1950, selecting
stories from Fantastic Adventures as well as from Amazing.[111]
From 1940 to 1943, and again from 1947 to 1951, copies of Amazing Stories were rebound, three at a
time, and resold as Amazing Stories Quarterly. A total of 27 of these issues appeared; they should not be
confused with the magazine of the same name which ran from 1928 to 1934 as a companion to Amazing
Stories.[116]
Several anthologies of stories from Amazing have been published, including:[18][117]
Year Editor Title Publisher

Belmont
1967 Joseph Ross The Best of Amazing
Books
1973 Ted White The Best from Amazing Stories Manor Books
Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Amazing Stories: 60 Years of the Best Science
1985 TSR
Greenberg Fiction
1986 Martin H. Greenberg Amazing Stories: Vision of Other Worlds TSR
Amazing Science Fiction Anthology: The
1987 Martin H. Greenberg TSR
Wonderful Years, 19261935
Amazing Science Fiction Anthology: The War
Years, 19361945
Amazing Science Fiction Anthology: The Wild
Years, 19461955
Media crossovers
Director Steven Spielberg licensed the title for use on an American television show called Amazing
Stories that ran from 1985 to 1987.[118] Between 1998 and 2000, Amazing Stories published a series of
short stories based upon the Star Trek franchise. In 2002, these stories were reissued by Pocket Books in
the collection Star Trek: The Amazing Stories.[119]
See also
1926 in science fiction
Notes
1. Palmer claimed the highest circulation of any science fiction magazine, but del Rey comments that though
this may have been true, "Palmer's tendency to magnify everything about the magazine cannot be
discounted."[29]
2. An example of one fan of the genre reaching out to others is a 1929 letter by Earl Hess of McIntyre, FL. An
excerpt reads: "... my plea is for help in getting together an independent experimental station, your part to be
the putting into the public view of my desire to get in touch with chaps who are of my caliber, who want the
opportunity to follow their own inclinations undisturbed, and live healthily and well while doing so."[64]
References
1. Ashley, Time Machines, p. 7.

2. Ashley, Time Machines, pp. 2125.
3. Nicholls, Peter, "Pulp Magazines", in Clute & Nicholls, Encyclopedia of SF, p. 979.
4. Ashley, Transformations, p. 155.

9. The Man From the Atom (Sequel) (http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?56531) title listing at the Internet
Speculative Fiction Database
10. "Table of Contents". Amazing Stories. August 1926. p. 385.
11. Hugo Gernsback (March 1927). "Idle Thought of a Busy Editor". Amazing Stories. p. 1025.
12. various (January 1927). "Discussions". Amazing Stories. p. 970.
15. "Business Records, Bankruptcy Proceedings". The New York Times. March 12, 1929. p. 53. "Experimenter
Publishing Co., Inc., 230 Fifth Avenue. Liabilities approximately $500,000, assets not stated. Principal
creditors listed are Art Color Printing Co., Dunellen, N.J., $152,908; Bulkley Dunton Co., $154,406 ..."
16. The bankruptcy is described in detail in Tom Perry, "An Amazing Story: Experiment in Bankruptcy" in
Amazing Science Fiction vol. 51, no 3 (May 1978), p.161.
17. del Rey, World of Science Fiction, p. 47.
18. Brian Stableford, "Amazing Stories", in Clute & Nicholls, Encyclopedia of SF, pp. 2526.
20. "To Pay 95% Of Debts In $600,000 Failure". The New York Times. April 4, 1929. p. 22.
22. "New Incorporations". The New York Times. July 15, 1931. p. 39. "Teck Publishing Corp. J Schultz. 522 5th
Av. $10,000" Joseph Schultz was the attorney for Macfadden Publications, Inc.
26. "Advertising News and Notes". The New York Times. January 18, 1938. p. 28. "Ziff-Davis Publishing
Company, New York and Chicago, has purchased Radio News Magazine and Amazing Stories."
29. del Rey, World of Science Fiction, pp. 117118.
32. A dummy issue is a magazine issue produced to show to potential advertisers or for advance review. See the
glossary at this publisher page: "Barking Raven Press: "Artful Publications for Artful
Minds" " (http://www.freewebs.com/barkingraven/theeggs.htm). Barking Raven Press. Retrieved
November 1, 2008.
39. Carlson, Walter (June 23, 1965). "Advertising: Death and Taxes and Insurance". The New York Times.
p. 62." [P]urchase by the Ultimate Publishing Company, Inc., of two science-fiction magazines from Ziff-
Davis Publishing Company. [Amazing Stories and Fantastic.] ... according to Sol Cohen, president of
Ultimate."
43. Ashley, Transformations, pp. 263267.
44. Ashley, Gateways, p. 72.
47. Ashley, Gateways, pp. 8485.

51. "The History of TSR" (http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wizards.com%
2Fdnd%2FDnDArchives_History.asp&date=2008-10-04). Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original
(http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnDArchives_History.asp) on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2005-08-20.
52. See the individual issues. For convenience, an online index is available at "Magazine:Amazing Stories
ISFDB" (http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Magazine:Amazing_Stories). Texas A&M University.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080705212157/http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Magazine%
3AAmazing_Stories) from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
53. Schliesel, Seth (March 5, 2008). "Gary Gygax, Game Pioneer, Dies at 69". The New York Times.
54. "Locus Online: Profiles of September 1998
Magazines" (http://www.locusmag.com/1998/Mgs/Profiles9809.html). Locus Publications. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20080829191713/http://www.locusmag.com/1998/Mgs/Profiles9809.html)
from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
55. Miller, Stephen G.; William T. Contento. "Amazing Stories
Checklist" (http://www.locusmag.com/index/chklst/mg0038.htm). Locus Publications. Retrieved
September 12, 2008.
56. "Amazing Stories And Undefeated Magazines Cancelled" (http://paizo.com/amazing). Paizo Publishing.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20060329010049/http://paizo.com/amazing) from the original on 29
March 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2006.
57. "Amazing Stories Trademark Acquired" (http://www.locusmag.com/News/2011/09/amazing-stories-
trademark-acquired/). Retrieved October 1, 2011.
58. "Magazine Back Issues" (http://amazingstoriesmag.com/magazine-back-issues/). Amazing Stories. The
Experimenter Publishing Company. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
59. Quoted in Ashley, Time Machines, p. 50.
61. Carter, Creation of Tomorrow, p. 3.
64. Letter in Amazing Stories, June 1928, Vol. 3, No.3, pg. 279
66. "Discussions", Amazing Stories, October 1928, p. 662; quoted in Ashley, Time Machines, p. 56.
70. Sanders, Smith, pp. 1 & 9; Moskowitz, Seekers, p. 15.
71. Moskowitz, Seekers, p. 15.
77. Ashley, Gernsback Days, p. 156.
78. del Rey, World of Science Fiction, pp. 114115.
82. John Clute & Malcolm Edwards, "Isaac Asimov", in Clute & Nicholls, Encyclopedia of Science Fiction,
p. 56.
88. Ashley, Transformations, pp. 222223. The quote is from an unpublished letter from Heinlein to Goldsmith,
quoted by Ashley.
89. Ashley, Transformations, pp. 224225. The quote from Zelazny is from a personal letter from Zelazny to
Cele Lalli (Goldsmith), dated March 20, 1965, quoted in Ashley p. 225.
93. Ashley, Gateways, pp. 7476. The quote is from Universe SF Review, September/October 1975, quoted by
Ashley on p. 76.
96. Gunn, New Encyclopedia, p. 16.
97. Gunn, New Encyclopedia, p. 503.
98. "Locus Online: SF News January 1998" (http://www.locusmag.com/1998/News/News01.html). Locus
Publications. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
99. "Locus Online: Magazines: December 1999" (http://www.locusmag.com/1998/News/News01.html). Locus
Publications. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
100. "Locus Online: New Magazines, August 2004, Page
1" (http://www.locusmag.com/2004/Monitor/Magazines08a.html). Locus Publications. Retrieved
September 22, 2008.
101. "Paizo Amazing blog" (http://paizo.com/amazing/blog). Paizo Publishing. Retrieved October 22, 2006.
102. "Locus Online: New Magazines, November 2004, Page
2" (http://www.locusmag.com/2004/Monitor/Magazines11b.html). Locus Publications. Retrieved
September 22, 2008.
103. Brooks, David (November 6, 2015). "Push to resurrect Amazing
Stories" (http://granitegeek.concordmonitor.com/2015/11/06/push-to-push-to-resurrect-amazing-stores-the-
iconic-science-fiction-magazine-gets-a-tv-boost/). Granite Geek.
104. Knight, Futurians, p. 2.
105. Aldiss, Trillion Year Spree, p. 205.
106. Franson and DeVore, "History", p. 3.
107. Nicholls, Peter, "Hugo", in Clute & Nicholls, Hugo, p. 595.
108. See, for example, the titles of Moskowitz, Hugo Gernsback: Father of Science Fiction, and Siegel, Hugo
Gernsback: Father of Modern Science Fiction.
109. Fairman began writing the editorials with the May 1956 issue, and in the July 1956 editorial he explained
that Browne was on a two-month contract in Hollywood, writing scripts for Cheyenne. In the August
editorial he announced that the change was permanent, and in the September 1956 issue Fairman was listed
as editor on the masthead for the first time. See Fairman, Paul W. (May 1956). "The Observatory". Amazing
Stories. 30 (5): 3., Fairman, Paul W. (July 1956). "The Observatory". Amazing Stories. 30 (7): 6., Fairman,
Paul W. (August 1956). "The Observatory". Amazing Stories. 30 (8): 6., Fairman, Paul W. (September 1956).
"Masthead". Amazing Stories. 30 (9).
110. Lobsenz was introduced in the November 1958 editorial, as if he were the editor. His title was editorial
director. According to Mike Ashley, who corresponded with Cele Lalli, he was brought in as a consultant,
wrote the editorials and story blurbs, met intermittently with Goldsmith, and read the stories she selected, but
"she was soon left alone to edit the magazines as she saw fit". See Fairman, Paul W. (November 1958).
"Introducing the New Editor". Amazing Stories. 32 (11): 5., and Ashley, Transformations, p. 222.
111. Tuck, "Amazing Stories", p. 535.
115. "Corporate Changes". The New York Times. June 21, 1930. "Experiments [sic] Publishing, Manhattan to
Radio Science Publications."
116. Bleiler & Bleiler (1998), p. 561564.
117. John Clute, "Martin H. Greenberg", in Clute & Nicholls, Encyclopedia of SF, pp. 522523.
118. Bennetts, Leslie (July 31, 1984). "Spielberg to Produce Adventure Series for NBC". The New York Times.
119. "Simon & Schuster: The Amazing Stories (eBook)" (http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?

tab=24&pid=481136). Simon & Schuster. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
Sources
Aldiss, Brian; Wingrove, David (1986). Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction.
London: Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-03943-4.
Ashley, Mike (2000). The Time Machines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines from
the beginning to 1950. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 0-85323-865-0.
Ashley, Mike (2004). "The Gernsback Days". In Ashley, Mike; Lowndes, Robert A.W. The
Gernsback Days: A Study of the Evolution of Modern Science Fiction From 1911 to 1936.
Holicong, Pennsylvania: Wildside Press. pp. 16254. ISBN 0-8095-1055-3.
Ashley, Mike (2005). Transformations: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1950 to
1970. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 0-85323-779-4.
Ashley, Mike (2007). Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from
1970 to 1980. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-84631-003-4.
Bleiler, Everett F.; Bleiler, Richard J. (1998). Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years. Westport
CT: Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-604-3.
Carter, Paul A. (1977). The Creation of Tomorrow: Fifty Years of Magazine Science Fiction. New
York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-04211-6.
Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (1993). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St. Martin's
Press, Inc. ISBN 0-312-09618-6.
del Rey, Lester (1979). The World of Science Fiction: 19261976: The History of a Subculture.
New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-25452-X.
Franson, Donald; DeVore, Howard (1978). A History of the Hugo, Nebula and International
Fantasy Awards. Dearborn, Michigan: Misfit Press.
Gunn, James (1988). The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: Viking. ISBN 0-670-
81041-X.
Knight, Damon (1977). The Futurians. New York: John Day.
"Amazing Stories Checklist" (http://www.locusmag.com/index/chklst/mg0038.htm). Stephen G.
Miller and William T. Contento. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
Moskowitz, Sam (1959). Hugo Gernsback: Father of Science Fiction. New York: Criterion.
Moskowitz, Sam (1966). Seekers of Tomorrow. World Publishing. ISBN 0-88355-129-2.
Sanders, Joseph (1986). E.E. "Doc" Smith. Starmont House. ISBN 0-916732-73-8.
Siegel, Mark Richard (1988). Hugo Gernsback: Father of Modern Science Fiction. Borgo Press.
ISBN 0-89370-274-9.
Tuck, Donald H. (1982). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Volume 3. Chicago:
Advent: Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-911682-26-0.
External links
Official Amazing Stories website Wikisource has original
(http://www.amazingstoriesmag.com) works on the topic:
Amazing Stories issue checklist Amazing Stories
(http://www.philsp.com/mags/amazing_stories.html), with
cover scans
Amazing Stories in "The Pulp Magazine Wikimedia Commons has

Archive" (https://archive.org/search.php?query=title% media related to Amazing
3A%28amazing+stories%29+AND+collection%3A% Stories.
28pulpmagazinearchive%29&sort=date) at Internet
Archive
Amazing Stories (http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Series:Amazing_Stories) on the Internet
Speculative Fiction Database
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amazing_Stories&oldid=780493113"
Categories: Magazines established in 1926 Science fiction magazines established in the 1920s
Magazines disestablished in 2006 Pulp magazines
Defunct science fiction magazines of the United States Wizards of the Coast magazines
Amazing Stories
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Amazing Stories - Wikipedia Page 1 of 24

Amazing Stories is an American science fiction magazine

Amazing was published, with some interruptions, for almost

publish scientific fiction. In 1920 Gernsback retitled the magazine

Gernsback had started another magazine called Practical Electrics in

Initially the magazine focussed

Ziff to tell Palmer to limit the

Browne's interest in Amazing

Goldsmith is well regarded by

When White took over as editor,

relaunched, again with Mohan

Gernsback discovered that the audience he had attracted was less

Sloane, Palmer, Browne and Fairman

letters, instead of the usual 40 or 50, and proceeded to print a Shaver

Browne had acquired some good-quality material in the process of

In September 1960 Amazing began to carry Sam Moskowitz's series of

Reprint era and Ted White

some well-loved stories from earlier decades that

When Ted White took over, it was on condition that

After Ted White

Influence on the field

Other bibliographic details

The title of the magazine changed several times:[52][55]

Several anthologies of stories from Amazing have been published, including:[18][117]

Year Editor Title Publisher

1. Ashley, Time Machines, p. 7.

6. Ashley, Time Machines, pp. 2935.

49. Ashley, Gateways, pp. 347348.

119. "Simon & Schuster: The Amazing Stories (eBook)" (http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?

Amazing Stories in "The Pulp Magazine Wikimedia Commons has

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amazing_Stories&oldid=780493113"

This page was last edited on 15 May 2017, at 13:20.

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