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The science-fantasy publishers: A critical and bibliographic history
744 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1991
About the author
Jack L. Chalker
130 books361 followersBesides being a science fiction author, Jack Laurence Chalker was a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for a time, a member of the Washington Science Fiction Association, and was involved in the founding of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Some of his books said that he was born in Norfolk, Virginia although he later claimed that was a mistake.
He attended all but one of the World Science Fiction Conventions from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971 (a Hugo nominee in 1963 for Best Fanzine).
Chalker was married in 1978 and had two sons.
His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He had a great interest in ferryboats, and, at his wife's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull Ferry.
Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005.
On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.
Chalker is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, the first of which is Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World, #1).
He attended all but one of the World Science Fiction Conventions from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971 (a Hugo nominee in 1963 for Best Fanzine).
Chalker was married in 1978 and had two sons.
His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He had a great interest in ferryboats, and, at his wife's suggestion, their marriage was performed on the Roaring Bull Ferry.
Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005.
On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.
Chalker is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, the first of which is Midnight at the Well of Souls (Well World, #1).
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
August 12, 2012
This is an incredible book. It has all the small press SF, Fantasy and Horror going back into the 50's with profiles of each publisher and printing histories on the books. That sounds rather dry, but a lot of the people behind the publishing houses knew each other, started more than one publishing concern, sometimes partnering and splitting and then partnering with someone else. So, a lot of these publishers are linked in interesting ways. Some of the books have really interesting printing histories, like Lost Continents by L. Sprague de Camp published by Gnome Press in 1954. They acquired the unbound sheets from Prime Press, who had already printed the book, but hadn't bound it yet. But that isn't the whole story. Before the pages went to Gnome, Prime was cooking up a deal with Chamberlain Press to sell them all their "future" catalog. It would have helped Prime get out of debt and launched Chamberlain Press, but the deal fell through. So, the book ended up at Gnome. Coincidentally I ran into a copy at a used book store shortly after reading these entries and ended up buying it because of its quirky past.
As you look up books, you find yourself following these little trails from one book entry, to another press's bio page and so on. You also get the numbers on print runs of most of the books. For quite a while after the 3rd edition came out Chalker posted updates in pdf format on his website. I have pdf supplements through #13 which covered through June 2005. I have no idea if there were any more after that. When Jack Chalker died his website stayed up, but things were often not easy to find. I pulled these down in 2008 and I remember having to type their numbers into the URL to find them all. If you like Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, and want to collect early material, you have to have this book. It is also a fascinating look into the lives and occupation of the people who brought us all that great reading material.
I'm looking at my copy right now and totally forgot I got Mr. Chalker to autograph my copy in 1993. I'm also finding old book catalogs in it I used as bookmarks. One is from Arkham House, the other from Cobblestone Books in California with highlighted books I wanted to buy at the time. What a trip!
As you look up books, you find yourself following these little trails from one book entry, to another press's bio page and so on. You also get the numbers on print runs of most of the books. For quite a while after the 3rd edition came out Chalker posted updates in pdf format on his website. I have pdf supplements through #13 which covered through June 2005. I have no idea if there were any more after that. When Jack Chalker died his website stayed up, but things were often not easy to find. I pulled these down in 2008 and I remember having to type their numbers into the URL to find them all. If you like Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, and want to collect early material, you have to have this book. It is also a fascinating look into the lives and occupation of the people who brought us all that great reading material.
I'm looking at my copy right now and totally forgot I got Mr. Chalker to autograph my copy in 1993. I'm also finding old book catalogs in it I used as bookmarks. One is from Arkham House, the other from Cobblestone Books in California with highlighted books I wanted to buy at the time. What a trip!
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review