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Wollheim's "Pogo Planet", the first installment of his "Alex Calkins" series, was the cover story for the October 1941 issue of Future. It appeared under Wollheim's "Martin Pearson" pseudonym and was illustrated by Hannes Bok.

Key Information

Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell,[2] Martin Pearson, and Darrell G. Raynor. A founding member of the Futurians, he was a leading influence on science fiction development and fandom in the 20th-century United States.[2] Ursula K. Le Guin called Wollheim "the tough, reliable editor of Ace Books, in the Late Pulpalignean Era, 1966 and '67", which is when he published her first two novels in Ace Double editions.[3]

Profile

[edit]

Involvement in science fiction fandom

[edit]

The 1979 first edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction calls Wollheim "one of the first and most vociferous SF fans."[4] He published numerous fanzines and co-edited the early Fanciful Tales of Time and Space. His importance to early fandom is chronicled in the 1974 book The Immortal Storm by Sam Moskowitz[5] and in the 1977 book The Futurians by Damon Knight.[6]

With Frederik Pohl and John Michel, 1938

Wollheim organized an event later considered the first American science fiction convention, when a group from New York met with a group from Philadelphia on October 22, 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-ever Worldcon.[7]

Wollheim was a member of the New York Science Fiction League, one of the clubs established by Hugo Gernsback to promote science fiction.[6] 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"[7] but was later reinstated. From the September 1935 issue of Gernsback's Wonder Stories:

THREE MEMBERS EXPELLED

It grieves us to announce that we have found the first disloyalty in our organization... These members we expelled on June 12th. Their names are Donald A. Wollheim, John B. Michel, and William S. Sykora—three active fans who just got themselves onto the wrong road.

In 1937 Wollheim founded the Fantasy Amateur Press Association, whose first mailing (July 1937) included this statement from him: "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.[7] In 1943 Wollheim married fellow Futurian Elsie Balter (1910–1996). It proved to be a lasting marriage and 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.[7]

Work as author

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Wollheim's first story, "The Man from Ariel", was published in the January 1934 issue of Wonder Stories[1][8] when he was nineteen.

Don Wollheim and his daughter Elizabeth (1954)

He was not paid for the story, and when he learned that other authors had not been paid either, he said so in the Bulletin of the Terrestrial Fantascience Guild.[9] Publisher Hugo Gernsback eventually settled with Wollheim and the other authors out of court for $75. However, when Wollheim submitted another story ("The Space Lens") under the pseudonym Millard Verne Gordon,[1] he was once again cheated by Gernsback who published it in the September 1935 issue.[10] His third known story was published in Fanciful Tales of Time and Space, Fall 1936, a fanzine that he edited himself.[1] That year he also published and edited another short-lived fanzine, Phantagraph.[1]

Wollheim's stories were published regularly from 1940; 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.[4] 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).[4] A sequel, Destination: Saturn was published in 1967 in collaboration with Lin Carter. 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 film of the same name by director and co-writer Guillermo del Toro, released in 1997.[11]

His daughter Betsy declared: "In true editorial fashion, he was honest about the quality of his own writing. He felt it was fair to middling at best. He always knew that his great talent was as an editor."[12]

Career as editor and publisher

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Robert Silverberg said that 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."[7]

In late 1940, Wollheim noticed a new magazine titled Stirring Detective and Western Stories on the newsstands. He wrote to the publishers, Albing Publications, to see if they were interested in adding a science fiction title to their list, and he was invited to meet them. They did not have capital, however, and only guaranteed him a salary if the magazines were successful. He approached some of his fellow Futurians for free stories (some published under pseudonyms to protect their reputations with paying editors).[13][14] It resulted in Wollheim's editing two of the earliest periodicals devoted to science fiction, the Cosmic Stories and Stirring Science Stories magazines starting in February 1941. After the magazines were cancelled later in 1941, Wollheim was able to find another publisher, Manhattan Fiction Publications, and a fourth issue of Stirring appeared, dated March 1942. Wartime constraints prevented ongoing publication, and there were no more issues of either title.[15][16][17]

Wollheim edited the first science fiction anthology to be mass-marketed, The Pocket Book of Science Fiction (1943).[7] It was also the first book containing the words "science fiction" in the title.[12] It included works by Robert A. Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon, T. S. Stribling, Stephen Vincent Benét, Ambrose Bierce, and H. G. Wells. 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 science fiction, 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.[7]

Ace Double, The Brain Stealers/Atta (1954)
Avon Fantasy Reader No. 10, edited by Wollheim

Between 1947 and 1951 he was 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.[18] During this period he also edited eighteen issues of the influential Avon Fantasy Reader as well as three of the Avon Science Fiction Reader. 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 spearheaded a new paperback book list, Ace Books. In 1953 he introduced science fiction to the Ace lineup,[2] and for 20 years as editor-in-chief was responsible for their multi-genre list and, most important to him, their renowned sf list.[4] Wollheim invented the Ace Doubles series which consisted of pairs of books, usually by different authors, bound back-to-back with two "front" covers.[18] 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.[18] William S. Burroughs' first book, Junkie, was published as an Ace Double.[18] 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.[7]

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[7] (Herbert's title worried Wollheim, who feared it would be mistaken for a western).[12] 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.[7]

Tolkien controversy

[edit]

Prior to the 1960s, no large American paperback publisher would publish fantasy. It was believed that there was no public demand for it and that it would not sell. Wollheim published an unauthorized paperback edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in three volumes. It was the first mass-market paperback edition of Tolkien's epic.[18] Wollheim did not consider himself a fantasy fan. In a 2006 interview his daughter, Betsy Wollheim, said:[19]

When he called up Professor Tolkien in 1964 and asked if he could publish Lord of the Rings as Ace paperbacks, Tolkien said he would never allow his great works to appear in so 'degenerate a form' as the paperback book. Don was one of the fathers of the entire paperback industry, since before he spearheaded the Ace line he was the originating editor-in-chief of the Avon paperback list in 1945, so he took this personally. He was very offended. 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 them and did. This brash action (which ultimately benefited his primary competitors) 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. He was bitter about that, and frankly that's probably why he never got the Hugo he wanted. But if he hadn't done it, who knows when—or if —those books would have been published in paperback?

This account was disputed by Tolkien, who claimed that he never received any communication from Ace prior to publication of their version.[20] In any case, Tolkien had previously authorized paperback editions of The Hobbit and Tree and Leaf.[21][22] The authorized Ballantine paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings was then published in November 1965. Ace subsequently agreed to cease publishing the unauthorized edition and to pay Tolkien for their sales following a grassroots campaign by Tolkien's U.S. fans.[23][24] A 1993 court determined that the copyright loophole suggested by Ace Books was invalid and its paperback edition was found to have been a violation of copyright under U.S. law[25] (at this time, the U.S. had yet to join the International Copyright Convention, and most laws on the books existed to protect domestic creations from foreign infringement. Houghton Mifflin was technically in violation of the law when they exceeded their import limits and failed to renew their interim copyright). In the Locus obituary for Donald Wollheim, however, more details emerge:

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.[7]

Foundation of DAW Books

[edit]
See also: DAW Books

Wollheim left Ace in 1971. Frederik Pohl 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.[7]

DAW Books logo used from 1972 to 1984

Upon leaving Ace, he and his wife, Elsie Balter Wollheim, founded DAW Books, which he named for his initials. DAW can claim to be the first mass market specialist science fiction and fantasy fiction publishing house.[2] 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 historical fantasy How Are the Mighty Fallen (1974), owing to its homosexual content, Wollheim fought vigorously against their decision, and they relented.

His later author discoveries included Tanith Lee, Jennifer Roberson, Michael Shea, 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, including E. C. Tubb, Brian Stableford, Barrington Bayley, and 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.

Recognition

[edit]

Algis Budrys in 1966 gave Wollheim a Galaxy Bookshelf award "for doing his job".[26] Upon Wollheim's death in 1990, the prolific editor Robert Silverberg argued (above) that he may have been "the most significant figure" in American SF publishing.[7]

Robert Jordan credited Wollheim for helping to launch Jordan's career. Wollheim made an offer for Jordan's first novel, Warrior of the Ataii, though he withdrew the offer when Jordan requested some minor changes to the contract. Jordan claimed 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.[27][28] The novel remained unpublished during Jordan's lifetime, he Jordan went on to write the immensely successful The Wheel of Time series for Tor Books.

Marion Zimmer Bradley referred to him as "a second father", Frederick Pohl called him "a founder",[7] and Robert Silverberg says he was "seriously underrated" and "one of the great shapers of science-fiction publishing in the United States".[18] In 1977 scholar Robert Scholes named Wollheim "one of the most important editors and publishers of science fiction."[29]

From 1975 on, Wollheim received several special awards for his contributions to science fiction and to fantasy,[30] including one at the 1975 World SF Convention and runner-up to Ian & Betty Ballantine at the 1975 World Fantasy Convention.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted him in 2002, its seventh class of two deceased and two living persons.[31] He is the third person inducted primarily for his work as editor or publisher, after the inaugural 1996 pair Hugo Gernsback and John W. Campbell.

Selected works

[edit]

As editor

[edit]

World's Best Science Fiction (with Terry Carr)

[edit]

The Annual World's Best SF (with Arthur W. Saha)

[edit]

Others

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As writer

[edit]

Mike Mars series

[edit]

Source:[32]

  1. Mike Mars, Astronaut (1961)
  2. Mike Mars Flies the X-15 (1961)
  3. Mike Mars at Cape Canaveral (renamed Mike Mars at Cape Kennedy when published in paperback in 1966) (1961)
  4. Mike Mars in Orbit (1961)
  5. Mike Mars Flies the Dyna-Soar (1962)
  6. Mike Mars, South Pole Spaceman (1962)
  7. Mike Mars and the Mystery Satellite (1963)
  8. Mike Mars Around the Moon (1964)

Winston Juveniles

[edit]

Ajax Calkins

[edit]

Other novels

[edit]
  • One Against the Moon (1956, The World Publishing Company, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 56-9261)
  • Across Time (1957, as David Grinnell)
  • The Edge of Time (1958, as David Grinnell)
  • The Martian Missile (1959, as David Grinnell)
  • To Venus! To Venus! (1970, as David Grinnell)

Nonfiction

[edit]
  • A Year Among the Girls (as Darrell G. Raynor) (1966) (concerning his crossdressing experiences and Casa Susanna)[33]
  • The Universe Makers: Science Fiction Today (1971): a "survey and behind-the-scenes look" at science fiction from the Golden Age onward)[29])

Personal life

[edit]

Wollheim also actively practiced cross-dressing as a woman throughout his life, and he regularly attended events at Casa Susanna in the Catskills of upstate New York.[34][35]

See also

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References

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Sources

[edit]

Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (2023) [1981]. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded Edition. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-35-865298-4.

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Donald A. Wollheim

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Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American editor, publisher, author, and fan whose career spanned from pioneering in to shaping mass-market genre . As a co-founder of the science fiction club in 1938, Wollheim was central to early fan activities and disputes, including the exclusion of his group from the 1939 World Science Fiction Convention due to ideological clashes. He edited influential such as The Pocket Book of Science Fiction (1943), the first hardcover SF , and launched the annual World's Best Science Fiction series in 1965, which continued until his death. At Avon Books and later , he introduced affordable paperbacks featuring authors like and , and innovated with Ace Doubles—two-in-one volumes that expanded the genre's reach. In 1971, he founded , the first imprint dedicated solely to science fiction and fantasy, where his wife Elsie served as co-founder and his daughter later took over. A notable controversy arose in 1965 when, as Ace editor, Wollheim exploited a loophole in J.R.R. Tolkien's U.S. contract to publish the first mass-market paperback of without authorization, prompting widespread fan backlash but ultimately forcing Houghton Mifflin to issue an authorized edition that boosted the book's popularity. Wollheim's aggressive tactics and fan-era feuds, such as with , underscored his combative style, yet his editorial vision earned him a 1964 for Best and posthumous induction into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2002.

Early Life

Birth and Family Background

Donald Allen Wollheim was born on October 1, 1914, in , . His father, Dr. Jacob Lewis Wollheim, was a physician practicing with a specialization in venereal diseases. Wollheim's upbringing occurred in a cold and formal household, reflective of the disciplined family structures common among professional-class families in early 20th-century urban New York. The Wollheim family's Jewish heritage placed them within Manhattan's intellectually stimulating immigrant communities, where exposure to diverse ideas and rigorous education was prevalent amid the city's dense cultural milieu. This environment, characterized by the era's economic and social pressures on Jewish professionals, contributed to a home life emphasizing achievement and self-discipline, though marked by emotional restraint.

Education and Introduction to Science Fiction

Wollheim's formal education was limited, with sparse details available regarding schooling beyond basic levels; he contracted poliomyelitis at age five, which impaired his physical coordination lifelong but channeled his energies toward independent intellectual development through intensive reading. At age thirteen in 1927, he encountered science fiction via Hugo Gernsback's Amazing Stories, the pioneering pulp magazine that debuted in 1926 and reprinted scientific romances by authors such as H.G. Wells and Jules Verne alongside emerging speculative tales. This exposure ignited a passion for the genre's emphasis on rational extrapolation from scientific principles, contrasting sharply with the more constrained narratives of contemporary mainstream literature, and fostering a preference for unvarnished causal inquiry into technological and societal possibilities. The pulps' unpretentious format, filled with tales of invention, space travel, and human ingenuity unbound by realism's limits, shaped Wollheim's early appreciation for as a vehicle for first-principles speculation rather than escapist fantasy divorced from empirical foundations. His initial forays into genre engagement took the form of personal writings, including a November 1930 letter to Amazing Stories proposing an annual reprint anthology to preserve classic stories. Such correspondence reflected budding analytical engagement with the field's content and direction, laying groundwork for deeper involvement without yet involving collective activities.

Fandom Involvement

Founding the Futurians

Donald A. Wollheim co-founded the , initially known as the Futurian Science Literary Society, in September 1938 following a split from the Greater New York Science Fiction Club, which was dominated by rival fan leader Sam Moskowitz. The group's inaugural meeting occurred on September 18, 1938, with Wollheim, , John B. Michel, and Robert A. W. Lowndes forming the core leadership, drawing in around thirteen initial members committed to advancing beyond mere entertainment. This formation arose from ideological tensions, as Wollheim and allies rejected the apolitical prevalent in broader , instead advocating for science fiction's potential to forecast and influence technological and societal transformations. The ' ethos emphasized radical activism with leftist inclinations, viewing fandom as a platform for social reform through the genre's exploration of future possibilities. Wollheim, who harbored communist sympathies, promoted the idea that science fiction enthusiasts should actively pursue a socialist-oriented future, critiquing mainstream culture's derision of the field as juvenile while highlighting its capacity for causal analysis of innovation's real-world effects. A pivotal precursor was the "Mutation or Death!" manifesto by John B. Michel, delivered by Wollheim at the Third Eastern Science Fiction Association convention on October 30, urging fans to embrace evolutionary change via 's predictive power or face stagnation—reflecting a commitment to technology-driven societal over passive consumption. Early Futurian gatherings convened in modest New York apartments, fostering intense debates on politics, literature, and the genre's role in countering cultural dismissals, with Wollheim's leadership driving the group's focus on proselytizing science fiction as a tool for intellectual and ideological awakening rather than isolated hobbyism. This approach positioned the Futurians as vanguard activists within nascent fandom, prioritizing collective promotion and critical engagement with science fiction's implications for human progress.

Contributions to Fanzines and Early Fandom

Wollheim co-edited the semiprozine Fanciful Tales of Time and Space with Wilson Shepherd, publishing its single issue in fall 1936 at a price of 20 cents; the publication featured , , and fantasy stories by authors including , , , and David H. Keller. This effort marked one of Wollheim's earliest forays into editing periodicals, blending amateur enthusiasm with professional aspirations during the nascent stages of organized . As a lifelong resident of , Wollheim edited and published the The Phantagraph from 1934 to 1946, incorporating fan letters from figures like , excerpts from ' works, and discussions on . He produced numerous other fanzines throughout , contributing articles, reviews, and commentary that helped circulate ideas among scattered fans reliant on mimeographed or hectographed distributions. These publications fostered a network for sharing reactions to professional magazines like and Astounding Stories, amplifying engagement in the genre. In fanzine contributions, Wollheim emphasized science fiction's capacity for empirical exploration of scientific principles and foresight into technological futures, positioning the genre as a tool for rational speculation rather than dismissed fantasy; this countered contemporary literary critiques that relegated to sub-literary status. His writings influenced fan discourse by promoting SF's intellectual rigor, encouraging readers to value its predictive insights over escapist tropes. Wollheim's dynamic partnership with Forrest J. Ackerman, another early enthusiast, exemplified collaborative energy in fandom; as prominent "Big Name Fans," they exchanged ideas, co-contributed to publications, and elevated genre passion through correspondence and joint advocacy, solidifying their roles as influencers in pre-war SF circles.

Conflicts Within Fandom

In 1939, Donald A. Wollheim, as a prominent leader of the Futurians, spearheaded efforts to challenge perceived commercial encroachments on science fiction fandom, culminating in his exclusion from the first World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), held July 2–4 in New York City. Wollheim and other Futurians had initially joined the event's planning committee but were displaced by the rival New Fandom faction, comprising Sam Moskowitz, William S. Sykora, and James V. Taurasi, following disputes over organizational control and ideological differences. This ousting prompted the Futurians to organize a protest, reflecting Wollheim's insistence on fan-driven governance rather than concessions to professional publishing influences. On July 2, as the convention opened at Caravan Hall, Wollheim—alongside , John B. Michel, Robert A. W. Lowndes, Cyril Kornbluth, and Jack Gillespie—was barred from entry after refusing to pledge non-disruptive behavior. The group had prepared and distributed a accusing the organizers of dictatorial tactics and undue deference to commercial interests, which was discovered during the event; Wollheim denied advance knowledge of its placement under a . The committee, citing risks of agitation informed by the ' activist history, enforced the ban, marking the first major exclusion in fandom history. Wollheim's unyielding advocacy, often characterized by contemporaries as combative, drew sharp rebukes for fomenting division in nascent , with detractors like Moskowitz decrying it as ideologically motivated interference that prioritized radical restructuring over harmonious development. Yet, the ensuing empirically amplified engagement, as the publicized core tensions between and integration, spurring broader participation and debate that propelled 's expansion beyond immediate rifts.

Writing Career

Early Short Fiction and Novels

Wollheim began publishing short fiction in the era of the 1930s, with his debut story "The Man from Ariel" appearing in Wonder Stories in January 1934, depicting and alien encounters in a style typical of early . He followed this with "The Space Lens" in 1935, credited under the Millard Verne Gordon in the Wonder Stories Annual, which involved optical technology enabling cosmic observation and human expansion into space. These early tales reflected the pulp constraints of fast-paced adventure and technological speculation, often constrained by word limits and editorial demands for sensationalism over depth. Throughout the 1940s, Wollheim contributed regularly to magazines like Astonishing Stories and Stirring Science Stories, using pseudonyms such as Martin Pearson for "Mimic" (December 1942), a story of shape-shifting extraterrestrials infiltrating human society through biological imitation, later adapted into a 1997 film. Other works included "Blind Flight" (1942) in Stirring Science Stories, exploring navigation challenges in uncharted space, and "The Unfinished City" (1942), delving into archaeological mysteries with speculative ruins hinting at lost advanced civilizations. These stories emphasized pragmatic human responses to technological and extraterrestrial threats, grounded in cause-and-effect mechanics rather than idealized heroism. Wollheim produced no full-length novels during this period, viewing his fiction output as secondary to and editorial pursuits; he later described his writing as "fair to middling at best," acknowledging pulp-era limitations that prioritized marketability over literary refinement. His pseudonymous submissions, including collaborations under names like Arthur Cooke, allowed flexibility in meeting magazine quotas while experimenting with themes of and amid wartime shortages affecting pulp production. By the late , his authorial efforts waned as editorial roles at Avon Books took precedence, though early pieces like "Mimic" demonstrated his grasp of in speculative contexts.

The Mike Mars Series

The Mike Mars series comprises eight juvenile science fiction novels authored by Donald A. Wollheim and published in hardcover by Doubleday & Company from 1961 to 1964, centering on the exploits of a teenage astronaut trainee named Mike Mars. The volumes, illustrated by Albert Orbaan, chronicle Mike's progression from Air Force Academy graduation to advanced space missions, incorporating realistic depictions of emerging aerospace technologies such as the X-15 rocket plane, Dyna-Soar glider, and orbital flights. Titles include Mike Mars, Astronaut (1961), Mike Mars Flies the X-15 (1961), Mike Mars at Cape Canaveral (1961), Mike Mars in Orbit (1961), Mike Mars Flies the Dyna-Soar (1962), Mike Mars, South Pole Spaceman (1962), Mike Mars and the Mystery Satellite (1963), and Mike Mars, Space Pioneer (1964). Wollheim structured the narratives to mirror actual training protocols and Gemini program elements, drawing on verifiable engineering data from U.S. space initiatives to forecast feasible advancements like reusable boosters and polar expeditions, eschewing speculative fantasy in favor of causal projections from rocketry physics and systems. This approach aligned with the era's empirical focus, as the series debuted amid the escalating U.S.-Soviet , shortly after Sputnik's 1957 launch and Yuri Gagarin's 1961 orbital flight, when federal investments in space technology surged from $89 million in 1958 to over $5 billion by 1966. By emphasizing procedural accuracy—such as simulations and zero-gravity adaptations—Wollheim aimed to cultivate scientific curiosity among adolescents, positioning Mike as an aspirational figure for those eyeing careers in during the pre-Apollo momentum. The series demonstrated commercial viability in the juvenile market, with initial print runs supporting multiple annual releases and later paperback editions by Paperback Library adapting titles like Mike Mars at Cape Canaveral to Mike Mars at Cape Kennedy in 1966 to reflect the site's 1963 renaming. Sustained demand reflected Wollheim's acumen in tailoring content to capitalize on public fascination with , evidenced by the progression from suborbital tests to interplanetary probes across volumes, without relying on adult-oriented tropes. This targeted format distinguished the works from Wollheim's broader fiction, achieving niche success by aligning with educational publishers' interest in STEM promotion amid national priorities for technological superiority.

Nonfiction Works

Donald A. Wollheim's principal nonfiction contribution to criticism is The Universe Makers: Science Fiction Today, published in 1971 by . The book traces the genre's historical development from its origins in , emphasizing its philosophical underpinnings as a of speculative ideas rooted in technological extrapolation and future-oriented inquiry. Wollheim, drawing on his decades of involvement as a fan and editor, presents an anecdotal and partisan account that privileges the era's enthusiasm for as a vehicle for envisioning human advancement through scientific causality. In analyzing SF's evolution, Wollheim dissects key themes such as , alien encounters, and societal transformation, arguing that the genre's strength lies in its undiluted focus on plausible scientific premises rather than literary ornamentation. He critiques deviations from this core rigor, particularly where mainstream influences risked diluting speculative depth with introspective or non-extrapolative elements, advocating instead for fidelity to the pulp tradition's predictive ambitions. This perspective influenced contemporary fans and authors by reinforcing SF's empirical track record in anticipating innovations like rocketry and . Wollheim's work underscores the genre's causal realism, highlighting instances where early stories prefigured real-world developments, such as concepts in pre-1945 , to argue against stagnation through renewed commitment to bold, evidence-based speculation.

Editorial Career

Avon Books Editorship

Donald A. Wollheim served as an editor at Avon Books from 1947 to 1951, during which time he played a key role in advancing and fantasy publishing in mass-market formats. As one of the pioneering editors at the firm, Wollheim handled editorial responsibilities for two years as the sole editor dedicated to this line, focusing on curating content that brought genre material to wider audiences through affordable editions. Avon's model emphasized digest-sized s priced at 25 to 35 cents, making previously pulp-exclusive stories accessible beyond niche readerships amid post-World War II economic expansion. Wollheim's most prominent contribution was editing the Avon Fantasy Reader series, which comprised 18 issues published irregularly from February 1947 to March 1952, typically three per year after an initial quarterly intent. These anthologies reprinted classic tales from authors such as A. Merritt, H.G. Wells, and Lord Dunsany, drawn from defunct pulp magazines, thereby preserving and disseminating foundational fantasy works in bound book form rather than ephemeral periodicals. By packaging such content as "books" rather than magazines, as intended by Wollheim and publisher Joseph Myers, the series treated speculative fiction with literary seriousness, countering perceptions of it as disposable entertainment. This editorial approach demonstrably expanded genre visibility, as Avon's reprints introduced pre-war stories to new readers recovering from wartime disruptions, fostering sustained interest in science fiction and fantasy without reliance on hardcover gatekeeping. Wollheim's selections emphasized imaginative narratives of "strange forces," aligning with his fan background to prioritize substantive, empirically engaging content over mainstream dismissals of the field.

Ace Books and Paperback Revolution

Donald A. Wollheim joined as an editor in 1952, shortly after its founding by publisher A. A. Wyn, and quickly steered the company toward and fantasy genres. Initially publishing mysteries and westerns, Ace released its first title in 1953 under Wollheim's guidance, marking an early emphasis on in mass-market paperbacks. By 1955, the publisher issued more volumes annually than in any other category, solidifying its niche. Wollheim's most enduring innovation at Ace was the development of the Ace Double Novels format, launched in , which bound two short novels or novellas back-to-back in a single volume with opposing front covers and no rear covers to minimize costs. This dos-à-dos design allowed Ace to offer expanded content at the standard 35- or 40-cent price point, making accessible to a broader audience than pricier hardcover editions. The series featured original works and reprints, introducing or reviving authors such as , , and in affordable formats that sold widely in drugstores, newsstands, and supermarkets. Ace's focus on original paperback publications, rather than merely reprinting hardcovers, contributed significantly to the post-World War II paperback revolution, which democratized reading by slashing costs and expanding distribution beyond elite literary circles. Under Wollheim's editorship, Ace became the first U.S. paperback house dedicated primarily to and fantasy, publishing hundreds of titles that fueled popularity and influenced competitors to follow suit. This approach bypassed traditional gatekeepers, enabling rapid dissemination of new voices and ideas, though it sometimes prioritized quantity over rigorous selection. By the late , Ace's output had helped transform from a pulp niche into a mainstream paperback staple, with annual releases exceeding dozens of SF-focused volumes. In 1965, Donald A. Wollheim, as executive editor at Ace Books, authorized the publication of an unauthorized paperback edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the United States, consisting of three volumes priced at 75 cents each. Wollheim's legal rationale rested on the 1909 U.S. Copyright Act, which required foreign works to include a proper copyright notice in their first U.S. edition to secure protection; he contended that the 1954–1956 hardcover editions published by Houghton Mifflin omitted such notice on all volumes, rendering the work public domain in the U.S. despite its protection in the United Kingdom. This interpretation exploited ambiguities in pre-1976 copyright law, where U.K. editions did not automatically confer U.S. rights without ad interim deposit or compliant notice, a gap Wollheim viewed as permitting unrestricted domestic reprinting. The Ace edition sold briskly, with estimates of hundreds of thousands of copies distributed in its initial run, capitalizing on growing but underserved demand for affordable access to Tolkien's work amid limited prior U.S. promotion by authorized publishers. Wollheim defended the release as a market correction, arguing that sluggish —totaling fewer than 100,000 copies by 1965—reflected publishers' failure to pursue mass-market paperbacks, and that Ace's initiative introduced to a broader at low , spurring cultural status. Critics, including Tolkien himself, condemned it as that undermined authors' moral and financial rights, with Tolkien expressing dismay in letters and publicly urging fans to Ace copies in favor of compliant editions. Fan-led campaigns, including letters to Ace and calls from nascent Tolkien societies, amplified pressure, framing the edition as exploitative despite its technical legality under contemporaneous statutes. By early 1966, amid mounting backlash, Ace ceased printing, destroyed printing plates, and negotiated a settlement paying Tolkien approximately 5% royalties on past sales—estimated at $150,000 (equivalent to over $1.4 million in 2023 dollars)—without admitting fault or litigating the claim. This prompted Houghton Mifflin to issue a revised authorized edition with corrected notices, licensed to for paperbacks that sold over 1 million copies within months and propelled U.S. sales to tens of millions overall, yielding substantial royalties to Tolkien exceeding $10 million by the 1970s. Empirically, the episode catalyzed ' U.S. breakthrough, transforming niche appeal into mass popularity; while detractors emphasized ethical violations of , proponents, including Wollheim retrospectively, highlighted how the unauthorized push exposed and rectified market inertia, ultimately benefiting Tolkien financially far beyond pre-1965 earnings. The controversy underscored tensions between strict enforcement and aggressive strategies in fostering cultural dissemination.

DAW Books

Founding and Initial Operations

Following his departure from amid financial and managerial difficulties in 1971, Donald A. Wollheim established as an independent publishing venture in , co-founded with his wife Elsie B. Wollheim to prioritize editorial autonomy over corporate oversight. The imprint, named after Wollheim's initials, operated initially as a separate under a agreement with (NAL), which provided distribution support and access to office space at without exerting creative control. This arrangement enabled DAW to launch with minimal startup capital, releasing its first four titles in April 1972 and aiming for a steady output of four to five volumes per month thereafter. Wollheim's vision emphasized and fantasy as the core focus, positioning DAW as the first mass-market house devoted exclusively to these genres, blending original works with reprints to nurture emerging talent while sustaining viability through conservative financial practices. Advances were kept low, typically around $2,000 for a 60,000-word , reflecting a deliberate strategy to avoid overextension and maintain direct, unmediated relationships between editor and authors without intermediary corporate layers. Operations centered on Wollheim's hands-on editorial decisions, leveraging his extensive genre experience to curate adventure-oriented content amid the era's expanding market for . Early challenges included navigating the post-Ace transition without proprietary backlists, relying instead on NAL's infrastructure to distribute yellow-spined paperbacks that became a hallmark of . This bootstrapped model underscored Wollheim's commitment to genre purity and fiscal prudence, allowing DAW to operate leanly from while fostering a pipeline for uncensored speculative narratives.

Key Authors and Publications

DAW Books, during Donald A. Wollheim's tenure as publisher from 1971 onward, emphasized the discovery of new authors through unsolicited manuscripts from the slush pile, enabling the publication of original voices often overlooked by larger houses focused on established names or rigid genre constraints. This approach facilitated the debut of Tanith Lee's adult novel The Birthgrave in 1975, accepted directly from submissions, which introduced her subversive sword-and-sorcery style blending mythic fantasy with psychological depth and marked a significant expansion of DAW's output beyond hard science fiction. Lee's subsequent DAW titles, including volumes in the Birthgrave Trilogy, further diversified the imprint's catalog by prioritizing imaginative fantasy narratives over formulaic pulp traditions. Wollheim co-edited the Annual World's Best SF series with Arthur W. Saha, commencing with the 1972 volume and continuing annually through 1990, which compiled standout short stories from the prior year to reflect evolving genre trends and spotlight emerging talents alongside veterans like and . These anthologies, distinct from earlier editions, curated diverse without reliance on popularity polls, thereby promoting causal explorations of future technologies and societies drawn from peer-recognized excellence in magazines and journals. Other pivotal DAW publications under Wollheim included original anthologies like The DAW SF Reader (1971 onward), featuring contributions from authors such as André Norton and , which underscored the imprint's role in fostering hybrid science fiction-fantasy works from slush-derived submissions and thereby challenging the biases of major publishers toward mainstream literary SF. This focus on verifiable hits from untapped sources contributed to DAW's reputation for genre innovation, with Lee's fantasy breakthroughs exemplifying how slush pile persistence yielded commercially viable expansions into underexplored subgenres.

Business Model and Independence

DAW Books adopted a business model centered on modest advances against royalties, typically around $2,000 for a 60,000-word novel in the later years of Donald Wollheim's involvement, prioritizing payments tied directly to sales performance to mitigate financial risks inherent in speculative genre publishing. This approach contrasted with industry standards of larger advances from major houses, fostering sustainability by aligning costs with revenue and avoiding debt from unearned-out titles. Wollheim's operational philosophy emphasized resistance to prevailing norms of consolidation and corporate oversight, maintaining DAW as an editorially independent entity focused exclusively on and fantasy without the dilutions of conglomerate influence. The press operated as a family-run enterprise, initially by Donald and his wife Elsie, eschewing external investors or mergers to preserve control and agility in niche market decisions. This lean, independent structure enabled DAW's longevity, functioning profitably for over 50 years under family stewardship—transitioning to daughter Betsy Wollheim—before its 2022 acquisition by Astra Publishing House, underscoring the viability of such models against bloated corporate alternatives susceptible to broader economic pressures. While small-press practices like limited advances have drawn general critiques within for potentially undervaluing contributions upfront, DAW's sustained output and provided empirical validation, supporting careers in specialized genres amid industry-wide consolidations.

Recognition and Legacy

Awards and Honors

Wollheim received the for Best Professional Editor in 1974, recognizing his anthologies such as The 1973 Annual World's Best SF. In 1976, , founded and led by Wollheim, was awarded the World Fantasy Special Award—Professional for its contributions to fantasy publishing. His early activities earned formal recognition, including induction into the First Fandom Hall of Fame in 1975 for contributions as a pioneering fan and editor of The Phantagraph. The Science Fantasy Society presented him with the Forry Award, also known as the Raymond Z. Gallun Award, in 1987 for lifetime achievement in . Posthumously, Wollheim was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2010, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America awarded him the Solstice Award for distinguished service to the field, honoring his editorial influence over five decades.

Influence on Science Fiction Publishing

Wollheim pioneered the transition of science fiction from to mass-market , fundamentally altering the genre's accessibility and commercial trajectory. In 1943, while editing for , he assembled The Pocket Book of Science-Fiction, the inaugural reprint in affordable paperback form, which aggregated classic stories from earlier magazines and reached non-specialist readers through widespread distribution channels. This format, priced at 25 cents, demonstrated empirical demand by outselling expectations and establishing paperbacks as a viable medium for SF, shifting production from serial short fiction to bound collections that prioritized reader volume over elite editorial selection. During his tenure at starting in 1952, Wollheim implemented the double-book innovation, binding two novels into one 35-cent volume, which halved costs relative to single hardcovers and accelerated SF's . This strategy directly causal in expanding readership—evidenced by Ace's rapid output of over 100 SF titles in the 1950s—by responding to consumer affordability rather than awaiting permissions from traditional publishers, thereby fostering growth through iterative sales feedback. The establishment of in 1971 as the first imprint exclusively for SF and fantasy reinforced Wollheim's market-driven ethos amid increasing industry consolidation. Operating independently, DAW emphasized unfiltered author submissions and diverse subgenres, publishing works from established figures alongside newcomers whose styles diverged from mainstream trends, thus sustaining niche innovation against homogenized corporate outputs. This preserved a pluralistic , where editorial decisions tracked direct sales data over institutional biases, contributing to the genre's resilience and evolution into a self-sustaining field. Wollheim's cumulative innovations— from anthology precedents to specialized independents—causally decoupled SF publishing from gatekept hardcovers, enabling empirical scaling via low-barrier entry that boosted overall genre output and readership without reliance on subsidized curation.

Criticisms and Defenses

Wollheim encountered significant criticism for his aggressive and disruptive conduct within early . During the late 1930s, as a leading figure in the —a radical fan group—he co-authored and distributed a at the 1939 World Science Fiction Convention in New York, accusing the event's organizers of elitist tactics and undue influence by conservative factions, which prompted the committee to bar the entire delegation from attending. This episode cemented perceptions of Wollheim as combative and ideologically rigid, particularly through his alignment with Michelism, a faction advocating Marxist interpretations of and active political intervention in affairs, which alienated rivals who viewed it as dogmatic overreach. Longstanding personal animosities, such as his feud with fan historian Sam Moskowitz originating from disputes over club leadership and control, further fueled accusations of pettiness and factionalism, with some contemporaries derisively calling him "the No. 1 rat of ." In publishing, detractors from more establishment-oriented circles decried Wollheim's opportunistic maneuvers—such as preemptively printing unauthorized editions to force negotiations—as ruthless opportunism bordering on ethical lapses, echoing left-leaning critiques of capitalist exploitation in where author rights were allegedly subordinated to market dominance. However, Wollheim himself offered a self-aware by candidly assessing his own as merely "fair to middling," acknowledging limitations in his creative output while prioritizing editorial impact over personal acclaim. Defenders, including fellow Futurians and later industry observers, contend that Wollheim's confrontational style was instrumental in shattering complacency, propelling from insular amateurism to a pipeline that launched careers and expanded readership. Empirical outcomes substantiate this: his insistence on affordable paperbacks demonstrably broadened access, with under his influence achieving print runs in the millions for titles, thereby elevating royalties through sheer volume despite initial skimps on advances—a pragmatic that prioritized sustainability over harmonious norms. Such tactics, while polarizing, reflected causal realism in a nascent market resistant to , debunking narratives of unalloyed exploitation by evidencing net gains in circulation and earnings for pulp-era writers otherwise confined to low-circulation magazines.

Personal Life

Marriage and Family

Donald A. Wollheim married Elsie Balter, a fellow Futurian, on June 25, 1943, following a prolonged courtship. The couple, affectionately known among friends as "the Wollies," shared interests in science fiction fandom, where Elsie contributed to various projects. The Wollheims had one daughter, Elizabeth Rosalind "Betsy" Wollheim, born December 5, 1951, in New York. Elsie managed practical business operations, including her family's factory during Wollheim's early editorial career, while later co-founding DAW Books in 1971 alongside her husband. Their partnership extended to supporting Betsy's entry into publishing; she joined DAW as an associate editor in 1975 and assumed leadership in 1985 after her parents' involvement diminished.

Later Years and Death

In his later years, Donald A. Wollheim resided in Rego Park, Queens, where he continued editorial involvement with despite health challenges that began around 1985. That year, declining health prompted him to appoint his daughter, Elizabeth (Betsy) Wollheim, as president of the company, though he persisted in selecting titles for annual anthologies into 1990. Wollheim died in his sleep on November 2, 1990, at age 76, apparently from a heart attack while a at and Hospital in , as reported by his family. After his death, Elizabeth Wollheim maintained leadership of alongside co-publisher Sheila E. Gilbert, perpetuating the family-guided operation he had established with his wife Elsie. This continuity underscored the personal legacy of Wollheim's dedication to publishing within his family.

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