25 Facts About Galaxy Magazine

Gold, who rapidly made Galaxy the leading science fiction magazine of its time, focusing on stories about social issues rather than technology.

Under Pohl Galaxy Magazine had continued success, regularly publishing fiction by writers such as Cordwainer Smith, Jack Vance, Harlan Ellison, and Robert Silverberg.

Galaxy Magazine initially asked Gold for guidance on how to produce a magazine, which he provided.

Galaxy Magazine sent a prospectus to World Editions that included a proposal for a series of paperback sf novels as well as a periodical, and proposed paying three cents a word, an impressively high rate, given that most competing magazines were paying only one cent a word.

Guinn's new company was named Galaxy Magazine Publishing Corporation, and it took over beginning with the October 1951 issue.

Related searches

Galaxy Magazine remained on the masthead as "editor emeritus", a post invented to keep Pohl from moving to one of the other sf magazines, and went back to his writing career.

Galaxy Magazine's place was taken by Ejler Jakobsson, who was working in UPD's book department.

Galaxy Magazine circulation had held relatively steady in the mid-1960s, ranging between 73,000 and 78,000, but the UPD acquisition coincided with a precipitous drop—from 75,300 for the year ended October 1968, circulation fell to 51,479 just one year later.

Galaxy Magazine went bimonthly in August 1970, ending a two-year spell of monthly scheduling.

Galaxy Magazine resigned less than a year later, citing overwork and other issues, and was replaced by James Baen, who took over with the June 1974 issue after Pohl declined the post.

Rights to the title were transferred to a new company, Galaxy Magazine, Inc, owned by Vincent McCaffrey, proprietor of Avenue Victor Hugo, a second-hand book store in Boston; UPD retained a ten percent interest in order to receive income from future sales to pay off their debts.

Gold intended Galaxy to publish stories of sufficient literary quality to attract readers of the slick magazines, as well as those who came to Galaxy already familiar with genre science fiction.

The image was muted, in contrast to the sensational art typically found on the covers of the sf pulps; the intention was that Galaxy should look like an sf magazine, but one "that you were not embarrassed to hold", in the words of Mike Ashley.

Early feedback from readers had been opposed to serialized novels, but here Gold did not follow their opinion, and Galaxy Magazine is remembered for featuring some very successful serials.

The Hugo Awards were inaugurated the following year: The Demolished Man won the first Hugo for Best Novel and Galaxy shared the first Hugo for Best Magazine with Astounding.

Gold published a wide range of material, and Galaxy became known for irony and satire; the work of authors able to adopt the wry style he favored, such as Knight and Robert Sheckley, appeared regularly in the magazine and were obvious commentaries on contemporary society.

Galaxy Magazine was unapologetic, declaring, "I worked hard with writers, and they didn't always enjoy it".

Galaxy Magazine asked Pohl and Kornbluth if they would be willing to allow him to print Gladiator-at-Law, which they had just completed, under a pseudonym, so he could claim that the contest had found a new talent.

From February 1956 onwards the scripts were adapted exclusively from stories in Galaxy, and from the April 1956 issue Galaxy ran advertisements for the series, which included work by Pohl, Sturgeon, and Philip K Dick.

Quality of fiction in Galaxy had dipped towards the end of Gold's editorship, and Pohl worked hard to restore the magazine's high standards.

Three novels published in Jakobsson's Galaxy won awards: Isaac Asimov's The Gods Themselves and Arthur C Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama each won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, in 1972 and 1973 respectively, and Robert Silverberg's A Time of Changes won the Nebula in 1971.

Galaxy Magazine was replaced in turn by Jerry Pournelle in April 1974.

Galaxy Magazine deterioration was largely due to the financial troubles of the publisher, Arnold Abramson, who reduced the pay rate to a penny a word.

Notable artists who contributed regularly to Galaxy Magazine included Ed Emshwiller, who won several Hugo Awards for his work, Hugo nominee Wallace Wood, and Jack Gaughan, who won three Hugos in the late 1960s, partly for his work in Galaxy Magazine.

Two years later a second series, Galaxy Magazine Magabooks, appeared; each of these consisted of two short novels, both by the same author, published in a single volume.

Related searches