''Action Stories'' was a multi-genre

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

published between September 1921 and Fall 1950, with a brief hiatus at the end of 1932.Cottrill, Tim. ''Bookery's Guide to Pulps and Related Magazines, 1888-1969''. Bookery Press, Fairborn, OH, 2005. (pp.15-16) As an adventure pulp, ''Action Stories'' focused on real-world adventure stories. At first the magazine published mainly

westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

, but it branched out into sports fiction, war stories and adventures in exotic countries by 1937. Writers whose work appeared in ''Action Stories'' included Robert E. Howard,

Walt Coburn Walter John Coburn (October 23, 1889 – May 1971) was an American writer of Westerns. Coburn was born in White Sulphur Springs, Montana Territory, the son of Robert Coburn Senior, the founder of the noted ''Circle C Ranch'' located south of Malt ...

Morgan Robertson Morgan Andrew Robertson (September 30, 1861 – March 24, 1915) was an American author of short stories and novels, and the self-proclaimed inventor of the periscope. Early life Robertson was the son of Andrew Robertson, a ship captain on th ...

(a number of his stories were posthumously published here),

Horace McCoy Horace Stanley McCoy (April 14, 1897 – December 15, 1955) was an American writer whose mostly hardboiled stories took place during the Great Depression. His best-known novel is '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1935), which was made into ...

Theodore Roscoe Theodore Roscoe (February 20, 1906 – May 29, 1992) was an American biographer and writer of adventure, fantasy novels and stories. Biography Roscoe was born in Rochester, New York, the son of missionaries. He wrote for newspapers and later pu ...

Greye La Spina Greye La Spina (July 10, 1880 – September 17, 1969) was an American writer who published more than one hundred short stories, serials, novelettes, and one-act plays. Her stories appeared in '' Metropolitan'', '' Black Mask'', '' Action Stori ...

Anthony M. Rud Anthony Melville Rud (11 January 1893 – 30 November 1942) was an American writer and pulp magazine editor. Some of his works were published under the pen names Ray McGillivary and Anson Piper. Biography Anthony Melville Rud was born in Chi ...

, Thomas Thursday and Les Savage, Jr.''The Western Story: A Chronological Treasury'' by Jon Tuska. University of Nebraska Press, 1999, (p. xxviii) ''Action Stories'' occasionally reprinted fiction by writers such as

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

and

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

. The magazine also carried a

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

story ("Laughing Masks", November 1923) printed under Hammett's "Peter Collinson" pseudonym. ''Action Stories'' had covers illustrated by

Norman Saunders Norman Blaine Saunders (January 1, 1907 – March 7, 1989) was a prolific 20th-century American commercial artist. He is best known for paintings in pulp magazines, paperbacks, men's adventure magazines, comic books and trading cards. On occasi ...

, George Gross and Allen Anderson.

References

External links

Magazine Datafile for Action Stories
(beginning of list, which covers several pages) Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States Defunct literary magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1921 Magazines disestablished in 1950 Pulp magazines Irregularly published magazines published in the United States {{fiction-mag-stub