![ASTJAN1930](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/ASTJAN1930.jpg)
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American
science fiction magazine
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard-copy periodical format or on the Internet.
Science fiction magazines traditionally featured speculative fiction in short story, novelette, nove ...
published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by
William Clayton, and edited by
Harry Bates. Clayton went bankrupt in 1933 and the magazine was sold to
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks. Among t ...
. The new editor was
F. Orlin Tremaine, who soon made ''Astounding'' the leading magazine in the nascent pulp science fiction field, publishing well-regarded stories such as
Jack Williamson
John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term '' gen ...
's ''
Legion of Space'' and
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called '' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...
's
"Twilight". At the end of 1937, Campbell took over editorial duties under Tremaine's supervision, and the following year Tremaine was let go, giving Campbell more independence. Over the next few years Campbell published many stories that became classics in the field, including
Isaac Asimov's
''Foundation'' series,
A. E. van Vogt's ''
Slan
''Slan'' is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer A. E. van Vogt, as well as the name of the fictional race of superbeings featured in the novel. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine ''Astounding Science Fiction'' ...
'', and several novels and stories by
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...
. The period beginning with Campbell's editorship is often referred to as the
Golden Age of Science Fiction
The first Golden Age of Science Fiction, often recognized in the United States as the period from 1938 to 1946, was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published. ...
.
By 1950, new competition had appeared from ''
Galaxy Science Fiction
''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...
'' and ''
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...
.'' Campbell's interest in some
pseudo-science
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...
topics, such as
Dianetics
Dianetics (from Greek ''dia'', meaning "through", and ''nous'', meaning " mind") is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hub ...
(an early non-religious version of
Scientology
Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...
), alienated some of his regular writers, and ''Astounding'' was no longer regarded as the leader of the field, though it did continue to publish popular and influential stories:
Hal Clement
Harry Clement Stubbs (May 30, 1922 – October 29, 2003), better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented artworks under ...
's novel ''
Mission of Gravity'' appeared in 1953, and
Tom Godwin
Tom Godwin (June 6, 1915 – August 31, 1980) was an American science fiction author active throughout the 1950s into the 1970s. In his career, Godwin published three novels and around thirty short stories. He is best known for his short sto ...
's "
The Cold Equations" appeared the following year. In 1960, Campbell changed the title of the magazine to ''Analog Science Fact & Fiction''; he had long wanted to get rid of the word "Astounding" in the title, which he felt was too sensational. At about the same time Street & Smith sold the magazine to
Condé Nast
Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
The company's media ...
, and the name changed again to its current form by 1965. Campbell remained as editor until his death in 1971.
Ben Bova took over from 1972 to 1978, and the character of the magazine changed noticeably, since Bova was willing to publish fiction that included sexual content and profanity. Bova published stories such as
Frederik Pohl's "
The Gold at the Starbow's End", which was nominated for both a
Hugo
Hugo or HUGO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese
* Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback
* Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...
and
Nebula Award, and
Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel '' The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), hav ...
's "Hero", the first story in the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning "
Forever War" sequence; Pohl had been unable to sell to Campbell, and "Hero" had been rejected by Campbell as unsuitable for the magazine. Bova won five consecutive Hugo Awards for his editing of ''Analog''.
Bova was followed by
Stanley Schmidt, who continued to publish many of the same authors who had been contributing for years; the result was some criticism of the magazine as stagnant and dull, though Schmidt was initially successful in maintaining circulation. The title was sold to
Davis Publications Bernard George Davis (December 11, 1906 – August 28, 1972) was an American publishing executive. He and William Bernard Ziff Sr. founded Ziff Davis Inc. in 1927. In 1957, he sold his ownership share of Ziff-Davis to William Ziff Jr., and le ...
in 1980, then to
Dell Magazines in 1992.
Crosstown Publications acquired Dell in 1996 and remains the publisher. Schmidt continued to edit the magazine until 2012, when he was replaced by
Trevor Quachri
Trevor Quachri (, born 1976) has been the sixth editor of ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' magazine since September 2012. He started as an editorial assistant in 1999 at ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' and ''Analog.'' Previously, he was “a Broa ...
.
Publishing history
Clayton
In 1926,
Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback (; born Hugo Gernsbacher, August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish–American editor and magazine publisher, whose publications including the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as pub ...
launched ''
Amazing Stories
''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 ...
'', the first science fiction (sf) magazine. Gernsback had been printing scientific fiction stories for some time in his hobbyist magazines, such as ''
Modern Electrics
''Modern Electrics'' was a technical magazine for the amateur radio experimenter. The magazine existed between 1908 and 1914.
History and profile
''Modern Electrics'' was created by Hugo Gernsback and began publication in April 1908. The magaz ...
'' and ''
Electrical Experimenter
''The Electrical Experimenter'' was an American technical science magazine that was published monthly. It was established in May 1913, as the successor to ''Modern Electrics'', a combination of a magazine and mail-order catalog that had been pub ...
'', but decided that interest in the genre was sufficient to justify a monthly magazine. ''Amazing'' was very successful, quickly reaching a circulation over 100,000.
[Ashley (2000), p. 48.] William Clayton, a successful and well-respected publisher of several pulp magazines, considered starting a competitive title in 1928; according to
Harold Hersey
Harold Brainerd Hersey (April 11, 1893March 1956) was an American pulp editor and publisher, publishing several volumes of poetry. His pulp industry observations were published in hardback as ''Pulpwood Editor'' (1937).
Early life
He was born o ...
, one of his editors at the time, Hersey had "discussed plans with Clayton to launch a pseudo-science fantasy sheet".
[Ashley (2000), p. 69. The quote is from Hersey (1937), p. 188, cited by Ashley.] Clayton was unconvinced, but the following year decided to launch a new magazine, mainly because the sheet on which the color covers of his magazines were printed had a space for one more cover. He suggested to
Harry Bates, a newly hired editor, that they start a magazine of historical adventure stories. Bates proposed instead a science fiction pulp, to be titled ''Astounding Stories of Super Science'', and Clayton agreed.
[Ashley (2000), p. 69.]
''Astounding'' was initially published by Publisher's Fiscal Corporation, a subsidiary of
Clayton Magazines.
[See the individual issues. For convenience, an online index is available at and ][ "Publishers Fiscal Corp., Manhattan, to Clayton Magazines."] The first issue appeared in January 1930, with Bates as editor. Bates aimed for straightforward action-adventure stories, with scientific elements only present to provide minimal plausibility.
Clayton paid much better rates than ''Amazing'' and ''
Wonder Stories
''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...
''—two cents a word on acceptance, rather than half a cent a word, on publication (or sometimes later)—and consequently ''Astounding'' attracted some of the better-known pulp writers, such as
Murray Leinster
Murray Leinster (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975) was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie ...
,
Victor Rousseau
Victor Rousseau ( Feluy, 16 December 1865 – Forest, 17 March 1954) also known as M. Victor Rousseau, was a Belgian sculptor and medalist.
Biography
Rousseau was of Walloon heritage and descended from a line of stonemasons. He began carv ...
, and
Jack Williamson
John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term '' gen ...
.
In February 1931, the original name ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'' was shortened to ''Astounding Stories''.
[Ashley (2000), p. 72.]
The magazine was profitable,
but the
Great Depression caused Clayton problems. Normally a publisher would pay a printer three months in arrears, but when a credit squeeze began in May 1931, it led to pressure to reduce this delay. The financial difficulties led Clayton to start alternating the publication of his magazines, and he switched ''Astounding'' to a bimonthly schedule with the June 1932 issue. Some printers bought the magazines which were indebted to them: Clayton decided to buy his printer to prevent this from happening. This proved a disastrous move. Clayton did not have the money to complete the transaction, and in October 1932, Clayton decided to cease publication of ''Astounding'', with the expectation that the January 1933 issue would be the last one. As it turned out, enough stories were in inventory, and enough paper was available, to publish one further issue, so the last Clayton ''Astounding'' was dated March 1933.
[Ashley (2000), pp. 76–77.] In April, Clayton went bankrupt, and sold his magazine titles to T.R. Foley for $100; Foley resold them in August to
Street & Smith
Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks. Among t ...
, a well-established publisher.
[Ashley (2000), p. 82.]
Street and Smith
Science fiction was not entirely a departure for Street & Smith. They already had two pulp titles that occasionally ventured into the field: ''
The Shadow
The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...
'', which had begun in 1931 and was tremendously successful, with a circulation over 300,000; and ''
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...
'', which had been launched in March 1933.
[Ashley (2000), pp. 82–83.] They gave the post of editor of ''Astounding'' to
F. Orlin Tremaine, an experienced editor who had been working for Clayton as the editor of ''
Clues'', and who had come to Street & Smith as part of the transfer of titles after Clayton's bankruptcy. Desmond Hall, who had also come from Clayton, was made assistant editor; because Tremaine was editor of ''Clues'' and ''
Top-Notch'', as well as ''Astounding'', Hall did much of the editorial work, though Tremaine retained final control over the contents.
[
The first Street & Smith issue was dated October 1933; until the third issue, in December 1933, the editorial team was not named on the masthead.][Ashley (2000), p. 84.] Street & Smith had an excellent distribution network, and they were able to get ''Astoundings circulation up to an estimated 50,000 by the middle of 1934.[Ashley (2000), p. 85. The estimate is Ashley's.] The two main rival science fiction magazines of the day, ''Wonder Stories'' and ''Amazing Stories'', each had a circulation about half that. ''Astounding'' was the leading science fiction magazine by the end of 1934, and it was also the largest, at 160 pages, and the cheapest, at 20 cents. Street & Smith's rates of one cent per word (sometimes more) on acceptance were not as high as the rates paid by Bates for the Clayton ''Astounding'', but they were still better than those of the other magazines.[Ashley (2000), pp. 85–87.]
Hall left ''Astounding'' in 1934 to become editor of Street & Smith's new slick magazine, '' Mademoiselle'', and was replaced by R.V. Happel. Tremaine remained in control of story selection.[Ashley (2000), p. 105.] Writer Frank Gruber
Frank Gruber (born February 2, 1904, Elmer, Minnesota, died December 9, 1969, Santa Monica, California) was an American writer. He was a writer of stories for pulp fiction magazines. He also wrote dozens of novels, mostly Westerns and detect ...
described Tremaine's editorial selection process in his book, ''The Pulp Jungle'':[Quoted in Ashley (2000), p. 105.]
Gruber pointed out that stories in the middle might go many months before Tremaine read them; the result was erratic response times that sometimes stretched to over 18 months.[Ashley (2000), pp. 105–106.]
In 1936 the magazine switched from untrimmed to trimmed edges; Brian Stableford comments that this was "an important symbolic" step, as the other sf pulps were still untrimmed, making ''Astounding'' smarter-looking than its competitors. Tremaine was promoted to assistant editorial director in 1937. His replacement as editor of ''Astounding'' was 27-year-old John W. Campbell, Jr. Campbell had made his name in the early 1930s as a writer, publishing space opera under his own name, and more thoughtful stories under the pseudonym "Don A. Stuart". He started working for Street & Smith in October 1937, so his initial editorial influence appeared in the issue dated December 1937. The March 1938 issue was the first that was fully his responsibility.[Ashley (2000), pp. 86–87.][Ashley (2000), p. 107.] In early 1938, Street & Smith abandoned its policy of having editors-in-chief, with the result that Tremaine was made redundant. His departure, on May 1, 1938, gave Campbell a freer rein with the magazine.[Ashley (2000), p. 108.]
One of Campbell's first acts was to change the title from ''Astounding Stories'' to ''Astounding Science-Fiction'', starting with the March 1938 issue. Campbell's editorial policy was targeted at the more mature readers of science fiction, and he felt that "''Astounding Stories'' did not convey the right image.[ He intended to subsequently drop the "Astounding" part of the title, as well, leaving the magazine titled ''Science Fiction'', but in 1939 a new magazine with that title appeared. Although "Astounding" was retained in the title, thereafter it was often printed in a color that made it much less visible than "Science-Fiction".] At the start of 1942 the price was increased, for the first time, to 25 cents; the magazine simultaneously switched to the larger bedsheet
The bedsheet format (also known as large pulp) was the size of many magazines published in the United States in the first quarter of the 20th century. Magazines in bedsheet format were roughly the size of ''Life'' but with square spines. While the ...
format, but this did not last. ''Astounding'' returned to pulp-size in mid-1943 for six issues, and then became the first science fiction magazine to switch to digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately , but can also be and , similar to the size of a DVD case. These sizes have evolved from the printing ...
in November 1943, increasing the number of pages to maintain the same total word count. The price remained at 25 cents through these changes in format.[Ashley (2000), p. 158.] The hyphen was dropped from the title with the November 1946 issue.
The price increased again, to 35 cents, in August 1951.[ In the late 1950s, it became apparent to Street & Smith that they were going to have to raise prices again. During 1959, ''Astounding'' was priced at 50 cents in some areas to find out what the impact would be on circulation. The results were apparently satisfactory, and the price was raised with the November 1959 issue.][Ashley (2005), pp. 201–202.] The following year, Campbell finally achieved his goal of getting rid of the word "Astounding" in the magazine's title, changing it to ''Analog Science Fact/Science Fiction''. The "/" in the title was often replaced by a symbol of Campbell's devising, resembling an inverted U pierced by a horizontal arrow and meaning "analogous to". The change began with the February 1960 issue, and was complete by October; for several issues both "Analog" and "Astounding" could be seen on the cover, with "Analog" becoming bolder and "Astounding" fading with each issue.[Ashley (2005), p. 202.]
Condé Nast
Street & Smith was acquired by Samuel Newhouse, the owner of Condé Nast, in August 1959, though Street & Smith was not merged into Condé Nast until the end of 1961. ''Analog'' was the only digest-sized magazine in Condé Nast's inventory—all the others were slicks, such as ''Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
''. All the advertisers in these magazines had plates made up to take advantage of this size, and Condé Nast changed ''Analog'' to the larger size from the March 1963 issue to conform. The front and back signatures
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...
were changed to glossy paper, to carry both advertisements and scientific features. The change did not attract advertising support, however, and from the April 1965 issue ''Analog'' reverted to digest size once again. Circulation, which had been increasing before the change, was not harmed, and continued to increase while ''Analog'' was in slick format.[Ashley (2005), p. 213.] From the April 1965 issue the title switched the "fiction" and "fact" elements, so that it became ''Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact''.
Campbell died suddenly in July 1971, but there was enough material in ''Analog''s inventory to allow the remaining staff to put together issues for the rest of the year.[Ashley (2007), p. 6.] Condé Nast had given the magazine very little attention, since it was both profitable and cheap to produce, but they were proud that it was the leading science fiction magazine. They asked Kay Tarrant
The name Kay is found both as a surname (see Kay (surname)) and as a given name. In English-speaking countries, it is usually a feminine name, often a short form of Katherine or one of its variants; but it is also used as a first name in its own r ...
, who had been Campbell's assistant, to help them find a replacement: she contacted regular contributors to ask for suggestions. Several well-known writers turned down the job; Poul Anderson
Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...
did not want to leave California, and neither did Jerry Pournelle
Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s ...
, who also felt the salary was too small. Before he died, Campbell had talked to Harry Harrison about taking over as editor, but Harrison did not want to live in New York. Lester del Rey
Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and scienc ...
and Clifford D. Simak
Clifford Donald Simak (; August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror W ...
were also rumored to have been offered the job, though Simak denied it; Frederik Pohl was interested, but suspected his desire to change the direction of the magazine lessened his chances with Condé Nast.[Ashley (2007), pp. 17–18.] The Condé Nast vice president in charge of selecting the new editor decided to read both fiction and nonfiction writing samples from the applicants, since ''Analog''s title included both "science fiction" and "science fact". He chose Ben Bova, afterwards telling Bova that his stories and articles "were the only ones I could understand". January 1972 was the first issue to credit Bova on the masthead.
Bova planned to stay for five years, to ensure a smooth transition after Campbell's sudden death; the salary was too low for him to consider remaining indefinitely. In 1975, he proposed a new magazine to Condé Nast management, to be titled ''Tomorrow Magazine''; he wanted to publish articles about science and technology, leavened with some science fiction stories. Condé Nast was not interested, and refused to assist ''Analog'' with marketing or promotions. Bova resigned in June 1978, having stayed for a little longer than he had planned, and recommended Stanley Schmidt to succeed him. Schmidt's first issue was December 1978, though material purchased by Bova continued to appear for several months.[Ashley (2007), pp. 341–346.]
Davis Publications, Dell Magazines, and Penny Publications
In 1977, Davis Publications Bernard George Davis (December 11, 1906 – August 28, 1972) was an American publishing executive. He and William Bernard Ziff Sr. founded Ziff Davis Inc. in 1927. In 1957, he sold his ownership share of Ziff-Davis to William Ziff Jr., and le ...
launched ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publicatio ...
'', and after Bova's departure, Joel Davis, the owner of Davis Publications, contacted Condé Nast with a view to acquiring ''Analog. Analog'' had always been something of a misfit in Condé Nast's line up, which included ''Mademoiselle'' and ''Vogue'', and by February 1980 the deal was agreed. The first issue published by Davis was dated September 1980. Davis was willing to put some effort into marketing ''Analog'', so Schmidt regarded the change as likely to be beneficial, and in fact circulation quickly grew, reversing a gradual decline over the Bova years, from just over 92,000 in 1981 to almost 110,000 two years later. Starting with the first 1981 issue, Davis switched ''Analog'' to a four-weekly schedule, rather than monthly, to align the production schedule with a weekly calendar. Instead of being dated "January 1981", the first issue under the new regime was dated "January 5, 1981", but this approach led to newsstands removing the magazine much more quickly, since the date gave the impression that it was a weekly magazine. The cover date was changed back to the current month starting with the April 1982 issue, but the new schedule remained in place, with a "Mid-September" issue in 1982 and 1983, and "Mid-December" issues for more than a decade thereafter.[Ashley (2016), pp. 58–59.] Circulation trended slowly down over the 1980s, to 83,000 for the year ending in 1990; by this time the great majority of readers were subscribers, as newsstand sales declined to only 15,000.
In 1992 ''Analog'' was sold to Dell Magazines, and Dell was in turn acquired by Crosstown Publications in 1996. That year the Mid-December issues stopped appearing, and the following year the July and August issues were combined into a single bimonthly issue. An ebook edition became available in 2000 and has become increasingly popular, with the ebook numbers not reflected in the published annual circulation numbers, which by 2011 were down to under 27,000. In 2004 the January and February issues were combined, so that only ten issues a year appeared. Having just surpassed John W. Campbell's tenure of 34 years, Schmidt retired in August 2012. His place was taken by Trevor Quachri
Trevor Quachri (, born 1976) has been the sixth editor of ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' magazine since September 2012. He started as an editorial assistant in 1999 at ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' and ''Analog.'' Previously, he was “a Broa ...
, who continues to edit ''Analog'' as of 2018. From January 2017, the publication frequency became bimonthly (six issues per year).
Contents and reception
Bates
The first incarnation of ''Astounding'' was an adventure-oriented magazine: unlike Gernsback, Bates had no interest in educating his readership through science. The covers were all painted by Wesso and similarly action-filled; the first issue showed a giant beetle attacking a man. Bates would not accept any experimental stories, relying mostly on formulaic plots. In the eyes of Mike Ashley, a science fiction historian, Bates was "destroying the ideals of science fiction".[Ashley (2000), pp. 69–70, 72.] One historically important story that almost appeared in ''Astounding'' was E.E. Smith's '' Triplanetary'', which Bates would have published had ''Astounding'' not folded in early 1933. The cover Wesso had painted for the story appeared on the March 1933 issue, the last to be published by Clayton.[Ashley (2000), p. 77.]
Tremaine
When Street & Smith acquired ''Astounding'', they also planned to relaunch another Clayton pulp, ''Strange Tales
''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in ''Strange Tales''. It was a showcase for the science ...
'', and acquired material for it before deciding not to proceed. These stories appeared in the first Street & Smith ''Astounding'', dated October 1933. This issue and the next were unremarkable in quality, but with the December issue, Tremaine published a statement of editorial policy, calling for "thought variant" stories containing original ideas and not simply reproducing adventure themes in a science fiction context. The policy was probably worked out between Tremaine and Desmond Hall, his assistant editor, in an attempt to give ''Astounding'' a clear identity in the market that would distinguish it from both the existing science fiction magazines and the hero pulps, such as ''The Shadow'', that frequently used sf ideas.[Ashley (2000), pp. 84–87.]
The "thought variant" policy may have been introduced for publicity, rather than as a real attempt to define the sort of fiction Tremaine was looking for; the early "thought variant" stories were not always very original or well executed. Ashley describes the first, Nat Schachner
Nathaniel Schachner ((January 16, 1895 – October 2, 1955), who published under the names Nat Schachner and Nathan Schachner, was an American writer, historian, and attorney, as well as an early advocate of the development of rockets for space ...
's "Ancestral Voices", as "not amongst Schachner's best"; the second, "Colossus", by Donald Wandrei
Donald Albert Wandrei (20 April 1908 – 15 October 1987)[Minnesota Death Certificates Index](_blank)
. ...
, was not a new idea, but was energetically written. Over the succeeding issues, it became apparent that Tremaine was genuinely willing to publish material that would have fallen foul of editorial taboos elsewhere. He serialized Charles Fort
Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold ...
's '' Lo!'', a nonfiction work about strange and inexplicable phenomena, in eight parts between April and November 1934, in an attempt to stimulate new ideas for stories. The best-remembered story of 1934 is probably Jack Williamson's "The Legion of Space", which began serialization in April, but other notable stories include Murray Leinster's "Sidewise in Time", which was the first genre science fiction story to use the idea of alternate history; "The Bright Illusion", by C.L. Moore, and "Twilight
Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...
", by John W. Campbell, writing as Don A. Stuart. "Twilight", which was written in a more literary and poetic style than Campbell's earlier space opera stories, was particularly influential, and Tremaine encouraged other writers to produce similar stories. One such was Raymond Z. Gallun's "Old Faithful", which appeared in the December 1934 issue and was sufficiently popular that Gallun wrote a sequel, "Son of Old Faithful", published the following July.[ Space opera continued to be popular, though, and two overlapping space opera novels were running in ''Astounding'' late in the year: '']The Skylark of Valeron
''Skylark of Valeron'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer E. E. Smith, the third in his Skylark series. Originally serialized in the magazine '' Astounding'' in 1934, it was first collected in book form in 1949 by Fantasy Press.
P ...
'' by E.E. Smith, and ''The Mightiest Machine
''The Mightiest Machine'' is a science fiction novel by American writer John W. Campbell, Jr. The novel was originally serialized in 5 parts in '' Astounding Stories'' magazine from December 1934 to April 1935, and was published in book form i ...
'', by Campbell. By the end of the year, ''Astounding'' was the clear leader of the small field of sf magazines.
''Astounding''s readership was more knowledgeable and more mature than the readers of the other magazines, and this was reflected in the cover artwork, almost entirely by Howard V. Brown, which was less garish than at ''Wonder Stories'' or ''Amazing Stories''. Ashley describes the interior artwork as "entrancing, giving hints of higher technology without ignoring the human element", and singles out the work of Elliot Dold as particularly impressive.[
Tremaine's policy of printing material that he liked without staying too strictly within the bounds of the genre led him to serialize H.P. Lovecraft's novel '']At the Mountains of Madness
''At the Mountains of Madness'' is a science fiction-horror novella by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and rejected that year by ''Weird Tales'' editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. It was or ...
'' in early 1936. He followed this with Lovecraft's "The Shadow Out of Time
''The Shadow Out of Time'' is a novella by American
horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written between November 1934 and February 1935, it was first published in the June 1936 issue of ''Astounding Stories''. The story describes time and ...
" in June 1936, though protests from science fiction purists occurred. Generally, however, Tremaine was unable to maintain the high standard he had set in the first few years, perhaps because his workload was high. Tremaine's slow responses to submissions discouraged new authors, although he could rely on regular contributors such as Jack Williamson, Murray Leinster, Raymond Gallun, Nat Schachner, and Frank Belknap Long
Frank Belknap Long (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was an American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known ...
. New writers who did appear during the latter half of Tremaine's tenure included Ross Rocklynne, Nelson S. Bond, and L. Sprague de Camp, whose first appearance was in September 1937 with " The Isolinguals".[Ashley (2000), pp. 106–111.] Tremaine printed some nonfiction articles during his tenure, with Campbell providing an 18-part series on the solar system between June 1936 and December 1937.
Campbell
Street & Smith hired Campbell in October 1937. Although he did not gain full editorial control of ''Astounding'' until the March 1938 issue, Campbell was able to introduce some new features before then. In January 1938, he began to include a short description of stories in the next issue, titled "In Times To Come"; and in March, he began "The Analytical Laboratory", which compiled votes from readers and ranked the stories in order. The payment rate at the time was one cent a word, and Street & Smith agreed to let Campbell pay a bonus of an extra quarter-cent a word to the writer whose story was voted top of the list.[ Unlike other editors Campbell paid authors when he accepted—not published—their work; publication usually occurred several months after acceptance.]
Campbell wanted his writers to provide action and excitement, but he also wanted the stories to appeal to a readership that had matured over the first decade of the science fiction genre. He asked his writers to write stories that felt as though they could have been published as non-science fiction stories in a magazine of the future; a reader of the future would not need long explanations for the gadgets in their lives, so Campbell asked his writers to find ways of naturally introducing technology to their stories. He also instituted regular nonfiction pieces, with the goal of stimulating story ideas. The main contributors of these were R.S. Richardson, L. Sprague de Camp, and Willy Ley
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scr ...
.
Campbell changed the approach to the magazine's cover art, hoping that more mature artwork would attract more adult readers and enable them to carry the magazine without embarrassment. Howard V. Brown had done almost every cover for the Street & Smith version of ''Astounding'', and Campbell asked him to do an astronomically accurate picture of the Sun as seen from Mercury for the February 1938 issue. He also introduced Charles Schneeman as a cover artist, starting with the May 1938 issue, and Hubert Rogers in February 1939; Rogers quickly became a regular, painting all but four of the covers between September 1939 and August 1942. They differentiated the magazine from rivals. Algis Budrys
Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), Jo ...
recalled that "''Astounding'' was the last magazine I picked up" as a child because, without covers showing men with ray guns and women with large breasts, "it didn't look like an SF magazine".
Golden Age
The period beginning with Campbell's editorship of ''Astounding'' is usually referred to as the Golden Age of Science Fiction
The first Golden Age of Science Fiction, often recognized in the United States as the period from 1938 to 1946, was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published. ...
, because of the immense influence he had on the genre. Within two years of becoming editor, he had published stories by many of the writers who would become central figures in science fiction. The list of names included established authors like L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...
, Clifford Simak
Clifford Donald Simak (; August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror ...
, Jack Williamson
John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term '' gen ...
, L. Sprague de Camp, Henry Kuttner, and C.L. Moore, who became regulars in either ''Astounding'' or its sister magazine, ''Unknown
Unknown or The Unknown may refer to:
Film
* ''The Unknown'' (1915 comedy film), a silent boxing film
* ''The Unknown'' (1915 drama film)
* ''The Unknown'' (1927 film), a silent horror film starring Lon Chaney
* ''The Unknown'' (1936 film), a ...
'', and new writers who published some of their first stories in ''Astounding'', such as Lester del Rey
Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and scienc ...
, Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...
, Isaac Asimov, A. E. van Vogt, and Robert Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...
.
The April 1938 issue included the first story by del Rey, "The Faithful", and de Camp's second sale, " Hyperpilosity". Jack Williamson's "Legion of Time
''The Legion of Time'' is a collection of two science fiction novels by the American writer Jack Williamson. It was first published by Fantasy Press in 1952 in an edition of 4,604 copies. The novels were originally serialized in the magazines ''A ...
", described by author and editor Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...
as "possibly the greatest single adventure story in science fiction history",[Williamson (1977), back cover.] began serialization in the following issue. De Camp contributed a nonfiction article, "Language for Time Travelers", in the July issue, which also contained Hubbard's first science fiction sale, "The Dangerous Dimension". Hubbard had been selling genre fiction
Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre.
A num ...
to the pulps for several years by that time. The same issue contained Clifford Simak's "Rule 18"; Simak had more-or-less abandoned science fiction within a year after breaking into the field in 1931, but he was drawn back by Campbell's editorial approach. The next issue featured one of Campbell's best-known stories, "Who Goes There?
''Who Goes There?'' is a 1938 science fiction horror novella by American author John W. Campbell, written under the pen name Don A. Stuart. Its story follows a group of people trapped in a scientific research outpost in Antarctica with shap ...
", and included Kuttner's "The Disinherited"; Kuttner had been selling successfully to the other pulps for a few years, but this was his first story in ''Astounding''. In October, de Camp began a popular series about an intelligent bear named Johnny Black with " The Command."
The market for science fiction expanded dramatically the following year; several new magazines were launched, including '' Startling Stories'' in January 1939, ''Unknown'' in March (a fantasy companion to ''Astounding'', also edited by Campbell), ''Fantastic Adventures
''Fantastic Adventures'' was an American pulp fantasy and science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1953 by Ziff-Davis. It was initially edited by Raymond A. Palmer, who was also the editor of ''Amazing Stories'', Ziff-Davis's other scien ...
'' in May, and ''Planet Stories
''Planet Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published by Fiction House between 1939 and 1955. It featured interplanetary adventures, both in space and on some other planets, and was initially focused on a young readershi ...
'' in December. All of the competing magazines, including the two main extant titles, ''Wonder Stories'' and ''Amazing Stories'', were publishing space opera, stories of interplanetary adventure, or other well-worn ideas from the early days of the genre. Campbell's attempts to make science fiction more mature led to a natural division of the writers: those who were unable to write to his standards continued to sell to other magazines; and those who could sell to Campbell quickly focused their attention on ''Astounding'' and sold relatively little to the other magazines. The expansion of the market also benefited Campbell because writers knew that if he rejected their submissions, they could resubmit those stories elsewhere; this freed them to try to write to his standards.[Ashley (2000), pp. 153–158.]
In July 1939, the lead story was "Black Destroyer
"Black Destroyer" is a science fiction short story by Canadian-American writer A. E. van Vogt, first published in ''Astounding SF'' in July 1939. It has been marked as the story that represents the start of the Golden Age of Science Fiction.
"Bl ...
", the first sale by van Vogt; the issue also included " Trends", Asimov's first sale to Campbell and his second story to see print. Later fans identified the issue as the start of the Golden Age. Other first sales that year included Heinlein's "Lifeline" in August and Sturgeon's "Ether Breather" the following month.[ One of the most popular authors of space opera, E.E. Smith, reappeared in October, with the first installment of '' Gray Lensman''. This was a sequel to '' Galactic Patrol'', which had appeared in ''Astounding'' two years before.][
Heinlein rapidly became one of the most prolific contributors to ''Astounding'', publishing three novels in the next two years: '' If This Goes On—'', '' Sixth Column'', and '']Methuselah's Children
''Methuselah's Children'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Originally serialized in '' Astounding Science Fiction'' in the July, August, and September 1941 issues, it was expanded into a full-length novel in 1958. ...
''; and half a dozen short stories. In September 1940, van Vogt's first novel, ''Slan
''Slan'' is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer A. E. van Vogt, as well as the name of the fictional race of superbeings featured in the novel. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine ''Astounding Science Fiction'' ...
'', began serialization; the book was partly inspired by a challenge Campbell laid down to van Vogt that it was impossible to tell a superman story from the point of view of the superman. It proved to be one of the most popular stories Campbell published, and is an example of the way Campbell worked with his writers to feed them ideas and generate the material he wanted to buy. Isaac Asimov's "Robot" series began to take shape in 1941, with "Reason" and "Liar!" appearing in the April and May issues; as with "Slan", these stories were partly inspired by conversations with Campbell.[ Van Vogt's "The Seesaw", in the July 1941 issue, was the first story in his "Weapon Shop" series, described by critic John Clute as the most compelling of all van Vogt's work.] The September 1941 issue included Asimov's short story " Nightfall" and in November, '' Second Stage Lensman'', the next novel in Smith's ''Lensman'' series, began serialization.[
The following year brought the first installment of Asimov's "]Foundation
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
" stories; "Foundation" appeared in May and "Bridle and Saddle" in June.[ The March 1942 issue included Van Vogt's novella "Recruiting Station", an early version of a Changewar.][ Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore began to appear regularly in ''Astounding'', often under the pseudonym "Lewis Padgett", and more new writers appeared: ]Hal Clement
Harry Clement Stubbs (May 30, 1922 – October 29, 2003), better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented artworks under ...
, Raymond F. Jones, and George O. Smith, all of whom became regular contributors. The September 1942 issue contained del Rey's "Nerves", which was one of the few stories to be ranked top by every single reader who voted in the monthly Analytical Laboratory poll; it dealt with the aftermath of an explosion at a nuclear plant.[
Campbell emphasized scientific accuracy over literary style. Asimov, Heinlein, and de Camp were trained scientists and engineers.] After 1942, several of the regular contributors such as Heinlein, Asimov, and Hubbard, who had joined the war effort, appeared less frequently. Among those who remained, the key figures were van Vogt, Simak, Kuttner, Moore, and Fritz Leiber
Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Rober ...
, all of whom were less oriented towards technology in their fiction than writers like Asimov or Heinlein. This led to the appearance of more psychologically oriented fiction, such as van Vogt's '' World of Null-A'', which was serialized in 1945. Kuttner and Moore contributed a humorous series about an inventor, Galloway Gallegher, who could only invent while drunk, but they were also capable of serious fiction.[Ashley (2000), pp. 169–174.] Campbell had asked them to write science fiction with the same freedom from constraints that he had allowed them in the fantasy works they were writing for ''Unknown'', Street & Smith's fantasy title; the result was " Mimsy Were the Borogoves", which appeared in February 1943 and is now regarded as a classic. Leiber's ''Gather, Darkness!'', serialized in 1943, was set in a world where scientific knowledge is hidden from the masses and presented as magic; as with Kuttner and Moore, he was simultaneously publishing fantasies in ''Unknown''.
Campbell continued to publish technological sf alongside the soft science fiction
Soft science fiction, or soft SF, is a category of science fiction with two different definitions, defined in contrast to hard science fiction. It can refer to science fiction that explores the "soft" sciences (e.g. psychology, political scienc ...
. One example was Cleve Cartmill's "Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain
* ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...
", a story about the development of the atomic bomb. It appeared in 1944, when the Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
was still not known to the public; Cartmill used his background in atomic physics to assemble a plausible story that had strong similarities to the real-world secret research program. Military Intelligence agents called on Campbell to investigate, and were satisfied when he explained how Cartmill had been able to make so many accurate guesses. In the words of science fiction critic John Clute, "Cartmill's prediction made sf fans enormously proud", as some considered the story proof that science fiction could be predictive of the future.
Post-war years
In the late 1940s, both ''Thrilling Wonder'' and ''Startling Stories'' began to publish much more mature fiction than they had during the war, and although ''Astounding'' was still the leading magazine in the field, it was no longer the only market for the writers who had been regularly selling to Campbell. Many of the best new writers still broke into print in ''Astounding'' rather than elsewhere. Arthur C. Clarke's first story, "Loophole
A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system.
Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow ver ...
", appeared in the April 1946 ''Astounding'', and another British writer, Christopher Youd, began his career with "Christmas Tree" in February 1949. Youd would become much better known under his pseudonym "John Christopher". William Tenn
William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements.
Biography
Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass mo ...
's first sale, "Alexander the Bait", appeared in May 1946, and H. Beam Piper's "Time and Time Again" in the April 1947 issue was his first story. Along with these newer writers, Campbell was still publishing strong material by authors who had become established during the war. Among the better-known stories of this era are " Vintage Season", by C.L. Moore (under the pseudonym Lawrence O'Donnell); Jack Williamson's story "With Folded Hands
"With Folded Hands ..." is a 1947 science fiction novelette by American writer Jack Williamson. Willamson's influence for this story was the aftermath of World War II and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and his concern that "some ...
"; '' The Players of Null-A'', van Vogt's sequel to ''The World of Null-A''; and the final book in E.E. Smith's ''Lensman'' series, '' Children of the Lens''.[Ashley (2000), pp. 190–193.]
In the November 1948 issue, Campbell published a letter to the editor by a reader named Richard A. Hoen that contained a detailed ranking of the contents of an issue "one year in the future". Campbell went along with the joke and contracted stories from most of the authors mentioned in the letter that would follow the Hoen's imaginary story titles. One of the best-known stories from that issue is "Gulf", by Heinlein. Other stories and articles were written by some of the most famous authors of the time: Asimov, Sturgeon, del Rey, van Vogt, de Camp, and the astronomer R. S. Richardson
Robert Shirley Richardson (April 22, 1902 – November 12, 1981) was an American astronomer, born in Kokomo, Indiana. He also published science fiction using the pseudonym Philip Latham.
Career
Philip Latham can support the suppositions that are ...
.
1950s and 1960s
By 1950, Campbell's strong personality had led him into conflict with some of his leading writers, some of whom abandoned ''Astounding'' as a result. The launch of both ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...
'' and ''Galaxy Science Fiction
''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...
'' in 1949 and 1950, respectively, marked the end of ''Astounding''s dominance of science fiction, with many now regarding ''Galaxy'' as the leading magazine. Campbell's growing interest in pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable clai ...
also damaged his reputation in the field.[Mike Ashley, "Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact", in Gunn, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', pp. 17–18.] Campbell was deeply involved with the launch of Dianetics
Dianetics (from Greek ''dia'', meaning "through", and ''nous'', meaning " mind") is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hub ...
, publishing Hubbard's first article on it in ''Astounding'' in May 1950, and promoting it heavily in the months beforehand;[Ashley (2000), pp. 226–227.] later in the decade he championed psionics and antigravity devices.
Although these enthusiasms diminished Campbell's reputation, ''Astounding'' continued to publish some popular and influential science fiction.[Berger (1985), pp. 80–81.] In 1953, Campbell serialized Hal Clement's '' Mission of Gravity'', described by John Clute and David Langford
David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...
as "one of the best-loved novels in sf", and in 1954 Tom Godwin
Tom Godwin (June 6, 1915 – August 31, 1980) was an American science fiction author active throughout the 1950s into the 1970s. In his career, Godwin published three novels and around thirty short stories. He is best known for his short sto ...
's " The Cold Equations" appeared. The story, about a girl who stows away on a spaceship, generated much reader debate, and has been described as capturing the ethos of Campbell's ''Astounding''.[Ashley (2005), pp. 128–129.] The spaceship is carrying urgently needed medical supplies to a planet in distress, and has a single pilot; the ship does not have enough fuel to reach the planet if the girl stays on the ship, so the "cold equations" of physics force the pilot to jettison the girl, killing her.
Later in the 1950s and early 1960s writers like Gordon R. Dickson
Gordon Rupert Dickson (November 1, 1923 – January 31, 2001) was a Canadian-American science fiction writer. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2000.
Biography
Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, ...
, Poul Anderson, and Harry Harrison appeared regularly in the magazine. Frank Herbert's '' Dune'' was serialized in ''Analog'' in two separate sequences, in 1963 and 1965, and soon became "one of the most famous of all sf novels", according to Malcolm Edwards
Malcolm John Edwards (born 3 December 1949) is a British editor and critic in the science fiction field. An alumnus of The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, he received his degree from the University of Cambridge. He was Deputy CEO at the Orio ...
and John Clute. 1965 marked the year Campbell received his eighth Hugo Award for Best Professional Magazine; this was the last one he would win.
Bova
Bova, like Campbell, was a technophile with a scientific background, and he declared early in his tenure that he wanted ''Analog'' to continue to focus on stories with a scientific foundation, though he also made it clear that change was inevitable. Over his first few months some long-time readers sent in letters of complaint when they judged that Bova was not living up to Campbell's standards, particularly when sex scenes began to appear. On one occasion— Jack Wodhams' story "Foundling Fathers", and its accompanying illustration by Kelly Freas—it turned out that Campbell had bought the story in question. As the 1970s went on, Bova continued to publish authors such as Anderson, Dickson, and Christopher Anvil
Christopher Anvil (March 11, 1925 – November 30, 2009) is a pseudonym used by American author Harry Christopher Crosby.
Biography and work
Crosby was born in Norwich, Connecticut, the only child of Harry Clifton Crosby and Rose Glasbrenner. ...
, who had appeared regularly during Campbell's tenure, but he also attracted authors who had not been able to sell to Campbell, such as Gene Wolfe
Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and nove ...
, Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...
, and Harlan Ellison. Frederik Pohl, who later commented in his autobiography about his difficulties in selling to Campbell, appeared in the March 1972 issue with " The Gold at the Starbow's End", which was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and that summer Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel '' The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), hav ...
's "Hero" appeared. This was the first story in Haldeman's " Forever War" sequence; Campbell had rejected it, listing multiple reasons including the frequent use of profanity and the implausibility of men and women serving in combat together. Bova asked to see it again and ran it without asking for changes.[Ashley (2007), pp. 18–20.] Other new writers included Spider Robinson
Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-born Canadian science fiction author. He has won a number of awards for his hard science fiction and humorous stories, including the Hugo Award 1977 and 1983, and another Hugo with his co-a ...
, whose first sale was "The Guy With the Eyes" in the February 1973 issue; George R.R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels '' A So ...
, with "A Song for Lya", in June 1974; and Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...
, with " Ender's Game", in the August 1977 issue.[Ashley (1985), p. 90–91.]
Two of the cover artists who had been regular contributors under Campbell, Kelly Freas and John Schoenherr
John Carl Schoenherr (July 5, 1935 – April 8, 2010) was an American illustrator. He won the 1988 Caldecott Medal for U.S. children's book illustration, recognizing ''Owl Moon'' by Jane Yolen, which recounts the story of the first time a father ...
, continued to appear after Bova took over, and Bova also began to regularly feature covers by Rick Sternbach and Vincent Di Fate
Vincent Di Fate (born November 21, 1945) is an American artist specializing in science fiction, fantasy and realistic space art (hardware art) illustration. He was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on June 25, 2011.
Di Fate was bor ...
. Jack Gaughan
John Brian Francis "Jack" Gaughan, pronounced like 'gone' (September 24, 1930 – July 21, 1985) was an American science fiction artist and illustrator who won the Hugo Award several times. Working primarily with Donald A. Wollheim at Ace Book ...
, who had had a poor relationship with Campbell, sold several covers to Bova. Bova won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor
The Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The award is available for editors of magazines, ...
for five consecutive years, 1973 through 1977.
Schmidt
Stanley Schmidt was an assistant professor of physics when he became editor of ''Analog'', and his scientific background was well-suited to the magazine's readership. He avoided making drastic changes, and continued the long-standing tradition of writing provocative editorials, though he rarely discussed science fiction. In 1979 he resurrected "Probability Zero", a feature that Campbell had run in the early 1940s that published tall tales—humorous stories with ludicrous or impossible scientific premises. Also in 1979 Schmidt began a series of columns titled "The Alternate View", an opinion column that was written in alternate issues by G. Harry Stine and Jerry Pournelle, and which is still a feature of the magazine as of 2016, though now with different contributors.[Ashley (2016), pp. 56–58.] The stable of fiction contributors remained largely unchanged from Bova's day, and included many names, such as Poul Anderson, Gordon R. Dickson, and George O. Smith, familiar to readers from the Campbell era. This continuity led to criticisms within the field, Bruce Sterling writing in 1984 that the magazine "has become old, dull, and drivelling... It is a situation screaming for reform. ''Analog'' no longer permits itself to be read." The magazine thrived nevertheless, and though part of the increase in circulation during the early 1980s may have been due to Davis Publications' energetic efforts to increase subscriptions, Schmidt knew what his readership wanted and made sure they got it, commenting in 1985: "I reserve ''Analog'' for the kind of science fiction I've described here: good stories about people with problems in which some piece of plausible (or at least not demonstrably implausible) speculative science plays an indispensable role".
Over the decades of Schmidt's editorship, many writers became regular contributors, including Arlan Andrews, Catherine Asaro, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff (born 1954) is an American sci-fi and fantasy author.
Personal life
Bohnhoff, mother of three, has been married since 1981 to Jeff Bohnhoff. The couple and their children are members of the Baháʼí Faith. She began her ...
, Michael Flynn, Geoffrey A. Landis, Paul Levinson
Paul Levinson (born March 25, 1947) is an American author, singer-songwriter, and professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. His novels, short fiction, and non-fiction works have been translated into ...
, Robert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer (born April 29, 1960) is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 24 novels published and his short fiction has appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', ''Amazing Stories'', '' On Spec'', ''Nature'', and numerou ...
, Charles Sheffield
Charles Sheffield (25 June 1935 – 2 November 2002), an English-born mathematician, physicist and science-fiction writer, served as a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society.
...
and Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...
. Schmidt never won an editing Hugo while in charge of the magazine, but after he resigned he won the 2013 Hugo for Editor Short Form.
Quachri
Schmidt retired in August 2012, and his place was taken by Trevor Quachri
Trevor Quachri (, born 1976) has been the sixth editor of ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' magazine since September 2012. He started as an editorial assistant in 1999 at ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' and ''Analog.'' Previously, he was “a Broa ...
, who mostly continued the editorial policies of Schmidt. Starting in January 2017, the publication became bimonthly.
Bibliographic details
Editorial history at ''Astounding'' and ''Analog'':
* Harry Bates, January 1930 – March 1933
* F. Orlin Tremaine, October 1933 – October 1937
* John W. Campbell, Jr., October 1937 – December 1971
* Ben Bova, January 1972 – November 1978
* Stanley Schmidt, December 1978 – August 2012
* Trevor Quachri, September 2012 – present
''Astounding'' was published in pulp format until the January 1942 issue, when it switched to bedsheet. It reverted to pulp for six issues, starting in May 1943, and then became the first of the genre sf magazines to be published in digest format, beginning with the November 1943 issue. The format remained unchanged until Condé Nast produced 25 bedsheet issues of ''Analog'' between March 1963 and March 1965, after which it returned to digest format.[Berger & Ashley (1985), pp. 102–103.] In May 1998, and again in December 2008, the format was changed to be slightly larger than the usual digest size: first to 8.25 x 5.25 in (210 x 135 mm), and then to 8.5 x 5.75 in (217 x 148 mm).
The magazine was originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science''; this was shortened to ''Astounding Stories'' from February 1931 to November 1932, and the longer title returned for the three Clayton issues at the start of 1933. The Street & Smith issues began as ''Astounding Stories'', and changed to ''Astounding Science-Fiction'' in March 1938. The hyphen disappeared in November 1946, and the title then remained unchanged until 1960, when the title ''Analog Science Fact & Fiction'' was phased in between February and October (i.e., the words "Astounding" and "Analog" both appeared on the cover, with "Analog" gradually increasing in prominence over the months, culminating in the name "Astounding" being completely dropped.) In April 1965 the subtitle was reversed, so that the magazine became ''Analog Science Fiction & Fact'', and it has remained unchanged since then, though it has undergone several stylistic and orthographic variations.
As of 2016, the sequence of prices over the magazine's history is as follows:
Overseas editions
A British edition published by Atlas Publishing and Distributing Company ran from August 1939 until August 1963, initially in pulp format, switching to digest from November 1953. The pulp issues began at 96 pages, then dropped to 80 pages with the March 1940 issue, and to 64 pages in December that year. All the digest issues were 128 pages long. The price was 9 d until October 1953; thereafter it was 1/6 until February 1961, and 2/6 until the end of the run. The material in the British editions was selected from the U.S. issues, most stories coming from a single U.S. number, and other stories picked from earlier or later issues to fill the magazine. The covers were usually repainted from the American originals.
An Italian magazine, ', published seven issues from April 1952 to March 1953, the contents drawn mostly from ''Astounding'', along with some original stories. The editor was , and the publisher was Editrice Krator. Another Italian edition, called ''Analog Fantascienza'', was published by Phoenix Enterprise in 1994/1995, for a total of five issues. Danish publisher Skrifola produced six issues of ''Planetmagazinet'' in 1958; it carried reprints, mostly from ''Astounding'', and was edited by Knud Erik Andersen.
A German anthology series of recent 1980s stories from ''Analog'' was published in eight volumes by from October 1981 up to June 1984.[Entries on the ]Internet Speculative Fiction Database
The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...
fo
''Analog 1''
''Analog 2''
''Analog 3''
''Analog 4''
''Analog 5''
''Analog 6''
''Analog 7''
''Analog 8''
/ref>
Anthologies
Anthologies of stories from ''Astounding'' or ''Analog'' include:[Berger & Ashley (1985), pp. 99–102.]
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' official web site
''Astounding/Analog'' bibliography
at ISFDB
The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...
Public domain texts
First year (1930) of ''Astounding''
at the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
Second year (1931) of ''Astounding''
at the Internet Archive
Third year (1932) of ''Astounding''
at the Internet Archive
First two issues of 1933 of ''Astounding''
at the Internet Archive
''Astounding Stories'' Bookshelf at Project Gutenberg
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Analog Science Fiction And Fact
1930 establishments in the United States
Magazines established in 1930
Magazines formerly owned by Condé Nast
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Penny Publications magazines
Pulp magazines
Science fiction digests
Science fiction magazines established in the 1930s
Street & Smith
Science fiction magazines published in the United States