Byron Preiss (April 11, 1953 – July 9, 2005)Byron Preiss
at the

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via Genealogybank.com. Retrieved on May 20, 2014
Archived
from the original on May 20, 2014. was an American writer, editor, and publisher. He founded and served as president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and later of ibooks Inc.

Biography

Early life and career

A native of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York City, Byron Preiss graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1972, and earned a master's degree in communications from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. In 1971, while Preiss was teaching at a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

elementary school, he conceived, and with Jim Steranko, produced an anti-drug comic book, ''The Block'', designed for low-level reading skills. Published by Steranko's company, Supergraphics, it was distributed to schools nationwide. He founded Byron Preiss Visual Publications in 1974 to publish original works, including ''Weird Heroes'' (1975). His 1976 ''

Fiction Illustrated ''Fiction Illustrated'' is a short-lived series of early illustrated fiction, similar to graphic novels, produced and packaged by Byron Preiss Visual Productions in the 1970s and published by Pyramid/Jove/HBJ. Four were produced, with a fifth w ...

'' series of illustrated novels began with ''Schlomo Raven: Public Detective'', a Preiss collaboration with

Tom Sutton Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyoming. Later, stationed at It ...

, followed by ''Starfawn'', illustrated by Stephen Fabian, Steranko's '' Chandler: Red Tide'' and the 1977 ''Son of Sherlock Holmes'', illustrated by

Ralph Reese Ralph Reese (born May 19, 1949) is an American artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, comic books and comic strips, including a year drawing the '' Flash Gordon'' strip for King Features. Prolific from the 1960s to the 1 ...

. Other publications included a 1978 adaptation of

Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books. He is best remembered for his science fiction, incl ...

's ''

The Stars My Destination ''The Stars My Destination'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Alfred Bester. Set in the 24th or 25th century, which varies between editions of the book, when humans have colonized the Solar System, it tells the story of Gully ull ...

'' as a two-volume

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

, illustrated by

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

Publishing career

As a

book packager Book packaging (or book producing) is a publishing activity in which a publishing company outsources the myriad tasks involved in putting together a book—writing, researching, editing, illustrating, and even printing—to an outside company calle ...

, he developed titles for such publishers as

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

and

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. One such project, created in conjunction with the

Bank Street College of Education Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 full ...

, resulted in a series of educational comic books adapting well-known genre authors: ''The Bank Street Book of Creepy Tales'', ''The Bank Street Book of Fantasy'', ''The Bank Street Book of Mystery'' and ''The Bank Street Book of Science Fiction''. He published

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

by celebrities, including

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. Seen as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best kn ...

, Jay Leno, LeAnn Rimes and

Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing a Jerry Seinfeld (character), semi-fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', which he ...

, and worked closely with such established illustrators as Ralph Reese,

William Stout William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worked on over ...

and

. Preiss was co-author, with

Michael Reaves James Michael Reaves (born September 14, 1950) is an American writer, known for his contributions as scriptwriter and story editor to a number of 1980s and 1990s animated television series, including '' Disney's Gargoyles'' and '' Batman: The An ...

, of the

children's novel Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

''Dragonworld'' ( Doubleday, 1979), with 80 illustrations by Joseph Zucker. ''Dragonworld'' was originally planned to be the fifth "Fiction Illustrated" title. In 1982, Preiss published '' The Secret'', a puzzle book that combined 12 short verses and 12 elaborate fantasy paintings by

John Jude Palencar John Jude Palencar (born February 26, 1957) is an American illustrator and fine artist, who specializes in works of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. In 2010, he was given the Hamilton King Award. His highly detailed work is described as co ...

. Readers were expected to pair each painting with a verse in a way that would provide clues to finding one of 12 plexiglass boxes buried in various parks around North America. Each box contained a ceramic box that contained a key that could be redeemed for a jewel worth $1,000. The book was inspired by the success of ''Masquerade'', written and illustrated by Kit Williams and published in England in August 1979, but ''The Secret'' never led to the same level of treasure hunting frenzy. One of the ceramic boxes was found in Chicago in 1983, one in Cleveland in 2004, and one in Boston in October 2019.Hidden treasure, a family's quest, and "The Secret"
/ref> The remaining nine boxes have yet to be found, and reportedly Preiss was the only one who knew where they were when he died. Beyond traditional printed books, Preiss frequently embraced emerging technologies, and was recognized as a pioneer in digital publishing and as among the first to publish in such formats as

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

books and

ebook An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

s. He edited the recording of the

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

''The Words of Gandhi'', released by Caedmon in 1984 and narrated by

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...

who won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in the category of Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording for the work.

Later life and death

Preiss was married to Sandi Mendelson, with whom he had daughters Karah and Blaire. On July 9, 2005, he died in a traffic accident at East Hampton, New York, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. Both Byron Preiss Visual Publications and ibooks Inc. filed for

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debto ...

on February 22, 2006, after his death.

List of Byron Preiss publications

''Published by Preiss, or packaged by Preiss for other publishers'' *''The Electric Company Joke Book'' (1973) *''The Silent e's from Outer Space'' (Western Pub., 1973; Goldencraft, 1974 ) *''One Year Affair'' (1976) *''

Weird Heroes ''Weird Heroes'', subtitled "New American Pulp", was an American series of novels and anthologies produced by Byron Preiss in the 1970s that dealt with new heroic characters inspired by pulp magazine characters. The series was 'packaged' by ...

'' (

Pyramid Books Jove Books, formerly known as Pyramid Books, is an American paperback and eBook publishing imprint, founded as an independent paperback house in 1949 by Almat Magazine Publishers (Alfred R. Plaine and Matthew Huttner). The company was sold to ...

, 1975–77) ::Vol. 1 () to Vol. 8 (); collections of illustrated, pulp-inspired stories *''

#1 – Schlomo Raven: Public Detective'' (

, 1976; by Preiss and

) *''Fiction Illustrated #2 – Starfawn'' (Pyramid Books, 1976; by Preiss and Stephen Fabian) *''Fiction Illustrated #3 – Chandler: Red Tide'' (Pyramid Books, 1976 ; Dark Horse, 2001 ) *''Fiction Illustrated #4 – Son of Sherlock Holmes'' (Pyramid Books, 1977; by Preiss and

) *''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' (1978) by

Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexuality, and society). His ...

, illustrated by

. * ''The Illustrated

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 ...

'' (Ace Books, 1979), illustrated by

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001).e., the Gilberton Company, publisher of the ''Classics Illustrated'' comic-book series of literary adaptations], and I was given a script. One thing led to another and I was soo ...

*''The Beach Boys'' (1979; revised ed. 1983 ) *''The Art of Leo and Diane Dillon'' (1981) *''The Dinosaurs'' (1981; revised 2000 as ''The New Dinosaurs'') *''The Secret'' (1982) – illustrated by

*''The First Crazy Word Book: Verbs'' (1982) *''The Little Blue Brontosaurus'' (1983) *''Not the Webster's Dictionary'' (1983) *''The Bat Family'' (1984) *''Time Machine 1 — Secret of the Knights'' (Bantam Books, 1984; by Jim Gasperini, illustrated by Richard Hescox) *''Nuts!'' (1985) *''The Planets'' (1985) *''The Universe'' (1987) *''Time Machine 19 — The Death Mask of Pancho Villa'' (Bantam Books, 1987; by Carol Gaskin and George Guthridge, illustrated by Kenneth Huey, cover by Jim Steranko) *'' Dragonsword (novel), Dragonsword, 1st edition'' (1988) *''The Microverse'' (1989) *''First Contact: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence'' (1990) *Tales from the One-Eyed Crow: The Vulgmaster by Dennis L. McKiernan and Alex Nino (1991) *''The Ultimate Dracula'' (1991) *''The Ultimate Frankenstein'' (1991) *''The Ultimate Werewolf'' (1991 reissue ) *''The Ultimate Dinosaur: Past, Present, and Future'' (1992) *''The Vampire State Building'' (1992) *''The Ultimate Zombie'' (1993) *''The Ultimate Witch'' (1993) *''The Ultimate Dragon'' (1995) *''The Ultimate Alien'' (1995) *''The Best Children's Books in the World'' (1996) *''The Rhino History of Rock 'n' Roll: The '70s'' (1997) *''Are We Alone in the Cosmos? The Search for Alien Contact in the New Millennium'' (1999) *''The New Dinosaurs'' (2000) *''The Roadkill of Middle Earth'' (2001) by John Carnell, illustrated by Tom Sutton, cover by Steve Fastner and Rich Larson. *''Battlestar Galactica: Resurrection'' (2001) by Richard Hatch and Stan Timmons; ibooks. *''Dying Inside'' (2002) *''The Ultimate Dragon'' (2003) *''The Best Bizarre But True Stories Ever!'' (2003) *''Exploring'' The Matrix'': Visions of the Cyber Present'' (2004) *''Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe'' (2005) *''Year's Best Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga'' (2005)

''Dragonworld''

This illustrated children's novel by Byron Preiss and Michael Reaves was published in several editions from 1979 to 2005: * Doubleday hardcover, 1979 * Bantam / Dell

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...

, (1979) * Spectra paperback (July 1983) * Bantam / Dell paperback (Aug. 1983) * ibooks, Inc. paperback (2000) * ibooks, Inc.

(

Microsoft Reader Microsoft Reader is a discontinued Microsoft application for reading e-books, first released in August 2000, that used its own .LIT format. It was available for Windows computers and Pocket PC PDAs. The name was also used later for an unrelated a ...

; 2001) * ibooks, Inc. paperback (2002) * ibooks, Inc. paperback (2005)

References

External links

* *
Fantastic Fiction: Byron Preiss
* *

at the

Michigan State University Libraries Michigan State University Libraries (MSU Libraries) is the academic library system of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. The library system comprises nine branch locations including the Main Library. As of 2015-16, ...

Special Collections Division: Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection, "Prehistoric Adventure Comics" to "Pre-Raphaelites" * (previous page of browse report as 'Preiss, Byron' without ', 1953–2005') {{DEFAULTSORT:Preiss, Byron 1953 births 2005 deaths Road incident deaths in New York (state) Science fiction editors American publishers (people) University of Pennsylvania alumni Male speculative fiction editors Inkpot Award winners