Cele Goldsmith Lalli (1933 – January 14, 2002) was an American

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

. She was the editor of ''

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 i ...

'' from 1959 to 1965, ''

Fantastic The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces. Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, characte ...

'' from 1958 to 1965, and later the Editor-in-Chief of ''Modern Bride'' magazine.

Biography

Goldsmith joined the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

field in 1955, working as

Howard Browne Howard Browne (April 15, 1908 – October 28, 1999) was an American science fiction editor and mystery writer. He also wrote for several television series and films. Some of his work appeared over the pseudonyms John Evans, Alexander Blade ...

's secretary and assistant (and particularly on the short-lived magazine ''

Pen Pals Pen pals (or penpals, pen-pals, penfriends or pen friends) are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail. Pen pals are usually strangers whose relationship is based primarily, or even solely, on their exchange of le ...

''), and, after Browne resigned, with his successor Paul W. Fairman.The AMAZING Story: The Sixties — The Goose-Flesh Factor
by Mike Ashley, originally published in ''

'', May 1992; reposted at Pulpfest.com, March 3, 2016; retrieved March 11, 2016 When Fairman left

Ziff-Davis Ziff Davis, Inc. is an American digital media and internet company. First founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis, the company primarily owns technology-oriented media websites, online shopping-related services, and ...

in 1958, Goldsmith took over as editor of ''

'' and ''

''. Goldsmith was open to new authors and experimentation in writing, with the result that between 1961 and 1964 ''Amazing'' and ''Fantastic'' were "the two most exciting and original magazines" in the SF and

fields.Transformations: The Story of the Science-fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970
by Mike Ashley and Michael Ashley, Liverpool University Press, 2005, page 224. Among her discoveries were

Thomas M. Disch Thomas Michael Disch (February 2, 1940 – July 4, 2008) was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nomination ...

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

Keith Laumer John Keith Laumer ( – ) was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United State ...

Sonya Dorman Sonya Dorman (June 4, 1924 – February 14, 2005), born Sonya Gloria Hess, was the working name of Sonya Dorman Hess. She was born in New York City in 1924 and died in Taos, New Mexico on February 14, 2005, at the age of 80. Dorman published arou ...

(as a fiction writer),

Larry Eisenberg Lawrence Eisenberg (December 21, 1919 – December 25, 2018) was an American biomedical engineer and science fiction writer. He is best known for his short story "What Happened to Auguste Clarot?", published in Harlan Ellison's anthology '' ...

, and

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 ...

. She was also instrumental in bringing

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 Robert ...

out of an early writer's-block-induced retirement (a 1959 issue was devoted entirely to his fiction), and was among the first US editors to publish

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

author

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass medi ...

. Goldsmith married in 1964 and took Lalli as her last name. By this time, she'd received a special award from the

World Science Fiction Convention Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

for her work on the magazines. Le Guin and subsequent ''Fantastic'' and ''Amazing'' editors

Barry N. Malzberg Barry Nathaniel Malzberg (born July 24, 1939) is an American writer and editor, most often of science fiction and fantasy. Biography Malzberg originated from a Jewish family and graduated from Syracuse University in 1960. He worked as an investi ...

and Ted White have taken care to note the significance of her achievement. In 1965, Ziff-Davis sold the two fiction magazines to publisher

Sol Cohen Sol Cohen (December 16, 1910 – July 28, 1988) was an American publisher who worked mostly in the science fiction field. Cohen started his long association with Avon Publications in 1947, working as an editor for their comics division from 1947 ...

, who founded

Ultimate Publications Sol Cohen (December 16, 1910 – July 28, 1988) was an American publisher who worked mostly in the science fiction field. Cohen started his long association with Avon Publications in 1947, working as an editor for their comics division from 194 ...

to publish them. Lalli continued at Ziff-Davis, where she worked at ''

Modern Bride Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosoph ...

'' magazine for 30 years.

Death

Not long after her retirement, she was killed in a car accident in

Newtown, Connecticut Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Greater Danbury metropolitan area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 censu ...

, on January 14, 2002.

References

External links

*
Obituary
by Andrew I. Porter, 2002
Tribute to her AMAZING years
by Mike Ashley {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmith Lalli, Cele 1933 births 2002 deaths Science fiction editors Road incident deaths in Connecticut Amazing Stories Vassar College alumni American speculative fiction editors