Frederick Orlin Tremaine (January 7, 1899 – October 22, 1956) was an American
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 uni ...
magazine editor, most notably of the influential ''
Astounding Stories
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
''. He edited a number of other magazines, headed several publishing companies, and sporadically wrote fiction.
Biography
F. Orlin Tremaine was part of an old
Cornish American family. He had two brothers, DeWitt Carlton (1900–65) and Nelson Dowd Tremaine (1907–71), and one sister, Alice Leila M. Tremaine (1912–1998).
He was a veteran of World War I.
["F. Orlin Tremaine, Editor, Publisher" (obituary), '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', October 24, 1956.
In 1921, he graduated with a B.O. degree from the College of Arts and Sciences,
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...
, Indiana. At Valparaiso, he was active in his fraternity, participated in drama, and worked on the weekly school newspaper, ''The Torch''.
In 1932, he married Vera Evangeline Kurtz (1905–92). They were no longer together by 1940.
He was a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Washington (D.C.) Press Club and of the Sons of the American Revolution.
He died at Westmount Sanatorium, Glen Falls, New York, after a long illness, age 57, survived by two brothers and a sister.
Writing, editing, and publishing career
During his junior year at Valparaiso, in the spring term, 1920, Tremaine was News Editor of the weekly school newspaper, ''The Torch''. He served as Editor-in-Chief during his senior year of 1920–21.
His first job, post-graduation, was on the staff of a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
newspaper. In late 1922, he was associate editor for ''The Eastern Underwriter'' in NYC.
He moved on to the
Macfadden magazine conglomerate. In May 1923, he was the managing editor of Macfadden's ''Brain Power'' and ''Beautiful Womanhood''. On June 1, 1923, he became editor of the prestigious ''
Metropolitan Magazine'' (retitled ''Macfadden Fiction-Lover's Magazine'' for the October 1924 issue). In early 1924, he became editor of the flagship title ''
True Story Magazine''. He also claimed credit for laying out the first issues of ''True Romances'', ''
True Detective
''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...
'', and ''True Experiences''. Tremaine later credited
John R. Coryell as a strong influence: "Coryell, approaching eighty of years of age, was fiction or story editor of the Macfadden Publications a quarter of a century ago when I first became an editor of a national magazine, and he taught me more about stories, simplicity of approach, and the technique of modern writing than any other person, before or since."
Later in 1924, he departed to become editor of ''
The Smart Set
''The Smart Set'' was an American literary magazine, founded by Colonel William d'Alton Mann and published from March 1900 to June 1930. Its headquarters was in New York City. During its Jazz Age heyday under the editorship of H. L. Mencken and ...
'', a tenure that lasted until mid-1926.
[''The Author & Journalist'', various market reports.]
A sporadic fiction writer, his first known published story, ''One Burning Minute'', received serialized newspaper syndication in August–October, 1926. Soon after, his first known pulp story, "The Throwback," appeared in ''
Weird Tales
''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, pri ...
'' (October 1926) under the pseudonym Orlin Frederick.
In 1927, Tremaine become president of a trust that attempted to take control of the Phelps Publishing Company, publisher of ''New England Homestead'' and other magazines. The deal collapsed when financing fell through. Tremaine rebounded with another group in incorporating the Crossroads Publishing Company. A year later, he was involved in yet another publishing enterprise, the Perennial Publishing Company.
In early 1928, he was slated to be editor of a new Christian magazine, ''Crossroads''. No issues are known of.
Later in 1929, he joined the
Clayton pulp publishing chain. He edited ''Miss 1929'', soon renamed ''Miss 1930''.
After four issues, ''Miss 1930'' was sold to Tremaine's Perennial Publishing Company, presumably part of Tremaine's departure from Clayton. Tremaine intended to continue editing ''Miss 1930'', but there are no known issues for Perennial.
In late 1931, Alfred A. Cohen, publisher of ''
Screenland
''Screenland'' was a monthly U.S. magazine about movies, published between September 1920 and June 1971,[Silver Screen
A silver screen, also known as a silver lenticular screen, is a type of projection screen that was popular in the early years of the motion picture industry and passed into popular usage as a metonym for the cinema industry. The term silver scree ...]
'', purchased ''
Everybody's Magazine
''Everybody's Magazine'' was an American magazine published from 1899 to 1929. The magazine was headquartered in New York City.
History and profile
The magazine was founded by Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker in 1899, though he had little role ...
'' from
Butterick and attempted to revive it with Tremaine as editor. No known issues were produced and the magazine was soon declared discontinued.
Tremaine returned to Clayton, editing the humor magazine ''Bunk'' (late 1932), and ''My Love Story Magazine'' (and its retitling ''Love Classic Magazine'') (late 1932 to early 1933).
At one point, Tremaine was Clayton's editor-in-chief, but it's unclear when.
In 1933, Clayton went bankrupt and some of its assets were purchased by publisher
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 ...
. Tremaine joined Street & Smith, initially to edit three of the former Clayton titles: ''
Astounding Stories
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'' (assisted by Desmond Hall, another Clayton transfer), ''Clues'', and ''Cowboy Stories''. At his peak, Tremaine was responsible for seven Street & Smith pulps:
* October 1933 (2 titles): ''Astounding Stories'', ''Clues''
* November 1933 (3): added ''Cowboy Stories''
* December 1933 (4): added ''
Top-Notch Magazine
Top Notch may refer to:
* Top-Notch (artist), an artist produced by Swedish label Polar Music
* TopNotch, a Dutch record label
* '' Top-Notch Magazine'', an American pulp magazine of adventure fiction that existed between 1910 and 1937
* Top No ...
''
* March 1935 (5): added ''Bill Barnes, Air Adventurer''
etitled ''Bill Barnes Air Trails'' (October 1935), then ''Air Trails'' (February 1937)* October 1935 (6): added ''Dynamic Adventures''
* November 1935 (7): added ''Romance Range'' (retitled ''Romantic Range'' after 5 issues)
* June 1936 (6): last issue of ''Dynamic Adventures''
* mid-1937 (5): last edited issue of ''Clues''
* September 1937 (3): last edited issues of ''Astounding'' and ''Top-Notch''
* December 1937 (2): last edited issue of ''Cowboy Stories''
* late 1937 (0): last edited issues of ''Air Trails'' and ''Romantic Range''
Tremaine and Desmond Hall founded Street & Smith's slick ''
Mademoiselle'' in 1935. Hall was the listed editor.
In the December 1933 issue of ''Astounding'', Tremaine's third as editor, his editorial "Thought Variant" encouraged contributing authors to seek new ideas for science fiction stories. According to Alva Rogers, "the thought variant policy was largely responsible for the rapid rise of ''Astounding'' to top position in the science fiction field." During the fifty issues of the magazine he edited, Tremaine launched the careers of authors
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...
,
Eric Frank Russell
Eric Frank Russell (January 6, 1905 – February 28, 1978) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's ''Astounding Science F ...
, and others. He also published stories by his brother Nelson under the pseudonym Warner van Lorne; van Lorne's true identity was a matter of intense speculation in fandom.
As editor of ''Astounding'', Tremaine bought such stories as
H.P. Lovecraft's ''
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 ...
'' (sold by
Julius Schwartz
Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various ...
) and ''
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 ...
'' (sold by
Donald Wandrei
Donald Albert Wandrei (20 April 1908 – 15 October 1987)[Minnesota Death Certificates Index](_blank)
. ...
), apparently without reading them. Tremaine permitted both tales to be severely abridged and edited by copyeditors, although Lovecraft complained vociferously only about the former (it was on this occasion that he referred to Tremaine as "that god-damnn'd dung of a hyaena" (Lovecraft to
Robert H. Barlow, June 4, 1936 (ms,
John Hay Library
The John Hay Library (known colloquially as the Hay) is the second oldest library on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is located on Prospect Street opposite the Van Wickle Gates. After its constructio ...
)).
[S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, ''An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia'', Westport CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2001, p. 279]
In late 1937, Tremaine hired
John W. Campbell, Jr. to replace him as editor of ''Astounding'', while Tremaine was appointed editorial director of Street & Smith, a position he held for a year before departing Street & Smith during a management shake-up.
From early 1939 through at least 1941, he ran his own New York book publishing company, the Orlin Tremaine Company. (See separate listing of publications below.) On June 23, 1941, an associate editor of the firm, William M. Gibson, was convicted of extortion. He and Prince Ludovic Pignatelli of Italy had threatened the prince's cousin, Prince Guido Pignatelli, with publishing a book that would challenge Guido's right to his title unless they were paid $50,000. The timing roughly corresponds with the last-known publications of the Orlin Tremaine Co., but it is unknown whether the two events are related.
Simultaneous to his publishing ventures, Tremaine produced the science fiction pulp ''
Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
'', which ran five issues from December 1940 to July 1941. Also, from late 1939 through early 1940, Tremaine published four stories in pulps as diverse as ''
Thrilling 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 ...
'' and ''South Sea Stories''.
During World War II, Tremaine edited ''Magazine Plus'', distributed to war industries, and edited government manuals for the armed forces.
In 1943, he was business manager for the revived children's magazine ''
St. Nicholas
Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day Demre ...
''; it only lasted four issues. Thereafter, Tremaine had his most productive period as a fiction writer, contributing numerous stories to detective pulps (1944–45). A series for ''Detective Tales'' featured a character named Easy Bart.
When the war ended, Tremaine became an editor for Bartholomew House, which published the first paperback editions of Lovecraft, ''
The Weird Shadow Over Innsmouth'' (1944) and ''
The Dunwich Horror
"The Dunwich Horror" is a horror novella by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in 1928, it was first published in the April 1929 issue of '' Weird Tales'' (pp. 481–508). It takes place in Dunwich, a fictional town in Massachusett ...
'' (1945).
[ He also published a revision of T. C. McClary's novel ''Rebirth'' (first appearance in ''Astounding Stories'') while at Bartholomew House. In less than a year, he was describing himself as a "free lance writer." The current record does not indicate much success as a writer. His next known publications appeared in late 1948 and early 1949.
In 1949, he became editor of a new magazine, ''Southerner'', and published a book, ''Short Story Writing''. He claimed, at this time, to have published over one hundred stories.
In May 1950, Tremaine described himself as the managing editor of Macfadden Publications.][''The Torch'', May 20, 1950.]
In the early 1950s, under the name Arthur Lane, Tremaine was an editorial associate for the pulp ''Marvel Science Stories
''Marvel Science Stories'' was an American pulp magazine that ran for a total of fifteen issues in two separate runs, both edited by Robert O. Erisman. The publisher for the first run was Postal Publications, and the second run was published b ...
''.
His greatest success appears to have been with Street & Smith, and his most lasting contribution his editorship of ''Astounding''. The rest of his career illustrates the vicissitudes of the publishing business.
Bibliography
Published fiction
*''One Burning Minute'', newspaper serial, King Features Syndicate (August–October 1926)
*"The Throwback," ''Weird Tales
''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, pri ...
'' (October 1926)
*"Pigeon Street," ''Fire Fighters'' (April 1929)
*"The Upper Level Road," ''Astounding Stories
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'' (August 1935)
*"Marinorro," ''Astounding Stories'' (November 1937)
*"Ormoly of Roonerion," ''Astounding Stories'' (January 1938)
*"Vibratory," ''Astounding Stories'' (March 1938)
*"Resilient Planet," ''Astounding Stories'' (August 1938)
*"Wanted—7 Fearless Engineers!," ''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 ...
'' (February 1939)
*"Golden Girl of Kalendar," ''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 ...
'' (September 1939)
*"True Confession," ''Thrilling 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 ...
'' (February 1940)
*"Vengeance of Loana," ''South Sea Stories'' (February 1940)
*"Jalu of Radiant Valley," ''Fantastic Adventures'' (March 1940)
*"A Leader for Korcin," ''Future Fantasy and Science Fiction'' (December 1942)
*"The Expendable Spy," ''Detective Tales'' (January 1944) n Easy Bart story*"The Dagger from Singapore," ''New Detective Magazine'' (May 1944)
*"The Silent Scalpel Murders," ''Detective Tales'' (February 1945) n Easy Bart story*"Son of the Stars," ''Super Science Stories
''Super Science Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 to 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their Fictioneers imprint, which they used for magazines, payin ...
'' (April 1949)
Published nonfiction
* ''Short Story Writing'' (Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1949)
Books published by the Orlin Tremaine Company
ublication date in parentheses; category in brackets* Arthur J. Burks (uncredited co-authorship with Tremaine), ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (December 1939) sychology* Sander Ariza, '' Trujillo: The Man and His Country'' (1939) iography* Colonel Benjamin A. Franklin, ''Banners in the Wind'' (January 2, 1940) nspirational* Frank W. Kravigny, ''The Jungle Route'' (March 1, 1940) rue adventure* Bob Carter, ''Little Things That Linger'' (June 1940) otpourri from radio host* Ed Bodin, ''Scare Me! A Symposium on Ghosts and Black Magic by Ed Bodin, Collector of Mystic Facts, and Descendant of Jean Bodin, Famous Mystic Writer of the XVIth Century'' (June 1940) ccult* William Merriam Rouse, ''Bildad Road'' (July 1940) ovel* William Richard Twiford, ''Sown in the Darkness A.D. 2000'' (January 1941) cience fiction novel* Horace J. Haase, ''The Economic Democracy'' (January 1941) conomics* Louis Leon DeJean, ''Royalty Road'' (November 1941) hort story writing guide
Further reading
* Will Murray
William Murray (born 1953) is an American novelist, journalist, short story, and comic book writer. Much of his fiction has been published under pseudonyms. With artist Steve Ditko, he co-created the superhero Squirrel Girl.
Biography
Early ...
, "The Man Who Edited Lovecraft," ''Crypt of Cthulhu
''Crypt of Cthulhu'' is an American fanzine devoted to the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. It was published as part of the Esoteric Order of Dagon amateur press association for a short time, and was formally established in 1 ...
'' No 48 (St Johns Eve 1987): 3–5.
* Alec Nevala-Lee
Alec Nevala-Lee (born May 31, 1980) is an American biographer, novelist, and science fiction writer. He was a Hugo and Locus Award finalist for the group biography ''Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, ...
, ''Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction'' (NY: Dey St. Books, 2018).
* Alva Rogers, ''A Requiem for Astounding'' (Chicago: Advent:Publishers, 1964).
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tremaine, F. Orlin
1899 births
1956 deaths
Science fiction editors
Analog Science Fiction and Fact people
American pulp magazine publishers (people)
American book publishers (people)