Lloyd Arthur Eshbach (June 20, 1910 – October 29, 2003) was an American science fiction fan, publisher and writer, secular and religious publisher, and minister.

Biography

Born in Palm, Pennsylvania, Eshbach grew up in Reading in the same state. He discovered science fiction at age 15 and began writing letters to the professional magazines, then started to write his own stories. The third story he wrote sold to ''Science Wonder Stories'' in 1929. In the early 1930s, while still writing his own stories and articles, he published a fanzine,''The Galleon'', and helped William Crawford launch his semiprofessional magazines ''

Marvel Tales Marvel Tales may refer to: Comics * ''Marvel Tales'' (1949–1957), American comic-book series published by Marvel Comics and Atlas Comics; formerly ''Marvel Mystery Comics'' * ''Marvel Tales'' (1964–1994), American comic-book series publishe ...

'' and '' Unusual Stories''. He initiated Fantasy Press, a small press which published the work of authors such as E. E. Smith, Jack Williamson, Robert A. Heinlein and

John W. Campbell, Jr. John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Fantasy Press published a total of 46 titles in its lifetime, with two additional fantasy titles published under the subsidiary imprint, Polaris Press. Fantasy Press books were produced in limited print runs averaging 3,750 copies each, with between 250 and 500 copies of each title bearing a limited plate inserted after the title page that was numbered and autographed by the book's author. These constituted the first hardcover editions of many of these works, previously available only in used copies of magazines. Eshbach was a church publisher from 1958 to 1962, then he was a salesman for the Moody Bible Institute until retirement in 1975. Upon his retirement, he became a pastor in the

Evangelical Congregational Church The Evangelical Church or Evangelical Association, also known in the early 1800s as the Albright Brethren, was a "body of American Christians chiefly of German descent", Arminian in doctrine and theology; in its form of church government, Methodi ...

and served churches of that denomination in Pennsylvania in Lancaster County, Reading, and Womelsdorf. Eshbach was a lifelong science fiction fan, and besides creating Fantasy Press he was instrumental in assisting others in the creation and operation of their own fan or specialty presses, including William Crawford of Fantasy Publishing and later F.P.C.I. (Eshbach bought Crawford his first set of type for his press) and Thomas Hadley, of first The Buffalo Book Company and later Hadley Publishing Company (both of Providence, RI),Over My Shoulder: Reflections On A Science Fiction Era, by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, 1983, Oswald Train:Publisher, pp 110-114 whom Eshbach instructed and assisted with marketing and sales of his books and organization of his mailing list (which list eventually became the basis for the formation of a sales base for his own Fantasy Press). His memoirs, ''Over My Shoulder: Reflections on a Science Fiction Era'', were published in 1983; and his last novel, ''The Scroll of Lucifer'', in 1990. Other books included ''The Armlet of the Gods'', ''The Land Beyond the Gate'', ''The Sorceress of Scath'' and '' The Tyrant of Time''. He also edited '' Of Worlds Beyond: The Science of Science Fiction Writing'' (Reading, PA: Fantasy, 1947), the first book-length work on science fiction writing from a professional point of view. An active member of science fiction's First Fandom, he was Guest of Honor at the 1949

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 ...

and the 1995 World Fantasy Convention.

Hubbard quotation

In his 1982 memoirs, ''Over My Shoulder: Reflections on a Science Fiction Era'', Eshbach quotes L. Ron Hubbard as telling him in 1949, "I'd like to start a religion. That's where the money is."

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eshbach, Lloyd Arthur 1910 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American novelists American Christian clergy American male novelists 20th-century American memoirists American publishers (people) American science fiction writers American speculative fiction editors American speculative fiction publishers (people) People from Upper Hanover Township, Pennsylvania Science fiction editors Science fiction fans Novelists from Pennsylvania American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American clergy

Biography

Hubbard quotation

Further reading

References

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