Jove Books, formerly known as Pyramid Books, is an American
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 ...
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 ...
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 the
Walter Reade Organization
''Walter Reade'' was the name of a father and son who had an extensive career in the United States motion picture industry.
Walter Reade Sr.
Walter Reade, Sr. (1884–1952) was the man behind a chain of theatres which grew from a single theatre ...
in the late 1960s. It was acquired in 1974 by
Harcourt Brace
Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City an ...
(which became Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) which renamed it to Jove in 1977 and continued the line as an
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
. In 1979, they sold it to The Putnam Berkley Group, which is now part of the
Penguin Group
Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...
.
History
1949–1969
Phil Hirsch was vice president of Pyramid Books from 1955-1975 and had his name as author or editor on many of Pyramid's books, many of them anthologies of jokes, cartoons and humor, or concerned with the military and warfare, including some which combined those interests. While not the most prolific publisher of science fiction and fantasy during its years as Pyramid, it did offer some notable original titles in book form, such as
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), John ...
's novel ''Who?'' (1958), Theodore Sturgeon's novel ''Venus Plus X'' (1960) and several collections of Sturgeon's short fiction, as well as collections, novels and anthologies by
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...
and Judith Merril. Pyramid speculative fiction editor (1957–67)
Donald R. Bensen
Donald Roynald Bensen (October 3, 1927 – October 19, 1997), known also as Don Bensen and listed sometimes as D.R. Bensen, was an American editor and science fiction writer. As an editor he is known best for editing works of P. G. Wodehouse and ...
edited two notable and popular anthologies drawn from the fantasy-fiction magazine '' ''Unknown'','' ''The Unknown'' (1963) and ''The Unknown 5'' (1964), the latter including an introduction by and a previously unpublished story by
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
, the story having been slated for publication by the magazine, which folded before it could appear. Pyramid in the 1960s also published several notable anthologies edited by
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 ...
, which helped create a sense of a tradition of sword & sorcery fantasy, and a series of four anthologies drawn from the magazine '' Weird Tales'', attributed to magazine publisher and editor Leo Margulies, though the latter two apparently "ghost-edited" by
Sam Moskowitz
Sam Moskowitz (June 30, 1920 – April 15, 1997) was an American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction.
Biography
As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction pulp magazines. As a teenager, he organized a branch of ...
(Margulies and Moskowitz would in the 1970s launch a short-lived revival of the magazine). Among the notable paperback reprint editions Pyramid published in the 1950s and '60s were several collections by Robert Heinlein, Hal Clement's novel ''Mission of Gravity'', and de Camp and Fletcher Pratt's ''The Incompleat Enchanter''. Pyramid also published
Evan Hunter
Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film ''Blackbo ...
's science fiction novel ''Tomorrow and Tomorrow'' (1956 as by Hunt Collins), and a paperback reprint of
Shirley Jackson
Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...
's novel ''The Road through the Wall'' (1956) in two editions with the variant title ''The Other Side of the Street'' (the first in 1958). Notable among the original publications in crime fiction were ''Death is My Dancing Partner'' (1959), a late novel by
Cornell Woolrich
Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley.
His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich th ...
, and such anthologies as ''The Young Punks'' (also 1959) attributed to Leo Margulies as editor.
In the 1960s Pyramid published two of the first three books attributed to Cordwainer Smith, one of the fiction-writing pseudonyms of
Paul Linebarger
Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (July 11, 1913 – August 6, 1966), better known by his pen-name Cordwainer Smith, was an American author known for his science fiction works. Linebarger was a US Army officer, a noted East Asia scholar, and a ...
, and began reprinting
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu () is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character featured in cinema, television, radio, comic ...
novels by Sax Rohmer and pulp sf adventure novels by
E. E. Smith
Edward Elmer Smith (May 2, 1890 – August 31, 1965), publishing as E. E. Smith, Ph.D. and later as E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and science-fiction author, best known for the '' ...
, as well as several
novelization
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
s of Irwin Allen television shows and films, including one for ''
Lost in Space
''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...
'' and two others for ''
The Time Tunnel
''The Time Tunnel'' is an American color science fiction TV series written around a theme of time travel adventure starring James Darren and Robert Colbert. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science-fiction television series and ...
Stainless Steel Rat
James Bolivar diGriz, alias "Slippery Jim" and "The Stainless Steel Rat", is a fictional character and a series of comic science fiction novels written by Harry Harrison.
Description
James Bolivar diGriz goes by many aliases, including "Slippe ...
novels (1961), Avram Davidson's ''Masters of the Maze'' (1965) and
Chester Anderson
Chester Valentine John Anderson (August 11, 1932 – April 11, 1991) was an American novelist, poet, and editor in the underground press.
Biography
Raised in Florida, he attended the University of Miami from 1952 to 1956, before becoming a ...
's cult novel ''The Butterfly Kid'' (1967). Asimov and the biologist
John C. Lilly
John Cunningham Lilly (January 6, 1915 – September 30, 2001)John C. Lilly at
were among those who published popular-science books with Pyramid in the 1960s.
1970–present
Among the notable projects at Pyramid in the 1970s was a series of reprints of the pulp magazine novels and novellas about the Shadow, published as by Maxwell Grant; Ellison in 1975 and '76 saw an eleven-volume set of his books reprinted or, in the cases of ''The Other Glass Teat'' and ''No Doors, No Windows'' (both 1975), published for the first time, in matching cover format featuring the art of
Leo and Diane Dillon
Leo Dillon (March 2, 1933 – May 26, 2012) and Diane Dillon (''née'' Sorber; born March 13, 1933) were American illustrators of children's books and adult paperback book and magazine covers. One obituary of Leo called the work of the husba ...
. Also, a brief "Harlan Ellison Discovery" series of books, as edited for Pyramid (and, for the last volume, Jove) by Ellison, featured
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre.
Sterling's first ...
's first novel ''
Involution Ocean
''Involution Ocean'' is a science-fiction novel by American writer Bruce Sterling, published in 1977.
Plot summary
''Involution Ocean'' is a novel about a drug addict who joins the crew of a whaling ship on the planet Nullaqua when the drug is ...
'' (1977) and
Terry Carr
Terry Gene Carr (February 19, 1937 – April 7, 1987) was an American science fiction fan, author, editor, and writing instructor.
Background and discovery of fandom
Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of San ...
's collection ''The Light at the End of the Universe'' (1976). But the most prominent and best-selling books Pyramid published in the 1970s were the series of historical novels written by John Jakes, the
Kent Family Chronicles The Kent Family Chronicles (also known as The American Bicentennial Series) is a series of eight novels by John Jakes written for Lyle Engel of Book Creations, Inc. to commemorate the United States Bicentennial, 200th anniversary of the United State ...
, beginning with ''The Bastard'' (1974), which were well-timed for popular interest in the U.S. Revolutionary War and the bicentennial celebration of independence. More modest or more critical than commercial successes published in the decade included ''Man on Fire: A Novel of Revolution'' by Bruce Douglas Reeves (1971) and several novels by
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 ...
.
A series of "crossover" books, bridging prose fiction and
comics
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
, was the eight-volume ''
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 ...
'' series of anthologies and novels (1975–77), where new superheroes and pulp-magazine-style adventure heroes were featured, as edited for Pyramid by Byron Preiss, and featuring contributions from, among others, Ellison,
Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories.
Obituary.
Farmer is best known for his sequences of novels, especially the ''World of Tiers ...
Beth Meacham
Beth Meacham (born 1951) is an American writer and editor, best known as a longtime top editor with Tor Books.
Life, education and family
Meacham was born November 14, 1951 in Newark, Licking County, Ohio. She studied Communications in Antioch ...
,
Jim Steranko
James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator.
His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...
, Ted White and novels as well as short fiction by Ron Goulart. Another Preiss project with Pyramid was in more-traditional, if early,
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 ...
format, the ''
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.
The Jove branding was refocused not long after the purchase by the Putnam Berkeley Group, away from fantastic fiction generally and more toward crime fiction, further publication of John Jakes's and similar historical fiction, romance novels (including some with fantasy elements), and western series novels, such as the
Longarm (book series)
The Longarm books were a series of western novels featuring the character of Custis Long, who is nicknamed Longarm, a U.S. Deputy Marshal based in Denver, Colorado in the 1880s. The series was written by "Tabor Evans", a house pseudonym used b ...
franchise; among the last notable fantasy-fiction titles as an HBJ/Jove Book was the 1979 variant edition of
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...
's collection ''Pleasant Dreams'', which varies in content from all previous editions (but like them, includes Bloch's fleshing out of an unfinished short story by
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
, originally published as "The Light-House" in 1953).