Shasta Publishers was a

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

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and drama ...

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

specialty publishing house founded in 1947 by Erle Melvin Korshak,

T. E. Dikty Thaddeus Maxim Eugene (Ted) Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher. Early career In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publis ...

, and Mark Reinsberg, who were all

science fiction fans Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

from the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

area. The name of the press was suggested by Reinsberg in remembrance of a summer job that he and Korshak had held at

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of , it is the second-highest peak in the Cascade ...

History

and book collectors, Mel Korshak, Mark Reinsberg,

Ted Dikty Thaddeus Maxim Eugene (Ted) Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher. Early career In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publi ...

, and Fred Shroyer recognized the need for a comprehensive list of science fiction and fantasy published up to that time. In 1940 they made plans to compile such a list and began writing letters to the readers' letter columns in the science fiction and fantasy

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazin ...

s, asking for help with the project; a card file was started, as was a manuscript. Unfortunately, these materials were put into storage when Dikty was drafted for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. After the war, the file and manuscript were unable to be located, and the work would have to begin again from scratch. Korshak and Dikty began a book selling business in 1946, while still eager to publish the earlier attempted list. Korshak soon after met

Everett F. Bleiler Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" ...

through a newspaper ad offering books for sale. Bleiler expressed interest in their project, and he eventually took it over; the result was ''

The Checklist of Fantastic Literature ''The Checklist of Fantastic Literature'' is a bibliography of English science fiction, fantasy and weird books compiled and edited by Everett F. Bleiler with a preface by Melvin Korshak and a cover by Hannes Bok. With a print run of 1,933 copi ...

'', which was finally published under the Shasta imprint in 1948. Originally planning to primarily publish reference books on science fiction and fantasy, the new specialty press instead went on to publish fiction by John W. Campbell, Jr., L. Ron Hubbard, Robert A. Heinlein, A. E. van Vogt, and others. Ultimately, however, they were not successful and finally ceased publishing in 1957, having produced 19 volumes under the Shasta imprint. According to Robert Weinberg, "Using an involved, multicolor printing process, Shasta featured some of the finest color jackets ever done in the small press field. Some of these were the jackets for The Wheels of If by L. Sprague de Camp, Slaves of Sleep by L. Ron Hubbard and Kinsmen of the Dragon by Stanley Mullen, with the art for all three by

Hannes Bok Hannes Bok, pseudonym for Wayne Francis Woodard (, ; July 2, 1914 – April 11, 1964), was an American artist and illustrator, as well as an amateur astrologer and writer of fantasy fiction and poetry. He painted nearly 150 covers for various s ...

. "Science Fiction Specialty Publishers" in Hall, Hal W. (ed) ''Science Fiction Collections: Fantasy, Supernatural & Weird Tales'', Haworth Press, 1983, pp. 124-25

Works published by Shasta

* ''

'', by

(1948) * '' Who Goes There?'', by John W. Campbell, Jr. (1948) * '' Slaves of Sleep'', by L. Ron Hubbard (1948) * '' The Wheels of If'', by L. Sprague de Camp (1949) * ''

The World Below ''The World Below'' is a science fiction novel by British writer S. Fowler Wright. It was first published in 1929 by Collins. The novel was originally intended as a trilogy, but the third part was never written. The first part was originall ...

'', by S. Fowler Wright (1949) * ''

The Man Who Sold the Moon "The Man Who Sold the Moon" is a science fiction novella by American author Robert A. Heinlein, written in 1949 and published in 1950. A part of his ''Future History'' and prequel to "Requiem", it covers events around a fictional first Moon land ...

'', by Robert A. Heinlein (1950) * '' Sidewise in Time'', by

Murray Leinster Murray Leinster (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975) was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie ...

(1950) * '' Kinsmen of the Dragon'', by Stanley Mullen (1951) * ''

Space on My Hands ''Space on My Hands'' is a 1951 collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Fredric Brown. It was first published by Shasta Publishers in 1951 in an edition of 5,000 copies. The story "Something Green" is original to this coll ...

'', by

Fredric Brown Fredric Brown (October 29, 1906 – March 11, 1972) was an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer.D. J. McReynolds, "The Short Fiction of Fredric Brown" in Frank N. Magill, (ed.) ''Survey of Science Fiction Literature'', Vol. 4 ...

(1951) * ''

The Green Hills of Earth "The Green Hills of Earth" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History stories, the short story originally appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' (February 8, 1947), and it was collecte ...

'', by Robert A. Heinlein (1951) * ''

Cloak of Aesir ''Cloak of Aesir'' is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer John W. Campbell, Jr. It was published in 1952 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 5,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the magazine ''Astounding SF' ...

'', by John W. Campbell, Jr. (1952) (short fiction collection) * ''

This Island Earth ''This Island Earth'' is a 1955 American science fiction film from Universal-International, produced by William Alland, directed by Joseph M. Newman and Jack Arnold, starring Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue and Rex Reason. It is based on the ...

'', by Raymond F. Jones (1952) * '' Murder in Millennium VI'', by Curme Gray (1952) * '' The Demolished Man'', by

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

(1953) * ''

Space Platform ''Space Platform'' is a young adult science fiction novel by American writer Murray Leinster. It was published in 1953 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 5,000 copies. It is the first novel in the author's Joe Kenmore series. The next, S ...

'', by

(1953) * ''

Revolt in 2100 ''Revolt in 2100'' is a 1953 science fiction collection by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, part of his Future History series. The contents are as follows: * Foreword by Henry Kuttner, "The Innocent Eye" * " If This Goes On—" (1940; originall ...

'', by Robert A. Heinlein (1953) * '' Science Fiction Carnival'', edited by

and

Mack Reynolds Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds (November 11, 1917 – January 30, 1983) was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Dallas Ross, Mark Mallory, Clark Collins, Dallas Rose, Guy McCord, Maxine Reynolds, Bob Belmont, and Todd Har ...

(1953) * ''

Space Tug ''Space Tug'' is a young adult science fiction novel by author Murray Leinster. It was published in 1953 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 5,000 copies. It is the second novel in the author's Joe Kenmore series. Groff Conklin gave it a mi ...

'', by

(1953) * ''

Empire of the Atom ''Empire of the Atom'' is a science fiction novel by Canadian-American writer A. E. van Vogt. It was first published in 1957 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 2,000 copies. The novel is a fix-up of the first five of van Vogt's Gods stori ...

'', by A. E. van Vogt (1956)

Notes

References

* * * {{Authority control American speculative fiction publishers Small press publishing companies Book publishing companies of the United States Science fiction publishers Fantasy book publishers Publishing companies established in 1947 1947 establishments in the United States