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New Fandom, v. 1, issue 6, 1939
Page 3
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NEW FANDOM, 3 One of the reasons for the festive tone of this issue of "New Fandom" is the write-up of the World Science-Fiction Convention received in July 10th issue of "TIME", the national weekly newsmagazine with nearly a million circulation. The following article, illustrated with reproductions from July issue of "Unknown" and August issue of "Amazing Stories" appeared on page 32. It is rumored that RAP arranged for the write-up. THE PRESS Amazing! Astounding! Sold at U.S. newsstands are about a dozen pulp magazines with such titles as Amazing Stories, Astounding Stories, Startling Stories, Fantastic Adventures. Strange Stories. Thrilling Wonder Stories, UNKNOWN, Marvel Science Stories. Weird Tales. In the pulp trade they are known as pseudo-scientific" or "scientifiction". This week in Manhattan this amazing group of publications produced an amazing show: a convention of their fans. Scientifiction, which deals almost exclusively with the world of tomorrow and life on other planets, was inspired by Jules Verne's and H.G. Woll's fantasies. Father of science-fiction was a big inventor c shrowd, fat old man named Hugo Gornsback, an old-time radio fan, who in 1925 started Amazing Stories. It zoomed like a moonward rocket. Today the magazines of this prosporous publishing group (chiefly controlled by the big pulp firms of Street & Smith, Standard Magazines, and Ziff-David) average about 150,000 readers apiece (sometimes much more), and make a good living for many a shumo-scientific writer. Among famed writers of scientifiction are Edgar Rice Burroughs, Eric Temple Boll (pen-name: John Teino), Abraham Morritt, editor of American Weekly, and one-time Wisconsin state senator Roger Sherman Hoer (penname: Ralph Milne Farley). Pay is 1 cent to 4 cents a word. Many a well-known writer who commands higher prices in the slick-paper magazines, write the stories for fun. But writers as well as reader take their predictions seriously. Ray Cummings, a veteran pseudo-fictioneer who once was Thomas Edison's secretary, claims to have originated in his stories the word "newscaster" and the phrase "the World of Tomorrow". Says ho: "It is astonishing how many things come true." Chief themes of scientifiction are rocket trips by earth-dwellers to other planets; invasions of the earth by Martians, Morouriuns. Authors may be as fantastic as they like in their investions, but publishers warn then not to do violence to the commoner scientific principles lest the readers denounce their errors. Scientifiction's fans, mostly boys of 16 to 20, are the jitter-bugs of the pulp magazine field. Many keep every issue, and a copy of the magazine's first issue often fetches $25 from collectors. Publishers soon discovered another odd fact about their readers: they are exceptionally articulate. Most of these magazines have readers columns, in which readers appraise stories. Sample: "Gosh! Wow" Boyoboy" and so forth and so on. Yesireem yesiree it's the greatest [?] land and the best that's [?] and I do mean Thrilling Wonder stories, and especially that great magnificent glorious [?] ling JUne issue of the most [?] (abridged)
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NEW FANDOM, 3 One of the reasons for the festive tone of this issue of "New Fandom" is the write-up of the World Science-Fiction Convention received in July 10th issue of "TIME", the national weekly newsmagazine with nearly a million circulation. The following article, illustrated with reproductions from July issue of "Unknown" and August issue of "Amazing Stories" appeared on page 32. It is rumored that RAP arranged for the write-up. THE PRESS Amazing! Astounding! Sold at U.S. newsstands are about a dozen pulp magazines with such titles as Amazing Stories, Astounding Stories, Startling Stories, Fantastic Adventures. Strange Stories. Thrilling Wonder Stories, UNKNOWN, Marvel Science Stories. Weird Tales. In the pulp trade they are known as pseudo-scientific" or "scientifiction". This week in Manhattan this amazing group of publications produced an amazing show: a convention of their fans. Scientifiction, which deals almost exclusively with the world of tomorrow and life on other planets, was inspired by Jules Verne's and H.G. Woll's fantasies. Father of science-fiction was a big inventor c shrowd, fat old man named Hugo Gornsback, an old-time radio fan, who in 1925 started Amazing Stories. It zoomed like a moonward rocket. Today the magazines of this prosporous publishing group (chiefly controlled by the big pulp firms of Street & Smith, Standard Magazines, and Ziff-David) average about 150,000 readers apiece (sometimes much more), and make a good living for many a shumo-scientific writer. Among famed writers of scientifiction are Edgar Rice Burroughs, Eric Temple Boll (pen-name: John Teino), Abraham Morritt, editor of American Weekly, and one-time Wisconsin state senator Roger Sherman Hoer (penname: Ralph Milne Farley). Pay is 1 cent to 4 cents a word. Many a well-known writer who commands higher prices in the slick-paper magazines, write the stories for fun. But writers as well as reader take their predictions seriously. Ray Cummings, a veteran pseudo-fictioneer who once was Thomas Edison's secretary, claims to have originated in his stories the word "newscaster" and the phrase "the World of Tomorrow". Says ho: "It is astonishing how many things come true." Chief themes of scientifiction are rocket trips by earth-dwellers to other planets; invasions of the earth by Martians, Morouriuns. Authors may be as fantastic as they like in their investions, but publishers warn then not to do violence to the commoner scientific principles lest the readers denounce their errors. Scientifiction's fans, mostly boys of 16 to 20, are the jitter-bugs of the pulp magazine field. Many keep every issue, and a copy of the magazine's first issue often fetches $25 from collectors. Publishers soon discovered another odd fact about their readers: they are exceptionally articulate. Most of these magazines have readers columns, in which readers appraise stories. Sample: "Gosh! Wow" Boyoboy" and so forth and so on. Yesireem yesiree it's the greatest [?] land and the best that's [?] and I do mean Thrilling Wonder stories, and especially that great magnificent glorious [?] ling JUne issue of the most [?] (abridged)
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