 | |
| Parent company | Berkley Books (Penguin Random House) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1952; 73 years ago (1952) |
| Founder | A. A. Wyn |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Key people | Ginjer Buchanan, Editor in Chief |
| Publication types | Books |
| Fiction genres | Science fiction |
| Official website | www.penguin.com |
Ace Books is a publisher ofscience fiction (SF) andfantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 byAaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher ofmysteries andwesterns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first science fiction title in 1953. This was successful, and science fiction titles outnumbered both mysteries and westerns within a few years. Other genres also made an appearance, including nonfiction,gothic novels, mediatie-innovelizations, andromances. Ace became known for thetête-bêche binding format used for many of its early books, although it did not originate the format. Most of the early titles were published in this "Ace Double" format, and Ace continued to issue books in varied genres, boundtête-bêche, until 1973.
Ace, along withBallantine Books, was one of the leading science fiction publishers for its first ten years of operation. The death of owner A. A. Wyn in 1967 set the stage for a later decline in the publisher's fortunes. Two leading editors,Donald A. Wollheim andTerry Carr, left in 1971, and in 1972 Ace was sold toGrosset & Dunlap. Despite financial troubles, there were further successes, particularly with the third Ace Science Fiction Specials series, for which Carr came back as editor. Furthermergers and acquisitions resulted in the company becoming absorbed byBerkley Books. Ace later became animprint ofPenguin Group (USA).
EditorDonald A. Wollheim was working atAvon Books in 1952, but disliked his job. While looking for other work, he tried to persuadeA. A. Wyn to begin a new paperback publishing company. Wyn was already a well-established publisher of books andpulp magazines under the nameA. A. Wyn's Magazine Publishers.[2] His magazines includedAce Mystery andAce Sports,[3] and it is perhaps from these titles that Ace Books got its name. Wyn liked Wollheim's idea but delayed for several months; meanwhile, Wollheim was applying for other jobs, including assistant editor atPyramid Books. Pyramid mistakenly called Wyn's wife Rose for a reference, thinking Wollheim had worked for her. When Rose told her husband that Wollheim was applying for another job, Wyn made up his mind: he hired Wollheim immediately as an editor.[4]
The first book published by Ace was a pair of mysteries boundtête-bêche: Keith Vining'sToo Hot for Hell, backed withSamuel W. Taylor'sThe Grinning Gismo, priced at 35cents, with serial number D-01.[5] Atête-bêche book has the two titles bound upside-down with respect to each other, so that there are two front covers and the two texts meet in the middle.[6] This format is generally regarded as an innovation of Ace's; it was not, but Ace published hundreds of titles bound this way over the next twenty-one years.[7] Books by established authors were often bound with those by lesser-known writers.[8] Ace was "notorious for cutting text", in the words of bibliographer James Corrick: even some novels labeled "Complete and Unabridged" were cut.[9] Isaac Asimov'sThe Stars Like Dust was one such: it was reprinted by Ace under the titleThe Rebellious Stars, and cuts were made without Asimov's approval.[10] Similarly John Brunner repudiated the text of his novelCastaway's World because of unauthorized cuts to the text.[9]
Some important titles in the early D-series novels are D-15, which featuresWilliam S. Burroughs's first novel,Junkie (written under the pseudonym "William Lee"), and many novels byPhilip K. Dick,Robert Bloch,Harlan Ellison,Harry Whittington, andLouis L'Amour, including those written under his pseudonym "Jim Mayo".[11]
The last Ace Double in the first series was John T. Phillifent'sLife with Lancelot, backed withWilliam Barton'sHunting on Kunderer, issued August 1973 (serial #48245). Although Ace resumed using the "Ace Double" name in 1974, the books were arranged conventionally rather thantête-bêche.[12]
Ace's second title was a western (alsotête-bêche):William Colt MacDonald'sBad Man's Return, bound withJ. Edward Leithead'sBloody Hoofs.[5] Mysteries and westerns alternated regularly for the first thirty titles, with a few books not in either genre, such asP. G. Wodehouse'sQuick Service, bound with hisThe Code of the Woosters. In 1953,A. E. van Vogt'sThe World of Null-A, bound with hisThe Universe Maker, appeared; this was Ace's first foray into science fiction. (Earlier in 1953, Ace had releasedTheodore S. Drachman'sCry Plague!, with a plot that could be regarded as science fiction, but the book it was bound with—Leslie Edgley'sThe Judas Goat—is a mystery.) Another science fiction double followed later in 1953, and science fiction rapidly established itself, alongside westerns and mysteries, as an important part of Ace's business.[13] By 1955, the company released more science fiction titles each year than in either of the other two genres, and from 1961 onward, science fiction titles outnumbered mysteries and westerns combined. Ace also published a number of luridjuvenile delinquent novels in the 1950s that are now very collectible, such as D-343,The Young Wolves by Edward De Roo and D-378,Out for Kicks by Wilene Shaw.[11]
WithBallantine Books, Ace was the dominant American science fiction paperback publisher in the 1950s and 1960s. Other publishers followed their lead, catering to the increasing audience for science fiction, but none matched the influence of either company.[14] Ace published, during this period, early work byPhilip K. Dick,Gordon R. Dickson,Samuel R. Delany,Ursula K. Le Guin, andRoger Zelazny.[15]
In 1964, science fiction authorTerry Carr joined the company, and in 1967, he initiated theAce Science Fiction Specials line, which published critically acclaimed original novels by such authors asR. A. Lafferty,Joanna Russ andUrsula K. Le Guin. Carr and Wollheim also co-edited an annualYear's Best Science Fiction anthology series; and Carr also editedUniverse, a well-received original anthology series.Universe was initially published by Ace, although when Carr left in 1971 the series moved elsewhere.[16]
In 1965, Ace published an unauthorized American paperback edition ofThe Lord of the Rings byJ. R. R. Tolkien, believing that the copyright had expired in the U.S. Tolkien had not wanted to publish a paperback edition, but changed his mind after the Ace edition appeared, and an authorized paperback edition was subsequently published byBallantine Books, which included on the back cover of the paperbacks a message urging readers not to buy the unauthorized edition.[17] Ace agreed to pay royalties to Tolkien and let its still-popular edition go out of print.[18][19]
Wyn died in 1967,[2] and the company grew financially overextended, failing to pay its authors reliably. Without money to pay the signing bonus, Wollheim was unwilling to send signed contracts to authors. On at least one occasion, a book without a valid contract went to the printer, and Wollheim later found out that the author, who was owed $3,000 by Ace, was reduced to picking fruit for a living.[20]
Both Wollheim and Carr left Ace in 1971. Wollheim had made plans to launch a separate paperback house, and in cooperation withNew American Library,[20] he proceeded to set upDAW Books. Carr became a freelance editor; both Carr and Wollheim went on to edit competing Year's Best Science Fiction anthology series.[16]
In 1969 Ace Books was acquired byCharter Communications in New York City. In 1977 Charter Communications was acquired byGrosset & Dunlap, and in 1982, Grosset & Dunlap was in turn acquired byG. P. Putnam's Sons.[21] Ace was reputedly the only profitable element of the Grosset & Dunlap empire by this time.[22] Ace soon became the science fiction imprint of its parent company.[22][23]
Carr returned to Ace Books in 1984 as afreelance editor, launching a new series of Ace Specials devoted entirely to first novels. This series was even more successful than the first: it included, in 1984 alone,William Gibson'sNeuromancer,Kim Stanley Robinson'sThe Wild Shore,Lucius Shepard'sGreen Eyes, andMichael Swanwick'sIn the Drift. All were first novels by authors now regarded as major figures in the genre.[16] Other prominent science fiction publishing figures who have worked at Ace includeTom Doherty, who left to startTor Books,[24] andJim Baen, who left to work at Tor and who eventually foundedBaen Books.[25] Writers who have worked at Ace includeFrederik Pohl[26] andEllen Kushner.[27]
In 1996,Penguin Group (USA) acquired the Putnam Berkley Group, and has retained Ace as its science fiction imprint. As of December 2012, recently published authors includedJoe Haldeman,Charles Stross,Laurell K. Hamilton,Alastair Reynolds, andJack McDevitt.[28] Penguin merged withRandom House in 2013 to formPenguin Random House, which continues to own Berkley. Ace's editorial team is also responsible for theRoc Books imprint, although the two imprints maintain a separate identity.[29]
The following people have worked at Ace Books in various editorial roles. The list is sorted in order of the date they started working at Ace, where known. It includes editors who are notable for some reason, as well as the most recent editors at the imprint.
Until the late 1980s, Ace titles had two main types of serial numbers: letter series, such as "D-31" and "H-77", and numeric, such as "10293" and "15697". The letters were used to indicate a price. The following is a list of letter series with their date ranges and prices.[5][51]
The first series of Ace books began in 1952 with D-01, a western intête-bêche format: Keith Vining'sToo Hot for Hell backed withSamuel W. Taylor'sThe Grinning Gismo. That series continued until D-599, Patricia Libby'sWinged Victory for Nurse Kerry, but the series also included several G and S serial numbers, depending on the price. The D and S did not indicate "Double" (i.e.,tête-bêche) or "Single"; there are D-series titles that are nottête-bêche, although none of thetête-bêche titles have an S serial number.[53] Towards the end of this initial series, the F series began (at a new price), and thereafter there were always several different letter series in publication simultaneously. The D and S prefixes did not appear again after the first series, but the G prefix acquired its own series starting with G-501. Hence the eight earlier G-series titles can be considered part of a different series to the G-series proper. All later series after the first kept independent numbering systems, starting at 1 or 101.[53][54] Thetête-bêche format proved attractive to book collectors, and some rare titles in mint condition command prices over $1,000.[55]
Ace added a line of "singles" and the Ace Star series for larger and more expensive books (especially non-fiction).[56]
In March 1984, I joined Ace Books, as an editor. Thirty years later, almost to the day, I am retiring, from the position of Editor-in-Chief of Ace and Roc Books. I've been very fortunate to work for three decades with many of the same colleagues and, in fact, many of the same authors. I will miss them all—but, since my job came out of my passion for the genre of science fiction and fantasy, I expect that I will be seeing them at conferences and conventions in the future
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Readers of the first printed version of the novel didn't have far to look if their curiosity about Burroughs' adversaries was aroused. They only had to turn the book over and start readingNarcotic Agent, the account of former policeman Maurice Helbrant that came 69'd with Junky. ... if you've got a spare few thousand pounds, you can pick up a copy of the Ace Original paperback and readNarcotic Agent alongside the originalJunky.
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