DAW Books

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DAW Books
DAW Books Logo.jpg
Parent company Astra Publishing
Founded1971;53 years ago (1971)
Founder Donald A. Wollheim
Elsie B. Wollheim
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationNew York City, United States
Distribution Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Key people Elizabeth R. Wollheim
Sheila E. Gilbert
Publication typesBooks
Fiction genres Science fiction, fantasy
Official website dawbooks.com
A number of paperback books published by DAW DAW SF collection.jpg
A number of paperback books published by DAW

DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim, along with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim, [1] following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy." [1] The first DAW Book published was the 1972 short story collection Spell of the Witch World by Andre Norton. [2]

Contents

In its early years under the leadership of Wollheim and his wife Elsie, DAW gained a reputation of publishing popular, though not always critically acclaimed, works of science fiction and fantasy. Nevertheless, in the 1970s the company published numerous books by award-winning authors such as Marion Zimmer Bradley, Fritz Leiber, Jerry Pournelle, and Roger Zelazny. In 1982, C. J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station became the first DAW book to win the Hugo Award for best novel. [3]

Until June 1984, all DAW books were characterized by yellow spines, and a prominent yellow cover box containing the company's logo as well as a chronological publication number. When the design was changed, the chronological number was retained, but moved to the copyright page and renamed the DAW Collectors' Book Number. Although it has a distribution relationship with Penguin Group and is headquartered in Penguin USA's offices in New York City, DAW is editorially independent and, until 2022, was closely held by its current publishers, Betsy Wollheim (Donald's daughter) and Sheila E. Gilbert. [4] [5] [6]

In July 2022, DAW was acquired by Astra Publishing. [6]

Authors

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<i>The 1976 Annual Worlds Best SF</i> Science fiction anthology

The 1976 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fifth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1976, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same year by the same publisher as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. For the hardcover edition the original cover art of Jack Gaughan was replaced by a new cover painting by Chet Jezierski. The paperback edition was reissued by DAW in December 1981 under the variant title Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Five, this time with cover art by Oliviero Berni. A British hardcover edition was published by Dennis Dobson in March 1979 under the variant title The World's Best SF 3.

<i>The 1979 Annual Worlds Best SF</i> 1979 anthology edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha

The 1979 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the eighth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1979. It was reissued by DAW in 1984 under the variant title Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Eight, this time with cover art by Olivero Berni.

<i>The 1981 Annual Worlds Best SF</i> 1981 anthology edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha

The 1981 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the tenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1981, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same year by the same publisher as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. For the hardcover edition the original cover art of Michael Mariano was replaced by a new cover painting by John Gampert.

<i>The 1982 Annual Worlds Best SF</i> 1982 anthology edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha

The 1982 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the eleventh volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1982, followed by a hardcover edition issued in September of the same year by the same publisher as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. For the hardcover edition the original cover art of Wayne D. Barlowe was replaced by a new cover painting by Dawn Wilson.

<i>The 1986 Annual Worlds Best SF</i> 1986 anthology edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha

The 1986 Annual World's Best SF is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1986, followed by a hardcover edition issued in August of the same year by the same publisher as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club. For the hardcover edition the original cover art by Vincent Di Fate was replaced by a new cover painting by Ron Walotsky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Wollheim</span> American science fiction editor

Elizabeth Rosalind "Betsy" Wollheim is the President, co-Publisher and co-Editor-in-Chief of science fiction and fantasy publisher DAW Books, "a small private company, owned exclusively by its publishers." The latter roles are shared with Sheila E. Gilbert. She had worked at DAW as an associate editor from 1975.

References

  1. 1 2 "DAW - Penguin Books USA". Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  2. "Publication: Spell of the Witch World". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  3. "1982 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 26 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  4. Lassen, Jeremy (July 26, 2003). "A View From Corona #12". Night Shade Books. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  5. "Locus Online: Betsy Wollheim interview excerpts". Locus. June 2006. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  6. 1 2 "Astra Publishing House Acquires DAW Books". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2022.