DAW Books

Last updated
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 closely held by its current publishers, Betsy Wollheim (Donald's daughter) and Sheila E. Gilbert. [4] [5]

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

Authors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald A. Wollheim</span> U.S. science fiction editor, publisher, and author

Donald Allen Wollheim was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearson, and Darrell G. Raynor. A founding member of the Futurians, he was a leading influence on science fiction development and fandom in the 20th-century United States. Ursula K. Le Guin called Wollheim "the tough, reliable editor of Ace Books, in the Late Pulpalignean Era, 1966 and '67", which is when he published her first two novels in Ace Double editions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercedes Lackey</span> American writer of fantasy novels

Mercedes Ritchie Lackey is an American writer of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar. Her Valdemar novels include interaction between human and non-human protagonists with many different cultures and social mores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. J. Cherryh</span> American speculative fiction author (born 1942)

Carolyn Janice Cherry, better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award–winning novels Downbelow Station (1981) and Cyteen (1988), both set in her Alliance–Union universe, and her Foreigner series. She is known for worldbuilding, depicting fictional realms with great realism supported by vast research in history, language, psychology, and archeology.

The Gandalf Awards, honoring achievement in fantasy literature, were conferred by the World Science Fiction Society annually from 1974 to 1981. They were named for Gandalf the wizard, from the Middle-earth stories by J. R. R. Tolkien. The award was created and sponsored by Lin Carter and the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), an association of fantasy writers. Recipients were selected by vote of participants in the World Science Fiction Conventions according to procedures of the older Hugo Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David A. Cherry</span> American artist

David Cherry is an American artist, author, and illustrator of science fiction and fantasy and has also done substantial work as a marketing artist, concept artist, and 3D modeler in the game production industry. Cherry served as Lecturer and Head of the Art Department as well as Head of the master's degree Program for artists at The Guildhall at SMU, a graduate college dedicated to studies for people who want to work in the game production industry. Cherry was also an attorney, as well as a past president of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists (1988–1990). He has been nominated eleven times for Hugo Awards, and 18 times for Chesley Awards.

<i>The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh</i> 2004 collection of short fiction by C. J. Cherryh

The Collected Short Fiction of C. J. Cherryh is a collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories, novelettes and novella written by American author C. J. Cherryh between 1977 and 2004. It was first published by DAW Books in 2004. This collection includes the contents of two previous Cherryh collections, Sunfall (1981) and Visible Light (1986), all of the stories from Glass and Amber (1987), stories originally published in other collections and magazines, and one story written specifically for this collection ("MasKs"). Cherryh's 1978 Hugo Award winning story, "Cassandra" is also included.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. J. Cherryh bibliography</span>

American writer C. J. Cherryh's career began with publication of her first books in 1976, Gate of Ivrel and Brothers of Earth. She has been a prolific science fiction and fantasy author since then, publishing over 80 novels, short-story compilations, with continuing production as her blog attests. Cherryh has received the Hugo and Locus Awards for some of her novels.

"Cassandra" is a science fiction short story by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in October 1978, and won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1979. It was only her second published short story, after "The Dark King" (1977).

<i>The Cherryh Odyssey</i> 2004 collection of essays about C. J. Cherryh, edited by Edward Carmien

The Cherryh Odyssey is a 2004 collection of essays by various academics, critics and authors about American Hugo Award-winning science fiction and fantasy author, C. J. Cherryh. It was edited by author and academic, Edward Carmien, and was published by Borgo Press, an imprint of Wildside Press as part of its Author Study series. Locus Magazine put the book on its "2004 Recommended Reading List", and Carmien received a nomination for the 2005 Locus Award for Best Non-fiction book for The Cherryh Odyssey.

<i>The Morgaine Stories</i> Science fantasy series of novels by C. J. Cherryh

The Morgaine Stories, also known as The Morgaine Cycle, are a series of fantasy novels by American writer C. J. Cherryh, published by DAW Books. They concern a time-traveling heroine, Morgaine, and her loyal companion Nhi Vanye i Chya.

<i>Brothers of Earth</i> 1976 novel by C. J. Cherryh

Brothers of Earth is a 1976 science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It was the second of Cherryh's novels to be published, appearing after Gate of Ivrel, although she had completed and submitted Brothers of Earth first. Donald A. Wollheim, the editor of DAW Books, decided that publishing Gate of Ivrel first would be more commercially desirable, so Brothers of Earth was delayed until the former was released.

The 26th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Baycon, was held on 29 August–2 September 1968 at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California, United States.

Robin Wayne Bailey is an American writer of speculative fiction, both fantasy and science fiction. He is a founder of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame (1996) and a past president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

<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>

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>

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>

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>

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.

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. "Astra Publishing House Acquires DAW Books". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2022.