Grant-Hadley Enterprises

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Grant-Hadley Enterprises was the first of three names used by an American small press publishing house specializing in science fiction titles. The company was founded in 1945 by Donald M. Grant and Thomas G. Hadley and published one title as Grant-Hadley Enterprises. Kenneth J. Krueger joined the company in 1946 and the name was changed to The Buffalo Book Company. Later in 1946, Hadley continued the company on his own as The Hadley Publishing Co.

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Small press publisher with low annual sales revenue and/or few titles

A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts. Small presses are also defined as those that publish an average of fewer than 10 titles per year, though there are a few who manage to do more.

Science fiction Genre of speculative fiction

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas."

Contents

Grant-Hadley Enterprises

Donald M. Grant first met Thomas G. Hadley at Dana's Old Corner Bookstore in Providence, Rhode Island in 1945. [1] The bookstore had recently acquired the library of fellow Providence native, H. P. Lovecraft, from his estate. Grant and Hadley wanted to see if there was anything of interest. In the course of the chance meeting, they struck up a conversation about Lovecraft and decided that there should be a volume of memoirs by Providence natives who had known Lovecraft. They ended up publishing Rhode Island on Lovecraft which was successful enough to warrant a second edition. [2]

Providence, Rhode Island capital of Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. It was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence" which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers. The city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay.

H. P. Lovecraft American author

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an American writer who achieved posthumous fame through his influential works of horror fiction. He was virtually unknown during his lifetime and published only in pulp magazines before he died in poverty, but he is now regarded as one of the most significant 20th-century authors of horror and weird fiction.

Rhode Island on Lovecraft is a 26-page collection of memoirs about H. P. Lovecraft and is edited by Donald M. Grant and Thomas G. Hadley. The memoirs were written by those who had lived in Providence, Rhode Island with Lovecraft. It was released in 1945 by Grant-Hadley Enterprises in an edition of 500 copies. Grant Hadley reprinted the collection in December 1945 in an edition of 1,000 copies. Aside from the reprint, it was the only book published by Grant-Hadley.

Works published by Grant-Hadley Enterprises

The Buffalo Book Company

Kenneth J. Krueger, a science fiction fan and book seller from Buffalo, New York, was drafted in 1945 and eventually stationed near Providence. [3] Krueger joined the venture bringing with him a mailing list from his book selling business. At this point, Donald Grant had also entered the military [1] and was stationed in Texas. [3] Krueger talked Tom Hadley into changing the name of the publisher to The Buffalo Book Company. [1] The first book published by The Buffalo Book Company was The Time Stream , by John Taine. According to Jack Chalker, the book did not sell well [3] which delayed their second publication of The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith. On the other hand, Robert Weinberg states that: "While neither book was particularly well put together or packaged, they sold well, especially the Smith title. [4]

Ken Krueger was an American publisher and retailer. Krueger co-founded and organized the first San Diego Comic-Con International convention, then called "San Diego's Golden State Comic-Con," in 1970. Krueger co-created the annual convention with a group of San Diego friends, including Shel Dorf, Richard Alf and Mike Towry.

Buffalo, New York City in Western New York

Buffalo is the second largest city in the U.S. state of New York and the largest city in Western New York. As of July 2016, the population was 256,902. The city is the county seat of Erie County and a major gateway for commerce and travel across the Canada–United States border, forming part of the bi-national Buffalo Niagara Region.

Texas State of the United States of America

Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Geographically located in the South Central region of the country, Texas shares borders with the U.S. states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the southwest, while the Gulf of Mexico is to the southeast.

Works published by The Buffalo Book Company

E. E. Smith Food engineer and author (1890-1965)

Edward Elmer Smith, better known by his pen name E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer and science-fiction author, best known for the Lensman and Skylark series. He is sometimes called the father of space opera.

The Hadley Publishing Co.

Lloyd Arthur Eshbach ordered a copy of Skylark of Space from The Buffalo Book Company, in 1945 or 1946. [5] Frustrated by the publishing delays, Eshbach wrote to the Buffalo Book Company offering suggestions as to how they could better market their books. Thus started a correspondence between Eshbach and Tom Hadley with Eshbach continuing to offer advice. At this point Ken Krueger had moved back to Buffalo and Don Grant was attending college, though he continued to offer recommendations on what to publish. [6] Hadley decided to continue the company on his own, renaming it The Hadley Publishing Co. According to Robert Weinberg, "making things even more complicated, Hadley and Grant later published a third edition of The Skylark of Space under the banner of FFF: Publishers. All of the Hadley volumes used ugly typefaces and were illustrated by barely competent fan artists. They reflected an enthusiasm for publishing but a lack of knowledge about the basics of the publishing business." [7]

Lloyd Arthur Eshbach American author and minister

Lloyd Arthur Eshbach was an American science fiction fan, publisher and writer, secular and religious publisher, and minister.

<i>The Skylark of Space</i> novel by Edward Elmer Smith

The Skylark of Space is a science fiction novel by American writer Edward E. "Doc" Smith, written between 1915 and 1921 while Smith was working on his doctorate. Though the original idea for the novel was Smith's, he co-wrote the first part of the novel with Lee Hawkins Garby, the wife of his college classmate and later neighbor Carl Garby. The novel starts as an edisonade, but turns into a space travel adventure when the characters goes into deep space. The Skylark of Space is considered to be one of the earliest novels of interstellar travel and the first example of space opera. Originally serialized in 1928 in the magazine Amazing Stories, it was first published in book form in 1946 by the Buffalo Book Co. The novel was followed by three sequels, beginning with Skylark Three.

Works published by The Hadley Publishing Co.

<i>The Weapon Makers</i> book by A.E. van Vogt

The Weapon Makers is a science fiction novel by Canadian writer A. E. van Vogt.

A. E. van Vogt Canadian writer

Alfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author. His narrative style was compelling and stimulating, and in this way, influenced later science fiction writers, notably Philip K. Dick. He is regarded as one of the most popular, influential and complex practitioners of the mid-twentieth century, the genre's so-called Golden Age.

<i>The Mightiest Machine</i> book by John W. Campbell

The Mightiest Machine is a science fiction novel by American writer John W. Campbell, Jr. The novel was originally serialized in 5 parts in Astounding Stories magazine from December 1934 to April 1935, and was published in book form in 1947 by The Hadley Publishing Co. in an edition of 1,200 copies. Campbell was a leading figure in the Golden Age of Science Fiction.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Eshbach, Lloyd Arthur (1983). Over My Shoulder: Reflections on a Science Fiction Era. Philadelphia: Oswald Train. pp. 163–179. OCLC   10489084.
  2. ↑ Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 822.
  3. 1 2 3 Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. pp. 123–125.
  4. ↑ "Science Fiction Specialty Publishers" in Hall, Hal W. (ed). Science Fiction Collections: Fantasy, Supernatural and Weird Tales. Haworth., 1983, p. 121
  5. ↑ Eshbach, Lloyd Arthur (1983). Over My Shoulder: Reflections on a Science Fiction Era. Philadelphia: Oswald Train. pp. 109–138. OCLC   10489084.
  6. 1 2 Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. pp. 342–343.
  7. ↑ Robert Weinberg, "Specialty Science Fiction Publishers" in Hall, Hal W. (ed) Science Fiction Collections: Fantasy, Supernatural and Weird Tales, Haworth, 1983. p. 122.
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