I continue to use the convention of splitting the Golden Age of science fiction into the Campbelline and the Golden Ages, following Robert Silverberg's convention. Much of what fandom considers the Golden Age occurs in the 1950s and early 1960s and follows the rise of the paperback. Certain tropes such as the "Happy Engineer" do not appear until the 1950s as well.
October 1937 - John W. Campbell succeeds F. Orlin Tremaine as editor for Astounding Stories
1938 - In March, Astounding Stories changes to Astounding Science-Fiction. In May, Campbell is given full authority over Astounding
1939 - In March, Campbell starts Unknown, a fantasy companion to Astounding
In July Campbell publishes A. E. van Vogt's first story, "Black Destroyer", and Asimov's early story "Trends". The Campbelline Age is said to begin with this issue
Lensman, the first upswing in popularity of science fiction. While Astounding follows an increase of realism, competitor Amazing uses isekai for relatability and sees better sales. Amazing outselling Astounding, while Astounding has the higher regard will be a constant occurrence throughout the next decade and more.
1940 - Slan
1941 - Asimov's Robots, Poor sales forces Unknown to switch to a bimonthly publication schedule
7 December, The Day That Would Live In Infamy. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, forcing the United States into World War Two
1942 - Foundation and Weapons Shop. Kuttner and Moore join the stable. Many of the engineers that pushed the technological fiction of the early Campbelline Age join the war effort. "Soft" science fiction, or social science fiction, begins to fill Astounding.
1943 - Paper shortages force Campbell to choose between Astounding and Unknown. Science fiction wins. In the last issues of Unknown, Campbell publishes stories by Babette Rosmond which catch publisher Street & Smith's eye.
The Shaver Mystery begins at Amazing.
1944 - Babette Rosmond is selected to edit Doc Savage. She forces Dent to change his distinct style for a more realistic style that strips Doc of his heroism and science for a conventional mystery format. Dent begins to branch out into mysteries. Sales begin to fall under her editorship.
1945 - Shaver Mystery mania takes over Amazing. Over the next three years, nearly 75% of the magazine is devoted to it. Science fiction fans condemn it, but Amazing's circulation swells to 200,000+ monthly, the highwater mark for all American science fiction magazines. By comparison, Astounding and Weird Tales both sold 50,000 monthly.
1946 - Rosmond begins editing The Shadow, attempting to force the same changes from Doc Savage onto Walter Gibson. Gibson will eventually quit under her editorship. Again, sales fall.
Arthur C. Clarke's first story appears in Astounding. Adventures in Time and Space and The Best of Science Fiction are published, igniting a science-fiction publishing boom.
1947 - At WorldCon, Campbell "begged for the fans' indulgence at the profusion of despair, claiming that he could only publish what the writers were delivering . . . but he was sending out pleas to cease and desist." His editing becomes more heavy-handed.
1948 - Rosmond is replaced as editor of Doc Savage and the Shadow. Both magazines return to their roots. Sales begin to recover.
Street & Smith attempts to revive Unknown, testing the waters with an anthology. "Street & Smith printed 300,000 copies, against the advice of John Campbell, but although it sold better than the original, too many copies were returned for the publisher to be willing to revive the magazine."
Amazing ceases publication of Shaver Mystery stories.
Despite science fiction's popularity, a slow exodus of Campbell's writers to other genres, markets, and media begins. This movement is driven by financial concerns as most writers could not support themselves on science fiction alone, especially Campbell's brand. Leigh Brackett notes, "I kept trying to sell him things because he was the top market, but when you wrote a Campbell-type story and it didn't sell then you had no place else to go with it."
1949 - Street & Smith kills off its pulp magazine, including Doc Savage and The Shadow. Only Astounding survives, as it is the most prestigious science fiction magazine. Fantasy and Science Fiction begins.
1950 - Galaxy Science Fiction begins. F&SF and Galaxy have a more permissive editorialship than Campbell, continuing his ideas while allowing the themes he forbade. Galaxy soon becomes the most prestigious magazine in SF.
Campbell publishes L. Ron Hubbard's first article on Dianetics. This flirtation with Scientology and Campbell's fascination with pseudoscience further diminish his influence in science fiction.
"Amazing outselling Astounding, while Astounding has the higher regard will be a constant occurrence throughout the next decade and more."
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not mistaken, this is also the relationship between Weird Tales and Unknown.
So was there a concentrated effort to chase away a larger audience, or did Campbell and his followers really think they were growing the market?
Why was the content readers wanted not looked at by writers as they way to go?
These questions probably sound silly, but I'm trying to understand the motives at play. It can't only be taste at a certain point to continue in a direction that isn't profiting the majority of customers.
Street & Smith had a bad tendency in the 1940s to publish what readers should like instead of what they did like. I harp on realism and Babette Rosmond for a reason, as she focused on literary fashion instead of sales. Then, on top of it, Campbell tried make Astounding into a beacon on the hill for a sort of faith in technology as the answer to social ills. Not everyone played that game, for reasons that Leigh Brackett described, so Campbell preferred to work with the hobbyist writer instead of the working writer, as they were more amenable to his edits.
DeleteI really want to know what sort of fast talking Campbell did that made Astounding the sole survivor of the 1949 pulp massacre at Street & Smith. It sure wasn't sales.