Ace Books
Encyclopedia
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction
and fantasy
books. The company was founded in New York City
in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn
, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries
and westerns
. It soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first science fiction (sf) title in 1953; this was a successful innovation, and within a few years, sf titles outnumbered both mysteries and westerns. In the Worlds Without End database, Ace ranks third among publishers by all-time count of major science fiction and fantasy award nominations. Other genres also made an appearance, including nonfiction, gothic
novels, media tie-in
novelizations, and romances
.
Ace became known for the tête-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, bound tête-bêche, until 1973. These have proved attractive to book collectors, and some rare titles in mint condition command prices up to $1,000.
Ace, along with Ballantine Books
, was one of the leading S.F. publishers for its first ten years. With the death of owner A. A. Wyn in 1967, however, the company's fortunes began to decline. Two prominent editors, Donald A. Wollheim
and Terry Carr
, left in 1971, and in 1972 Ace was sold to Grosset & Dunlap
. Despite financial troubles, there were further successes, particularly with the third Ace Science Fiction Specials
series, for which Carr was the editor. Further mergers and acquisitions
resulted in the company becoming a part of Berkley Books
. Ace then became an imprint
of Penguin Group (USA)
; its editorial team is also responsible for the Roc Books
imprint, although the two imprints maintain a separate identity.
Editor
Donald A. Wollheim
was working at Avon Books
in 1952, but disliked his job. While looking for other work, he tried to persuade A. A. Wyn
to begin a new paperback publishing company. Wyn was already a well-established publisher of books and pulp magazine
s under the name A. A. Wyn's Magazine Publishers
. His magazines included Ace Mystery and Ace Sports, 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 at Pyramid 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.
The first book published by Ace was a pair of mysteries bound tête-bêche: Keith Vining
's Too Hot for Hell, backed with Samuel W. Taylor
's The Grinning Gismo, priced at 35 cent
s, with serial number D-01. A tête-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 (sometimes with advertising pages in between). This format is generally regarded as an innovation of Ace's; it was not, but since Ace published hundreds of titles bound this way over the next twenty-one years, it became the best-known publisher using the format. Books by established authors were often bound with those by lesser-known writers, on the premise that this would help new writers gain readers. The main drawback of the "Ace Double" format was that the two books had to fit a fixed page length (usually totalling between 256 and 320 low-height pages); thus one or both novels might be cut or revised to fit. Despite the tag "Complete and Unabridged" on the cover, books so labeled were sometimes still abridged.
Some important titles in the early D-series novels are D-15, which features William S. Burroughs
's first novel, Junkie (written under the pseudonym "William Lee"), and many novels by Philip K. Dick
, Robert Bloch
, Harlan Ellison
, Harry Whittington, and Louis L'Amour
, including those written under his pseudonym "Jim Mayo".
The last Ace Double in the first series was John T. Phillifent's Life with Lancelot, backed with William Barton
's Hunting on Kunderer, issued August 1973 (serial #48245). Although Ace resumed using the "Ace Double" name in 1974, the books were arranged conventionally rather than tête-bêche. In 1988, the last Ace Double was released. All told, Ace published nearly 650 doubles, more than 600 of which were in tête-bêche format.
Ace's second title was a western (also tête-bêche): William Colt MacDonald
's Bad Man's Return, bound with J. Edward Leithead
's Bloody Hoofs. Mysteries and westerns alternated regularly for the first thirty titles, with a few books not in either genre, such as P. G. Wodehouse
's Quick Service
, bound with his The Code of the Woosters
. In 1953, A.E. van Vogt's The World of Null-A
, bound with his The Universe Maker, appeared; this was Ace's first foray into science fiction. (Earlier in 1953, Ace had released Theodore S. Drachman
's Cry Plague!, with a plot that could be regarded as sf, but the book it was bound with—Leslie Edgley
's The Judas Goat—was not sf.) Another sf double followed later in 1953, and sf rapidly established itself, alongside westerns and mysteries, as an important part of Ace's business. By 1955, the company released more sf titles each year than in either of the other two genres, and from 1961 onward, sf titles outnumbered mysteries and westerns combined. Ace also published a number of lurid juvenile 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.
Soon after the van Vogt Double came Dorothy Malone
's Cookbook for Beginners, the first title not in tête-bêche format. Single novels appeared frequently beginning in 1954; initially, they were mostly books outside Ace's three main genres. By the 1960s, however, the core genres were also published as singles. The letter-series system seemed to indicate this change: the F and M series singles were overwhelmingly science fiction, but singles in the original D/G/S series, and the K series singles, were mostly outside the core genres.
By the late 1950s, Ace's output was approaching one hundred titles a year, still heavily dominated by the primary genres. Almost all the books were 35 cents, though some slim single volumes were 25 cents, and a handful were half a dollar. In the early '60s, rising costs finally forced an increase in the price of the books, and more books appeared at 40 cents, 45 cents and higher. A few thick volumes, such as the 1967 paperback of Frank Herbert
's Dune
, were priced at 95 cents. The company now published scores of books in other genres, including many "nurse romances" (beginning in 1960 with Joan Sargent
's Cruise Nurse bound with Calling Dr. Merriman by Margaret Howe). By the end of the decade, Ace produced perhaps 70 more such titles, along with gothic novels, self-improvement books, "strange but true
" books, and many others.
, Ace was the dominant science fiction paperback publisher in the 1950s and '60s. Other publishers followed their lead, catering to the increasing audience for sf, but none matched the influence of either company.
Market dominance was not only reflected in numbers of books published—Ace published the first novels of several noted science fiction authors during this period. They include:
Ace published much early work of other prominent authors, including John Brunner
, Marion Zimmer Bradley
, Jack Vance
, and Robert Silverberg
.
In 1964, science fiction author Terry Carr
joined the company, and in 1968, he initiated the Ace Science Fiction Specials
line, publishing critically acclaimed original novels by such authors as Alexei Panshin
, R. A. Lafferty
, Joanna Russ
and Ursula K. Le Guin
. During the mid-to-late 1960s, Ace also obtained licenses to publish original novels based on several popular television series of the day, most notably some two-dozen The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
volumes and a trilogy based on The Prisoner
.
Carr and Wollheim also co-edited an annual Year's Best Science Fiction anthology
series; and Carr also edited Universe, a well-received original anthology series. Universe was initially published by Ace, although when Carr left in 1971 the series moved elsewhere.
In 1965, Wollheim argued that there was a copyright
loophole in the American edition of The Lord of the Rings
by J. R. R. Tolkien
. The Houghton Mifflin
edition had been bound using pages printed in the United Kingdom
for the George Allen & Unwin
edition, and as a result, U.S. copyright law might not protect the text. Based on this view, Ace Books published the first-ever paperback edition of Tolkien's work, featuring cover art and hand-drawn title pages by Jack Gaughan
. After considerable controversy and the release of a competitive authorized (and revised) edition by Ballantine Books
(the back covers of which included a message from Tolkien urging consumers to buy the Ballantine edition and boycott any "unauthorized" versions — referring directly to the Ace editions), Ace agreed to pay royalties to Tolkien and let its still-popular edition go out of print.
Wyn died in 1967, 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.
Both Wollheim and Carr left Ace in 1971. Wollheim had made plans to launch a separate paperback house, and in cooperation with New American Library
, he proceeded to set up DAW Books
. Carr became a freelance editor; both Carr and Wollheim went on to edit competing Year's Best Science Fiction anthology series.
Inc., which was based out of the Hippodrome Building, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, in New York City.
In 1972, Ace was acquired by Grosset & Dunlap
, and in 1982, Grosset & Dunlap was in turn acquired by G.P. Putnam's Sons. Ace was reputedly the only profitable element of the Grosset & Dunlap empire by this time. Ace soon became the science fiction imprint of their parent company. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Grosset & Dunlap operated an imprint called Ace Charter Books, which published mystery fiction such as reprints of the The Saint
series by Leslie Charteris
.
Carr returned to Ace Books in 1984 as a freelance
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
's Neuromancer
, Kim Stanley Robinson
's The Wild Shore
, Lucius Shepard
's Green Eyes, and Michael Swanwick
's In the Drift. All were first novels by authors now regarded as major figures in the sf genre.
Other prominent sf publishing figures who have worked at Ace include Tom Doherty
, who left to start Tor Books
, and Jim Baen
, who left to work at Tor and who eventually founded Baen Books
. Writers who have worked at Ace include Frederik Pohl
, Ellen Kushner
, and Laura Anne Gilman
.
In 1996, Penguin Group (USA)
acquired the Putnam Berkley Group, and has retained Ace as their sf imprint. Ace's 2006 list includes Julian May
, Patricia McKillip
, and Sharon Shinn
, with books from writers such as Alastair Reynolds
, Charles Stross
, Jack McDevitt
and Joe Haldeman
planned for the remainder of the year.
's early work appeared in Ace editions, and is now difficult to find in good condition. Among the rarest Ace titles are:
The doubles format in itself has proved particularly attractive to collectors, with specialist reference works created for both the mystery and sf books, listing only the doubles. Several of these works are listed at the end of the reference section below. The following articles provide lists of all the Ace titles, organized by genre and by format (i.e., tête-bêche vs. normal format).
The following lists give the individual series titles, for all genres.
The first series of Ace books began in 1952 with D-01, a western in tête-bêche format: Keith Vining
's Too Hot for Hell backed with Samuel W. Taylor
's The Grinning Gismo. That series continued until D-599, Patricia Libby's Winged 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 not tête-bêche, although none of the tête-bêche titles have an S serial number.
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 series after the first kept independent numbering systems, starting at 1 or 101.
In January 1969, Ace switched to a numeric coding system. The code depended on the title of the book: specifically, on the first significant word in the title. For example, Tom Purdom
's The Barons of Behavior was published by Ace in about 1972 as serial number 04760. The first letter of "Barons" is "B", so the code assigned is fairly early in the numeric range 00000 to 99999. This procedure for assigning numeric codes was in use at Ace at least into the early 1990s, and may still be in use today. For Ace Doubles, one of the titles was selected and used to determine what serial number would be used. For example, 11560 is the Ace Double The Communipaths by Suzette Haden Elgin
, backed with Louis Trimble
's The Noblest Experiment in the Galaxy. The serial number here is derived from The Communipaths; a serial number derived from the Trimble would have been about 58000.
For the later numeric series titles, the number is also part of the ISBN. To form the ISBN (if it exists) for one of these books, one prefixes to the serial number "0" (representing the English language/US), and "441" (Ace's publisher number). The last digit can then be calculated with an ISBN check digit calculator. For example, Christopher Stasheff
's Escape Velocity has serial number 21599; the ISBN is 0-441-21599-8.
"/"The Sheep Look Up
"
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
books. The company was founded in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn
A. A. Wyn
Aaron A. Wyn , born Aaron Weinstein, was an American publisher. He edited pulp magazines for Harold Hersey's Magazine Publishers. When Hersey departed the company in the summer of 1929, Wyn, after a brief interlude from Harold S. Goldsmith, took charge of the company. Hersey's swastika logo was...
, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
and westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
. It soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first science fiction (sf) title in 1953; this was a successful innovation, and within a few years, sf titles outnumbered both mysteries and westerns. In the Worlds Without End database, Ace ranks third among publishers by all-time count of major science fiction and fantasy award nominations. Other genres also made an appearance, including nonfiction, gothic
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
novels, media tie-in
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
novelizations, and romances
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
.
Ace became known for the tête-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, bound tête-bêche, until 1973. These have proved attractive to book collectors, and some rare titles in mint condition command prices up to $1,000.
Ace, along with Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
, was one of the leading S.F. publishers for its first ten years. With the death of owner A. A. Wyn in 1967, however, the company's fortunes began to decline. Two prominent editors, Donald A. Wollheim
Donald A. Wollheim
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....
and Terry Carr
Terry Carr
Terry Gene Carr was a U.S. science fiction author, editor, and teacher.Terry Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon...
, left in 1971, and in 1972 Ace was sold to Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap is a United States book publisher founded in 1898.The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of the British publishing conglomerate, Pearson PLC through its American subsidiary Penguin Group....
. Despite financial troubles, there were further successes, particularly with the third Ace Science Fiction Specials
Ace Science Fiction Specials
Ace Science Fiction Specials are three series of science fiction and fantasy books published by Ace Books between 1968 and 1990. Terry Carr edited the first and third series, taking the "TV special" concept and adapting it to paperback marketing...
series, for which Carr was the editor. Further mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or...
resulted in the company becoming a part of Berkley Books
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
. Ace then became an imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of Penguin Group (USA)
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
; its editorial team is also responsible for the Roc Books
Roc Books
Roc Books is a fantasy imprint of Penguin Group, as part of their New American Library. The imprint was launched in April 1990 after Penguin Chairman, Peter Mayer, asked John Silbersack, the editor in chief of New American Library's science fiction program, to launch a new imprint that would draw...
imprint, although the two imprints maintain a separate identity.
Company founding and the Ace Doubles concept
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
Donald A. Wollheim
Donald A. Wollheim
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....
was working at Avon Books
Avon (publishers)
Avon Publications was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. As of 2010, it is an imprint of HarperCollins, publishing primarily romance novels.-History:...
in 1952, but disliked his job. While looking for other work, he tried to persuade A. A. Wyn
A. A. Wyn
Aaron A. Wyn , born Aaron Weinstein, was an American publisher. He edited pulp magazines for Harold Hersey's Magazine Publishers. When Hersey departed the company in the summer of 1929, Wyn, after a brief interlude from Harold S. Goldsmith, took charge of the company. Hersey's swastika logo was...
to begin a new paperback publishing company. Wyn was already a well-established publisher of books and pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
s under the name A. A. Wyn's Magazine Publishers
A. A. Wyn's Magazine Publishers
A. A. Wyn's Magazine Publishers was a publishing house established and owned by A. A. Wyn. It began in the 1930s as a pulp magazine publisher, and included titles such as Ace Mystery and Ace Sports. They also used the name "Periodic House", and also branched out to publishing comic books as Ace...
. His magazines included Ace Mystery and Ace Sports, 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 at Pyramid Books
Pyramid Books
Jove Books, formerly Pyramid Books, is a paperback publishing company, founded in 1949 by Almat Magazine Publishers . The company was sold to the Walter Reade Organization in the late 1960s. It was acquired in 1974 by Harcourt Brace which renamed it to Jove in 1977 and continued the line as an...
. 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.
The first book published by Ace was a pair of mysteries bound tête-bêche: Keith Vining
Keith Vining
Keith Vining was an American writer. His works included* Too Hot for Hell ; bound dos-à-dos with Samuel W. Taylor's The Grinning Gismo.* Keep Running ....
's Too Hot for Hell, backed with Samuel W. Taylor
Samuel W. Taylor
Samuel Woolley Taylor was an American novelist, scriptwriter and historian.- Biography :Taylor was born in Provo, Utah to Janet "Nettie" Maria Woolley and John W. Taylor, the son of John Taylor, the late president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
's The Grinning Gismo, priced at 35 cent
Cent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
s, with serial number D-01. A tête-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 (sometimes with advertising pages in between). This format is generally regarded as an innovation of Ace's; it was not, but since Ace published hundreds of titles bound this way over the next twenty-one years, it became the best-known publisher using the format. Books by established authors were often bound with those by lesser-known writers, on the premise that this would help new writers gain readers. The main drawback of the "Ace Double" format was that the two books had to fit a fixed page length (usually totalling between 256 and 320 low-height pages); thus one or both novels might be cut or revised to fit. Despite the tag "Complete and Unabridged" on the cover, books so labeled were sometimes still abridged.
Some important titles in the early D-series novels are D-15, which features William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
's first novel, Junkie (written under the pseudonym "William Lee"), and many novels by Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
, Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
, Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
, Harry Whittington, and Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour
Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
, including those written under his pseudonym "Jim Mayo".
The last Ace Double in the first series was John T. Phillifent's Life with Lancelot, backed with William Barton
William Barton (writer)
William Renald Barton III is an American science fiction writer. In addition to his standalone novels, he is also known for collaborations with Michael Capobianco...
's Hunting on Kunderer, issued August 1973 (serial #48245). Although Ace resumed using the "Ace Double" name in 1974, the books were arranged conventionally rather than tête-bêche. In 1988, the last Ace Double was released. All told, Ace published nearly 650 doubles, more than 600 of which were in tête-bêche format.
1950s and 1960s: genre specialization
William Colt MacDonald
Allen William Colt MacDonald , who used the name William Colt MacDonald for his writing, was an American writer of westerns born in Detroit, Michigan whose work appeared both in books and on film...
's Bad Man's Return, bound with J. Edward Leithead
J. Edward Leithead
J. Edward Leithead was an American writer. His works included* Bloody Hoofs ; bound dos-à-dos with William Colt MacDonald's Bad Man's Return.* Bronc Buckeroo ....
's Bloody Hoofs. Mysteries and westerns alternated regularly for the first thirty titles, with a few books not in either genre, such as P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
's Quick Service
Quick Service
thumb|1st edition Quick Service is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on October 4, 1940 by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States on November 11, 1940 by Doubleday, Doran, New York....
, bound with his The Code of the Woosters
The Code of the Woosters
The Code of the Woosters is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 7 October 1938, in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States by Doubleday, Doran, New York...
. In 1953, A.E. van Vogt's The World of Null-A
The World of Null-A
The World of Null-A, sometimes written The World of Ā, is a 1948 science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It was originally published as a three-part serial in Astounding Stories...
, bound with his The Universe Maker, appeared; this was Ace's first foray into science fiction. (Earlier in 1953, Ace had released Theodore S. Drachman
Theodore S. Drachman
Theodore Solomon Drachman was a public health official and an author.,Drachman attended the University of Minnesota, where he earned his M.D. in 1938, and then earned an M.S.P.H. at Columbia University in 1941....
's Cry Plague!, with a plot that could be regarded as sf, but the book it was bound with—Leslie Edgley
Leslie Edgley
-Works:*Fear No More, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1946, 202p.**Reprinted by Ace, 1953, bound dos-à-dos with Hal Braham , Never Kill A Cop*The Angry Heart, Garden City, N.Y., Published for the Crime Club by Doubleday, 1947, 190p....
's The Judas Goat—was not sf.) Another sf double followed later in 1953, and sf rapidly established itself, alongside westerns and mysteries, as an important part of Ace's business. By 1955, the company released more sf titles each year than in either of the other two genres, and from 1961 onward, sf titles outnumbered mysteries and westerns combined. Ace also published a number of lurid juvenile 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.
Soon after the van Vogt Double came Dorothy Malone
Dorothy Malone (writer)
Dorothy Malone was an American writer and columnist. Her books include How Mama Could Cook! , Cookbook for Brides , and Cookbook for Beginners . Malone wrote a daily column under the nom de plume "Prudence Penny" for the New York American and later wrote as "Elsie Barton" for Secrets...
's Cookbook for Beginners, the first title not in tête-bêche format. Single novels appeared frequently beginning in 1954; initially, they were mostly books outside Ace's three main genres. By the 1960s, however, the core genres were also published as singles. The letter-series system seemed to indicate this change: the F and M series singles were overwhelmingly science fiction, but singles in the original D/G/S series, and the K series singles, were mostly outside the core genres.
By the late 1950s, Ace's output was approaching one hundred titles a year, still heavily dominated by the primary genres. Almost all the books were 35 cents, though some slim single volumes were 25 cents, and a handful were half a dollar. In the early '60s, rising costs finally forced an increase in the price of the books, and more books appeared at 40 cents, 45 cents and higher. A few thick volumes, such as the 1967 paperback of Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's Dune
Dune (novel)
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel...
, were priced at 95 cents. The company now published scores of books in other genres, including many "nurse romances" (beginning in 1960 with Joan Sargent
Joan Sargent
Joan Sargent is a pen name of romance novelist Sara Jenkins Cunningham. Her published work includes:* The Good Sheperdess * Crime and Miss Olivia * Head in the Clouds...
's Cruise Nurse bound with Calling Dr. Merriman by Margaret Howe). By the end of the decade, Ace produced perhaps 70 more such titles, along with gothic novels, self-improvement books, "strange but true
Strange but true
Strange but true is a phrase often used to refer to a tabloid newspaper column that features unusual stories...
" books, and many others.
Leader in science fiction
With Ballantine BooksBallantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
, Ace was the dominant science fiction paperback publisher in the 1950s and '60s. Other publishers followed their lead, catering to the increasing audience for sf, but none matched the influence of either company.
Market dominance was not only reflected in numbers of books published—Ace published the first novels of several noted science fiction authors during this period. They include:
- Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
's Solar LotterySolar LotterySolar Lottery is a 1955 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was his first published novel and contains many of the themes present in his later work. It was also published in altered form in the UK as World of Chance....
(1955, D-103, bound with Leigh BrackettLeigh BrackettLeigh Douglass Brackett was an American author, particularly of science fiction. She was also a screenwriter, known for her work on famous films such as The Big Sleep , Rio Bravo , The Long Goodbye and The Empire Strikes Back .-Life:Leigh Brackett was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California...
's The Big Jump); - Gordon R. DicksonGordon R. DicksonGordon Rupert Dickson was an American science fiction author.- Biography :Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1923. After the death of his father, he moved with his mother to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1937...
's Alien from Arcturus (1956, D-139, bound with Nick Boddie WilliamsNick Boddie WilliamsNick Boddie Williams , known as Nick B. Williams, was the editor of the Los Angeles Times from 1958 to 1971. He also was briefly a science-fiction writer....
' The Atom Curtain); - Samuel R. DelanySamuel R. DelanySamuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
's The Jewels of Aptor (1962, F-173, bound with James WhiteJames White (author)James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending his early years in Canada. After a few years in the clothing industry, he worked at Short Brothers Ltd. from 1965 until taking early retirement in...
's Second Ending); - Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
's Rocannon's WorldRocannon's WorldRocannon's World is Ursula K. Le Guin's first novel. It was published in 1966 as an Ace Double, along with Avram Davidson's The Kar-Chee Reign, following the tête-bêche format. Though it is one of Le Guin's many works set in the universe of the technological Hainish Cycle, the story itself has many...
(1966, G-574, bound with Avram DavidsonAvram DavidsonAvram Davidson was an American writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche...
's The Kar-Chee Reign); - Roger ZelaznyRoger ZelaznyRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
's This Immortal (1966, F-393); - R. A. LaffertyR. A. LaffertyRaphael Aloysius Lafferty was an American science fiction and fantasy writer known for his original use of language, metaphor, and narrative structure, as well as for his etymological wit...
's Past MasterPast Master (novel)Past Master is a novel by science fiction writer R. A. Lafferty. It was first published in 1968, and was nominated for the 1968 Nebula award and the 1969 Hugo award...
(1968, H-54).
Ace published much early work of other prominent authors, including John Brunner
John Brunner (novelist)
John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
, Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series. Many critics have noted a feminist perspective in her writing. Her first child, David R...
, Jack Vance
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
, and Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
.
Mid-1960s
Terry Carr
Terry Gene Carr was a U.S. science fiction author, editor, and teacher.Terry Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon...
joined the company, and in 1968, he initiated the Ace Science Fiction Specials
Ace Science Fiction Specials
Ace Science Fiction Specials are three series of science fiction and fantasy books published by Ace Books between 1968 and 1990. Terry Carr edited the first and third series, taking the "TV special" concept and adapting it to paperback marketing...
line, publishing critically acclaimed original novels by such authors as Alexei Panshin
Alexei Panshin
Alexis Adams Panshin is an American author and science fiction critic. He has written several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award-winning novel Rite of Passage and the 1990 Hugo Award winning study of science fiction The World Beyond the Hill .-Other works:Panshin...
, R. A. Lafferty
R. A. Lafferty
Raphael Aloysius Lafferty was an American science fiction and fantasy writer known for his original use of language, metaphor, and narrative structure, as well as for his etymological wit...
, Joanna Russ
Joanna Russ
Joanna Russ was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as How to Suppress Women's Writing, as well as a contemporary novel, On Strike Against God, and one children's book, Kittatinny...
and Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
. During the mid-to-late 1960s, Ace also obtained licenses to publish original novels based on several popular television series of the day, most notably some two-dozen The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
volumes and a trilogy based on The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
.
Carr and Wollheim also co-edited an annual Year's Best Science Fiction anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
series; and Carr also edited Universe, a well-received original anthology series. Universe was initially published by Ace, although when Carr left in 1971 the series moved elsewhere.
In 1965, Wollheim argued that there was a copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
loophole in the American edition of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
by J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
. The Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
edition had been bound using pages printed in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for the George Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
edition, and as a result, U.S. copyright law might not protect the text. Based on this view, Ace Books published the first-ever paperback edition of Tolkien's work, featuring cover art and hand-drawn title pages by Jack Gaughan
Jack Gaughan
Jack Gaughan was an American science fiction artist and illustrator who won the Hugo Award several times. Working primarily with Donald A...
. After considerable controversy and the release of a competitive authorized (and revised) edition by Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
(the back covers of which included a message from Tolkien urging consumers to buy the Ballantine edition and boycott any "unauthorized" versions — referring directly to the Ace editions), Ace agreed to pay royalties to Tolkien and let its still-popular edition go out of print.
Wyn died in 1967, 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.
Both Wollheim and Carr left Ace in 1971. Wollheim had made plans to launch a separate paperback house, and in cooperation with New American Library
New American Library
New American Library is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948; it produced affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works, as well as popular, pulp, and "hard-boiled" fiction. Non-fiction, original, and hardcopy issues were also produced.Victor Weybright and Kurt...
, he proceeded to set up DAW Books
DAW Books
DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company therefore claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy." The first DAW Book published was...
. Carr became a freelance editor; both Carr and Wollheim went on to edit competing Year's Best Science Fiction anthology series.
Ace as a subsidiary
By the early 1970s Ace Books was a major Division of the old publishing company, Charter CompanyCharter Company
The Charter Company of Jacksonville, Florida was a conglomerate with more than 180 subsidiaries that was in the Fortune 500 for 11 years beginning in 1974 and ranked 61st in 1984 before it sought bankruptcy protection in late 1984 and spiraled into obscurity....
Inc., which was based out of the Hippodrome Building, 1120 Avenue of the Americas, in New York City.
In 1972, Ace was acquired by Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap is a United States book publisher founded in 1898.The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of the British publishing conglomerate, Pearson PLC through its American subsidiary Penguin Group....
, and in 1982, Grosset & Dunlap was in turn acquired by G.P. Putnam's Sons. Ace was reputedly the only profitable element of the Grosset & Dunlap empire by this time. Ace soon became the science fiction imprint of their parent company. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Grosset & Dunlap operated an imprint called Ace Charter Books, which published mystery fiction such as reprints of the The Saint
Simon Templar
Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...
series by Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris , born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint."-Early life:Charteris was born to a Chinese father...
.
Carr returned to Ace Books in 1984 as a freelance
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
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
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
's Neuromancer
Neuromancer
Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
, Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
's The Wild Shore
Three Californias Trilogy
The Three Californias Trilogy consists of three books by Kim Stanley Robinson, that depict three different possible futures of Orange County, California. The three books that make up the trilogy are The Wild Shore, The Gold Coast and Pacific Edge...
, Lucius Shepard
Lucius Shepard
Lucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...
's Green Eyes, and Michael Swanwick
Michael Swanwick
Michael Swanwick is an American science fiction author. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he began publishing in the early 1980s.-Biography:...
's In the Drift. All were first novels by authors now regarded as major figures in the sf genre.
Other prominent sf publishing figures who have worked at Ace include Tom Doherty
Tom Doherty
Tom Doherty is an American publisher, and the founder of Tor Books. After working as a book salesman in the 1950s and 1960s, Doherty became publisher of Tempo Books in 1972; in 1975, he became, in addition, publisher of another company also owned by Grosset & Dunlap, the science fiction imprint...
, who left to start Tor Books
Tor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
, and Jim Baen
Jim Baen
James Patrick "Jim" Baen was a noted U.S. science fiction publisher and editor. In 1983 he founded his own publishing house, Baen Books, specializing in the adventure, fantasy, military science fiction and space opera genres...
, who left to work at Tor and who eventually founded Baen Books
Baen Books
Baen Books is an American publishing company established in 1983 by long time science fiction publisher and editor Jim Baen. It is a science fiction and fantasy publishing house that emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, military science fiction, and fantasy...
. Writers who have worked at Ace include Frederik Pohl
Frederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
, Ellen Kushner
Ellen Kushner
Ellen Kushner is an American writer of fantasy novels, who for many years was the host of the radio program Sound & Spirit, produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International.- Background and personal life :...
, and Laura Anne Gilman
Laura Anne Gilman
Laura Anne Gilman is an American fantasy author.-Biography:Laura Anne Gilman was born in 1967 in suburban New Jersey. She received a Liberal Arts education from the Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and was inducted into the Phi Alpha Theta honors society...
.
In 1996, Penguin Group (USA)
Penguin Group
The Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
acquired the Putnam Berkley Group, and has retained Ace as their sf imprint. Ace's 2006 list includes Julian May
Julian May
Julian May is an American science fiction, fantasy, horror, science and children's writer who also uses several literary pseudonyms, best known for her Saga of Pliocene Exile and Galactic Milieu Series books.- Background and early career :Julian May grew up in Elmwood Park, Illinois, a suburb of...
, Patricia McKillip
Patricia A. McKillip
Patricia Anne McKillip is an American author of fantasy and science fiction novels. Her novels have been winners of the World Fantasy Award, Locus Award and Mythopoeic Award. In 2008, she was a recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement...
, and Sharon Shinn
Sharon Shinn
Sharon Shinn is an American novelist who writes combining aspects of fantasy, science fiction and romance. She has published more than a dozen novels for adult and young adult readers. She works as a journalist in St. Louis, Missouri and is a graduate of Northwestern University.Sharon is a...
, with books from writers such as Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Preston Reynolds is a British science fiction author. He specialises in dark hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle, where he read physics and astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD from St Andrews, Scotland...
, Charles Stross
Charles Stross
Charles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. He was born in Leeds.Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera...
, Jack McDevitt
Jack McDevitt
Jack McDevitt is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology....
and Joe Haldeman
Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...
planned for the remainder of the year.
Editorial staff
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.- A. A. WynA. A. WynAaron A. Wyn , born Aaron Weinstein, was an American publisher. He edited pulp magazines for Harold Hersey's Magazine Publishers. When Hersey departed the company in the summer of 1929, Wyn, after a brief interlude from Harold S. Goldsmith, took charge of the company. Hersey's swastika logo was...
, owner (1952–1967); - Donald A. WollheimDonald A. WollheimDonald 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....
, editor (1952–1971) - Terry CarrTerry CarrTerry Gene Carr was a U.S. science fiction author, editor, and teacher.Terry Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon...
, editor (1964–1971); freelance editor (1983–1987) - Pat LoBruttoPat LoBruttoPatrick LoBrutto is an editor, author, anthologist and a past recipient of the World Fantasy Award for editing in 1986. He has worked for Ace Books, Bantam Books, Doubleday, M. Evans, Stealth Press and Kensington among other publishing houses...
, mail room (1969–1972); science fiction editor (1974–1977) - Frederik PohlFrederik PohlFrederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
, executive editor (December 1971 – July 1972) - Tom DohertyTom DohertyTom Doherty is an American publisher, and the founder of Tor Books. After working as a book salesman in the 1950s and 1960s, Doherty became publisher of Tempo Books in 1972; in 1975, he became, in addition, publisher of another company also owned by Grosset & Dunlap, the science fiction imprint...
, publisher (1975–1980) - Jim BaenJim BaenJames Patrick "Jim" Baen was a noted U.S. science fiction publisher and editor. In 1983 he founded his own publishing house, Baen Books, specializing in the adventure, fantasy, military science fiction and space opera genres...
, complaints department (c. 1973–1974); gothics editor (c. 1974); sf editor (c. 1977–1980) - Ellen KushnerEllen KushnerEllen Kushner is an American writer of fantasy novels, who for many years was the host of the radio program Sound & Spirit, produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International.- Background and personal life :...
- Terri WindlingTerri WindlingTerri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. Windling has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award...
, editor (1979–1987) - Harriet McDougalHarriet McDougalHarriet McDougal is the widow of Robert Jordan and the editor of The Wheel of Time series. Since Jordan's death, McDougal has selected Brandon Sanderson to continue writing the series based on Jordan's notes....
, editorial director - Susan AllisonSusan AllisonSusan Allison is an editor-in-chief and vice president at the Ace Books imprint, which is part of the Penguin Group publishing company. She became editor-in-chief in 1982, and was made a vice-president in 1985.-References:...
, editor (1980–1982); editor-in-chief (1982–2006); vice president (1985 – current (February 2007)) - Beth MeachamBeth MeachamBeth Meacham is an American writer and editor, best known as a longtime top editor with Tor Books.-Life, education and family:Meacham was born November 14, 1951 in Newark, Licking County, Ohio. She studied Communications in Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where she met her husband, Tappan...
, editorial assistant (1981–1982); editor (1982–1983) - Ginjer BuchananGinjer BuchananGinjer Buchanan is a science fiction editor and writer. Her published work includes three short stories in the anthologies Alternate Kennedys, Whatdunnits II, and By Any Other Fame; and also the novel White Silence , a Highlander tie-in...
, editor (1984–1987); senior editor (1987–1994); executive editor, sf and fantasy (1994 – January 1996); senior executive editor and marketing director (January 1996 – 2006); editor-in-chief (2006–current (February 2007)). - Peter HeckPeter HeckPeter Jewell Heck is an American science fiction and mystery author. His books include the "Mark Twain Mysteries"—historical whodunits featuring the famous author as a detective—and four books in the "Phule's Company" series, in collaboration with Robert Asprin, best described as...
(c. 1991 – 1992) - Laura Anne GilmanLaura Anne GilmanLaura Anne Gilman is an American fantasy author.-Biography:Laura Anne Gilman was born in 1967 in suburban New Jersey. She received a Liberal Arts education from the Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and was inducted into the Phi Alpha Theta honors society...
(c. 1991) - Lou StathisLou StathisLou Stathis was an American author, critic and editor, mainly in the areas of fantasy and science fiction. During the last three years of his life he was an editor for DC Comics' Vertigo line, including Preacher, Doom Patrol, Industrial Gothic, The System and Dhampire.Stathis was a columnist and...
, editor (? – c. 1994) - Anne Sowards, editorial assistant/associate editor (1996–2003); editor (2003 – February 2007), senior editor (February 2007 – present)
Ace Books titles
Ace titles are frequently collected, both for their covers and for their affiliation with individual genres. Many individual titles are now highly sought after. Much of Philip K. DickPhilip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
's early work appeared in Ace editions, and is now difficult to find in good condition. Among the rarest Ace titles are:
- William Burroughs (as William Lee) JunkieJunkie (novel)Junkie is a 1953 semi-autobiographical novel by William S. Burroughs. It was his first published novel and has come to be considered a seminal text on the lifestyle of heroin addicts in the early 1950s. Burroughs' working title was Junk.-Inspiration:The novel was considered unpublishable more than...
(1955, D-015, bound with Maurice Helbrand's Narcotic Agent) - Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
The Deadly Streets (1958, D-312)
The doubles format in itself has proved particularly attractive to collectors, with specialist reference works created for both the mystery and sf books, listing only the doubles. Several of these works are listed at the end of the reference section below. The following articles provide lists of all the Ace titles, organized by genre and by format (i.e., tête-bêche vs. normal format).
- Science fiction: SF Doubles, SF Letter-Series Singles, SF Numeric-Series Singles; (SF)
- Mysteries: Mystery Doubles, Mystery Letter-Series Singles, Mystery Numeric-Series Singles; (MY)
- Westerns: Western Doubles, Western Letter-Series Singles, Western Numeric-Series Singles; (WE)
- Other genres: Doubles, Letter-Series Singles, Numeric-Series Singles; (NA)
- Combined-genre lists: all Ace Doubles volumes; all Ace Singles volumes.
The following lists give the individual series titles, for all genres.
- D/G/S-series—599 volumes;
- G-series—about 266 volumes;
- F-series—about 330 volumes;
- M-series—about 66 volumes;
- H-series—about 108 volumes;
- K-series—about 207 volumes;
- A-series—probably 30 volumes;
- N-series—6 volumes;
- Numbered series—over 1,000 volumes listed; many more are not included.
Serial numbers
Ace titles have 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 series with their date ranges and prices.- D-series—35¢, 1952 to 1965.
- S-series—25¢, 1954 to 1958.
- T-series—40¢. This series is listed in Tuck's Encyclopedia, but he gives no examples in his index and there are none cited in other bibliographic sources. This series may therefore not exist.
- F-series—40¢, 1960 to 1967.
- M-series—45¢, 1964 to 1966.
- G-series—50¢, 1958 to 1960 (D/S/G series); 1964 to 1968 (later series).
- K-series—50¢, 1959 to 1968.
- H-series—60¢, 1965 or 1966 to 1968.
- A-series—75¢, 1965 to 1968.
- N-series—95¢, 1965 to 1968.
The first series of Ace books began in 1952 with D-01, a western in tête-bêche format: Keith Vining
Keith Vining
Keith Vining was an American writer. His works included* Too Hot for Hell ; bound dos-à-dos with Samuel W. Taylor's The Grinning Gismo.* Keep Running ....
's Too Hot for Hell backed with Samuel W. Taylor
Samuel W. Taylor
Samuel Woolley Taylor was an American novelist, scriptwriter and historian.- Biography :Taylor was born in Provo, Utah to Janet "Nettie" Maria Woolley and John W. Taylor, the son of John Taylor, the late president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
's The Grinning Gismo. That series continued until D-599, Patricia Libby's Winged 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 not tête-bêche, although none of the tête-bêche titles have an S serial number.
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 series after the first kept independent numbering systems, starting at 1 or 101.
In January 1969, Ace switched to a numeric coding system. The code depended on the title of the book: specifically, on the first significant word in the title. For example, Tom Purdom
Tom Purdom
Thomas Edward Purdom is a US writer best known for science fiction and nonfiction. His story Fossil Game was a nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2000. He has also done music criticism since 1988. His works have been translated into German, Chinese, Burmese, Russian, and Czech...
's The Barons of Behavior was published by Ace in about 1972 as serial number 04760. The first letter of "Barons" is "B", so the code assigned is fairly early in the numeric range 00000 to 99999. This procedure for assigning numeric codes was in use at Ace at least into the early 1990s, and may still be in use today. For Ace Doubles, one of the titles was selected and used to determine what serial number would be used. For example, 11560 is the Ace Double The Communipaths by Suzette Haden Elgin
Suzette Haden Elgin
Suzette Haden Elgin is an American science fiction author. She founded the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and is considered an important figure in the field of science fiction constructed languages...
, backed with Louis Trimble
Louis Trimble
Louis Preston Trimble was an American writer and academic. His published work included science fiction, westerns, and mysteries, as well as academic non-fiction...
's The Noblest Experiment in the Galaxy. The serial number here is derived from The Communipaths; a serial number derived from the Trimble would have been about 58000.
For the later numeric series titles, the number is also part of the ISBN. To form the ISBN (if it exists) for one of these books, one prefixes to the serial number "0" (representing the English language/US), and "441" (Ace's publisher number). The last digit can then be calculated with an ISBN check digit calculator. For example, Christopher Stasheff
Christopher Stasheff
Christopher Stasheff is an American science fiction author and fantasy author whose novels include The Warlock in Spite of Himself and Her Majesty's Wizard . He has a PhD. in Theatre and also teaches radio and television at Eastern New Mexico University in New Mexico...
's Escape Velocity has serial number 21599; the ISBN is 0-441-21599-8.
Ace doubles in popular culture
The double format inspired contests for ironic or satirical combinations of titles that might appear, as in "No Blade of GrassThe Death Of Grass
The Death of Grass is a 1956 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel written by the English author Samuel Youd under the nom de plume John Christopher...
"/"The Sheep Look Up
The Sheep Look Up
The Sheep Look Up is a science fiction novel by British author John Brunner, first published in 1972. The novel's setting is decidedly dystopian; the book deals with the deterioration of the environment in the United States...
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External links
- Ace Image Library. Contains images of most covers for the doubles in all genres, as well as many of the single titles.
- Bookscans. Contains numerous images of the Ace covers.
- History on the Penguin GroupPenguin GroupThe Penguin Group is a trade book publisher, the largest in the world , having overtaken Random House in 2009. The Penguin Group is the name of the incorporated division of parent Pearson PLC that oversees these publishing operations...
website