H. Warner Munn
Encyclopedia
Harold Warner Munn was an American writer of fantasy
, horror
and poetry
. He was an early friend and associate of authors H. P. Lovecraft
and Seabury Quinn
. He has been described by fellow author and Seattle resident Jessica Amanda Salmonson
, who interviewed him during 1978, as "the ultimate gentleman" and "a gentle, calm, warm, and good friend." He was known for his intricate plotting and the careful research that did for his stories, a habit he traced back to two mistakes made when he wrote his early story "The City of Spiders."
In addition to writing, Munn collected books and classic pulp magazines, including Air Wonder Stories, Amazing Stories
, Astounding and other science fiction titles, along with Argosy
, Argosy All Story, Cavalier, Weird Tales
to the end of the Wright publication series, and others. Also in his library were self-manufactured books consisting of serialized stories extracted from magazines, notably works by George Allan England
such as Darkness and Dawn. About three fourths of his collection was ruined by exposure to weather during a relocation and had to destroyed.
During his last years Munn lived in Tacoma, Washington
in a house he had built himself. He did his writing either in his living room or in the attic room that constituted his library. During this time he was working on an additional volume of the Merlin series to be called The Sword of Merlin, which he did not live to finish.
during the 1920s and 1930s, with the editorship of Farnsworth Wright
. A resurgence of interest in his work occurred during the 1970s due to its appearance in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
and the successor fantasy series published with the imprint of Del Rey Books
.
The two series of works for which he is known best, his Merlin saga and the Tales of the Werewolf Clan, were both started during the Weird Tales period. King of the World’s Edge, the first Merlin novel, was written as early as 1925. On publication it was compared favorably to the stories of Robert E. Howard
, of whose fiction he confessed to being a great admirer. The first werewolf stories were written at the encouragement of H. P. Lovecraft. Both series were ended by the change of editors of the magazine from Farnsworth Wright to Dorothy McIlwraith; McIlwraith used different writers, eliminating the market for Munn’s work.
contracted to publish King of the World's Edge in book form and also accepted the sequel.
The publication of his last great work of fantasy, Merlin's Ring, was also the result of a publisher seeking him. Reprising Wollheim’s role, Lin Carter
, editor of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
, learned of it while enquiring about the availability of the first two Merlin books. In the event, it was issued by Ballantine Books
soon after the end of Carter’s connection with the publisher, in the interregnum between the Adult Fantasy series and Ballantine’s new Del Rey Books
fantasy series. Del Rey later completed Carter’s original intention by reissuing both of the first two books in a single volume with the title of Merlin's Godson.
Similarly, Robert E. Weinberg
was responsible for the revival and completion of the Werewolf Clan stories when he expressed an interest in reprinting them in his periodical Lost Fantasies. Munn had originally written eight werewolf stories for Weird Tales before its change of editorship; he now wrote two more to fill gaps in the sequence, and the entire series appeared in three parts in Lost Fantasies, nos. 4-6, 1976–77, as "Ten Tales of the Werewolf Clan." Afterward Munn wrote and self-published three additional stories to finish the series. The complete series was issued by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. as Tales of the Werewolf Clan, Volumes 1-2 (1979–80).
Some of Munn’s late horror stories were published in anthology series like Best Horror Stories of the year and Daw Books’
The Year's Best Horror Stories
.
and World Fantasy Award
for Best Novel. Munn himself was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement during 1977, 1979, and 1980, and the Balrog Award for Professional Achievement during 1981. His poetry collection The Book of Munn was nominated for the 1980 Balrog Award for the categories of Collection/Anthology and Professional Publication, and his last novel, The Lost Legion, was also nominated for the 1981 Balrog Award for Novel. In every instance, however, Munn and his works failed to attain the award. He was, however, guest of honor of the 1978 World Fantasy Convention, and did win the Balrog Award for Poet during both 1980 and 1981.
The first two novels were also issued together as Merlin's Godson (1976). A projected final volume of the series to be named The Sword of Merlin was never finished.
"The Werewolf of Ponkert" and "The Werewolf's Daughter" were issued together as:
All the tales were collected (and most of them retitled) in the volumes:
(contains "The Cat-Organ," "Hau! Hau! Huguenots," "The Wreck of the Santa Ysabel," "The Bug-Wolves of Castle Manglana," "In The Tomb of the Bishop," "The Leather Cannon," "Achsah Young—of Windsor")
(contains "The Master Meets A Worthy Foe," "The Diary," "In the Hulks," "In Regard to the Opening of Doors," "The Transients," "The Master Goes Home")
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...
, horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
and poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. He was an early friend and associate of authors H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
and Seabury Quinn
Seabury Quinn
Seabury Grandin Quinn was an American pulp magazine author, most famous for his stories of the occult detective Jules de Grandin, published in Weird Tales.-Biography:...
. He has been described by fellow author and Seattle resident Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Jessica Amanda Salmonson, born January 6, 1950, is an author, editor and writer of fantasy and horror fiction.-Author:Salmonson is the author of the Tomoe Gozen trilogy, a fantasy version of the tale of the historical female samurai Tomoe Gozen...
, who interviewed him during 1978, as "the ultimate gentleman" and "a gentle, calm, warm, and good friend." He was known for his intricate plotting and the careful research that did for his stories, a habit he traced back to two mistakes made when he wrote his early story "The City of Spiders."
In addition to writing, Munn collected books and classic pulp magazines, including Air Wonder Stories, Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, Astounding and other science fiction titles, along with Argosy
Argosy (magazine)
Argosy was an American pulp magazine, published by Frank Munsey. It is generally considered to be the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a general information periodical entitled The Golden Argosy, targeted at the boys adventure market.-Launch of Argosy:In late September 1882,...
, Argosy All Story, Cavalier, Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
to the end of the Wright publication series, and others. Also in his library were self-manufactured books consisting of serialized stories extracted from magazines, notably works by George Allan England
George Allan England
George Allan England was an American writer and explorer, best known for his speculative and science fiction. He attended Harvard University and later in life unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Maine. England was a socialist and many of his works have socialist themes.-Life:England was born in...
such as Darkness and Dawn. About three fourths of his collection was ruined by exposure to weather during a relocation and had to destroyed.
During his last years Munn lived in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
in a house he had built himself. He did his writing either in his living room or in the attic room that constituted his library. During this time he was working on an additional volume of the Merlin series to be called The Sword of Merlin, which he did not live to finish.
Early career
Munn was a major early contributor to the pulp magazine Weird TalesWeird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
during the 1920s and 1930s, with the editorship of Farnsworth Wright
Farnsworth Wright
Farnsworth Wright was the editor of the pulp magazine Weird Tales during the magazine's heyday.He was born in California, and educated in the University of Nevada and the University of Washington....
. A resurgence of interest in his work occurred during the 1970s due to its appearance in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 , the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature, which were out of print or dispersed in back issues of pulp magazines , in cheap paperback form—including works...
and the successor fantasy series published with the imprint of Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
.
The two series of works for which he is known best, his Merlin saga and the Tales of the Werewolf Clan, were both started during the Weird Tales period. King of the World’s Edge, the first Merlin novel, was written as early as 1925. On publication it was compared favorably to the stories of Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
, of whose fiction he confessed to being a great admirer. The first werewolf stories were written at the encouragement of H. P. Lovecraft. Both series were ended by the change of editors of the magazine from Farnsworth Wright to Dorothy McIlwraith; McIlwraith used different writers, eliminating the market for Munn’s work.
Later career
After Weird Tales ceased publishing his work, Munn generally did not seek new outlets, and his post-Weird Tales output was minor, most of it either self-published in small press editions or issued haphazardly by publishers who sought him. While he had already completed The Ship from Atlantis, the second installment of the Merlin Saga, it was published only years later, when Donald A. WollheimDonald 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....
contracted to publish King of the World's Edge in book form and also accepted the sequel.
Lin Carter
Linwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
, editor of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
Ballantine Adult Fantasy series
The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 , the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature, which were out of print or dispersed in back issues of pulp magazines , in cheap paperback form—including works...
, learned of it while enquiring about the availability of the first two Merlin books. In the event, it was issued 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...
soon after the end of Carter’s connection with the publisher, in the interregnum between the Adult Fantasy series and Ballantine’s new Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
fantasy series. Del Rey later completed Carter’s original intention by reissuing both of the first two books in a single volume with the title of Merlin's Godson.
Similarly, Robert E. Weinberg
Robert Weinberg (author)
Robert Weinberg is an American author. His work spans several genres including non-fiction, science fiction, horror, and comic books.-Biography:...
was responsible for the revival and completion of the Werewolf Clan stories when he expressed an interest in reprinting them in his periodical Lost Fantasies. Munn had originally written eight werewolf stories for Weird Tales before its change of editorship; he now wrote two more to fill gaps in the sequence, and the entire series appeared in three parts in Lost Fantasies, nos. 4-6, 1976–77, as "Ten Tales of the Werewolf Clan." Afterward Munn wrote and self-published three additional stories to finish the series. The complete series was issued by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. as Tales of the Werewolf Clan, Volumes 1-2 (1979–80).
Some of Munn’s late horror stories were published in anthology series like Best Horror Stories of the year and 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...
The Year's Best Horror Stories
The Year's Best Horror Stories
The Year’s Best Horror Stories was a series of annual anthologies published by DAW Books from 1971 to 1994 under the successive editorships of Richard Davis from 1971 to 1973, and, after a two year hiatus, Gerald W. Page from 1976 to 1979, and Karl Edward Wagner from 1980 to 1994. The series was...
.
Recognition
Merlin’s Ring brought Munn some long-delayed but limited recognition, being nominated for the 1975 Mythopoeic Fantasy AwardMythopoeic Awards
The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given by the Mythopoeic Society to authors of outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas; the full criteria and description can be read on the Mythopoeic Society's -Mythopoeic Fantasy...
and World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
for Best Novel. Munn himself was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement during 1977, 1979, and 1980, and the Balrog Award for Professional Achievement during 1981. His poetry collection The Book of Munn was nominated for the 1980 Balrog Award for the categories of Collection/Anthology and Professional Publication, and his last novel, The Lost Legion, was also nominated for the 1981 Balrog Award for Novel. In every instance, however, Munn and his works failed to attain the award. He was, however, guest of honor of the 1978 World Fantasy Convention, and did win the Balrog Award for Poet during both 1980 and 1981.
Merlin's Godson
- King of the World's Edge (1939, 1966)
- The Ship from Atlantis (1967)
- Merlin's RingMerlin's RingMerlin's Ring is a fantasy novel by H. Warner Munn, the third in a series of three based on Arthurian legend. Originally intended for publication by Ballantine Books as a volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, it actually saw print only after the series was discontinued. It was...
(1974)
The first two novels were also issued together as Merlin's Godson (1976). A projected final volume of the series to be named The Sword of Merlin was never finished.
Tales of the Werewolf Clan
Listing as originally published (incomplete; the titles of two early tales and two late ones have not yet been identified - see discussion page).- "The Werewolf of Ponkert" (1925)
- "The Return of the Master" (1927)
- "The Werewolf's Daughter" (1928)
- "The Master Strikes" (1930)
- "The Master Fights" (1930)
- "The Master Has a Narrow Escape" (1931)
- In the Hulks: A Lost Tale of the Werewolf Clan (1979 - chap.)
- The Transient: A Lost Tale of the Werewolf Clan (1979 - chap.)
- In Regard to the Opening of Doors: A Lost Tale of the Werewolf Clan (1979 - chap.)
"The Werewolf of Ponkert" and "The Werewolf's Daughter" were issued together as:
- The Werewolf of PonkertThe Werewolf of PonkertThe Werewolf of Ponkert is a collection of two horror short stories by H. Warner Munn. It was published in book form with its sequel in 1958 by The Grandon Company in an edition of 500 copies...
(1958)
All the tales were collected (and most of them retitled) in the volumes:
- Tales of the Werewolf Clan, Volume 1, In the Tomb of the Bishop (1979)
(contains "The Cat-Organ," "Hau! Hau! Huguenots," "The Wreck of the Santa Ysabel," "The Bug-Wolves of Castle Manglana," "In The Tomb of the Bishop," "The Leather Cannon," "Achsah Young—of Windsor")
- Tales of the Werewolf Clan, Volume 2, The Master Goes Home (1980)
(contains "The Master Meets A Worthy Foe," "The Diary," "In the Hulks," "In Regard to the Opening of Doors," "The Transients," "The Master Goes Home")
Short stories
- "The City of Spiders" (1926)
- "The Chain" (1928)
- "A Sprig of Rosemary" (1933)
- "The Wheel" (1933)
- "Dreams May Come" (1939)
- Christmas Comes to the Little House (1974 - chap.)
- "The Black Captain" (1975)
- The Affair of the Cuckolded Warlock (1975 - chap.)
- "The Merlin Stone" (1977)
- "The Well" (1977)
- "The Stairway to the Sea" (1978)
- What Dreams May Come (1978 - chap.)
- "The De Pertriche Ring" (1979)
- The Baby Dryad: A Fanciful Christmas Tale (1980 - chap.)
- "The Wanderers of the Waters" (1981)
Poetry Collections
- The Banner of JoanThe Banner of JoanThe Banner of Joan is an epic poem by H. Warner Munn. It was first published in 1975 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. in an edition of 975 copies in honor of Munn's appearance as Guest of Honor at the first World Fantasy Convention. The poem concerns Joan of Arc and may be seen as an epilogue...
(1975) (epic poem) - Twenty Five Poems (1975)
- Seasons Greetings with Spooky Stuff (1976 - chap.)
- To All Amis (1976 - chap.)
- There was a Man (1977)
- The Pioneers (Part One) (1977)
- Dawn Woman (1979 - chap.)
- Fairy Gold (1979 - chap.)
- On Life and Love and Loneliness (1979 - chap.)
- The Book of Munn: or "a recipe for roast camel" (1979)
Poems
- "Cradle Song for an Abandoned Werewolf" (1973)
- "Fairy Gold" (1976)
- "Dante Returns from the City" (1976)
- "Limbo" (1976)