Donald Wollheim

Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) 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. A founding member of the Futurians, he was a leading influence on science fiction development and fandom in the 20th century United States.

Wollheim as fan The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (first edition, 1979) calls Wollheim "one of the first and most vociferous sf fans." He published numerous fanzines and co-edited the early Fanciful Tales of Space and Time. His importance to early fandom is chronicled in the 1974 book The Immortal Storm by Sam Moskowitz and in the 1977 book The Futurians by Damon Knight.

With Frederik Pohl and John Michel, 1938

Wollheim organized the first science fiction convention. A group from New York met with a group from Philadelphia on October 22, 1936 in Philadelphia. The modern Philconconvention claims descent from this event. Out of this meeting, plans were formed for regional and national meetings, including the first Worldcon. Wollheim was a member of the New York Science Fiction League, one of the clubs established by Hugo Gernsback to promote science fiction. When payment was not forthcoming for the first story he sold to Gernsback, Wollheim formed a group with several other authors, and successfully sued for payment. He was expelled from the Science Fiction League as "a disruptive influence" but was later reinstated. In 1937 Wollheim founded the Fantasy Amateur Press Association, whose first mailing (July 1937) included this statement from Wollheim: "There are many fans desiring to put out a voice who dare not, for fear of being obliged to keep it up, and for the worry and time taken by subscriptions and advertising. It is for them and for the fan who admits it is his hobby and not his business that we formed the FAPA." In 1938, with several friends, he formed the Futurians—arguably the best-known of the science fiction clubs. At one time or another, the membership included Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, Cyril Kornbluth, James Blish, John Michel, Judith Merril, Robert A. W. Lowndes, Richard Wilson, Damon Knight, Virginia Kidd, and Larry T. Shaw. In 1943 Wollheim married fellow Futurian Elsie Balter (1910–1996). It proved to be a lasting marriage and a publishing partnership. The Futurians became less fan-oriented and more professional after 1940. Its conferences and workshops focused on writing, editing, and publishing, with many of its members interested in all three. Wollheim as author

Cover art for paperback edition of The Secret of Saturn's Rings (1966)

Wollheim's first story, "The Man from Ariel", was published in the January 1934 issue of Wonder Stories when he was nineteen.

His author photo: Don Wollheim & daughter Betsy (1954)

He was not paid for the story, and he learned that other authors hadn't been paid either and said so in the Bulletin of the Terrestrial Fantascience Guild. Publisher Hugo Gernsbackeventually settled with Wollheim and the other authors out of court for $75, but when Wollheim submitted another story to Gernsback under the pseudonym Millard Verne Gordon, "The Space Lens" was published in the September 1935 issue but he was again not paid.His third known story was published in Fanciful Tales of Time and Space, Fall 1936, a fanzine that he edited himself. That year he also published and edited another short-lived fanzine, Phantagraph. Wollheim's stories were published regularly from 1940; at the same time he was becoming an important editor. In the 1950s and 60s he wrote chiefly novels. He usually used pseudonyms for works aimed at grownups, and wrote children's novels under his own name. Notable and popular were the eight "Mike Mars" books for children, which explored different facets of the NASA space program. Also well-received were the "Secret" books for young readers: The Secret of Saturn's Rings (1954), Secret of the Martian Moons (1955), and The Secret of the Ninth Planet (1959). As Martin Pearson he published the "Ajax Calkins" series, which became the basis for his novel Destiny's Orbit (1962). A sequel, Destination: Saturn was published in 1967 in collaboration with Lin Carter. One of his most important books, however, was nonfiction; The Universe Makers<span class="Apple-converted-s