Last week, we saw how Black Mask started and how the first editor, Florence May Osborne, left after two years with the magazine. This week we’ll take a look at one of the issues she edited (August 1922) and see what the quality of the magazine was. The issue we’re reviewing is one issue before… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 2: The August 1922 issue
Tag: Secrets
Secrets of the Mask, part 1- In the beginning
A recent rummage through some boxes turned up two copies of Black Mask, and I started reading them. One was from the thirties, another from the forties. I thought it might be interesting to review a few issues to see the difference in editors as the magazine changed. As I did that, I found some… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 1- In the beginning
The Story is the Thing: A. H. Bittner
Archie Bittner (1897-1966) worked as editor under Doubleday’s Harry E. Maule on Short Stories and Frontier before going on to edit Munsey’s Argosy in the early 1930s. Then, he put his theories int practice as a writer, writing under the pseudonym Wayne Rogers for the weird menace pulps. He also ghosted several stories for the… Continue reading The Story is the Thing: A. H. Bittner
Clayton pulps closing down sale – 1933
An earlier version of this article appeared in the Author and Journalist, August 1933. The finis of the Clayton Publishing Company was written on July 13, 1933, when its more important magazines and titles were disposed of by the bankruptcy court at a public sale, various attempts at reorganization of the company having failed. At… Continue reading Clayton pulps closing down sale – 1933
Love your style, pulp edition
Ranch Romances, launched in 1924, was the first and most successful western/romance title. Someone once said it was western enough to appeal to cowboy fiction lovers, and romantic enough to appeal to women. The formula lasted nearly five decades; RR was the last of the pulps to die when it ceased publication in 1971. Success… Continue reading Love your style, pulp edition
Publishing Secrets: What happens to your manuscript?
Who sees your manuscript and how do they decide if its suitable for publication? In 1932, Author and Journalist conducted a survey of editors at Street & Smith, Munsey, Doubleday, Black Mask, Ranch Romances and even the often overlooked Dell and Fawcett groups to find out. The thing to do, then, was to write to… Continue reading Publishing Secrets: What happens to your manuscript?