Arthur Leo Zagat (1896–1949) was an American lawyer and writer of

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

. Trained in the law, he gave it up to write professionally. Zagat is noted for his collaborations with fellow lawyer

Nat Schachner Nathaniel Schachner (January 16, 1895 – October 2, 1955), who published under the names Nat Schachner and Nathan Schachner, was an American writer, historian, and attorney, as well as an early advocate of the development of rockets for space t ...

. During the last two decades of his life, Zagat wrote short stories prolifically. About 500 pieces appeared in a variety of pulp magazines, including ''

Thrilling Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Sto ...

'', '' Argosy'', ''

Dime Mystery Magazine ''Dime Mystery Magazine'' was an American pulp magazine published from 1932 to 1950 by Popular Publications. Titled ''Dime Mystery Book Magazine'' during its first nine months, it contained ordinary mystery stories, including a full-length ...

'', '' Horror Stories'', ''

Operator No. 5 ''Operator #5'' was a pulp magazine published between 1934 and 1939. Publication history In 1931 Street & Smith, one of the major pulp magazine publishers, launched ''The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American m ...

'' and ''

Astounding ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...

''. Zagat also wrote the "Doc Turner" stories that regularly appeared in ''

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by publisher Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of '' The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. ''The Spider'' sold well ...

'' pulp magazine throughout the 1930s and the "Red Finger" series that ran in '' Operator #5'', and wrote for '' Spicy Mystery Stories'' as "Morgan LaFay". A novel, '' Seven Out of Time'', was published by

Fantasy Press Fantasy Press was an American publishing house specialising in fantasy and science fiction titles. Established in 1946 by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach in Reading, Pennsylvania, it was most notable for publishing the works of authors such as Robert A. Hei ...

in 1949, the year he died. His most well-known series is probably the ''Tomorrow'' series of six novelettes from ''Argosy'' (1939 thru 1941), collected into two volumes by Altus Press in 2014. Zagat was a graduate of City College who served in the US military in Europe during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war, he studied at

Bordeaux University The University of Bordeaux (, ) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are also se ...

, then graduated from

Fordham Law School Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...

. He taught writing at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. In 1941, he was elected to the first national executive committee for the Authors League pulp writers' section."Books – Authors", ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', August 23, 1941, p.11 During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he held an executive position in the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

. After that war, Zagat was active in organizing writers' workshops and other assistance for hospitalized veterans."Arthur Zagat, 53, Magazine Writer", ''The New York Times'', April 5, 1949, p. 29 Zagat was married to Ruth Zagat; the couple had one daughter, Hermine. He died of a heart attack on April 3, 1949, at his home in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

Bibliography

* ''The Complete Saga of Tomorrow'', Steeger Books (2021) rom ''Argosy''* ''Drink We Deep'', Steeger Books (2017) rom ''Argosy''* ''The Complete Cases of Anne Marsh'', Steeger Books (2019) rom ''Dime Detective''* ''The Hand of Red Finger'', Altus Press (2010) * ''Summer Camp for Corpses and Other Stories: The Weird Tales of Arthur Leo Zagat v1'', Ramble House * ''The Corpse Factory and Other Stories: The Weird Tales of Arthur Leo Zagat Volume 2'', Ramble House * ''They Dine in Darkness and Other Stories: The Weird Tales of Arthur Leo Zagat Volume 3'', Ramble House * ''The Man From Hell'', Black Dog Books (2010) picy pulp stories written as by Morgan LeFay* ''Graveyard Honeymoon and Two Other Stories from Spicy Mystery'', Black Dog Books (2006) * ''Exiles of the Moon'', Armchair Fiction ritten with Nat Schachner* ''Seven Out of Time'', Wildside Press

References

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Notes

External links

* *
Works by Arthur Leo Zagat
at

Project Gutenberg Australia Project Gutenberg Australia, abbreviated as PGA, is an Internet site which was founded in 2001 by Colin Choat. It is a sister site of Project Gutenberg, though there is no formal relationship between the two organizations. The site hosts free ebo ...

* * * 1896 births 1949 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers People of the United States Office of War Information Pulp fiction writers Writers from New York City American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) {{US-fiction-writer-stub