DAW Books is an American

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 ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

, founded by Donald A. Wollheim, with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim, following his departure from

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by A. A. Wyn, Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mystery fiction, mysteries and western (genre), westerns, and soon branched out int ...

in 1971. The company claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy." The first DAW Book published was the 1972 short story collection '' Spell of the Witch World'' by

Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen na ...

Overview

In its early years under the leadership of Wollheim and his wife Elsie, DAW gained a reputation of publishing popular, though not always critically acclaimed, works of science fiction and fantasy. Nevertheless, in the 1970s the company published numerous books, most of these paperback originals, by award-winning authors such as

Marion Zimmer Bradley Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel '' The Mists of Avalon'' and ...

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Along with Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber is one of the fathers of sword and sorcery. Life ...

Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and ergonomics, human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. ...

, and

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels, best known for '' The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominatio ...

. In 1982,

C. J. Cherryh Carolyn Janice Cherry (born September 1, 1942), better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award–winning novels '' Downbe ...

's ''

Downbelow Station ''Downbelow Station'' is a science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh, published in 1981 by DAW Books. It won the Hugo Award in 1982, was shortlisted for a Locus Award that same year, and was named by ''Locus'' magazine as one of ...

'' became the first DAW book to win the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

for best novel. Until June 1984, all DAW books were characterized by yellow spines, and a prominent yellow cover box containing the company's logo as well as a chronological publication number. When the design was changed, the chronological number was retained, but moved to the copyright page and renamed the DAW Collectors' Book Number. DAW has a distribution relationship with

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media company, media Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a Mergers and acquisitions, mer ...

and was headquartered in Penguin USA's offices in New York City. DAW is editorially independent and, until 2022, was closely held by its current publishers, Betsy Wollheim (Donald's daughter) and Sheila E. Gilbert. In July 2022, DAW was acquired by Astra Publishing House.

Partial list of authors

Ben Aaronovitch Ben Dylan Aaronovitch (born 22 February 1964) is an English author and screenwriter. He is the author of the series of novels '' Rivers of London''. He also wrote two ''Doctor Who'' serials in the late 1980s and spin-off novels from ''Doctor Who ...

Saladin Ahmed Saladin Ahmed (born October 4, 1975) is an American comic book writer and a science fiction/fantasy poetry and prose writer. His 2012 book '' Throne of the Crescent Moon'' was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and won the Locus Award ...

* Camille Bacon-Smith *

Bradley Beaulieu Bradley P. Beaulieu is an American author of epic fantasy. He is best known for his series ''The Lays of Anuskaya'', which he finished in 2013 with the publication of ''The Flames of Shadam Khoreh''. In 2015 Beaulieu published '' Twelve Kings in ...

Kristen Britain Kristen Britain (born October 18, 1965) is an American author. She is the author of the fantasy series ''Green Rider'' which includes the eponymous first volume (nominated for the Crawford Award), ''First Rider's Call'', ''The High King's Tomb'', ...

John Brunner John Brunner may refer to: * Sir John Brunner, 1st Baronet (1842–1919), British industrialist and Liberal Member of Parliament * John L. Brunner (1929–1980), Pennsylvania politician * Sir John Brunner, 2nd Baronet (1865–1929), British Libe ...

Kenneth Bulmer Henry Kenneth Bulmer (14 January 1921 – 16 December 2005) was a British writer, primarily of science fiction. Life Born in London, he married Pamela Buckmaster on 7 March 1953. They had one son and two daughters, and they divorced in 1981. B ...

* Julie Czerneda * Philip K. Dick * Emily Drake *

Suzette Haden Elgin Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Suzette Wilkins; November 18, 1936 – January 27, 2015) was an American researcher in experimental linguistics, construction and evolution of languages and poetry and science fiction writer. She founded t ...

* Kate Elliott *

Jane Fancher Jane Suzanne Fancher (born 1952) is a science fiction and fantasy author and artist. Work In the early 1980s, she worked for Warp Graphics as an art assistant on ''Elfquest'', providing inking assistance on the black and white comics and colorin ...

* M. A. Foster * C. S. Friedman * Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear *

David Gerrold David Gerrold (born Jerrold David Friedman; January 24, 1944)Reginald, R. (September 12, 2010)''Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2'' Borgo Press p. 911. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved June 23, 2013. is an American science fict ...

* ElizaBeth Gilligan *

Tracy Hickman Tracy Raye Hickman (born November 26, 1955) is an American fantasy author and designer of games and virtual reality (VR) experiences. He co-authored the original ''Dragonlance'' novels with Margaret Weis as well as numerous other books. He also ...

Jim C. Hines Jim C. Hines (born April 15, 1974) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer. Life and work Hines was a volunteer crisis counselor in East Lansing and worked as the Male Outreach Coordinator for the Michigan State University, MSU Safe ...

Tanya Huff Tanya Sue Huff (born 1957) is a Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science fiction series. One of these, her ''Tanya Huff bibliography#Blood series, Blood Books'' ...

Katharine Kerr Katharine Kerr (born October 3, 1944) is an American science fiction and fantasy novelist, best known for her series of Celtic-influenced high fantasy novels set in the fictional land of Deverry. Biography Katharine Kerr was born in Cleveland ...

Gini Koch Gini Koch (born Jeanne Marie Gerrard on January 25, in California), is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer based in Phoenix, Arizona. She is best known for the Alien Series (informally known as the "Katherine 'Kitty' Katt" series) no ...

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar (fictional co ...

* Laura Lam *

Tanith Lee Tanith Lee (19 September 1947 – 24 May 2015) was a British science fiction and fantasy writer. She wrote more than 90 novels and 300 short stories, and was the winner of multiple World Fantasy Society Derleth Awards, the World Fantasy Lifetime ...

Stephen Leigh Stephen W. Leigh (born February 27, 1951) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, artist, and musician. He also works as a lecturer at Northern Kentucky University, teaching creative writing. He has published speculative fiction as St ...

* Edward Llewellyn *

Karen Lord Karen Lord (born 22 May 1968) is a Barbadian writer of speculative fiction. Her first novel, ''Redemption in Indigo'' (2010), retells the story "Ansige Karamba the Glutton" from Senegalese folklore and her second novel, ''The Best of All Possi ...

* Violette Malan * John Marco * Marshall Ryan Maresca *

Seanan McGuire Seanan McGuire (pronounced SHAWN-in; born January 5, 1978) is an American author and filker. McGuire is known for her urban fantasy novels. She uses the pseudonym Mira Grant to write science fiction/ horror and the pseudonym A. Deborah Baker to w ...

* R. M. Meluch *

Lisanne Norman Lisanne Norman (born 15 February 1951 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a 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 conc ...

Nnedi Okorafor Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels '' Who Fears ...

* Fiona Patton *

Melanie Rawn Melanie Rawn (born 1954) is an American author of fantasy literature. She received a BA in history from Scripps College and worked as a teacher and editor before becoming a writer. She has been nominated for a Locus award on three occasions: in ...

Mickey Zucker Reichert Mickey Zucker Reichert (born as Miriam Susan Zucker in 1962) is an American fantasy fiction author of several best selling novels. Personal life Reichert is a pediatrician, and holds a Doctorate of Medicine (M.D.). She is from a town in Iowa. ...

Laura Resnick Laura Resnick (born August 17, 1962) is an American fantasy writer. She was the winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction for 1993. The daughter of science fiction author Mike Resnick, she formerly wrote romance ...

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct mag ...

Jennifer Roberson Jennifer Mitchell Roberson (born October 26, 1953) is an American author of fantasy and historical literature. Personal life Roberson has lived in Arizona since 1957. Though she grew up in Phoenix, the author lived in Flagstaff for 12 years ...

* Deborah J. Ross *

Patrick Rothfuss Patrick James Rothfuss (born June 6, 1973) is an American author. He is best known for his highly acclaimed series '' The Kingkiller Chronicle'', beginning with Rothfuss' debut novel, '' The Name of the Wind'' (2007), which won several awards, ...

Diana Rowland Diana Rowland is an urban fantasy writer and is best known for her Kara Gillian Series and White Trash Zombie Series. She has worked as a bartender, a blackjack dealer, a pit boss, a street cop, a detective, a computer forensics specialist, a c ...

* Christopher Ruocchio * Sean Russell * Michelle Sagara (a.k.a.

Michelle West Michelle Michiko Sagara (born May 5, 1963) is a Canadian author of fantasy literature, active since the early 1990s. She has published as Michelle Sagara, as Michelle West (using her husband's surname) and as Michelle Sagara West. Sagara has rec ...

) *

Sherwood Smith Sherwood Smith (born May 29, 1951) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer for young adults and adults. Smith is a Nebula Award finalist and a longtime writing group organizer and participant. Smith's works include the YA novel '' ...

* John Steakley *

S. Andrew Swann S. Andrew Swann (alternately S. A. Swann, S. A. Swiniarski, and Steven Krane) is an American science fiction and fantasy author living in Solon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, where much of his fiction is set. He was born Steven Swiniarski and has ...

Margaret Weis Margaret Edith Weis (; born March 16, 1948) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of dozens of novels and short stories. At TSR, Inc., she teamed with Tracy Hickman to create the ''Dragonlance'' role-playing game (RPG) world. She is f ...

Tad Williams Robert Paul "Tad" Williams (born March 13, 1957) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer. He is the author of the multivolume ''Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn'' series, ''Otherland'' series, '' Shadowmarch'' series, and ''The Bobby Dollar'' ...

References

External links

Official websiteInternet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) listing of DAW Books
{{Authority control American speculative fiction publishers Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Fantasy book publishers Science fiction publishers Penguin Books Publishing companies established in 1971 American companies established in 1971 1971 establishments in New York City