Fanny Louise Ellsworth Davis (October 10, 1904 – 1984), known professionally as Fanny Ellsworth, was an American magazine editor, best known as the editor of

pulp magazines Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their cheap nature. ...

including ''Ranch Romances'' (for western romances) and '' Black Mask'' (for noir detective thrillers). Late in life, she became a

Turkish studies Turkology (or Turcology or Turkic studies) is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and the Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative c ...

scholar, interested in the status of women in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Early life and education

Fanny Louise Ellsworth was born in New York City, the daughter of Jesse F. Ellsworth and Martha Kelly Ellsworth. Her father was a banker. She graduated from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

in 1926. Later in life, Fanny Ellsworth Davis completed doctoral studies at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, with a dissertation titled "Two Centuries of the Ottoman Lady" (1968).

Career

Pulp fiction

Ellsworth was the editor of ''Ranch Romances,'' from the 1920s into the 1950s. She bought over 30 western stories from

Elmer Kelton Elmer Kelton (April 29, 1926Kelton, Elmer (2007). - ''Sandhills Boy: The Winding Trail of a Texas Writer''. - New York, New York: Forge. - p.26. - . – August 22, 2009) was an American author, known for his Westerns. He was born in Andrews ...

for ''Ranch Romances''; other noted authors she published included Lela Cole Kitson, Walt Coburn and

Max Brand Frederick Schiller Faust (May 29, 1892 – May 12, 1944) was an American writer known primarily for his Western (genre), Western stories using the pseudonym Max Brand. As Max Brand, he also created the popular fictional character of young ...

. She also worked with western genre artist Harold Dowd Bugbee. As "F. Ellsworth", she succeeded Joseph Shaw as editor of ''Black Mask'', a magazine for detective fiction, from 1936 to 1940, promoting noir genre authors including Steve Fisher,

Frank Gruber Frank Gruber (born February 2, 1904, Elmer, Minnesota, died December 9, 1969, Santa Monica, California) was an American writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Included in his work are stories for pulp fiction magazines, dozens of ...

, and

Cornell Woolrich Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley. His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich the ...

. She was managing editor and briefly executive editor of ''

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 ...

'' from 1952 to 1953. Other magazines she worked at as an editor included ''Big Story Magazine, Rangeland Love Story Magazine, Thrilling Ranch Stories, Western Love Stories, Western Rodeo Romances,

Space Stories ''Space Stories'' was a pulp magazine which published five issues from October 1952 to June 1953. It was published by Standard Magazines, and edited by Samuel Mines. Mines' editorial policy for ''Space Stories'' was to publish straightforwar ...

Startling Stories ''Startling Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by publisher Ned Pines' Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of '' Thrilling Wonder Stories ...

,'' and '' Fantastic Story Magazine.'' In the late 1950s, she was advertising manager for the ''Barnard Alumnae Magazine''. Ellsworth is best known as an editor, but she also wrote several pulp stories, including "Winter Night" (''Street & Smith's

Love Story Magazine ''Love Story Magazine'' was an American romantic fiction pulp magazine, published from 1921 to 1947.Doug Ellis, John Locke, and John Gunnison, ''The Adventure House Guide to the Pulps''. Silver Spring, MD : Adventure House, 2000. (pp. 153–4) ...

'' 1941), and "A Toast to All of Us" (''Ranch Romances'' 1949).

Turkish studies

Fanny Ellsworth Davis became interested in Turkish history while writing a children's book, ''Getting to Know Turkey'' (1957). She published books based on her doctoral work, ''The Palace of Topkapi in Istanbul'' (1970), ''The Clocks and watches of the Topkapı Palace Museum'' (1984), and ''The Ottoman Lady: A social history from 1718 to 1918'' (published posthumously in 1986).

Personal life

In 1934, Fanny Ellsworth married fellow magazine editor John Earle "Jack" Davis.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellsworth, Fanny 1904 births 1984 deaths American magazine editors Barnard College alumni Columbia University alumni Turkologists Pulp fiction writers