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William Levi Crawford (September 10, 1911 – January 25, 1984) was an American publisher and editor.


Career

During the autumn of 1933, Crawford, a West Coast science fiction fan, proposed to start a non-paying weird fiction magazine, '' Unusual Stories'', which was initiated soon afterward. About the same time he also published the magazine '' Marvel Tales''. For ''Unusual Stories'' he commissioned a brief autobiography by H.P. Lovecraft, Autobiography: Some Notes on a Nonentity, although it was never published in the magazine. He also accepted Lovecraft's Celephais and
The Doom That Came to Sarnath "The Doom That Came to Sarnath" (1920) is a fantasy short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. It is written in a mythic/fantasy style and is associated with his Dream Cycle. It was first published in ''The Scot'', a Scottish amateur ficti ...
for ''Unusual Stories'', but they were published instead in ''Marvel Tales'' (May 1934 and March–April 1935, respectively). Around July 1934 Lovecraft wrote ''Some Notes on Interplanetary Fiction'' for one of Crawford's magazines, but the essay was published in the magazine ''The Californian'' (Winter 1935). Lovecraft's correspondent Duane W. Rimel wrote the tale "The Jewels of Charlotte" (possibly revised by Lovecraft) which was published in ''Unusual Stories'', May–June 1935. Robert Bloch's early story "Black Lotus" appeared in ''Unusual Stories'' in 1935. In 1935, Crawford published the collection '' Mars Mountain'', by Eugene George Key. It was the first full-size book issued by a publisher that specialized in
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 ...
. It was a poorly produced hardcover of 142 pages and was not well-received when it appeared. At this time Crawford had ambitious publishing plans and promised hardcover editions of Andrew North's ''People of the Crater'' and Ralph Milne Farley's ''The Missing Link''; the Farley title never appeared but the North (pseudonym of
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 ...
) title was finally issued in 1972 as part of the collection ''
Garan the Eternal ''Garan the Eternal'' is a collection of science fiction short fiction by American writer Andre Norton. It was first published in a hardcover edition of 1,300 copies by Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. in December 1972. The first paperback edit ...
''. During the spring of 1935 Crawford contemplated reviving the defunct magazine ''
Fantasy Fan ''The Fantasy Fan'' was the first fan magazine in the weird fiction field and therefore holds an important place in the history of the American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine. Issued monthly, it was first published in September 1933, ...
'' with Lovecraft as editor, but the plan was never realized. He also thought of issuing one of Lovecraft's stories ''At the Mountains of Madness'' or ''The Shadow Over Innsmouth'' as a booklet, or bound together in one volume; he considered submitting the latter story to ''
Astounding Stories ''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 ...
'' after learning of the acceptance there of ''At the Mountains of Madness'' and ''The Shadow Out of Time'' but it is not known whether he did so. In late 1935, he began the process of issuing ''The Shadow Over Innsmouth'' as a book. The project came to fruition in November 1936 (although the copyright page declares the date of publication as April 1936), under Crawford's Visionary Publishing Co imprint; but the book had so many typographical errors that Lovecraft insisted on an errata sheet (which was also faulty). ''The Shadow Over Innsmouth'' was the only book of Lovecraft's fiction to be published and distributed during Lovecraft's own lifetime. Crawford printed 400 copies but bound only 200; the others were destroyed later. According to Robert Weinberg, few copies of the book were sold, even though it was available at the bargain price of $1 a copy. It featured good paper, black linen binding and a dust jacket and four interior illustrations by
Frank Utpatel Frank, FRANK, or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times * Franks, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusa ...
. Crawford wrote of the venture in his essay "Lovecraft's First Book" in '' The Shuttered Room and Other Pieces''; reprinted in ''
Lovecraft Remembered ''Lovecraft Remembered'' is a collection of memoirs about American writer H. P. Lovecraft, edited by Peter Cannon. It was released in 1998 by Arkham House in an edition of 3,579 copies. Nearly all the memoirs from previous Arkham publications of ...
''. Its failure, and the poor sales of a third (nonfantasy) book convinced Crawford of the futility of his efforts. Future projects, which would have included a hardcover edition of E.E. Smith's ''The Skylark of Space'', were dropped. (This title was later published by the Buffalo Book Company in 1946 by Thomas G. Hadley, Donald M. Grant and Kenneth Krueger). Crawford published books under a number of different imprints before founding the
Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc., or FPCI, was an American science fiction and fantasy small press specialty publishing company established in 1946. It was the fourth small press company founded by William L. Crawford. Crawford's first com ...
in 1946. He edited several anthologies that he also published. He co-wrote the 1936 novel '' Behind the Evidence'' with Amelia Reynolds Long under the combined pseudonym Peter Reynolds. In 1953 Crawford's Fantasy Publishing Company published and edited Science-Fantasy Quintette (300 copies), which included short stories by authors L. Ron Hubbard and Ed Earl Repp. ''Spaceway'' was another magazine Crawford started that contained stories by L. Ron Hubbard. From 1970 through 1974 William Crawford organized four Witchcraft and Sorcery Conventions. While this was the chosen name at the time, the emphasis was mainly on Science Fiction and Fantasy with an inclusion of fictional literature that also related to "witchcraft and sorcery" fiction. Other conventions that he and his wife, Margaret Crawford, founded were Fantasy Faire and Science Fiction Weekend. Famous authors and others who were a part of these conventions included Ray Bradbury, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Edmond Hamilton, Leigh Brackett, A. E. van Vogt, and many others. ("Lost: A Living Legend," a tribute by Forrest J. Ackermann in ''To the Stars'', a fanzine, issue #2, 1984). William L. Crawford's earliest involvement in the field included his membership in LASFAS (began pre-World War II), the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, where he had befriended Ray Bradbury and other famous authors and fans. The William L. Crawford Memorial Award for the best first fantasy novel is named in his honor.Clute and Grant 1997, p. 1015.
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 ...
was the creator of this award which is still actively presented to qualifying individuals. Crawford retained a large volume of unbound FCPI books and offered them with paper bindings at low prices through the 1970s. While a bit off the grid in some ways (the earlier references to his publication efforts do not include that his printing machines from the 1950s on were literally in his garage due to a very minimal budget), William L. Crawford was connected with numerous famous individuals in the Science Fiction genre, including Forrest Ackerman (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_J_Ackerman). These were the people who, in essence, started and kept alive the science fiction genre until it was ultimately embraced by many due to famous television shows (''Star Trek'' and more) and movies (''Star Wars'', etc.).


References


Notes


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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, William L. 1911 births 1984 deaths People from Trafford, Pennsylvania American book editors American science fiction editors American book publishers (people) American science fiction writers 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male writers