Editing Lester del Rey

{{Short description|American science fiction author (1915–1993)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name        = Lester del Rey
| image       = Judy Lynn and Lester Del Rey at Minicon 8 (1974).jpg
| imagesize   = 200px
| caption     = Judy-Lynn and Lester del Rey at [[Minicon]] in Minneapolis, 1974
| pseudonym   = John Alvarez, Marion Henry, Philip James, Philip St. John, Charles Satterfield, Erik van Lhin, Kenneth Wright
| birth_name  = Leonard Knapp
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1915|06|02}}
| birth_place = [[Saratoga Township, Winona County, Minnesota|Saratoga Township]], [[Minnesota]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1993|5|10|1915|06|02}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| spouses = {{Plain list|
* {{marriage|unknown|1935|1935|end=died}}<ref name=Moskowitz/>
* {{marriage|Helen Schlaz|1945|1949|end=divorced}}<ref name=Moskowitz/>
* {{marriage|Evelyn Harrison|1954|1970|end=died}}<ref name=Moskowitz/>
* {{marriage|[[Judy-Lynn del Rey|Judy-Lynn Benjamin]]|1971|1985|end=died}}
}}
| occupation  = Writer, editor
| period      = 1938–1991 <!-- span of original published works per ISFDB -->
| genre       = [[Fantasy literature|Fantasy]], [[science fiction]]
| subject     =
| movement    =
| influences  =
| influenced  =
| signature   =
| website     =
}}
[[File:Fantastic adventures 195012.jpg|thumb|right|Del Rey's novella ''When the World Tottered'' was the cover story in the December 1950 issue of ''[[Fantastic Adventures]]'', illustrated by [[Robert Gibson Jones]]]]
[[File:Galaxy 195103.jpg|thumb|right|Del Rey's novelette "The Wind Between the Worlds" was the cover story in the March 1951 issue of ''[[Galaxy Science Fiction]]'']]
[[File:Dynamic science fiction 195212.jpg|thumb|right|Del Rey's novelette "I Am Tomorrow" was the cover story in the debut issue of ''[[Dynamic Science Fiction]]'' in 1952]]
[[File:Fantastic universe 195409.jpg|thumb|right|Del Rey's short novel ''The Life Watch'' took the cover of the September 1954 issue of ''[[Fantastic Universe]]'']]
[[File:Satellite science fiction 195706.jpg|thumb|right|Del Rey's novel ''Badge of Infamy'' took the cover of the June 1957 issue of ''[[Satellite Science Fiction]]'']]
[[File:If 196109.jpg|thumb|right|Del Rey's "Spawning Ground" was the cover story in the September 1961 issue of ''[[If (magazine)|If]]'']]

'''Lester del Rey''' (June 2, 1915&nbsp;– May 10, 1993) was an American [[List of science-fiction authors|science fiction author]] and [[Editing|editor]]. He was the author of many books in the juvenile [[Winston Science Fiction]] series, and the fantasy editor at [[Del Rey Books]], the fantasy and science fiction imprint of [[Ballantine Books]], subsequently [[Random House]], working for his fourth wife [[Judy-Lynn del Rey]]’s imprint, [[Del Rey Books|Del Rey]].

==Biography==
===Original name===
Del Rey often told people that his real name was Ramon Felipe Alvarez-del Rey (and sometimes facetiously even Ramón Felipe San Juan Mario Silvio Enrico Smith [[Harcourt (publisher)|Heartcourt-Brace]] Sierra y Alvarez del Rey y de los Verdes<ref name="SFEncyclopedia">[[Brian Stableford|Stableford, Brian]] and [[John Clute|Clute, John]]. "[http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/del_rey_lester del Rey, Lester]", ''[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction|Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]''. Retrieved September 9, 2020.</ref>). However, his sister has confirmed that his name was in fact ''' Leonard Knapp'''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SFE: del Rey, Lester |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/del_rey_lester |access-date=July 10, 2022 |website=sf-encyclopedia.com}}</ref> He also claimed that his family was killed in a car accident in 1935. In reality, the accident only killed his first wife.<ref>{{Cite news | title = People & Publishing | newspaper = Locus | pages = 8 | date = January 2008 | publisher=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus Publications]]}}</ref>

===Career===
====Writing career====
Del Rey first started publishing stories in [[pulp magazine]]s in the late 1930s, at the dawn of the so-called [[Golden Age of Science Fiction]]. He was associated with the most prestigious science fiction magazine of the era, ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]'', from the time its editor [[John W. Campbell]] published his first short story in the April 1938 issue: "The Faithful", already under the name Lester del Rey. The December 1938 issue featured his story "[[Helen O'Loy]]" which was selected for the prestigious anthology ''[[The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964|The Science Fiction Hall of Fame]]''. By the end of 1939 he had also placed stories in ''[[Weird Tales]]'' (edited by [[Farnsworth Wright]]) and ''[[Unknown (magazine)|Unknown]]'' (Campbell),<ref name=isfdb/> which featured more horror and more fantasy respectively.

During a period when del Rey's work was not selling well, he worked as a [[Short order cooking|short order cook]] at the White Tower Restaurant in [[New York City|New York]]. After he married his second wife, Helen Schlaz, in 1945, he quit that job to write full-time.

In 1952, his first three novels were published in the [[Winston Science Fiction|Winston juvenile series]], one of which (''[[Rocket Jockey (novel)|Rocket Jockey]]'') appearing in an [[Italian language|Italian-language]] edition in the same year.<ref name=isfdb /> In the 1950s, del Rey was one of the main authors writing science fiction for adolescents, along with [[Robert A. Heinlein]] and [[Andre Norton]]. During this time some of his fiction was published under multiple pseudonyms, including "Philip St. John" and "Erik van Lhin".<ref name="SFEncyclopedia" />

He continued publishing novels, as well as short fiction, both under his primary pseudonym Lester del Rey as well as a number of other pen names, at a fast pace through the 1950s and the early sixties. His novel writing slowed down toward the end of the sixties, with his last novel, ''Weeping May Tarry'' (written with Raymond F. Jones) appearing from [[Kensington Publishing|Pinnacle Books]] in 1978.

====Editor and critic====
After meeting [[Scott Meredith]] at the 1947 [[Worldcon|World Science Fiction Convention]], he began working as a first reader for the new Scott Meredith Literary Agency, where he also served as office manager.<ref name=Moskowitz>{{cite book | last = Moskowitz| first = Sam | author-link = Sam Moskowitz | title = Seekers of Tomorrow | publisher = World Publishing Company | year = 1966 | pages = 167–186}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Knight | first = Damon | author-link = Damon Knight | title = The Futurians | publisher = John Day | year = 1977 | pages = 180 | isbn = 0-381-98288-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last = Davin | first = Eric Leif | title = From Wisconsin to Mars: A Conversation with Raymond F. Gallun | journal = Pioneers of Wonder | pages = 216 | year = 1999 }}</ref>

He later became an editor for several pulp magazines and then for book publishers. During 1952 and 1953, del Rey edited several magazines: ''Space SF'', ''Fantasy Fiction'', ''Science Fiction Adventures'' (as Philip St. John), ''Rocket Stories'' (as Wade Kaempfert), and ''Fantasy Fiction'' (as Cameron Hall).<ref>{{cite book | last = Ashley | first = Michael | author-link = Mike Ashley (writer) | title = The History of the Science Fiction Magazine, Vol. 3: 1946-1955 | publisher = CBI | year = 1975 | pages = 331 | isbn = 0-8092-7841-3 }}</ref> During this period he also edited several anthologies, notably editing the "Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year" series from 1972 to 1976.

Del Rey was most successful editing with his fourth wife, [[Judy-Lynn del Rey]], at [[Ballantine Books]] (as a Random House property, post-Ballantine) where they established the fantasy and science fiction [[imprint (trade name)|imprint]] [[Del Rey Books]] in 1977.<ref>{{cite book | last = Davin | first = Eric Leif | title = Pioneers of Wonder | publisher = [[Prometheus Books]] | year = 1999 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/pioneersofwonder00davi/page/226 226] | isbn = 1-57392-702-3 | url = https://archive.org/details/pioneersofwonder00davi/page/226 }}</ref> He retired from the publishing house in February 1992.<ref name="New York Times">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/12/obituaries/lester-del-rey-77-editor-and-author.html | title = Obituaries: Lester del Rey, 77, Editor and Author | work = New York Times | date = May 12, 1993 | access-date=October 3, 2020}}</ref>

In 1957, del Rey and [[Damon Knight]] co-edited a small amateur magazine named ''[[Science Fiction Forum]]''. During a debate about symbolism within the magazine, del Rey accepted Knight's challenge to write an analysis of the [[James Blish]] story "[[Common Time]]" that showed the story was about a man eating a ham sandwich.<ref>{{cite book | last = Knight| first = Damon| author-link = Damon Knight | title = [[In Search of Wonder]] | publisher = [[Advent:Publishers]] | year = 1996 | pages = 284 | isbn = 0-911682-31-7}}</ref> After science fiction gained respectability and began to be taught in classrooms, del Rey stated that academics interested in the genre should "get out of my ghetto."<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Letson | first = Russell | title = Contributions to the Critical Dialogue: As an Academic Sees It | journal = Science Fiction Fandom | pages = 230–232 | year = 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Ashley | first = Michael | author-link = Mike Ashley (writer) | title = Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science Fiction Magazines from 1970-1980 | publisher = [[Liverpool University Press]] | year = 2007 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/gatewaystoforeve0000ashl/page/295 295] | isbn = 978-1-84631-003-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/gatewaystoforeve0000ashl/page/295 }}</ref> Del Rey stated that "to develop science fiction had to remove itself from the usual critics who viewed it from the perspective of [the] mainstream, and who judged its worth largely on its mainstream values. As part of that mainstream, it would never have had the freedom to make the choices it did&nbsp;— many of them quite possibly wrong, but necessary for its development."<ref>{{cite book | last = Davin | first = Eric Leif | title = Pioneers of Wonder | publisher = [[Prometheus Books]] | year = 1999 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/pioneersofwonder00davi/page/14 14–15] | isbn = 1-57392-702-3 | url = https://archive.org/details/pioneersofwonder00davi/page/14 }}</ref>

Starting in September 1969, he wrote the "Reading Room" review column for ''[[If (magazine)|If]]'', and following the demise of ''If'' in 1974, switched to writing the review column for ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact]]'' titled "The Reference Library".

Del Rey was a member of a literary banqueting club, the [[Trap Door Spiders]], which served as the basis of [[Isaac Asimov]]'s fictional group of mystery solvers, the [[Black Widowers]]. Del Rey was the model for "Emmanuel Rubin".<ref>{{cite book| last = Asimov| first = Isaac| title = I. Asimov: A Memoir| publisher = [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]| year = 1994| pages = [https://archive.org/details/iasimovmemoir00asim_0/page/380 380–383]| isbn = 0-385-41701-2| url = https://archive.org/details/iasimovmemoir00asim_0/page/380}}</ref>

===Death===
Lester del Rey died on May 10, 1993, at [[Weill Cornell Medical Center|New York Hospital]] at the age of 77 after a brief illness.<ref name="New York Times"/>

==Style==
"There is no writer in this field who is more steadfast in practicing the rule that fiction is first of all entertainment", [[Algis Budrys]] said in 1965. Reporting that the stories in a collection of del Rey's fiction could not be dated by reading them, Budrys stated that he had remained a successful writer because "del Rey has remained his own individual&nbsp;... he writes for himself, and his readers". Budrys said that<ref name="budrys196512">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Budrys
 |first=Algis
 |date=December 1965
 |title=Galaxy Bookshelf
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=147–156
}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|The typical del Rey character is an individual who is trying to do the decent thing to the best of his ability. The typical del Rey story problem is that of a good and faithful being trying to understand a complex situation which prevents his immediately knowing the decent thing to do. When he writes a story whose problem becomes apparent only in the last paragraphs, this is frequently the nature of his "trick" ending—the mood is not shock but sorrow; the payoff is not in some irrevocable destruction of this personality but in the reader's realization that even a decent individual must pay the price of ignorance.

Normally, del Rey even then leaves an opening for the protagonist to grow and go on in, and even his worst losers retrieve something—call it dignity.}}

==Awards==
Del Rey was awarded the 1972 [[Edward E. Smith Memorial Award|E. E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction]] (the "Skylark") by the [[New England Science Fiction Association]] for "contributing significantly to science fiction, both through work in the field and by exemplifying the personal qualities that made the late "Doc" Smith well-loved by those who knew him". He also won a special 1985 [[Balrog Awards|Balrog Award]] for his contributions to fantasy, voted by fans and organized by ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'' magazine. The [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association|Science Fiction Writers of America]] named him its 11th [[Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award|SFWA Grand Master]] in 1990, presented 1991.<ref name=SFAwards/><ref name=SFWA/>
==Selected works==
===Novels===
* ''[[Marooned on Mars]]'' (1952)
* ''[[Rocket Jockey (novel)|Rocket Jockey]]'' as Philip St. John (1952)
* ''A Pirate Flag for Monterey'' (1952)
* ''[[Attack from Atlantis]]'' (1953)
* ''Battle on Mercury'' as Erik Van Lhin (1953)
* ''The Mysterious Planet'' as Kenneth Wright (1953)
* ''Rockets to Nowhere'' as Philip St. John (1954)
* ''Step to the Stars'' (1954)
* ''For I Am a Jealous People'' (1954)
* ''Preferred Risk'' (1955) with [[Frederik Pohl]] [as by Edson McCann]
* ''Mission to the Moon'' (1956)
* [[Nerves (Del Rey novella)|''Nerves'']] (1956) [Expansion of 1942 novella; revised in 1976]
* ''Police Your Planet'' as Erik Van Lhin (1956)
* ''Day of the Giants'' (1959)
* ''[[Moon of Mutiny]]'' (1961)
* ''The Eleventh Commandment'' (1962)
* ''Outpost of Jupiter'' (1963)
* ''[[The Sky Is Falling (Del Rey novel)|The Sky Is Falling]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Badge of Infamy]]'' (1963)
* ''The Runaway Robot'' (1965) [ghost-written by [[Paul W. Fairman]]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Clute |first=John |url=http://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsc00ies1 |title=The Encyclopedia of science fiction |last2=Nicholls |first2=Peter |date=1993 |publisher=New York : St. Martin's Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-312-09618-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsc00ies1/page/319 319]}}</ref>
* ''The Infinite Worlds of Maybe'' (1966) [ghost-written by Paul W. Fairman]
* ''Rocket from Infinity'' (1966) [ghost-written by Paul W. Fairman]
* ''The Scheme of Things'' (1966) [ghost-written by Paul W. Fairman]
* ''Siege Perilous'' (1966) [ghost-written by Paul W. Fairman]
* ''[[Tunnel Through Time]]'' (1966) [ghost-written by Paul W. Fairman]
* ''Prisoners of Space'' (1968) [ghost-written by Paul W. Fairman]
* ''Pstalemate'' / ''Psi'' (1971)
* ''Weeping May Tarry'' (1978) with [[Raymond F. Jones]]

===Short fiction collections===
* ''[[... And Some Were Human]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Robots and Changelings]]'' (1957)
* ''The Sky Is Falling'' and ''Badge of Infamy'' (1966)
* ''Mortals and Monsters'' (1965)
* ''Gods and Golems'' (1973)
* ''The Early del Rey'' (1975)
* ''The Early del Rey: Vol 1'' (1976)
* ''The Early del Rey: Vol 2'' (1976)
* ''[[The Best of Lester del Rey]]'' (1978)
* ''War and Space'' (2009)
* ''Robots and Magic'' (2010)

===Nonfiction===
* ''Rockets Through Space'' (1957)
* ''Space Flight'', General Mills, Inc. 1958, 1957; Golden Press, 1959
* ''The Mysterious Earth'' (1960)
* ''The Mysterious Sea'' (1961)
* ''Rocks and What They Tell Us'' (1961)
* ''The Mysterious Sky'' (1964)
* ''The World of Science Fiction, 1926–1976: the History of a Subculture'' (1980)

===As editor===
* ''The Year After Tomorrow'' with Carl Carmer and Cecile Matschat (1954)
* ''Best Science Fiction of the Year'' #1–5 (1972–1976)
* ''Once Upon a Time: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales'' with Risa Kessler (1991)

== See also == 
* {{Portal inline|Speculative fiction}}

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist |25em |refs=
<ref name=isfdb>
{{ISFDB name|21}} (ISFDB). Retrieved April 12, 2013.</ref>

<!-- some awards refs -->
<ref name=SFAwards>
[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit36.html#1288 "del Rey, Lester"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025010149/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit36.html |date=October 25, 2010 }}. ''The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index to Literary Nominees''. [[Locus (magazine)|Locus Publications]]. Retrieved April 2, 2013.</ref>
<ref name=SFWA>
[http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/events-program/grandmaster/ "Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701114233/http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/events-program/grandmaster/ |date=July 1, 2011 }}. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Retrieved April 2, 2013.</ref>

}}

=== General and cited references ===
*{{cite book | last=Tuck | first=Donald H. | author-link=Donald H. Tuck | title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy | location=Chicago | publisher=Advent | pages=135–136 | year=1974|isbn=0-911682-20-1}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=8240| name=Lester Del Rey}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Lester del Rey}}
* {{Librivox author |id=681}}
* {{ISFDB name|21}}
* {{IBList|type=author|id=2052|name=Lester del Rey}}
* {{IMDb name|1282840}}

{{Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Awards}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Rey, Lester}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century pseudonymous writers]]
[[Category:American book editors]]
[[Category:American literary critics]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:George Washington University alumni]]
[[Category:Pulp fiction writers]]
[[Category:American science fiction critics]]
[[Category:American science fiction editors]]
[[Category:SFWA Grand Masters]]