You’d expect a retrospective at the panel for “Amazing Stories 100th Anniversary!” held in the Hyatt Embassy AB on Sunday at 1PM. What you might not expect was a pile of pithy one-liners. Give Larry Nivens access to a microphone, sit back, and enjoy.
Nivens, a writer since 1964, said, “I’ve written a great many books and bookstores tend to carry them.” Of course, this is a gross understatement, but it was fascinating to hear that his first sale was for a story titled “The Coldest Place” for which he was paid a whole $25.
His seat buddy, Lynn Abbey has been writing fantasy since the 1980’s. Nivens said he writes fantasy when he needs a break. “If you’re a science fiction writer, you should be prepared to become obsolete,” he quipped.
Bill Ritch, a collector who brought a sample of Amazing Stories magazines, led the conversation with Nivens and Abbey who were joined by authors James Palmer and Gray Rinehart.
Amazing Stories was established in 1926 by Hugo Gernsback for whom the Hugo Award is named. According to Rinehart, Gernsback established a short story contest with a $500 purse, equivalent to $9400 in today’s dollars. If you are familiar at all with today’s short story market, you know this is an obscene amount of money.
Abbey spoke of Gernsback as an engineer, inventor, and enthusiast when he started Amazing Stories. “Like so many of the utopians of the 1920’s, he believed that ‘scientification’ would be the way of opening doors and changing consciousness for ordinary people. He believed it sincerely and without malice. He was very sincere and open minded.” Except, apparently, he sometimes neglected to pay his writers. “He had a reputation for avoiding creditors,” Palmer said, “Including, sometimes, the writers of his magazine.”
Abbey pointed out that it was kind of scoundrel behavior, but it did get the magazine out to the broadest audience. “The world was wild and woolier one hundred years ago.” Contracts weren’t standard and publishers would pay as little as they could get away with. The pay rate settled at $0.10 per word in the 1960s. It’s still the going rate. Nivens leaned into the microphone and said, “Inflation doesn’t count.”
From there the conversation turned to the phenomenon of science fiction book of the month clubs. In the 70’s and 80’s, it was the only way a reader could get a science fiction book in hardback. Nivens pointed out that the money wasn’t great. Heinlein refused to sign a contract with a book of the month subscription. Ritch talked about it being a good way for a writer to gain exposure, and Palmer had a ready riposte. “You can die from exposure.”
All of them credited Amazing Stories Magazine for creating early science fiction fandom. “It trained a generation of writers and artists, and made them household names,” Abbey said. Its stories reflected the zeitgeist of the day from the optimism of the 20’s to the paranoia of the 50’s. It made science fiction accessible for the masses.
“Amazing Stories was always willing to take risks to find its audience,” Abbey said. “Sometimes it was horrifying, but they found some good writers over the years.”
Rinehart echoed the sentiment. “We all stand on the shoulders of giants. Love him or hate him, Hugo Gernsback was a giant in terms of vision.”
