Shasta Publishers

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Shasta Publishers was a science fiction and fantasy small press specialty publishing house founded in in 1947. It was founded by Erle Melvin Korshak, T. E. Dikty, and Mark Reinsberg who were all science fiction fans from the Chicago area. The name of the press was suggested by Reinsberg in remembrance of a summer job that he and Korshak had held at Mount Shasta[1].

Contents

[edit] History

As science fiction fans and book collectors, Mel Korshak, Mark Reinsberg, Ted Dikty and Fred Shroyer recognized the need for a comprehensive list of science fiction and fantasy books. In 1940 they made plans to compile such a list and writing letters to readers' columns asking for help with the project. A card file was started, as was a manuscript. Unfortunately, these materials were put into storage when Dikty was drafted for World War II. After the war, the file and manuscript were unable to be found and work had to begin again from scratch. Meanwhile Korshak and Dikty began a book selling business in 1946. They were still eager to publish the earlier attempted list. Soon after, Korshak met Everett F. Bleiler through a newspaper ad offering books for sale. Bleiler also expressed interest in the project eventually taking it over. The result was The Checklist of Fantastic Literature, which was published in 1948. While originally planning to primarily publish reference works, Shasta instead went on to publish fiction by John W. Campbell, Jr., L. Ron Hubbard, Robert A. Heinlein, A. E. van Vogt and others. Ultimately, however, they were not successful and ceased publishing in 1957.

[edit] Works published by Shasta

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd., 588. 

[edit] References