Avalon Books

Avalon Books was a small New York-based book publishing imprint active from 1950 through 2012, established by Thomas Bouregy.^[1] Avalon was an important science fiction imprint in the 1950s and 60s; later its specialty was mystery and romance books.^[2] The imprint was owned by Thomas Bouregy & Co., Inc..^[1] It remained a family firm, with Thomas's daughter Ellen Bouregy Mickelsen taking over as publisher in 1995.^[2]

On June 4, 2012 it was announced that Amazon.com had purchased the imprint and its back-list of about 3,000 titles. Amazon said it would publish the books through the various imprints of Amazon Publishing.^[2]

Science fiction era

In the 1950s and 60s Avalon specialized in science fiction.^[3] It issued much of the hardcover material in the genre during the period, particularly in the earlier portion. Avalon issued new titles, reissued out of print titles originally from other publishers, and first editions of material that had previously only seen magazine publication. Frederik Pohl jibed in 1959 that the publisher "seems to be pursuing a policy of printing the worst books by the best writers in science fiction".^[4] Its books featured cover art by Ric Binkley, Ed Emshwiller (also known as Emsh), Gray Morrow, and Michael M. Peters. Later, competition with mainstream hardcover and paperback publishers starting their own science fiction lines and the marginal nature of genre publishing in general led to the line being discontinued.

Science fiction authors published by Avalon

Bibliography of Science Fiction books published (by year)

1953 (Bourgey/Curl)

• Flight Into Yesterday (Charles L. Harness)
• Sentinels From Space (Eric Frank Russell)

1956

• Police Your Planet (Erik Van Lhin)
• Star Ways (Poul Anderson)
• The Secret People (Raymond F. Jones)
• Three to Conquer (Eric Frank Russell)
• Tomorrow's World (Hunt Collins)

1957

• Across Time (David Grinnell)
• Alien Dust (E. C. Tubb)
• Big Planet (Jack Vance)
• City on the Moon (Murray Leinster)
• Conquest of Earth (Manly Banister)
• Hidden World (Stanton A. Coblentz)
• Solomon's Stone (L. Sprague de Camp)
• The Infinite Brain (Charles R. Long)
• Troubled Star (George O. Smith)
• Twice in Time (Manly Wade Wellman)
• Wasp (Eric Frank Russell)

1958

• Aliens From Space (David Osborne)
• Edge of Time (David Grinnell)
• Fire in the Heavens (George O. Smith)
• Immortality Delivered (Robert Sheckley)
• Invisible Barriers (David Osborne)
• Out of This World (Murray Leinster)
• Spaceways Satellite (Charles Eric Maine)
• Starhaven (Ivar Jorgenson)
• The Blue Barbarians (Stanton A. Coblentz)
• The Languages of Pao (Jack Vance)
• The Space Egg (Russ Winterbotham)
• The Tower of Zanid (L. Sprague de Camp)

1959

• Day of the Giants (Lester del Rey)
• Encounter (J. Hunter Holly)
• Giants from Eternity (Manly Wade Wellman)
• Lost in Space (George O. Smith)
• Robot Hunt (Roger Lee Vernon)
• The Dark Destroyers (Manly Wade Wellman)
• The Duplicated Man (James Blish) and (Robert Lowndes)
• The Golden Ape (Adam Chase)
• The Involuntary Immortals (Rog Phillips)
• The Martian Missile (David Grinnell)
• The Sea People (Adam Lukens)
• Virgin Planet (Poul Anderson)

1960

• Conquest of Life (Adam Lukens)
• He Owned the World (Charles Eric Maine)
• Hunters of Space (Joseph E. Kelleam)
• Invaders from Rigel (Fletcher Pratt)
• Lords of Atlantis (Wallace West)
• Next Door to the Sun (Stanton A. Coblentz)
• The Glory That Was (L. Sprague de Camp)
• The Little Men (Joseph E. Kelleam)
• The Peacemakers (Curtis W. Casewit)
• The Swordsman of Mars (Otis Adelbert Kline)
• Wall of Serpents (L. Sprague de Camp) and (Fletcher Pratt)

1961

• Believers' World (Robert W. Lowndes)
• Collision Course (Robert Silverberg)
• Destiny's Orbit (David Grinnell)
• Island in the Sky (Manly Wade Wellman)
• Planet of Peril (Otis Adelbert Kline)
• Sons of the Wolf (Adam Lukens)
• The Drums of Tapajos (Colonel S. P. Meek)
• The Memory Bank (Wallace West)
• The Outlaws of Mars (Otis Adelbert Kline)
• The Rim of Space (A. Bertram Chandler)
• The Runaway World (Stanton A. Coblentz)
• Troyana (Colonel S. P. Meek)

1962

• Alien Planet (Fletcher Pratt)
• Armageddon 2419 A.D. (Philip Francis Nowlan)
• Outposts in Space (Wallace West)
• Prince of Peril (Otis Adelbert Kline)
• Tam, Son of the Tiger (Otis Adelbert Kline)
• The Dark Planet (J. Hunter Holly)
• The Glass Cage (Adam Lukens)
• The Perfect Planet (Evelyn E. Smith)
• The Search for Zei (L. Sprague de Camp)
• The World Within (Adam Lukens)
• Walk Up the Sky (Robert Moore Williams)

1963

• Alien World (Adam Lukens)
• Bridge to Yesterday (E. L. Arch)
• Eevalu (Adam Lukens)
• Full Circle (Bruce Ariss)
• River of Time (Wallace West)
• The Atom Conspiracy (Jeff Sutton)
• The Gray Aliens (Joan Hunter Holly)
• The Hand of Zei (L. Sprague de Camp)
• The Men from Arcturus (Russ Winterbotham)
• The Other World (J. Harvey Bond)
• The Star Men (Oscar J. Friend)
• Three Steps Spaceward (Frank B. Long)

1964

• Glory Planet (A. Bertram Chandler)
• Mission to a Star (Frank Belknap Long)
• Planet of Death (E. L. Arch)
• The Deathstones (E. L. Arch)
• The Eternal Man (Charles R. Long)
• The Exile of Time (Ray Cummings)
• The Lizard Lords (Stanton A. Coblentz)
• The Martian Visitors (Frank B. Long)
• The Moon People (Stanton A. Coblentz)
• The Puppet Planet (Russ Winterbotham)
• Time Lockers (Wallace West)

1965

• Beyond the Great Oblivion (George Allan England)
• Darkness and Dawn (George Allan England)
• Enslaved Brains (Eando Binder)
• Explorers Into Infinity (Ray Cummings)
• Palos of the Dog Star Pack (J. U. Giesy)
• Polaris of the Snows (Charles B. Stilson)
• The Dark Enemy (J. Hunter Holly)
• The First Immortals (E. L. Arch)
• The Forgotten Planet (George Henry Smith)
• The Hothouse World (Fred MacIsaac)
• The Mouthpiece of Zitu (J. U. Giesy)

1966

• Claimed (Francis Stevens)
• Jason, Son of Jason (J. U. Giesy)
• Lord of Tranerica (Stanton A. Coblentz)
• Minos of Sardanes (Charles Stilson)
• The Double-Minded Man (E. L. Arch)
• The Lord of Nardos (Russ Winterbotham)
• The Mind Traders (J. Hunter Holly)
• The People of the Abyss (George Allan England)
• The Time Chariot (T. Earl Hickey)
• When the Red King Woke (Joseph E. Kelleam)

1967

• Destination: Saturn (Lin Carter) and (David Grinnell)
• Doomed Planet (Lee Sheldon)
• Druids' World (George Henry Smith)
• Out of the Abyss (George Allan England)
• Out of the Void (Leslie F. Stone)
• The Afterglow (George Allan England)
• The Crimson Capsule (Stanton A. Coblentz)
• The Everlasting Exiles (Wallace West)
• The Insect Invasion (Ray Cummings)
• The Man With Three Eyes (E. L. Arch)

1968

• Planet of Fear (Diane Detzer)
• Polaris and the Immortals (Charles B. Stilson)
• The Day the World Stopped (Stanton A. Coblentz)
• The Return of the Starships (Jorge de Reyna)
• The Stars Will Wait (Henry L. Hasse)
• The Time of the Hedrons (Jack Dennis)

Mystery and Romance era

After the discontinuation of its science fiction line, Avalon specialized in mystery and romance books.^[2]

Romance Authors published by Avalon Books^[5]

References