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Arkham House

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colophon for Arkham House designed by Frank Utpatel

Arkham House is a publishing house specializing in weird fiction founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei. The company's name is derived from H. P. Lovecraft's fictional New England city, Arkham. Arkham House published the first hardback collections of Lovecraft's works. Arkham House editions are noted for the quality of their printing and binding.

In addition to volumes of H. P. Lovecraft's fiction, Arkham House has published collections of his letters to peers, friends and family. Among his correspondents were Arkham House founders, Derleth and Wandrei.

Arkham House also published fiction from several of Lovecraft's contemporaries, including Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert Bloch, and Derleth himself; classic genre fiction by authors such as William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, H. Russell Wakefield, Seabury Quinn, and J. Sheridan Le Fanu; and later writers in the Lovecraft school, such as Ray Bradbury, Ramsey Campbell and Brian Lumley.

Despite the wealth of talented writers who appeared under the Arkham House imprint, it was not a financial success. Derleth wrote in 1970, "[T]he fact is that in no single year since its founding have the earnings of Arkham House met the expenses, so that it has been necessary for my personal earnings to shore up Arkham House finances." After Derleth's death, Donald Wandrei briefly acted as editorial director. He was succeeded by James Turner, who expanded the company's range of authors to include such prominent science fiction and fantasy writers as Michael Bishop, Lucius Shepard, Bruce Sterling, James Tiptree Jr., Michael Shea and J. G. Ballard, often publishing hardcover collections of shorter works. Turner's successor Peter Ruber sought to return the publisher to its pulp origins.

Other Imprints

Arkham House published under two additional imprints throughout its history. In 1945, the Mycroft & Moran imprint was launched for the publication of weird detective and mystery stories. Arkham also introduced Stanton & Lee Publishers in 1945 with the intention of publishing cartoons by Clare Victor Dwiggins. Stanton & Lee Publishers went on to publish poetry and the regional writings of August Derleth.

Works published by Arkham House

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1939

References

  • Jaffery, Sheldon (1989). The Arkham House Companion. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, Inc. ISBN 1-55742-005-X.
  • Chalker, Jack L. (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Joshi, S.T. (1999). Sixty Years of Arkham House: A History and Bibliography. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House. ISBN 0-87054-176-5.
  • Nielsen, Leon (2004). Arkham House Books: A Collector's Guide. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-1785-4.