GOLD, H(orace) L(eonard)

(1914-)

   Canadian-born writer and editor, in the USA from an early age, though retaining dual nationality. HLG began his sf career with several sales to Astounding Stories in the mid-1930s, the first being "Inflexure" (1934). At that time he wrote under the pseudonyms Clyde Crane Campbelland Leigh Keith, a gambit necessitated, he has said, by antisemitism on the part of the publishers. After a hiatus, he returned to the magazine under his own name with "A Matter of Form" (1938), becoming a regular contributor to UNKNOWN with such stories as "Trouble with Water" (1939), an enjoyable humorous MAGIC story, and "None but Lucifer" (1939), a collaboration with L. Sprague DE CAMP. He was later assistant to Mort WEISINGER on the magazines CAPTAIN FUTURE, STARTLING STORIES and THRILLINGWONDER STORIES (1939-41), from which he moved on to true-detective magazines, COMICS and radio scripts. During these years he occasionally used two further pseudonyms, Richard Storey in 1943 and Dudley Dell in 1951.In 1950 he started GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION, which from the outset hemade one of the leading sf magazines, and for the editing of which he remains best known - indeed, notorious. Afflicted with acute agoraphobia as a result of his wartime experiences, HLG worked from his apartment, doing much of his work by telephone. The emphasis of Gal reflected his interests in PSYCHOLOGY and SOCIOLOGY, as well as HUMOUR, and like John W. CAMPBELL Jr - with whom in 1953 he shared the first HUGO to be given forediting a professional magazine - he was credited with suggesting many ideas which his contributors turned into famous stories; he also earned a reputation for overediting. An interesting companion magazine, BEYOND FANTASY FICTION, which he also edited, lasted 10 issues 1953-5. He editedGALAXY SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS, an sf and fantasy reprint series of variable quality, in the same format as Gal. Later still he became editor of IF when it was taken over by Gal's owner. He retired from editing both Gal and If in 1961.Over the period of his editorship, HLG compiled anumber of anthologies from the pages of Gal: Galaxy Reader of Science Fiction (anth 1952; cut to 13 out of 33 stories 1953 UK), Second GalaxyReader of Science Fiction (anth 1954; with 11 stories removed, cut vt The Galaxy Science Fiction Omnibus 1955 UK), The Third Galaxy Reader (anth 1958), Five Galaxy Short Novels (anth 1958), The Fourth Galaxy Reader (anth 1959), The World that Couldn't Be and 8 Other Novelets from Galaxy (anth 1959), Bodyguard, and Four Other Short Novels from Galaxy (anth 1960), The Fifth Galaxy Reader (anth 1961), Mind Partner and 8 Other Novelets from Galaxy (anth 1961) and The Sixth Galaxy Reader (anth 1962). He also edited one independent anthology, The Weird Ones (anth 1962).Some of HLG's stories were collected in The Old Die Rich (coll 1955). What Will They Think of Last? (1976) is a selection of his editorials from Gal withan autobiographical postscript.

   MJE

   See also: QUESTAR.