BAEN, Jim

   Working name of US editor James Patrick Baen (1943-) from the beginning of his career in US publishing in 1972, when he became Gothics editor at ACE BOOKS, though he nevertheless sometimes signed himself James Baen. He moved to GALAXY SCIENCE FICTION in 1973 as managing editor, taking over the editorship in 1974 of both Gal and IF from Ejler JAKOBSSON. These magazines were then in a crisis, which resulted in their amalgamation (as Gal) in January 1975. JB soon showed himself to be a capable editor, and over the next two years turned Gal into one of the liveliest current magazines, introducing popular columns by Jerry POURNELLE (science fact), Spider ROBINSON (book reviews) and Richard E.GEIS (general comment). Gal also began regularly to feature the much acclaimed stories of John VARLEY, and serialized novels by Frank HERBERT, Larry NIVEN, Frederik POHL, Roger ZELAZNY and others. In 1977 JB returned to ACE BOOKS as sf editor, becoming executive editor and vice-president before leaving in 1980 to join Tom Doherty's newly founded TOR BOOKS as editorial director. He retained this post until his departure in 1983 to form Baen Books, a firm which, though it distributes its publications through Simon \& Schuster, has maintained itself as a full and genuine publisher, generally specializing in military sf, though the range of authors it publishes is fairly wide, including Lois McMaster BUJOLD, John DALMAS, David A.DRAKE, Elizabeth MOON, Niven, Pournelle, S.M.STIRLING and Timothy ZAHN. As an editor of books in his own right, JB produced some anthologies of reprints from Gal and If, including The Best from Galaxy III (anth 1975) and \#IV (anth 1976), The Best from If III (anth 1976) and Galaxy: The Best of My Years (anth 1980). He then produced, in Destinies, Far Frontiers (with Pournelle) and New Destinies, a sequence of magazine/anthologies printing original material. The DESTINIES sequence includes Destinies: The Paperback Magazine of Science Fiction and Speculative Fact, Volume One (in 4 successive "issues", anths 1979), Volume Two (in 4 successive "issues", anths 1980), The Best of Destinies (anth 1980) and Volume Three (in 2 successive "issues", anths 1981). The FAR FRONTIERS sequence, each co-edited with Pournelle (and, uncredited, John F.CARR), includes Far Frontiers (anth 1985), \#2 (anth 1985), \#3 (anth 1985), \#4 (anth 1986), \#5 (anth 1986), \#6 (anth 1986) and \#7 (anth 1986). The third sequence, New Destinies, following on directly from the second, includes New Destinies \#1 (anth 1987), \#2 (anth 1987), \#3 (anth 1988), \#4 (anth 1988), \#6 (anth 1988), which comprises a special tribute to Robert A.HEINLEIN (there is no \#5), \#7 (anth 1989), \#8 (anth 1989), \#9 (anth 1990) and \#10 (anth 1992). He also edited The Science Fiction Yearbook (anth 1985) with Carr and Pournelle. With Barney COHEN, JB has written one novel, The Taking of Satcom Station (1982). See also: HISTORY OF SF; SF MAGAZINES.