BORGO PRESS

   US publishing house, a SMALL PRESS with a fairly extensive list, based in California, founded in 1975 by R. REGINALD, as publisher and editor, and his wife, Mary Wickizer Burgess (1938-), who played an increasingly large role from the mid-1980s as co-publisher and managing editor. BP began by publishing 35 64-page chapbooks on sf authors in the late 1970s in the The Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today, which began with Robert A. Heinlein: Stranger in his Own Land (1976 chap; rev 1977) by George Edgar SLUSSER, as well as 10 full-length novels by Piers ANTHONY, D.G. COMPTON, and others through 1979. In 1980 BP turned from the trade to the academic market, moving to full-size books, and introducing other monographic series of sf interest, including the I.O.Evans Studies in the Philosophy and Criticism of Literature (from 1982),Bibliographies of Modern Authors(from 1984, biblios of individual writers), Essays on Fantastic Literature (from 1986) and Classics of Fantastic Literature (from 1994, comprising original and reprint sf works). In 1991 BP purchased Brownstone Books, Sidewinder Press, and St. Willibrord's Press, which it continued to operate as separate imprints; and in 1993 acquired 100 titles of sf interest from STARMONT HOUSE and FAX COLLECTOR'S EDITIONS when those lines ceased operation, plus 30 unpublished manuscripts. New imprints were begun in the 1990s, including Burgess \& Wickizer, Emeritus Enterprises, and Unicorn \& Son (revived from Reginald's 1970 one-shot imprint). BP also distributes over 1000 books from other lines, mostly not sf. The firm has published 205 books through 1994, 2/3rds of sf relevance; and after a period of slow releases now issues about 30-40 titles annually, making it the largest single publisher (currently and cumulatively) of sf critical works and bibliographies

   JC/PN

   See also: SF IN THE CLASSROOM.