Ace Books facts for kids

Ace Books is an American company that publishes books. It is especially known for science fiction and fantasy stories. The company started in New York City in 1952. It was founded by a person named Aaron A. Wyn.

At first, Ace Books published mysteries and westerns. But soon, they started publishing other types of books. In 1953, Ace published its first science fiction book. This was very popular! Soon, Ace published more science fiction books than mysteries or westerns.

Ace Books became famous for a special way of binding books. It was called tête-bêche. This means two books were bound together, but upside down from each other. So, there were two front covers! Ace called these "Ace Doubles." They published books this way until 1973.

For its first ten years, Ace was a top publisher of science fiction. Another big publisher was Ballantine Books. When A. A. Wyn died in 1967, Ace faced some problems. But they had a successful series called Ace Science Fiction Specials. This helped them for a few years.

Later, two important editors, Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, left Ace in 1971. In 1972, Grosset & Dunlap bought Ace. Even with money troubles, Ace had more successes. Terry Carr even came back to edit another popular series. Over time, Ace was sold several times. It eventually became part of Berkley Books. Today, Ace is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA). This means it's a brand name owned by a bigger company.

The Story of Ace Books

How Ace Books Started: The "Ace Double"

In 1952, an editor named Donald A. Wollheim was looking for a new job. He wanted to start a new paperback book company. He talked to A. A. Wyn, who already published books and magazines. Wyn's magazines included Ace Mystery and Ace Sports. This is probably where Ace Books got its name!

Wyn decided to hire Wollheim as an editor. The very first book Ace published was a "double" mystery. It had two books bound tête-bêche. This means the two books were printed in opposite directions. So, if you finished one book, you'd flip the whole book over to start the second one!

Ace didn't invent this special way of binding books. But they became very well known for it. They published hundreds of "Ace Doubles" over 21 years. Often, a book by a famous writer was paired with one by a newer writer. This helped new authors get noticed.

One problem with "Ace Doubles" was that both books had to fit a certain number of pages. This meant some stories might be cut or changed to fit. Even if the cover said "Complete and Unabridged," sometimes parts were still missing.

Some famous early "Ace Doubles" included the first novel by William S. Burroughs. Many books by Philip K. Dick, Robert Bloch, and Louis L'Amour were also published this way. The last "Ace Double" in this special format came out in 1973. After that, Ace still used the "Ace Double" name, but the books were bound normally.

1953–1963: Focusing on Science Fiction

Ace's second book was a western, also an "Ace Double." For a while, Ace published mysteries and westerns equally. But in 1953, they published their first true science fiction "double." It was A.E. van Vogt's The World of Null-A.

Science fiction quickly became very important to Ace. By 1955, they published more SF books each year than mysteries or westerns. From 1961 on, science fiction books outnumbered all other genres combined. Ace also published some books about teenagers in trouble in the 1950s. Collectors really like these rare books today.

By the late 1950s, Ace was publishing almost 100 books a year. Most books cost 35 cents. Later, prices went up to 40 or 45 cents. Some thicker books, like Frank Herbert's Dune in 1967, cost 95 cents.

Ace and Ballantine Books were the main science fiction paperback publishers in the U.S. during the 1950s and 1960s. Many other publishers started selling SF books too. But none had as much influence as Ace or Ballantine.

Ace was important not just for how many books they published. They also released the first novels by many famous authors. These included Philip K. Dick (Solar Lottery, 1955), Samuel R. Delany (The Jewels of Aptor, 1962), and Ursula K. Le Guin (Rocannon's World, 1966).

1964–1970: Challenges and Changes

In 1964, science fiction author Terry Carr joined Ace Books. In 1967, he started a new series called Ace Science Fiction Specials. This series published new, highly praised novels. Authors like R. A. Lafferty, Joanna Russ, and Ursula K. Le Guin were featured. Carr also edited a popular series of new science fiction stories called Universe.

In 1965, Ace Books published the first paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. There was a big argument about whether Ace had the right to publish it. Another publisher, Ballantine Books, then released an official version. Ace later agreed to pay money to Tolkien and stopped printing their edition.

When the owner, Wyn, died in 1967, Ace started having financial problems. They sometimes had trouble paying authors. This made it hard to get new books.

1971–2015: Ace Joins Bigger Companies

Both Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr left Ace in 1971. Wollheim started his own publishing company called DAW Books.

In the early 1970s, Ace Books became a big part of a company called Charter Communications. In 1972, Grosset & Dunlap bought Ace. Then, in 1982, G. P. Putnam's Sons bought Grosset & Dunlap. Ace was probably the most successful part of Grosset & Dunlap at that time. Ace soon became the main science fiction publisher for its new parent company.

Terry Carr came back to Ace in 1984 as a freelance editor. He started a new series of Ace Specials. This series focused only on authors' first novels. It was even more successful than the first! It included famous books like William Gibson's Neuromancer and Kim Stanley Robinson's The Wild Shore. These authors are now very important in science fiction.

Other famous people in publishing also worked at Ace. These include Tom Doherty, who started Tor Books, and Jim Baen, who founded Baen Books. Writers like Frederik Pohl and Ellen Kushner also worked there.

In 1996, Penguin Group (USA) bought the Putnam Berkley Group. They kept Ace as their science fiction imprint. As of 2012, Ace was publishing popular authors like Joe Haldeman, Charles Stross, and Laurell K. Hamilton. In 2013, Penguin joined with Random House to become Penguin Random House. This big company still owns Berkley and Ace. Ace's team also works on another science fiction imprint called Roc Books.

People Who Worked at Ace Books

Many talented people have worked as editors at Ace Books. Here are some of them, listed by when they started:

• A. A. Wyn, owner (1952–1967)
• Donald A. Wollheim, editor (1952–1971)
• Terry Carr, editor (1964–1971); freelance editor (1983–1987)
• Pat LoBrutto, science fiction editor (1974–1977)
• Frederik Pohl, executive editor (1971–1972)
• Tom Doherty, publisher (1975–1980)
• Jim Baen, SF editor (around 1977–1980)
• Ellen Kushner
• Terri Windling, editor (1979–1987)
• Susan Allison, editor (1980–1982); editor-in-chief (1982–2006); vice president (1985 – 2015)
• Ginjer Buchanan, editor (1984–1987); editor-in-chief (2006–2014)
• Anne Sowards, editor (2003 – present)

Ace Book Series Names

Until the late 1980s, Ace books had special serial numbers. These numbers often included letters, like "D-31" or "H-77." The letters actually told you the price of the book! Here are some of the letter series, their dates, and prices:

• D-series: 35¢, from 1952 to 1962.
• S-series: 25¢, from 1952 to 1956.
• F-series: 40¢, from 1961 to 1967.
• M-series: 45¢, from 1964 to 1967.
• G-series: 50¢, from 1958 to 1960 and again from 1964 to 1968.
• H-series: 60¢, from 1966 to 1968.
• A-series: 75¢, from 1963 to 1968.
• N-series: 95¢, in 1968.

The very first Ace book was D-01, a western "Ace Double." The D and S letters did not mean "Double" or "Single." Some D-series books were not "tête-bêche" doubles. Over time, Ace started several different letter series at once. The "tête-bêche" format became very popular with book collectors. Some rare books in perfect condition can be worth over $1,000!

Images for kids

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  Ace Double D-36, Robert E. Howard's Conan the Conqueror. The other book was The Sword of Rhiannon.

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  Joanna Russ's And Chaos Died (1970), from the first Ace Science Fiction Special series.

See also

In Spanish: Ace Books para niños