F. Orlin Tremaine

F (rederick). Orlin Tremaine (January 7, 1899 – October 22, 1956) was an American science fiction and other magazine editor and writer. He sometimes published under the pseudonym Warner Van Lorne.

Biography

Prior to editing Astounding, Tremaine worked as an editor on several magazines, including Brain Power (1921-1924), True Story (1924), and Macfadden Fiction-Lover's Magazine (1924-1925).

In addition, he published short stories under the pseudonym Orlin Frederick.

He became the second editor of Astounding Science Fiction in 1933 following the magazine's purchase by Street and Smith when William Clayton went bankrupt. Tremaine remained editor until 1937, during which time he bought such stories as H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness (sold by Julius Schwartz) and The Shadow Out of Time (sold by Donald Wandrei), apparently without reading them. Tremaine permitted both tales to be severely abridged and edited by copyeditors, although Lovecraft complained vociferously only about the former (it was on this occasion that he referred to Tremaine as "that god-damnn'd dung of a hyaena (Lovecraft to Robert H. Barlow, June 4, 1936 (ms, John Hay Library).[1]

Desmond Hall was his assistant at Astounding, and together they became the founding editors of Street and Smith's Mademoiselle in 1935. Tremaine edited the women's magazine as well as the SF magazine until his promotion in 1937. Tremaine was succeeded as editor of Astounding by John W. Campbell, Jr., and at Mademoiselle by Betsy Blackwell.

In 1937, Tremaine was appointed Editorial Director of Street and Smith, a position he held for a year. He then formed his own company and produced the short-lived science fiction magazine Comet Stories. He later became editor at Bartholomew House, which published the first paperback editions of Lovecraft, The Weird Shadow Over Innsmotuh (1944) and The Dunwich Horror (1945).[1] He also published a revision of T. C. McClary's novel Rebirth (first appearance in Astounding Stories) while at Bart House.

During the fifty issues of the magazine he published, Tremaine set Astounding up as the pre-eminent science fiction magazine and launched the careers of authors including L. Sprague de Camp and Eric Frank Russell. Tremaine was part of an old Cornish American family.[2]

Bibliography

Short Stories

  • The Throwback, Weird Tales (October 1926)
  • The Upper Level Road, Astounding Stories (August 1935)
  • Marinorro, Astounding Stories (November 1937)
  • Ormoly of Roonerion, Astounding Stories (January 1938)
  • Vibratory, Astounding Stories (March 1938)
  • Resilient Planet, Astounding Stories (August 1938)
  • Wanted—7 Fearless Engineers!, Amazing Stories (February 1939)
  • Golden Girl of Kalendar, Fantastic Adventures (September 1939)
  • True Confession, Thrilling Wonder Stories (February 1940)
  • Jalu of Radiant Valley, Fantastic Adventures (March 1940)
  • A Leader for Korcin, Future Fantasy and Science Fiction (December 1942)
  • Son of the Stars, Super Science Stories (April 1949)

Further reading

  • Will Murray, 'The Man Who Edited Lovecraft," Crypt of Cthulhu No 48 (St Johns Eve 1987): 3-5.

References

  1. 1 2 S.T. Joshi and David E. Schultz, An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia, Westport CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2001, p. 279
  2. ↑ Rowse, A. L. The Cousin Jacks, The Cornish in America
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