DAW Books

DAW Books
First logo
Parent companyAstra Publishing
Founded1971; 53 years ago (1971)
FounderDonald A. Wollheim
Elsie B. Wollheim
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationNew York City, United States
DistributionPenguin Random House Publisher Services
Key peopleElizabeth R. Wollheim
Sheila E. Gilbert
Publication typesBooks
Fiction genresScience fiction, fantasy
Official websitedawbooks.com
A number of paperback books published by DAW

DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim, along with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim,[1] following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy."[1] The first DAW Book published was the 1972 short story collection Spell of the Witch World by Andre Norton.[2]

In its early years under the leadership of Wollheim and his wife Elsie, DAW gained a reputation of publishing popular, though not always critically acclaimed, works of science fiction and fantasy. Nevertheless, in the 1970s the company published numerous books by award-winning authors such as Marion Zimmer Bradley, Fritz Leiber, Jerry Pournelle, and Roger Zelazny. In 1982, C. J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station became the first DAW book to win the Hugo Award for best novel.[3]

Until June 1984, all DAW books were characterized by yellow spines, and a prominent yellow cover box containing the company's logo as well as a chronological publication number. When the design was changed, the chronological number was retained, but moved to the copyright page and renamed the DAW Collectors' Book Number. Although it has a distribution relationship with Penguin Group and is headquartered in Penguin USA's offices in New York City, DAW is editorially independent and, until 2022, was closely held by its current publishers, Betsy Wollheim (Donald's daughter) and Sheila E. Gilbert.[4][5][6]

In July 2022, DAW was acquired by Astra Publishing.[6]

Authors

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References

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  1. ^ a b "DAW - Penguin Books USA". Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  2. ^ "Publication: Spell of the Witch World". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  3. ^ "1982 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 26 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  4. ^ Lassen, Jeremy (July 26, 2003). "A View From Corona #12". Night Shade Books. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  5. ^ "Locus Online: Betsy Wollheim interview excerpts". Locus. June 2006. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  6. ^ a b "Astra Publishing House Acquires DAW Books". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
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