My first attempt at producing a small press chapbook came in 1984 when the postman delivered a large envelope containing articles by Nic Howard about August Derleth, creator of Arkham House and an author in his own right. Also contained within that package was a piece by Ramsey Campbell plus dozens of illustrations by Allen Koszowski. This was to be the basis for my first publication for the British Fantasy Society.
Over several weeks I typed up and collated the articles and artwork, which was duly published as the BFS’ Masters of Fantasy 2: August Derleth. Producing the chapbook was time-consuming; and yet it was educational, intriguing and rewarding. In those days I had to use an electric typewriter, sheets of Letraset for the titles, and cow gum to paste it together. No DTP.
The booklet contained the following by Nic Howard: "Derleth: An American Life in Literature", "Dark Glory: Derleth's Achievements", and a foreword, notes and bibliographical information. Ramsey Campbell's "Derleth as I Knew Him", the introduction, was excerpted from a longer article. The booklet was just 24 pages in length (plus covers) and looks rather quaint when compared with today's proliferation of small press publications.
Masters of Fantasy 2 was the seventh in the ongoing BFS Booklet series. Its cover price was 50p ($1.50). Nowadays, can you buy anything worthy for a mere fifty pence? After Masters of Fantasy 2 I found myself ensnared by the bug and I edited / produced for the BFS several titles, including the Newsletter, Fantasy Bookshelf, Chills and Dark Horizons
This post, slightly revised for this blog, was initially published on the Alchemy Press website..
The booklet contained the following by Nic Howard: "Derleth: An American Life in Literature", "Dark Glory: Derleth's Achievements", and a foreword, notes and bibliographical information. Ramsey Campbell's "Derleth as I Knew Him", the introduction, was excerpted from a longer article. The booklet was just 24 pages in length (plus covers) and looks rather quaint when compared with today's proliferation of small press publications.
Masters of Fantasy 2 was the seventh in the ongoing BFS Booklet series. Its cover price was 50p ($1.50). Nowadays, can you buy anything worthy for a mere fifty pence? After Masters of Fantasy 2 I found myself ensnared by the bug and I edited / produced for the BFS several titles, including the Newsletter, Fantasy Bookshelf, Chills and Dark Horizons
This post, slightly revised for this blog, was initially published on the Alchemy Press website..
