Roger Elwood died, reportedly of cancer, on February 2, 2007. Elwood's first anthology was Alien Worlds (Paperback Library 52-320, 1964). According to some sources, this anthology was ghost-edited by Sam Moskowitz. In the next few years he would go on to co-edit several more with both Moskowitz and Vic Ghidalia, all reprint.

In the early 1970s, he would begin assembling original anthologies, by his own claim more than 80; he was, at one point, easily the top market for short sf/fantasy fiction, publishing at least one in four of the new stories appearing in those years.

He was a controversial figure in the field, as his own strong moral and religious beliefs drove him to insist that the stories he bought adhere to a strict standard. Nevertheless, he was instrumental in the early careers of writers such as Gene Wolfe, R. A. Lafferty, and Barry Malzberg, none of whom is known for shying away from sex and anti-religious themes.

It was commonly known in fandom at the time that if a fan editor was to give an Elwood anthology a bad review, Elwood would call them and defend the book at length, reportedly without rancor or anger. It was speculated that his monthly phone bill must be in the high four figures.

In 1975, Elwood created the Laser Books imprint for Harlequin, the theory being that sf could be packaged and sold the same way romance was at the time: by the numbers and according to a strict formula. It eventually failed, publishing 57 titles by 1977, the last four being available ONLY to subscribers and not sold in bookstores.

Laser Books tended to be rather uninteresting, with a few exceptions, but Elwood should be credited with buying not only first novels from K. W. Jeter (Seeklight) and Tim Powers (Epitaph in Rust) but work from older writers like J. Hunter Holly and Ray Nelson. He also published one of the most sought-after books in the series, Dean Koontz's Invasion (as by Aaron Wolfe). The covers for the Laser series were all done by Kelly Freas, again according to a very strict format, and I was told by Kelly that his experience with Elwood was instrumental in his decision to edit his own line of books, Starblaze, for Donning later on.

Elwood has been both credited and blamed for the glut of anthologies that burst onto the scene in the last half of the 1970s, some critics claiming that he single handedly killed the form both with readers and with publishers. Others disagree, and put forth reasonable arguments. However you see the man, his impact was undeniable, and in retrospect, his body of work is impressive and of an overall high quality.

Prepared by Bud Webster.

Posted June 25, 2007