Shirley Jackson, author of one of the most unpopular stories ever published in The New Yorker ("The Lottery", of course, which has utterly outlived most of its outraged critics and subscription cancellers, and, perhaps sadly, sustained a readership that most of Jackson's work has not), and one of the pivotal figures in the creation of the new horror fiction, and the allied suspense fiction (such as that clangorous short), that was emerging in the 1940s, with Jackson along with John Collier one of its progenitors who only infrequently contributed to the fantasy-fiction magazines (unlike Robert Bloch or Fritz Leiber or Margaret St. Clair, whose careers orbited initially around those titles, or Cornell Woolrich or Algernon Blackwood, who were fairly frequent contributors even if their primary markets were elsewhere). As far as I know at the moment, only four of her stories were first published in the fantasy markets, somewhat unsurprisingly in the two most sustained fantasy magazines to fully establish themselves in the 1950s, Fantastic (as founded in 1952 and edited by crime-fiction writer Howard Browne) and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (as co-founded in 1949 and co-edited, then solely edited, by crime-fiction among much else writer Anthony Boucher, born William White).
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Jackson's "Root of Evil" appeared in the March-April 1953 issue of Fantastic, and publishers Ziff-Davis were feeling cocky enough about their packaging to have a wraparound cover, with Jackson's story advertised only on the back (which I hope to scan and add to this post, don't see it online anywhere). Richard Powers's unusually non-abstract imagery is fine, and having both B. Traven and John Collier (and, for no compellingly good reason, Billy Rose the Gypsy Rose Lee promoter, who is credited with fiction in other markets at about this time as well) made them feel they didn't need to properly advise the newsstand browser. Fantastic in those early years was paying very well, indeed, and stunts such as having stories as by Billy Rose and Mickey Spillane in those issues seemed to be paying off, but Ziff-Davis lost their nerve, and Fantastic soon would be hitting a pretty low point by the mid-'50s, though it was still in its way entertaining, as authorities on the scene such as Bill Crider and Mike Ashley can attest (and even under the darkest days of Paul Fairman's editorship, the run of routine stories mostly by Robert Silverberg, Harlan Ellison, Randall Garrett and Milton Lesser before he started publishing most of his best work as Stephen Marlowe--routine stories by intention, these talented writers were there to deliver it Tuesday rather than good, though if good, no problem--would be supplemented by the finds that Fairman's assistant [and eventual vastly better successor] Cele Goldsmith would pull from the slushpile, such as Kate Wilhelm's first story, "The Pint-Sized Genie"). ZD's purchase of all rights in those years meant that Jackson's story was also reprinted in one of Ted White's early issues of the magazine, a rather better reprint than most he was offered from the same storehouse at the turn of the '70s (albeit the others in that 1969 issue were pretty solid, as well).
Courtesy ISFDB:
Publication: Fantastic, March-April 1953
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Jackson's first story for the less "slick" and stunt-driven, more "literary" (in the same sense that sibling magazine Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine strove to be the most elegant and literate of the cf magazines) F&SF was apparently one she had trouble placing with other markets; as Laurence Jackson Hyman or Sarah Hyman Stewart put it in the clumsily titled collection Just an Ordinary Day, "One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts" sold for peanuts (comparatively...Fantastic at its commercial height was paying 5c/word as a standard rate, and probably a little more to Jackson, while F&SF was more likely to pay 2c/word, again with a bit of a bump--pay rates somewhat reminiscent of the little magazines, as well...this at a time when The New Yorker was paying several hundred 1950s dollars for its short fiction, and The Saturday Evening Post paid five to ten times what TNY chose to afford).
"Peanuts" is a fine story, even though it's not a fantasy so much as a charming story about people causing varying sorts of mischief; Jerome Bixby's vignette "Trace" would take the same sort of framework and make it unadulterated fantasy, but Boucher rather doubted, apparently, that his readers would mind a not-quite-fantasy by Jackson in their pages. This set up a precedent for two further Jackson stories in Boucher's F&SF, "The Missing Girl" and "The Omen". Though it's notable that Jackson's name is again not on the front cover for the January, 1955 issue, with William Sansom (a rather slick writer of sf and fantasy, who would contribute to The Saturday Evening Post or Playboy at least as often as to fantasy magazines), J. T. McIntosh (once a great F&SF favorite), Isaac Asimov and John Dickson Carr getting the lines instead...
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At least by her second appearance, Jackson's credited on the cover...and her third and last original publication in F&SF was given an almost solo credit, along with Jane Roberts (most famous for "Seth""nonfiction" but a fairly prolific contributor to the magazine in the 1950s).
Publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1955
Publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1958
Courtesy ISFDB:
Publication: Fantastic, March-April 1953
- fep • They Write... • essay by Shirley Jackson
- fep • They Write... • essay by Billy Rose
- fep • They Write... • essay by B. Traven
- 4 • The Third Guest • novelette by B. Traven
- 4 • The Third Guest • interior artwork by Tom O'Sullivan
- 37 • The Delicate Dinosaur • shortstory by William Markham Altman
- 37 • The Delicate Dinosaur • interior artwork by J. Bryan
- 55 • Cartoon: "Don't look like they're coming." • interior artwork by Mendoza
- 56 • The Cold Green Eye • shortstory by Jack Williamson
- 56 • The Cold Green Eye • interior artwork by Ernie Barth
- 66 • Something for the Woman • shortstory by Randall Garrett [as by Ivar Jorgensen ]
- 66 • Something for the Woman • interior artwork by Ed Emshwiller [as by Emsh ]
- 74 • The Sword of Yung Lo • shortstory by Maurice Walsh
- 74 • The Sword of Yung Lo • interior artwork by Ashman [as by Bill Ashman ]
- 88 • Cartoon: "Anything wild?" • interior artwork by Frosty
- 90 • Stop on the Red • shortstory by Franklin Gregory
- 90 • Stop on the Red • interior artwork by Charles Berger
- 102 • Escape Me Never • novelette by J. T. McIntosh [as by J. T. M'Intosh ]
- 102 • Escape Me Never • interior artwork by Ed Emshwiller [as by Emsh ]
- 121 • Cartoon: "Now That's enough, John. Our guests aren't interested in your old voodoo hobby." • interior artwork by Ray Dillon
- 124 • Root of Evil • shortstory by Shirley Jackson
- 124 • Root of Evil • interior artwork by Virgil Finlay
- 130 • A Star Falls on Broadway • shortstory by Harry Walton [as by Harry Fletcher ]
- 130 • A Star Falls on Broadway • interior artwork by Leo Summers [as by L. R. Summers ]
- 132 • Three Wishes • shortstory by Poul Anderson
- 133 • Three Wishes • interior artwork by Dick Francis
- 136 • Cartoon: "Go Where?" • interior artwork by Ray Dillon
- 139 • The Devil George and Rosie • (1934) • novelette by John Collier (variant of The Devil, George, and Rosie)
- 139 • The Devil George and Rosie • interior artwork by David Stone
- 159 • The Tourists • (1949) • shortstory by Billy Rose
- 159 • The Tourists • interior artwork by Ed Emshwiller [as by Harry Garo ]
- 4 • Editorial: Don't • essay by Laurence M. Janifer
- 6 • Emphyrio (Part 1 of 2) • serial by Jack Vance
- 7 • Emphyrio (Part 1 of 2) • interior artwork by Bruce Elliot Jones
- 78 • The Big Boy • shortstory by Bruce McAllister
- 83 • Time Bum • (1953) • shortstory by C. M. Kornbluth
- 90 • The Opal Necklace • (1952) • shortstory by Kris Neville
- 90 • The Opal Necklace • (1952) • interior artwork by Leo Summers [as by L. R. Summers ]
- 104 • The Sin of Hyacinth Peuch • (1952) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell
- 104 • The Sin of Hyacinth Peuch • (1952) • interior artwork by Leo Summers [as by L. R. Summers ]
- 122 • Root of Evil • (1953) • shortstory by Shirley Jackson
- 122 • Root of Evil (reprint) • (1953) • interior artwork by Virgil Finlay
- 128 • What If • (1952) • shortstory by Isaac Asimov (variant of What If . . .)
- 128 • What If • (1952) • interior artwork by David Stone
- 142 • Fantasy Books (Fantastic, June 1969) • [Fantasy Books (Fantastic)] • essay by Fritz Leiber
- 142 • Review: Black Easter by James Blish • review by Fritz Leiber
- 143 • Review: A Glass of Stars by Robert F. Young • review by Fritz Leiber
- 144 • Dark Shadows (Media Review) • essay by Jean Marie Stine [as by Hank Stine ]
Jackson's first story for the less "slick" and stunt-driven, more "literary" (in the same sense that sibling magazine Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine strove to be the most elegant and literate of the cf magazines) F&SF was apparently one she had trouble placing with other markets; as Laurence Jackson Hyman or Sarah Hyman Stewart put it in the clumsily titled collection Just an Ordinary Day, "One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts" sold for peanuts (comparatively...Fantastic at its commercial height was paying 5c/word as a standard rate, and probably a little more to Jackson, while F&SF was more likely to pay 2c/word, again with a bit of a bump--pay rates somewhat reminiscent of the little magazines, as well...this at a time when The New Yorker was paying several hundred 1950s dollars for its short fiction, and The Saturday Evening Post paid five to ten times what TNY chose to afford). "Peanuts" is a fine story, even though it's not a fantasy so much as a charming story about people causing varying sorts of mischief; Jerome Bixby's vignette "Trace" would take the same sort of framework and make it unadulterated fantasy, but Boucher rather doubted, apparently, that his readers would mind a not-quite-fantasy by Jackson in their pages. This set up a precedent for two further Jackson stories in Boucher's F&SF, "The Missing Girl" and "The Omen". Though it's notable that Jackson's name is again not on the front cover for the January, 1955 issue, with William Sansom (a rather slick writer of sf and fantasy, who would contribute to The Saturday Evening Post or Playboy at least as often as to fantasy magazines), J. T. McIntosh (once a great F&SF favorite), Isaac Asimov and John Dickson Carr getting the lines instead...
Publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1955
- 3 • Selection • novelette by J. T. McIntosh
- 34 • The Potato Cake • shortstory by Pauline Clarke
- 38 • The Tournament • shortstory by William Sansom
- 45 • The Expert • [Depression or Bust] • shortstory by Mack Reynolds
- 52 • Untitled • interior artwork by Ed Emshwiller (variant of untitled) [as by Emsh ]
- 53 • One Ordinary Day, with Peanuts • shortstory by Shirley Jackson
- 62 • Single Combat • shortstory by Robert Abernathy
- 70 • The Glass of the Future • poem by Anthony Boucher [as by Herman W. Mudgett ]
- 71 • The Royal Historian of Oz (Part 1 of 2) • essay by Martin Gardner
- 82 • The Girl in the Ice • (1953) • shortstory by Emyr Humphreys
- 85 • The Shopdropper • [Dr. Manly J. Departure] • shortstory by Alan Nelson
- 94 • Recommended Reading (F&SF, January 1955) • [Recommended Reading] • essay by The Editor
- 94 • Review: To Walk the Night by William Sloane • review by The Editor
- 94 • Review: The Children's Hour by Marjorie Barrows • review by The Editor
- 95 • Review: Assignment in Tomorrow by Frederik Pohl • review by The Editor
- 95 • Review: Great Tales of Fantasy and Imagination by Philip Van Doren Stern • review by The Editor
- 95 • Review: Bloodstock and Other Stories by Margaret Irwin • review by The Editor
- 95 • Review: The Spoor of Spooks and Other Nonsense by Bergen Evans • review by The Editor
- 96 • Review: Going Into Space by Arthur C. Clarke • review by The Editor
- 96 • Review: Children of the Lens by E. E. Smith • review by The Editor
- 96 • Review: Max by Giovannetti • review by The Editor
- 97 • The Singing Bell • [Wendell Urth] • shortstory by Isaac Asimov
- 111 • Lament by a Maker • poem by L. Sprague de Camp
- 112 • Blind Man's Hood • (1937) • shortstory by John Dickson Carr
Publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1957
- 5 • I Feel It In My Bones • essay by Isaac Asimov
- 19 • The Word of Willow • (1956) • poem by Leah Bodine Drake
- 20 • Stepping Stone • novelette by William Morrison and Frederik Pohl
- 42 • The Missing Girl • shortstory by Shirley Jackson
- 53 • Holdout • shortstory by Robert Sheckley
- 63 • The Science Screen (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1957) • essay by Charles Beaumont
- 66 • The Cabbage Patch • (1952) • shortstory by Theodore R. Cogswell
- 70 • The Peacemongers • shortstory by Poul Anderson
- 78 • With Butter and Mustard • shortstory by Gordon R. Dickson
- 90 • Insert Knob A in Hole B • shortstory by Isaac Asimov
- 92 • Recommended Reading (F&SF, December 1957) • [Recommended Reading] • essay by Anthony Boucher
- 92 • Review: Rockets, Missiles and Space Travel by Willy Ley • review by Anthony Boucher
- 92 • Review: In the Name of Science by Martin Gardner • review by Anthony Boucher
- 93 • Review: The Square Pegs by Irving Wallace • review by Anthony Boucher
- 93 • Review: The Lunatic Fringe by Gerald W. Johnson • review by Anthony Boucher
- 94 • Review: Monkey Business: Hoaxes in the Name of Science by Irving Adler • review by Anthony Boucher
- 94 • Review: Earth is Room Enough by Isaac Asimov • review by Anthony Boucher
- 94 • Review: S-F, The Year's Greatest: Second Annual Volume by Judith Merril • review by Anthony Boucher
- 95 • Review: Off on a Comet by Jules Verne • review by Anthony Boucher
- 95 • Review: The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne • review by Anthony Boucher
- 95 • Review: The Time Dissolver by Jerry Sohl • review by Anthony Boucher
- 95 • Review: Vanguard to Venus by Jeffery Lloyd Castle • review by Anthony Boucher
- 96 • Review: The Wonderful O by James Thurber • review by Anthony Boucher
- 96 • Review: Knight's Castle by Edward Eager • review by Anthony Boucher
- 96 • Review: Who's Who in Science Fiction by Jack Lewis and George Hopkins • review by Anthony Boucher
- 97 • Renaissance • shortstory by G. C. Edmondson
- 111 • Spud and Cochise • (1936) • novelette by Oliver La Farge
- 130 • Index to Volume Thirteen - July 1957-December 1957 • [Index F&SF] • essay by uncredited
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| This less impressive cover gets the wraparound posting! |
Publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1958
- 5 • The Bundu • [Bundu] • novella by Jane Roberts
- 62 • The Science Stage (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1958) • essay by William Morrison
- 64 • Gladiator • shortstory by Mack Reynolds
- 77 • A Tale of the Ragged Mountains • (1844) • shortstory by Edgar Allan Poe
- 87 • The Venus Papers • shortstory by Richard Wilson
- 93 • Ye Phantasie Writer and His Catte • poem by Winona McClintic
- 94 • Big, Wide, Wonderful World • [Shock Short] • shortstory by Charles E. Fritch
- 98 • Backwardness • shortstory by Poul Anderson
- 108 • The Best Science Fantasy Books of 1957 (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March 1958) • essay by Anthony Boucher
- 113 • How Bug-Eyed Was My Monster • (1957) • shortstory by Robert Bloch
- 118 • The Omen • shortstory by Shirley Jackson
Though it's notable that when F&SF readers were polled for their favorite contributions from the history of the magazine, for an all-reprint-fiction 30th Anniversary issue, they chose the non-fantasy, non-sf story by Jackson over the later entries...it would be further reprinted by the fantasy magazine Twilight Zone a half-decade later, and Richard Lupoff would include it in his first volume of stories that probably should've won the Hugo Award...but, then, her heirs almost managed to name the collection of her uncollected stories after "One Ordinary Day..." as well.
For more of today's Jackson and non-Jackson FFB entries, please see Patti Abbott's blog.