#Contact book of the month series#
The Science Fiction Book Club (1998-present)Īt the end 1996 and the first months of 1997, the SFBC sold a series of six novella-length publications called The Science Fiction Book Club Collection, offering one volume for each selection period.The first known SFBC edition using this imprint was Orson Scott Card's Hatrack River in April 1989. In a move to distinguish its book club division (Doubleday Direct) from its trade publications (The Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group), Bertelsmann created this imprint, which lasted until its merger of Doubleday Direct with Book-of-the-Month-Club to form Bookspan. The first known SFBC edition to use this imprint was Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars in July 1970. The imprint goes back even further as the publisher of Doubleday's original book club editions. When Bertelsmann purchased Doubleday and its book clubs, the Nelson Doubleday imprint was retired and the GuildAmerica Books imprint was created. When the book club edition followed the paperback, the original publisher was credited on the SFBC edition. As a rule (with few exceptions) when the book club edition preceded the paperback, the Nelson Doubleday imprint was used. This imprint was also used for exclusive book club editions of omnibus volumes, making all Nelson Doubleday publications true first editions. These latter editions usually appeared under the Nelson Doubleday imprint. In 1970, they started publishing some hardcover editions several months before their paperback editions.
In the late 60s, the SFBC began publishing first world hardcover editions of titles that were paperback originals. The current Senior Editor is Rome Quezada and their website is Original Publications (The BMG Music Service was dissolved in 2009.) In the Age of the Internet, the future of the SFBC and all direct sales publishing is in question. In July 2008 Bertelsmann sold the company (along with BMG Music Service and Columbia House DVD Club) to a private investment firm, the Najafi Companies, who changed the company's name to Direct Brands Inc. Soon afterward Bertelsmann purchased Time Warner's interest in Bookspan. In May of 2007, it was announced that long-time SFBC Editor-in-Chief Ellen Asher would be taking "early retirement", and Senior Editor Andrew Wheeler was also let go.
and Book-of-the-Month Club), creating Bookspan. In 2000, Bertelsmann and Time Warner (the two largest media conglomerates in the world) combined their direct book sales (Doubleday Direct Inc. purchased the Bantam Doubleday Dell publishing group in 1986, and in the process acquired the Doubleday book clubs, including the SFBC. The German media corporation Bertelsmann A.G. These printings had to be reset to conform to Doubleday's printing presses, and were mostly of cheaper quality. As the years went by, more publishers' books were made available as the monthly selection.
In the beginning the selections were mostly reprints of books originally published by Doubleday's trade division, and were of comparable quality. The practice of offering alternate selections gradually grew over the decades, from one or two in the 1970s, to a dozen or more in the late 2000s. These alternate selections were not automatically sent to club members. Both books were sent to members who chose to receive them (or forgot to mail back the selection card!) Around this time additional selections were offered in seasonal announcements (Winter, Spring, etc.) This gave members a choice of up to 32 new books each year, while occasionally making available "alternate selectons" and cross-over selections from other Doubleday book clubs. This practice continued until July 1969, when the club began offering a second selection. 2.3.1 Catalog Numbers or Identification Numbers?ĭoubleday created the Science Fiction Book Club in 1953, offering one selection per month, with the first book appearing in March.
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