Think about your favorite fantasy or science fiction novel. You will know the author and title of course. But can you think of its editor or publisher?
In the publishing world, people working behind the scenes rarely get the recognition they deserve. But on October 1, 2024, at least one industry pioneer was spotlighted. On that day, PBS aired the first episode of its new documentary series “Judy-Lynn del Rey: The Galaxy Gal,” which highlights little-known historical figures with disabilities.
Judy-Lynn del Rey, a woman with dwarfism, made a name for herself by founding Del Rey Books, a science fiction and fantasy company that turned fantasy into a mainstream publishing category.
As a researcher in speculative fiction, I was fortunate to work as a research consultant for the PBS project. However, due to time constraints, the episode could only cover half of del Rey’s story, overlooking her influence on science fiction and fantasy itself.
As you can see, Judy-Lynn del Rey had very clear ideas about the type of stories people wanted to buy. Some critics also believe she committed an unforgivable sin by being right.
Mother of “Star Wars”
Throughout her career, del Rey gained a reputation as an outstanding editor among her authors. Clarke, who co-wrote the screenplay for the film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” described her as “the most magnificent editor he had ever encountered,” and Philip K. Dick said she was “the greatest editor since Maxwell Perkins,” the legendary editor of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
However, she started her work as an assistant editor – actually, “Galley Girl” – for the most famous science fiction magazine in the sixties, Galaxy. There, she learned the basics of publishing and quickly rose through the editorial ranks until she was lured by Ballantine Books in 1973.
Shortly after, publishing giant Random House acquired Ballantine, which then appointed del Rey as a senior editor. However, her first major step was fraught with risk – severing ties with bestselling author John Norman, whose highly popular “Gor” novels faced widespread criticism for their misogynistic themes.
However, del Rey’s task was to develop a strong list of science fiction novels that could appeal to new generations of young readers, as well as adults. One of her early successes was the “Star Trek Log” series, a collection of 10 novels based on episodes from “Star Trek: The Animated Series.”
But del Rey achieved greater success by securing the novelization rights to a science fiction film, which few Hollywood executives at the time believed would be a major hit: “Star Wars.”
This smart gamble led to years of lucrative tie-in products for Ballantine, such as calendars, art books, sketchbooks, and the Star Wars Intergalactic Passport, and of course, more novels set in the Star Wars universe – a plethora of different links, in fact. del Rey herself dubbed herself the “Mother of Star Wars.”
After that, she became what journalist Jennifer Creighton called “a glowingly, embarrassingly jubilant beginner who triumphed.”
A Major Player in Big Fantasy
Del Rey’s editorial leanings were sometimes criticized – often by competitors who couldn’t match the success of her lineup – for focusing too much on the bottom line at Ballantine. But she also chose to work in the publishing landscape as it existed in the seventies rather than the one she wished existed.
In his book “The Big Fantasy,” publishing industry researcher Dan Sinykin calls this period the “Age of Conglomerates,” a time when publishing houses – usually small, family-run operations – were absorbed into larger corporations.
However, one benef…
