Raymond A. Palmer | |
|---|---|
 Raymond A. Palmer circa 1930 | |
| Born | Raymond Alfred Palmer August 1, 1910 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died | August 15, 1977 (aged 67) Portage, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, editor |
| Genre | Science fiction |
Raymond Alfred Palmer (August 1, 1910 – August 15, 1977) was an American author and magazine editor. Influential in the first wave of science fiction fandom, his first fiction stories were published in 1935.
Ziff Davis named him editor of the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories in 1938 and editor of its sister publication, Fantastic Stories, in 1939. He began promoting the "Shaver Mystery", a series of stories about ancient aliens, lost civilizations, and underground inhabitants, in 1944. He claimed the stories were true, which caused a deep rift in science fiction fandom and readership. On the orders of the magazine's owners, he ended the Shaver Mystery in 1948.
Palmer established his own publishing house in 1947. After leaving Ziff Davis in 1949, he began publishing the magazines Fate, Other Worlds Science Stories, Mystic (later renamed Search), and Flying Saucers, among others.
He wrote a short autobiography titled Martian Diary, co-wrote The Coming of the Saucers with Kenneth Arnold, edited Richard Sharpe Shaver's The Hidden World, and republished the original edition of the spiritualist work, Oahspe: A New Bible.
Palmer frequently pushed fringe beliefs and conspiracy theories, and was investigated by the FBI at least once. He was linked to an inquiry into the publication of pornographic paperback books, but his involvement was tangential at best.
Raymond Palmer's editing of Amazing Stories has a mixed legacy, primarily due to his promotion of the Shaver Mystery. His editing of Other Worlds Science Stories has been praised, and he is an important early figure in the history of the flying saucer and New Age movements.