Byron Preiss
Encyclopedia
Byron Preiss was an American
writer
, editor
, and publisher. He founded and served as president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and later of iBooks.
, New York City
, Byron Preiss graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1972, and earned a master's degree
in communications from Stanford Film School.
In 1971, while Preiss was teaching at a Philadelphia elementary school
, he conceived and with Jim Steranko
produced an anti-drug comic book
, The Block, designed for low-level reading skills. Published by Steranko's company, Supergraphics, it was distributed to schools nationwide.
He founded Byron Preiss Visual Publications in 1974 to publish original works, including Weird Heroes (1975). His 1976 Fiction Illustrated
series of illustrated novels
began with Schlomo Raven: Public Detective, a Preiss collaboration with Tom Sutton
, followed by Starfawn, illustrated by Stephen Fabian
, Steranko's Chandler: Red Tide
and the 1977 Son of Sherlock Holmes, illustrated by Ralph Reese
. Other publications included a 1978 adaptation of Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination
as a two-volume graphic novel
, illustrated by Howard Chaykin
.
and Random House
. One such project, created in conjunction with the Bank Street College of Education
, resulted in a series of educational comic books adapting well-known genre authors: The Bank Street Book of Creepy Tales, The Bank Street Book of Fantasy, The Bank Street Book of Mystery and The Bank Street Book of Science Fiction.
He published children's books by celebrities, including Billy Crystal
, Jane Goodall
, Jay Leno
, LeAnn Rimes
and Jerry Seinfeld
, and worked closely with such established illustrators as Ralph Reese, William Stout
and Tom Sutton
.
Preiss was co-author, with Michael Reaves
, of the children's novel
Dragonworld (Doubleday, 1979), with 80 illustrations by Joseph Zucker. Dragonworld was originally planned to be the fifth "Fiction Illustrated" title.
Beyond traditional printed books, Preiss frequently embraced emerging technologies, and was among the first to publish in such electronic forms as CD-ROM
books and ebooks. The Words of Gandhi, an audio book
he produced, won a Grammy Award
in 1985.
Both Byron Preiss Visual Publications and iBooks filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy on February 22, 2006, after his death.
with his wife Sandi Mendelson and their daughters Karah and Blaire. On July 9, 2005, he died in a traffic accident while driving to his synagogue
in Long Island, New York.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, and publisher. He founded and served as president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and later of iBooks.
Early life and career
A native of, BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Byron Preiss graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1972, and earned a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in communications from Stanford Film School.
In 1971, while Preiss was teaching at a Philadelphia elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
, he conceived and with Jim Steranko
Jim Steranko
James F. Steranko is an American graphic artist, comic book writer-artist-historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator....
produced an anti-drug comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
, The Block, designed for low-level reading skills. Published by Steranko's company, Supergraphics, it was distributed to schools nationwide.
He founded Byron Preiss Visual Publications in 1974 to publish original works, including Weird Heroes (1975). His 1976 Fiction Illustrated
Fiction Illustrated
Fiction Illustrated is a short-lived series of early illustrated fiction, similar to graphic novels, produced and packaged by Byron Preiss Visual Productions in the 1970s and published by Pyramid/Jove/HBJ. Four were produced, with a fifth was planned. All but one were written by Byron Preiss...
series of illustrated novels
Illustrated fiction
Illustrated fiction is a hybrid narrative medium in which images and text work together to tell a story. It can take various forms, including fiction written for adults or children, magazine fiction, comic strips, and picture books....
began with Schlomo Raven: Public Detective, a Preiss collaboration with Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton was an American comic book artist who sometimes used the pseudonyms Sean Todd and Dementia...
, followed by Starfawn, illustrated by Stephen Fabian
Stephen Fabian
-Career:Fabian specializes in science fiction and fantasy illustration and cover art for books and magazines. Fabian also produced artwork for TSR's Dungeons & Dragons game from 1986 to 1995, particularly on the Ravenloft line. He was self-taught, two of his primary influences being Virgil Finlay...
, Steranko's Chandler: Red Tide
Chandler: Red Tide
Chandler: Red Tide is a 1976 illustrated novel, an early form of graphic novel, by writer-artist Jim Steranko.The digest-sized book combines typeset text with two same-sized illustrations per page, utilizing no word balloons or other traditional comics text conventions...
and the 1977 Son of Sherlock Holmes, illustrated by Ralph Reese
Ralph Reese
Ralph Reese is an American artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, comic books and comic strips, including a year drawing the Flash Gordon strip for King Features...
. Other publications included a 1978 adaptation of Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination
The Stars My Destination
The Stars My Destination is a science fiction novel by Alfred Bester. Originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in four parts beginning with the October 1956 issue, it first appeared in book form in the United Kingdom as Tiger! Tiger! – after William Blake's poem "The Tyger", the first verse...
as a two-volume graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
, illustrated by Howard Chaykin
Howard Chaykin
Howard Victor Chaykin is an American comic book writer and artist famous for his innovative storytelling and sometimes controversial material...
.
Publishing career
As a book packager, he developed titles for such publishers as HarperCollinsHarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
and Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
. One such project, created in conjunction with the Bank Street College of Education
Bank Street College of Education
Bank Street College of Education is located in Manhattan, New York City.-History:Bank Street was founded in 1916 by Lucy Sprague Mitchell as the "Bureau of Educational Experiments"....
, resulted in a series of educational comic books adapting well-known genre authors: The Bank Street Book of Creepy Tales, The Bank Street Book of Fantasy, The Bank Street Book of Mystery and The Bank Street Book of Science Fiction.
He published children's books by celebrities, including Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal
William Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
, Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
, Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes is an American country/pop singer. She is known for her rich vocals and her rise to fame as an eight-year-old champion on the original Ed McMahon version of Star Search, followed by the release of the Patsy Cline-intended single "Blue" when Rimes was only age 13, resulting in her...
and Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld
Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
, and worked closely with such established illustrators as Ralph Reese, William Stout
William Stout
William Stout is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worked on over thirty feature films, doing everything from storyboard art to production design...
and Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton was an American comic book artist who sometimes used the pseudonyms Sean Todd and Dementia...
.
Preiss was co-author, with Michael Reaves
Michael Reaves
James Michael Reaves is an American writer, known for his contributions as producer and story editor to a number of 1990s animated television series, including Disney's Gargoyles and Batman: The Animated Series. He has also written media tie-in novels, children's books, and original fiction...
, of the children's novel
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
Dragonworld (Doubleday, 1979), with 80 illustrations by Joseph Zucker. Dragonworld was originally planned to be the fifth "Fiction Illustrated" title.
Beyond traditional printed books, Preiss frequently embraced emerging technologies, and was among the first to publish in such electronic forms as CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
books and ebooks. The Words of Gandhi, an audio book
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
he produced, won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 1985.
Both Byron Preiss Visual Publications and iBooks filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy on February 22, 2006, after his death.
Later life and death
Preiss lived in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
with his wife Sandi Mendelson and their daughters Karah and Blaire. On July 9, 2005, he died in a traffic accident while driving to his synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in Long Island, New York.
List of Byron Preiss publications
Published by Preiss, or packaged by Preiss for other publishers- The Electric Company Joke Book (1973) ISBN 0-307-64824-9
- The Silent e's from Outer Space (Western Pub., 1973; Goldencraft, 1974 ISBN 0-307-64821-4)
- One Year Affair (1976) ISBN 0-911104-86-0
- Weird HeroesWeird HeroesWeird Heroes, "New American Pulp", was a series of novels and anthologies produced by Byron Preiss in the 1970s that dealt with new heroic characters inspired by the classic pulp magazine characters...
(Pyramid BooksPyramid BooksJove Books, formerly Pyramid Books, is a paperback publishing company, founded in 1949 by Almat Magazine Publishers . The company was sold to the Walter Reade Organization in the late 1960s. It was acquired in 1974 by Harcourt Brace which renamed it to Jove in 1977 and continued the line as an...
, 1975–77)
-
- Vol. 1 (ISBN 0-515-03746-X) to Vol. 8 (ISBN 0-515-04257-9); collections of illustrated, pulp-inspired stories
- Fiction IllustratedFiction IllustratedFiction Illustrated is a short-lived series of early illustrated fiction, similar to graphic novels, produced and packaged by Byron Preiss Visual Productions in the 1970s and published by Pyramid/Jove/HBJ. Four were produced, with a fifth was planned. All but one were written by Byron Preiss...
#1 — Schlomo Raven: Public Detective ((Pyramid BooksPyramid BooksJove Books, formerly Pyramid Books, is a paperback publishing company, founded in 1949 by Almat Magazine Publishers . The company was sold to the Walter Reade Organization in the late 1960s. It was acquired in 1974 by Harcourt Brace which renamed it to Jove in 1977 and continued the line as an...
, 1976; by Preiss and Tom SuttonTom SuttonTom Sutton was an American comic book artist who sometimes used the pseudonyms Sean Todd and Dementia...
) - Fiction Illustrated #2 — Starfawn (Pyramid Books, 1976; by Preiss and Stephen Fabian)
- Fiction Illustrated #3 — Chandler: Red TideChandler: Red TideChandler: Red Tide is a 1976 illustrated novel, an early form of graphic novel, by writer-artist Jim Steranko.The digest-sized book combines typeset text with two same-sized illustrations per page, utilizing no word balloons or other traditional comics text conventions...
(Pyramid Books, 1976 ISBN 0-515-04241-2; Dark Horse, 2001 ISBN 1-56971-438-X) - Fiction Illustrated #4 — Son of Sherlock Holmes (Pyramid Books, 1977; by Preiss and Ralph ReeseRalph ReeseRalph Reese is an American artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, comic books and comic strips, including a year drawing the Flash Gordon strip for King Features...
) - The Beach Boys (1979; revised ed. 1983 ISBN 0-312-07026-8)
- The Art of Leo and Diane Dillon (1981) ISBN 0-345-28449-6
- The Dinosaurs (1981; revised 2000 as The New Dinosaurs)
- The Secret (1982) ISBN 0-553-01408-0 - illustrated by John Jude PalencarJohn Jude PalencarJohn Jude Palencar is a fantasy, science fiction, and horror artist. Over 100 book covers have been adorned by his art, including all four covers of the Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini...
- The First Crazy Word Book: Verbs (1982) ISBN 0-531-04500-5
- The Little Blue Brontosaurus (1983) ISBN 0-89845-165-5
- Not the Webster's Dictionary (1983) ISBN 0-671-47418-9
- The Bat Family (1984) ISBN 0-89845-237-6
- Time Machine 1 — Secret of the Knights (Bantam Books, 1984; by Jim Gasperini, illustrated by Richard Hescox) ISBN 0-553-23601-6
- Nuts! (1985) ISBN 0-553-24725-5
- The Planets (1985) ISBN 0-553-05109-1
- The Universe (1987) ISBN 0-553-05227-6
- Time Machine 19 — The Death Mask of Pancho Villa (Bantam Books, 1987; by Carol Gaskin and George Guthridge, illustrated by Kenneth Huey, cover by Jim SterankoJim SterankoJames F. Steranko is an American graphic artist, comic book writer-artist-historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator....
) ISBN 0-553-26674-8 - Dragonsword, 1st editionDragonsword (novel)Dragonsword is a novel written by Gael Baudino and published in 1988. It is the first in the Dragonsword Trilogy. The other novels are Duel of Dragons and Dragon Death...
(1988) ISBN 1-55802-003-9 - The Microverse (1989) ISBN 0-553-05705-7
- First Contact: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (1990) ISBN 0-7472-3508-2
- The Ultimate Dracula (1991) ISBN 0-7472-0552-3
- The Ultimate Frankenstein (1991) ISBN 0-440-50352-3
- The Ultimate Werewolf (1991 reissue ISBN 0-440-50354-X)
- The Ultimate Dinosaur: Past, Present, and Future (1992) ISBN 0-553-07676-0
- The Vampire State Building (1992) ISBN 0-553-15998-4
- The Ultimate Zombie (1993) ISBN 0-440-50534-8
- The Ultimate Witch (1993) ISBN 0-440-50531-3
- The Ultimate Dragon (1995) ISBN 0-440-50630-1
- The Ultimate Alien (1995) ISBN 0-440-50631-X
- The Best Children's Books in the World (1996) ISBN 0-8109-1246-5
- The Rhino History of Rock 'n' Roll: The '70s (1997) ISBN 0-671-01175-8
- Are We Alone in the Cosmos? The Search for Alien Contact in the New Millennium (1999) ISBN 0-671-03892-3
- The New Dinosaurs (2000) ISBN 0-7434-0724-5
- The Roadkill of Middle Earth (2001) by John Carnell, illustrated by Tom Sutton, cover by Steve Fastner and Rich Larson. ISBN 0-7434-3467-6
- Dying Inside (2002) ISBN 0-7434-3508-7
- The Ultimate Dragon (2003) ISBN 0-7434-5868-0
- The Best Bizarre But True Stories Ever! (2003) ISBN 0-7434-4557-3
- Exploring The Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Present (2004) ISBN 0-312-31359-4
- Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe (2005) ISBN 1-59687-847-9
- Year's Best Graphic Novels, Comics & Manga (2005) ISBN 0-312-34326-4
- Fiction Illustrated
- Vol. 1 (ISBN 0-515-03746-X) to Vol. 8 (ISBN 0-515-04257-9); collections of illustrated, pulp-inspired stories
Dragonworld
This illustrated children's novel by Byron Preiss and Michael Reaves was published in several editions from 1979-2005:- Doubleday hardcover, 1979
- Bantam / DellRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
paperback, 1979) ISBN 0-553-01077-8 - Spectra paperback (July 1983) ISBN 0-553-25857-5
- Bantam / Dell paperback (Aug. 1983) ISBN 0-553-23426-9
- iBooks, Inc. paperback (2000) ISBN 0-671-03907-5
- iBooks, Inc. ebook (Microsoft ReaderMicrosoft ReaderMicrosoft Reader is a Microsoft program for the reading of e-books, originally released in August 2000.Microsoft Reader is available for download from Microsoft as a free program for computers running Windows. It can also be used on a Pocket PC, where it has been built into the ROM since Windows CE...
; 2001) - iBooks, Inc. paperback (2002) ISBN 0-7434-5253-4
- iBooks, Inc. paperback (2005) ISBN 1-59687-233-0
External links
- Wired, Nov. 1993: "The Way of Comics", by Mark Frauenfelder
- Fantastic Fiction: Byron Preiss
- Zeitchik, Steven. "Byron Preiss: 'He Saw Books Where Other People Didn't'", Publishers WeeklyPublishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, Volume 252, Issue 29, July 15, 2005. WebCitation archive.