Weird Tales Magazine

Weird Tales had a seminal impact on Fantasy and Science Fiction. First published in March 1923, it was a pulp magazine aimed at readers who would enjoy "the weird, the bizarre, the unusual" and other topics that the more mainstream fiction magazines tended to avoid.Why it's on the listThe timing of the Weird Tales magazines could almost be seen as fate. For the first time in American History, more people lived in cities than rural areas. They had more money to spend and were exposed to national advertising campaigns for the first time. Weird Tales came at a time when people were not just getting used to being exposed to new ideas and new things, they were actively pursuing it. Jazz, Television, Flight – the 20's was a time of excitement. What can be more exciting for a young reader than exploring stories of ghosts, fairies and other bizarre tales?Thanks to this serendipitous situation, Weird Tales has had, arguably, the greatest impact on fantasy writing since Homer decided to tell his little stories. The timing of the first publication was during the height of the pulp magazine craze, and the Weird Tales series of magazines was, at the time, the most effective way for a new author to reach a mass audience. Thousands of young adults were very suddenly exposed to this world of fairy tales, horror and the bizarre. This influx of readers made it possible for authors to gain a following, and some experience, before releasing their own standalone novels.Weird Tales was, therefore, instrumental in giving a forum to a young, new generation of writers who wanted to explore more "highly imaginative" stories. Some of the fantasy's most celebrated authors got their start in Weird Tales, and reading an edition of Weird Tales is an excellent way of gaining an understanding into how the craft and genre so rapidly developed.Read if you likeShort stories, genre-crossing.

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