Editing Galaxy Science Fiction (section)

==Contents and reception==

===Early years===
Gold intended ''Galaxy'' to publish stories of sufficient literary quality to attract readers of the slick magazines, as well as those who came to ''Galaxy'' already familiar with genre science fiction.<ref name=AshleyV3_57>Ashley, ''History of SF Magazine Vol. 3'', p.&nbsp;57</ref>  His editorial policy was broader than that of [[John W. Campbell, Jr.|John W. Campbell]], the editor of the leading magazine in the field, ''[[Astounding Science Fiction]]'': Gold was interested in sociology, psychology, and other "soft" sciences, and was also willing to publish humorous and satirical stories.<ref name=Nicholls_462>Malcolm Edwards & Peter Nicholls, "Galaxy Science Fiction", in Clute & Nicholls, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (1993), pp.&nbsp;462–464</ref>  Gold managed to persuade the publisher to let him offer three to four cents a word, which exceeded the highest rates paid in the field at that time.<ref name=Nicholls_462/>{{refn|Initially the rate was three cents on acceptance; ''Astounding'' sometimes paid three cents a word, but only as a bonus rate.   By 1953 the rate went as high as four cents a word for writers who appeared regularly.<ref name=TM_24/><ref name=SFH_115>de Camp, ''Science-Fiction Handbook'', p.&nbsp;115.</ref> ''Astounding'' soon matched ''Galaxy''{{'s}} rates.<ref name=TA_293>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;293</ref>|group=notes}}  In addition to the high rates, ''Galaxy'' was an attractive market for writers because Gold bought only first magazine rights, unlike the other leading magazines.<ref name=TA_293/> ''Galaxy'' was quickly established as one of the three leading science fiction magazines, along with Campbell's ''Astounding'' and ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction]]'' (usually abbreviated to ''F&SF'').<ref name=TA_290-309/>  Campbell had been enormously influential over the previous decade, but the appearance of ''Galaxy'' and ''F&SF'', launched just a year before, marked the end of his dominance of the genre.<ref name=Nicholls_188>Malcolm Edwards, "John Wood Campbell, Jr.", in Clute & Nicholls, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (1993), pp.&nbsp;187–188</ref>

[[Image:GalaxyOct50rearcover.jpg|thumb|left|Rear cover of first issue]]

The cover for the first issue was by David Stone, depicting a scene from Simak's ''Time Quarry''. The image was muted, in contrast to the sensational art typically found on the covers of the sf pulps; the intention was that ''Galaxy'' should look like an sf  magazine, but one "that you were not embarrassed to hold", in the words of Mike Ashley.<ref name=TM_24/>  The early artwork was generally unremarkable, though [[Ed Emshwiller]]'s humorous cover for the June 1951 issue, his first professional sale as an artist, was a positive sign. "Emsh", as he was known to science fiction readers, soon became a regular contributor.<ref name=Nicholls_462/><ref name=Ortiz_31>Ortiz, ''Emshwiller'', p.&nbsp;31</ref>  The relatively expensive production processes that Gold had insisted on enabled more sophisticated internal artwork, which could be integrated with type in ways not possible with cheaper [[letterpress printing]].<ref name=G30_xiv>Frederik Pohl, "Introduction", in Pohl, Greenberg & Olander, ''Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction'', p.&nbsp;xiv.</ref>

On the rear cover of the first issue, Gold ran a feature called "You'll Never See It In ''Galaxy''!",  with two paragraphs side by side&mdash;one a parody of the introduction to a space western, the other the same story translated to become a true western, with spaceships replaced by horses.  A sample: "He cut out his super-hyper-drive for the landing ... and at that point, a tall, lean spaceman stepped out of the tail assembly, proton gun-blaster in a space-tanned hand" became "He spurred hard for a low overhang of rimrock ... and at that point a tall, lean wrangler stepped out from behind a high boulder, six-shooter in a sun-tanned hand".<ref name=issues/>  The feature drew much attention, though [[James Blish]] commented that ''Galaxy'' did not always avoid printing the kind of fiction it parodied.<ref name=GDLY_9>Rosheim, ''Galaxy Magazine'', p.&nbsp;9.</ref><ref name=MIAH_111>Blish, ''More Issues At Hand'', p.&nbsp;111.</ref>

In the first issue, Gold asked for reader feedback on what should be included in the magazine—letters, editorials, book reviews, or other features.  The response was against a letter column,{{refn|According to Gold, there were 6,000 letters from readers, 85 percent of which were against a letter column.<ref name=G30_5>H. L. Gold, "Gold on Galaxy", in Pohl, Greenberg & Olander, ''Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction'', p.&nbsp;5.</ref>|group=notes}} but the readers wanted editorials, and short book reviews with recommendations that would help them identify what books to buy, as opposed to in-depth criticism.<ref name=TM_27>Ashley, ''Transformations'', p.&nbsp;27.</ref>  Gold was also concerned that harsh critical reviews would scare away new authors who might otherwise submit their work.<ref name=MIAH_19>Atheling, ''More Issues At Hand'', p.&nbsp;19.</ref> Groff Conklin began a book review column, called "''Galaxy''{{'s}} Five Star Shelf", in the first issue;{{refn|Conklin's column appeared in every issue until October 1955 except those of March 1951 and April and August 1955.<ref name=issues/>|group=notes}}<ref name=Tuck_565-567/> Floyd Gale took it over with the November 1955 issue—Gale was in fact Gold's brother, using a slightly modified surname.<ref name=Rosheim_77-8>Rosheim, ''Galaxy Magazine'', pp.&nbsp;77–78.</ref> The inaugural issue also included a competition for readers to explain UFOs in under 200 words, the first of many contests Gold would run.<ref name=THSFM3_57>Ashley, ''History of the SF Magazine Vol. 3'', p.&nbsp;57.</ref>

The first six issues contained stories by well-known authors, including some that became highly regarded such as Fritz Leiber's "Coming Attraction", [[Damon Knight]]'s "[[To Serve Man (short story)|To Serve Man]]", and [[Ray Bradbury]]'s "The Fireman", later expanded as ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]''.<ref name=Nicholls_462/> Gold considered these early issues exploratory, and some of the material by major names was clearly lesser work.<ref name=TA_294-5>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', pp.&nbsp;294–295.</ref> With its second volume, beginning in April 1951, ''Galaxy'' achieved consistently high quality, with virtually every issue featuring a story that would have a lasting reputation, including [[Cyril M. Kornbluth|C. M. Kornbluth]]'s "[[The Marching Morons]]", [[Wyman Guin]]'s "Beyond Bedlam", and [[Robert Heinlein]]'s ''[[The Puppet Masters]]'', whose serialization overlapped volumes 2 and 3.<ref name=Nicholls_462/><ref name=TA_294-5/><ref>Ashley, ''Transformations'', p.&nbsp;30.</ref> Early feedback from readers had been opposed to serialized novels, but here Gold did not follow their opinion, and ''Galaxy'' is remembered for featuring some very successful serials.<ref name=TA_292/> A contemporary anthology of science fiction stories, [[E. F. Bleiler]] and [[T. E. Dikty]]'s ''The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1951'', commented in an editorial that Gold's work "will succeed in placing science-fiction on an equal basis with any other field of modern literature".<ref>Quoted in Rosheim, ''Galaxy Magazine'', p.&nbsp;32.</ref>  With a circulation of over 100,000 in its second year, ''Galaxy'' surpassed ''Astounding''.<ref name=TM_32-3>Ashley, ''Transformations'', pp.&nbsp;32–33.</ref>

===Mid- and late 1950s===
Gold maintained ''Galaxy''{{'s}} high standards for most of the 1950s. [[Alfred Bester]]'s ''[[The Demolished Man]]''—according to critic [[Peter Nicholls (writer)|Peter Nicholls]], "among the few genuine classics of genre sf"—was serialized in early 1952.<ref name=Nicholls_113/> Pohl and Kornbluth's ''[[The Space Merchants]]'' followed a few months later, serialized as ''Gravy Planet''; [[Brian Aldiss]], in his critical genre study ''[[Trillion Year Spree]]'', calls it "one of the most famous books in SF".<ref name=TYS_405>Aldiss and Wingrove, ''[[Trillion Year Spree]]'', p.&nbsp;405.</ref> James Blish's "[[Surface Tension (short story)|Surface Tension]]" and Theodore Sturgeon's "Baby is Three", both widely acclaimed, also appeared in 1952.<ref name=ESF_135>Nicholls, "James Blish", in Clute & Nicholls, ''Encyclopedia of SF'' (1993), p.&nbsp;135.</ref><ref name=ESF_1176>Clute, "Theodore Sturgeon", in Clute & Nicholls, ''Encyclopedia of SF'' (1993), p.&nbsp;1176.</ref> Readers had expressed support for science articles, and in March 1952, Willy Ley, who had contributed occasional essays since the first issue, began a column, "For Your Information", in which he replied to readers' scientific questions. Running uninterrupted until Ley's death in 1969,<ref name=Nicholls_462/><ref name="Tuck_565-567">Tuck, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Vol. 3'', pp.&nbsp;565–567.</ref><ref name=TA_292/> Frederik Pohl describes it as "the most popular single feature ''Galaxy'' ever had".<ref name=GDLY_xii>Pohl, "Foreword", in Rosheim, ''Galaxy Magazine'', p.&nbsp;xii.</ref> The [[Hugo Awards]] were inaugurated the following year: ''The Demolished Man'' won the first [[Hugo Award for Best Novel|Hugo for Best Novel]] and ''Galaxy'' shared the first [[Hugo Award for Best Professional Magazine|Hugo for Best Magazine]] with ''Astounding''.<ref name=Nicholls_462/>

Gold published a wide range of material, and ''Galaxy'' became known for irony and satire; the work of authors able to adopt the wry style he favored, such as Knight and [[Robert Sheckley]], appeared regularly in the magazine<ref name=Nicholls_462/> and were obvious commentaries on contemporary society.<ref name="latham2009">{{Cite book |title=The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction |last=Latham |first=Rob |publisher=Routledge |year=2009 |isbn=9781135228361 |editor-last=Bould |editor-first=Mark |pages=80–89 |chapter=Fiction, 1950–1963 |editor-last2=Butler |editor-first2=Andrew M. |editor-last3=Roberts |editor-first3=Adam |editor-last4=Vint |editor-first4=Sherryl |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7CNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA80}}</ref> In 1953, with [[McCarthyism]] at its height, Gold refused to publish "[[The Liberation of Earth]]", a story by William Tenn satirizing both the Russian and American sides in the Korean War. Tenn quotes Gold, an ex-radical, as saying the idea made him "sweat green", though the year before he had published Isaac Asimov's "The Martian Way", a thinly veiled anti-[[Joseph McCarthy|McCarthy]] story.<ref name=Ortiz_35>Ortiz, ''Emshwiller'', p.&nbsp;35</ref><ref name=G30Y_33>William Tenn, "From a Cave", in Pohl, Greenberg and Olander, ''Galaxy'', p.&nbsp;33.</ref>

[[L. Sprague de Camp]] commented that Gold "sets an extremely high standard of literary excellence for his writers", and observed that he often demanded multiple revisions and rewrites.<ref name=SFH_115/> Gold was also infamous for making sweeping changes to the stories he printed.<ref name=TA_292>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;292</ref>{{refn|Damon Knight described this habit of Gold's who, he wrote, "can no more keep from interfering with another man's story, once he owns it, than a saucer-eyed kid with a jam jar".<ref name=ISOW_259>Knight, ''In Search of Wonder'', p.&nbsp;259.</ref> [[William Tenn]] relates that Sturgeon became so annoyed by Gold's changes that he took to writing "[[wikt:stet|STET]]" in the margin of every page of his manuscripts.<ref name=G30Y_35>William Tenn, "From a Cave", in Pohl, Greenberg and Olander, ''Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction'', p.&nbsp;35.</ref> Pohl and Kornbluth once took revenge on Gold for this habit by extensively changing, to the point of parody, a manuscript of Gold's for a book they were editing, and returning it to him as if that were the version to be published.<ref>Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', pp.&nbsp;162–163.</ref>  However, Lester del Rey records that Gold agreed not to edit his stories without discussing the changes first, and that the agreement was kept.<ref name=TWOSF_171>del Rey, ''The World of SF'', p.&nbsp;171.</ref>|group=notes}}   In meetings and in phone calls he became well known as a difficult editor whose determination to achieve perfection sometimes alienated his writers.<ref name=TM_27/>{{refn|Isaac Asimov, in his memoirs, describes Gold as becoming "crankier as time went on", with his rejections "becoming increasingly personal and vilifying".<ref name=IMYG_651>Asimov, ''In Memory Yet Green'', p.&nbsp;651.</ref>  [[James Gunn (author)|James Gunn]], in his history of science fiction, says that Gold's rejection letters were "long [and] savage", and that over time his tone became even more acid: "it was not enough to reject, the author had to be punished so that he would never sin again".<ref name=AW_219>Gunn, ''Alternate Worlds'', p.&nbsp;219.</ref>|group=notes}}  He was unapologetic, declaring, "I worked hard with writers, and they didn't always enjoy it".<ref name=G30_5/>  The results were often very positive: some successful stories are said to have begun with an idea he provided to one of his authors. In the case of ''The Demolished Man'', his involvement extended almost to the point of collaboration.{{refn|Gold spent four hours on the phone with Bester every week for a year and a half talking about the book; Bester took only three months to write it at the end of the process.<ref name=G30_6>H.L. Gold, "Gold on Galaxy", in Pohl, Greenberg & Olander, ''Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction'', p.&nbsp;6.</ref>|group=notes}}<ref name=Nicholls_113>Peter Nicholls, "Alfred Bester", in Clute & Nicholls, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (1993), p.&nbsp;113.</ref><ref name=G30_423-4>Alfred Bester, "Horace, Galaxyca", in Pohl, Greenberg & Olander, ''Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction'', pp.&nbsp;423–424.</ref> Gold was [[Agoraphobia|agoraphobic]] and rarely left his apartment, but writers often visited him,<ref name=TM_27/> and he held regular parties and weekly poker games; in addition to the members of the science fiction community, the [[avant-garde]] composer [[John Cage]] often attended.<ref name=OE_34>Ortiz, ''Emshwiller'', p.&nbsp;34.</ref>

In March 1953 Gold announced a novel-writing contest, but it failed to attract any usable submissions.  He asked Pohl and Kornbluth if they would allow him to print ''Gladiator-at-Law'', which they had just completed, under a pseudonym, so he could claim that the contest had found a new talent.  They refused, but shortly afterwards Pohl and Lester del Rey agreed to let Gold take their recently completed novel ''Preferred Risk'' and publish it as the winner under the pseudonym Edson McCann.<ref name=Nicholls_462/><ref>Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', pp.&nbsp;181–182.</ref>  Pohl and del Rey constructed a fake identity for McCann, but the news leaked out and Gold never ran another fiction competition.<ref name=TM_119-20>Ashley, ''Transformations'', pp.&nbsp;119–120.</ref> In July 1953, he launched a companion magazine, ''[[Beyond Fantasy Fiction]]'', dedicated to fantasy material, which ''Galaxy''{{'s}} editorial policy did not favor. It lasted for ten bimonthly issues, with the final one appearing in January 1955.<ref name=Nicholls_462/> After it failed, Gold opened ''Galaxy'' to more fantasy, publishing writers such as [[Cordwainer Smith]].<ref name=TA_297>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;297</ref>

The [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] radio series ''[[Tales of Tomorrow]]'', which began in 1952 as an offshoot of the TV series of the same name, used stories from ''Galaxy''; the connection was announced at the start of each of its fifteen episodes.  On April 24, 1955, another radio series, [[NBC]]'s ''[[X Minus One]]'', started a much longer run of 125 episodes, lasting until January 1958.  From February 1956 onwards the scripts were adapted exclusively from stories in ''Galaxy'', and from the April 1956 issue ''Galaxy'' ran advertisements for the series, which included work by Pohl, Sturgeon, and [[Philip K. Dick]].<ref name=TM_176>Ashley, ''Transformations'', p.&nbsp;176.</ref>

Through the 1950s, ''Galaxy''{{'s}} contributors routinely dominated the Hugo ballots, but neither the magazine nor the fiction it published won many awards, despite what sf historian Donald Lawler describes as its "deserved reputation for excellence".<ref name=TA_290-309/> After several years of being shut out of the Hugos, ''Galaxy'' published two works in 1958 that won the honor: Fritz Leiber's novel ''[[The Big Time (novel)|The Big Time]]'' and [[Avram Davidson]]'s short story "[[Or All the Seas with Oysters]]".<ref>Franson & DeVore, ''A History of the Hugo, Nebula, and International Fantasy Awards'', p.&nbsp;16.</ref>

===1960s===
{{Bar chart
| float       = right
| title       = Paid Circulation per Year
| bar_width   = 20
| width_units = em
| label_type  = [[Fiscal year|Year]]
| data_type   = &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Issues sold
| data_max    = 100,000
| label1   = 1960 | data1   = 91,000
| label2   = 1961 | data2   = 91,000
| label3   = 1962 | data3   = 92,000
| label4   = 1963 | data4   = 77,677
| label5   = 1964 | data5   = 73,536
| label6   = 1965 | data6   = 73,610 
| label7   = 1966 | data7   = 73,400
| label8   = 1967 | data8   = 74,700
| label9   = 1968 | data9   = 75,300
| label10  = 1969 | data10  = 51,479
| label11  = 1970 | data11  = 46,091
| label12  = 1971 | data12  = 45598
| label13  = 1972 | data13  = 51602
| label14  = 1973 | data14  = 54524
| label15  = 1974 | data15  = 47789
| label16  = 1975 | data16  = 56361
| label17  = 1976 | data17  = 52831
| label18  = 1977 | data18  = 81035
}}<!-- chart data from [[:Image:Annual circulation of Galaxy.png]] --> 
When Pohl took over as editor in 1961, he broadened the magazine's scope, including more fantasy material.  Regular contributors in the 1960s included [[Jack Vance]], [[Larry Niven]], [[Frank Herbert]], [[Robert Silverberg]], and Cordwainer Smith.  ''Galaxy'' stories from this era that won awards include Vance's ''The Dragon Masters'' and "The Last Castle"; Clifford Simak's ''Way Station'', serialized as ''Here Gather the Stars''; [[Harlan Ellison]]'s "'Repent, Harlequin,' Said the Ticktockman" and "The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World"; and Silverberg's "Nightwings".  Pohl never succeeded in winning a Hugo Award as editor of ''Galaxy'', although he won the award three consecutive times from 1966 to 1968 as editor of ''[[If (magazine)|If]]'', ''Galaxy''{{'s}} sister magazine, and in theory the junior of the two publications.<ref name=Nicholls_462/><ref name=TA_299/>

The quality of fiction in ''Galaxy'' had dipped towards the end of Gold's editorship, and Pohl worked hard to restore the magazine's high standards. Gold's difficult editorial personality had driven away some of his contributors, but Pohl, who had worked as an agent in the 1950s, was a central figure in the sf community and was able to attract submissions from the star writers of his day.<ref name=TA_299>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;299.</ref> In the case of one of these stars, he offered an unusual arrangement: Robert Silverberg could write whatever he wished and Pohl promised that he would almost invariably buy it. Silverberg, who had been a high-volume producer of competent but unremarkable science fiction, began writing more ambitious work as a result, much of which was published in ''Galaxy'' throughout the 1960s.<ref name=HC_28>Robert Silverberg, "Sounding Brass, Tinkling Cymbal", in Aldiss and Harrison, "Hell's Cartographers", p.&nbsp;28.</ref>

In February 1965, Pohl brought in Algis Budrys as book reviewer, after a year in which no review column had appeared. Budrys's insightful reviews drew much praise, and editor David Hartwell has ranked him as one of the best sf critics of his generation.<ref name=TA_298>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;298.</ref><ref name=Nicholls_170>John Clute, "Algis Budrys" in Clute & Nicholls, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (1993), p.&nbsp;170.</ref><ref name=Hartwell_245>David Hartwell, "Algis Budrys", in Hartwell, ''The Science Fiction Century, Vol. 1'', p.&nbsp;245.</ref>{{refn|The reviews were later collected in book form as ''Benchmarks'' (1985).<ref name=Hartwell_245/>|group=notes}}

The difference between Pohl's approach and Gold's was apparent in the editorials Pohl wrote, which were informal, entertaining, and rooted in his deep familiarity with the genre.<ref name=TA_300>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;300.</ref> With Pohl at the helm, ''Galaxy'' moved back toward the knowledgeable [[science fiction fandom|science fiction fan]], and away from the mainstream market that Gold had targeted.<ref name=TA_301>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;301.</ref> Pohl said that he tried to "cover the full spectrum of science fiction", however, unlike Gold's "specialist magazine" of the 1950s; his ''Galaxy'' published both Sheckley's "Mindswap" and Herbert's "[[Do I Wake or Dream?]]" when Gold would not have purchased the latter, Pohl said.{{r|pohl196508}}

===1970s===
Ejler Jakobsson's tenure began with a large backlog of stories that Pohl had acquired, but within a year or two substantial changes were apparent.<ref name="TA_301"/>  In the early 1970s, Jakobsson attempted to update ''Galaxy''{{'s}} image, adding a comic strip, "Sunpot", by [[Vaughn Bodé]], for example.<ref name=Nicholls_462/> Theodore Sturgeon took over from Budrys as the regular book reviewer in January 1972 and held the post until mid-1975.<ref name=TA_302/> Jakobsson did not manage to give ''Galaxy'' a new and distinctive character: "Sunpot" lasted only four issues, Sturgeon's reviews were undistinguished, and many of the new authors he published have been, in the words of Mike Ashley, "mercifully unknown ever since".<ref name=Nicholls_462/><ref name=TA_302>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;302.</ref>  The paper quality and printing quality also dropped, and early cover designs were very weak.  Jakobsson initially printed guest editorials rather than writing his own; when he took over the editorial page his work was unremarkable.  He managed to attract some of the new writers who were becoming well known in the sf scene, including [[George R.R. Martin]], [[Joe Haldeman]], and [[Joanna Russ]].  Three novels published in Jakobsson's ''Galaxy'' won awards: Isaac Asimov's ''[[The Gods Themselves]]'' and [[Arthur C. Clarke]]'s ''[[Rendezvous with Rama]]'' each won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, in 1972 and 1973 respectively, and Robert Silverberg's ''[[A Time of Changes]]'' won the Nebula in 1971. Sturgeon's short story "[[Slow Sculpture]]" won both the Hugo and the Nebula in 1970.<ref name=TA_302/>

A letter column was added at the end of 1971; this was the first time ''Galaxy'' had published reader's letters.  ''Galaxy''{{'s}} long-time science columnist, Willy Ley, died in 1969, and was replaced by [[Donald Menzel]]. He was replaced in turn by [[Jerry Pournelle]] in April 1974.<ref name=TA_302-3>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', pp.&nbsp;302–303.</ref>

Jakobsson's successor, James Baen, was able to publish some high-quality fiction, including material by [[Roger Zelazny]], John Varley, Larry Niven, and Pohl, whose novel, ''Gateway'', won both the Hugo and Nebula awards.<ref name=Nicholls_462/>  Baen raised the level of the magazine substantially, and Ashley refers to his editorship as ''Galaxy''{{'s}} "Indian summer".<ref name=TA_304>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;304.</ref>  Under Baen the review columnist was [[Spider Robinson]], who won a [[Locus Award]] in 1977, primarily for his work in ''Galaxy''.<ref name=Nicholls_462/>  Baen also published a series of essays by authors discussing their own work.  Apart from ''Gateway'', Baen published only one award-winning story: [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]'s "The Day Before the Revolution", which appeared in August 1974 and won the Nebula.<ref name=TA_304/>

Baen's successors, Pierce, Stine, and Kemske, were unable to maintain his standard. Pohl remained loyal to the magazine, but the serialization of his novel ''Jem'' exemplified ''Galaxy''{{'s}} growing problems. Due to the magazine's increasingly erratic schedule, the serialization stretched from the last issue of 1978 into 1980, well after it had appeared in book form.<ref name=Nicholls_462/>  In November 1977, Paul Walker took over the book column from Spider Robinson, and Jerry Pournelle left the science column at the end of 1978.<ref name=issues/>  The artwork quality dropped to an amateurish level, and despite the appearance of a few successful stories and novels, such as [[C. J. Cherryh]]'s ''The Faded Sun: Kesrith'', the overall quality was dramatically worse than it had been under Baen.<ref name=TA_305>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;305.</ref>  ''Galaxy''{{'s}} deterioration was largely due to the financial troubles of the publisher, Arnold Abramson, who reduced the pay rate (at a time of high inflation) to a penny a word.  Even that low rate did not guarantee timely disbursement, and many writers stopped submitting because of ''Galaxy''{{'s}} reputation for paying slowly, if at all.  Costs were increasing for paper, postage, and production, and the paperback anthology market was booming, adding to the competition that ''Galaxy'' faced.<ref name=TA_305/>  Floyd Kemske's only issue never received newsstand distribution, doomed by the financial troubles of the magazine's publisher, Vincent McCaffrey.<ref name=TA_306>Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', p.&nbsp;306.</ref>

===Cover layout and artwork===
[[Image:Galaxy cover layouts.jpg|thumb|right|Nine issues of ''Galaxy'', showing the major variations in cover design over the magazine's lifetime]]''Galaxy'' had a characteristic cover style in the 1950s with an inverted white "L" shape (Greek gamma) framing the cover art; this style was copied by several magazines, including ''[[Authentic Science Fiction]]'' and ''[[Startling Stories]]''.{{refn|Other magazines that adopted this style were ''[[Science Fiction Adventures (1952 magazine)|Science Fiction Adventures]]'', ''[[Space Science Fiction]]'', ''[[Orbit Science Fiction]]'', and [[EC Comics]]' ''[[Weird Science-Fantasy]]''.<ref name="TM_32-3"/>|group=notes}}<ref name="TM_32-3"/>  When ''Astounding'' followed suit in late 1951, Gold commented sarcastically in an editorial that ''Galaxy'' "would like to know when we may have it [the format] back again".<ref name=GDLY_33>Quoted in Rosheim, ''Galaxy Magazine'', p.&nbsp;33.</ref> The first variation came with the September 1956 issue, which widened the left hand strip of white to allow room to print story titles and author names.  The December 1961 issue was the first to eliminate the strip on the left, and until July 1969 the magazine varied between this layout, the inverted "L", and a version with no white at all, first used on the August 1965 issue.  Another change visible in that issue is the reversal of the title coloring to white lettering on a block of red; this was used from August 1963 to December 1965.  In August 1969 the title was enlarged to fill the width of the magazine; this issue had the white inverted "L", but it was the last one to do so till 1980. After August 1969 the cover paintings spanned the entire cover, though with some minor variations in layout such as can be seen in the October 1976 issue.  Then in September 1978 (undated on the cover, but numbered vol. 39 no. 7) the original typeface for "Galaxy" was abandoned for the last few issues.  The final issue, edited by Kemske, returned to the previous layout and typeface, although with a magazine twice the size of the original digest.  When E. J. Gold revived ''Galaxy'' in 1994, he restored the inverted "L" and employed a predominantly black-and-white look for the eight issues he published.<ref name=issues/>

Notable artists who contributed regularly to ''Galaxy'' included Ed Emshwiller, who won several Hugo Awards for his work,<ref name=SFE_595-600>Peter Nicholls, "Hugo", in Clute & Nicholls, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (1993), pp.&nbsp;595–600.</ref><ref name=TM_31>Ashley, ''Transformations'', p.&nbsp;31.</ref> Hugo nominee Wallace Wood,<ref>[[Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist]]</ref> and Jack Gaughan, who won three Hugos in the late 1960s, partly for his work in ''Galaxy''.<ref name=GF_36/>  Gaughan was commissioned by Pohl to provide the cover and interior art for Jack Vance's ''The Dragon Masters'' in 1962; the resulting illustrations made Gaughan immediately famous in the science fiction field.<ref name=IW_182>di Fate, ''Infinite Worlds'', p.&nbsp;182.</ref> In the 1950s and 1960s, ''Galaxy'' retained the original artwork sent in by its artists, though Emshwiller, much of whose best color work appeared there, was able to negotiate an exception to this rule, retaining the art for his portfolios.<ref name=Ortiz_42>Ortiz, ''Emshwiller'', p.&nbsp;42</ref><ref name=IW_160>di Fate, ''Infinite Worlds'', p.&nbsp;160.</ref>  In 1972 much of this artwork—including both interior and cover illustrations—was sold off by Robert Guinn, who had kept it when he sold ''Galaxy'' to UPD in 1969.<ref name=Ortiz_42/><ref name=GalJan72>Robert Guinn, advertisement, ''Galaxy'', January 1972, p.&nbsp;157.</ref>

===Influence on the field===
Isaac Asimov, in his memoirs, recalled being deeply impressed by the first issue of ''Galaxy'', and that many fans, including himself, believed that the magazine became the field's leader almost immediately.<ref name=IMYG_602>Asimov, ''In Memory Yet Green'', p.&nbsp;602.</ref>  In critic John Clute's assessment, ''Galaxy'' indeed swiftly supplanted ''Astounding'' and remained the leading magazine in the field until Pohl resigned as editor in 1969.<ref name=SFTIE_102>Clute, ''SF: The Illustrated Encyclopedia'', p.&nbsp;102.</ref> Science fiction historian and critic Mike Ashley regarded ''Galaxy''{{'s}} success as the main reason for the subsequent boom in science fiction magazines,<ref name=TM_32-3/> commenting that it "revolutionized the field overnight".<ref name=TM_24>Ashley, ''Transformations'', p.&nbsp;24.</ref> Under Gold ''Galaxy'' provided a market for social science fiction stories that might not have been accepted by ''Astounding'' and ''Fantasy & Science Fiction'', the other leading magazines.<ref name="TA_306"/><ref>James Gunn, quoted in Rosheim, ''Galaxy Magazine'', p.&nbsp;10.</ref>

Pohl stated in 1965 that almost every major science fiction writer whose career began after 1950 primarily wrote for ''Galaxy'', and that others closely imitated Gold's magazine.<ref name="pohl196508">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Pohl
 |first=Frederik
 |date=August 1965
 |title=Old Home Month
 |department=Editorial
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v23n06_1965-08#page/n3/mode/2up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=4–7
}}</ref> He described ''Galaxy'' as where "the stunning new kinds of science fiction ... flowered, and changed everything in science fiction".<ref name=G30_xii>Frederik Pohl, "Introduction", in Pohl, Greenberg & Olander, ''Galaxy: Thirty Years of Innovative Science Fiction'', p.&nbsp;xii.</ref> In his opinion, Gold's innovation was to ask writers to consider not just new technology, but the subsequent impact of that technology on society.  He adds, "What ''Galaxy'' brought to magazine science fiction was a kind of sophisticated intellectual subtlety. ... After ''Galaxy'' it was impossible to go on being naive."<ref name=G30_xii/> Science fiction author [[Brian Stableford]] argues that ''Galaxy'' quickly usurped ''Astounding''{{'}}s position as "pioneer of hardcore sf's progress" because it "embraced and gleefully pursued a new series of challenges to moral orthodoxy."<ref>Stableford, ''Heterocosms'', p.&nbsp;47.</ref>

SF historian David Kyle ascribes ''Galaxy''{{'s}} influence specifically to Gold, saying that "of all the editors in and out of the post-war scene, the most influential beyond any doubt was H. L. Gold" and that the new direction he set led, "inevitably", to the [[New Wave (science fiction)|New Wave]], the celebrated science fiction literary movement of the 1960s.<ref name=APHOSF_119-20>Kyle, ''A Pictorial History of Science Fiction'', pp.&nbsp;119–120.</ref> Kyle's assessment of Gold is echoed by writer [[Barry N. Malzberg]], who calls Gold "perhaps the greatest editor in the history of all fields for the first half of his tenure". SF authors and historians Brian Aldiss and [[David Wingrove]] summarize ''Galaxy''{{'s}} history by saying that it lasted for "thirty mainly glorious years":<ref name=TYS_228>Aldiss & Wingrove, ''[[Trillion Year Spree]]'', p.&nbsp;228.</ref> it "brought into the sunlight a number of excellent satirists, comedians and ironists"<ref name=TYS_237>Aldiss & Wingrove, ''[[Trillion Year Spree]]'', p.&nbsp;237.</ref> and, through the influence of its reduced focus on technology, played an important role in attracting women to write science fiction.<ref name=TYS_259>Aldiss & Wingrove, ''[[Trillion Year Spree]]'', p.&nbsp;259.</ref>