Betty Ballantine Passes Away

[Damian]

I just read in my local newspaper that Betty Ballantine passed away at the age of 99. Her and her husband, Ian Ballantine, founded Ballantine and Bantam books, which of course published a number of Star Trek novels back in the 1970's (and through 1981 I believe) until Pocketbooks came along. It was interesting to read the article as they were paperback pioneers. Until they came along paperbacks were mostly poorly made 'pulp' novels and they revolutionized the mass market paperback market. Nowadays it seems the MMPB's are giving way to trade paperbacks and E-books, but there was a time when MMPB's were king of the hill (and despite their decreasing popularity, you still see plenty of them at the book store in various genres).

It was also interesting to read about the "I, Liberine" hoax that led to that actual writing of the book by Theodore Sturgeon, who of course wrote the Star Trek episodes "Amok Time" and "Shore Leave".

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I think David Gerrold dedicated one of his books to her. I'm not at home now to check on it.

 

[marlboro]

I had never heard of "I, Libertine" before. Very cool.

 

[Daddy Todd]

I had never heard of "I, Libertine" before. Very cool.

“I, Libertine” for Kindle (and several other e-formats) is $1.99 today. In case you wanna check it out.

 

[marlboro]

Purchased. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Damian]

I had never heard of "I, Libertine" before. Very cool.

Neither have I actually. It was something I read in the article that was interesting to read. A novel actually had to be written due to a rumor. It sounded like they had to rush to get it out on time too.

An excerpt from The Bulletin website (which has the same AP article as my local paper) is below. It caught my eye because of Sturgeon being the author asked to write it in a rush:

"One memorable Ballantine release was inspired by a hoax.

In 1956, nighttime radio personality Jean Shepherd was telling listeners that they should ask for a new novel called “I, Libertine,” by Frederick R. Ewing. Bestsellers at the time were based, in part, on requests at bookstores and demand was so high that “I, Libertine” appeared on some lists.

As Shepherd’s fans knew, and the public only later found out, neither book nor author existed. So Ian Ballantine convinced a friend, science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon, to write — and write quickly — an actual “I, Libertine.”

Shepherd, who provided the book’s outline, recalled years later that Sturgeon worked so hard, he fell asleep before he finished the manuscript. Betty Ballantine stepped in, handled the last chapter and “I, Libertine” went to print."