Paul W. Fairman

Born Paul Warren Fairman in Missouri on August 22, 1909, he became a prolific American writer and editor whose career took off in the 1940s and 1950s. Reference sources consistently describe him as active in several genres, with work appearing under his own name as well as a long list of alternate bylines.

Science fiction readers often remember him for his close ties to the pulp and digest magazines of the era. He was the founding editor of If in 1952, though his stint there was brief, and he later edited Amazing Stories and Fantastic during the second half of the 1950s. That mix of editorial work and constant fiction writing made him a familiar presence in magazine science fiction at mid-century.

Fairman also wrote juvenile novels and ghostwritten work, including several books published under Lester del Rey’s name. He died in October 1977, but his career still offers a vivid snapshot of the hardworking, high-output world of American pulp publishing.