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Parent company | Astra Publishing |
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Founded | 1971 |
Founder | Donald A. Wollheim Elsie B. Wollheim |
Country of origin | United States |
Headquarters location | New York City, United States |
Distribution | Penguin Random House Publisher Services |
Key people | Elizabeth R. Wollheim Sheila E. Gilbert |
Publication types | Books |
Fiction genres | Science fiction, fantasy |
Official website | dawbooks |
DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim, along with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim,[1] following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy."[1] The first DAW Book published was the 1972 short story collection Spell of the Witch World by Andre Norton.[2]
In its early years under the leadership of Wollheim and his wife Elsie, DAW gained a reputation of publishing popular, though not always critically acclaimed, works of science fiction and fantasy. Nevertheless, in the 1970s the company published numerous books by award-winning authors such as Marion Zimmer Bradley, Fritz Leiber, Jerry Pournelle, and Roger Zelazny. In 1982, C. J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station became the first DAW book to win the Hugo Award for best novel.[3]
Until June 1984, all DAW books were characterized by yellow spines, and a prominent yellow cover box containing the company's logo as well as a chronological publication number. When the design was changed, the chronological number was retained, but moved to the copyright page and renamed the DAW Collectors' Book Number. Although it has a distribution relationship with Penguin Group and is headquartered in Penguin USA's offices in New York City, DAW is editorially independent and closely held by its current publishers, Betsy Wollheim (Donald's daughter) and Sheila E. Gilbert.[4][5]
In July 2022, DAW was acquired by Astra Publishing.[6]