RIP: Martin H. Greenberg 1941-2011

Martin Harry Greenberg (b. March 1, 1941) died on the morning of June 25, 2011 after a long battle with cancer.  Greenberg packaged more than 1,000 short story anthologies in a wide variety of genres over his length career.  Greenberg began using his middle initial at the urging of Isaac Asimov to distinguish himself from another Martin Greenberg who was the publisher of Gnome Press. Asimov and Greenberg would go on to co-edit more than 120 anthologies together. Greenberg went on to work with nearly all of the major names in science fiction and fantasy, either as a co-editor or by buying their stories for various anthologies. Greenberg founded Tekno Books to help with the packaging of anthologies and novels, bringing on a staff to help him. Although most of Tekno’s projects were published by other companies, Tekno Books also had a publishing arm in Five Star Press. His anthology Horrors! 365 Scary Stories received a Stoker Award and Greenberg later received a Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received a special Prometheus Award for his anthologies Give Me Liberty and Visions of Liberty, co-edited with Mark Tier.  In 2009, Greenberg received one of the three inaugural Solstice Awards from the SFWA in recognition of the significant impact his work as an anthologist had on the speculative fiction field.

Greenberg received a Ph.D. in Political Science in 1969 and began teaching at the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay a few years later. His first anthology, Political Science Fiction, co-edited by Patricia Warrick, was the first of a series of anthologies meant to be used to help teach science fiction.  He eventually hooked up with Joseph Olander  to publish more mainstream science fiction anthologies which were marketed to the general trade rather than as educational tools.

Some of Greenberg’s frequent collaborators included Asimov, Frank D. McSherry, Jr., Charles G. Waugh, Joseph Olander, Richard Gilliam, Esther Friesner, Andre Norton, John Helfers, Mike Resnick, Gregory Benford, Robert Silverberg, and many more.