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Reilly & Lee, formerly Reilly & Britton, was the primary publisher of L. Frank Baum’s famous Oz books. Following his death, the title of Royal Historian of Oz was passed over to Ruth Plumly Thompson, who went on to pen an additional twenty one titles (nineteen for Reilly & Lee and two much later for the International Wizard of Oz Club).
John R. Neill, Royal Illustrator of Oz (starting with Baum's second book), took up the helm following her departure for a total of three books (one was published posthumously in recent years), followed by two books from Jack Snow, a single book by Rachel Cosgrove-Payes (who gave us an additional one in recent years), and finally Eloise & Lauren McGraw (prior to her death Eloise also gave us another much cherished Oz book) which rounds out what has been termed the “Famous Forty”.
The actual number of stories about Oz written by the above authors numbers just over fifty (this includes additional books by Baum, some of which have been called his "Borderland" books since they take place outside of the boundaries of Oz's Deadly Desert, but who's characters and locales are part of the Oz series).
L. Frank Baum’s works (and a few of Thompson’s) have been in public domain for over two decades now, which has allowed a whole new generation of writers to come along and continue the saga, furnishing their own further histories of Oz. Oz is alive and well in the new millennium thanks to the efforts of those gifted writers, illustrators and publishers, who continue to produce wonderful stories of everyone’s favorite fairy land.
Nearly all of Baum’s works are available in print and often in several different editions from various publishers. Meanwhile, prices for out-of-print early editions of the Oz series continue to remain high on Ebay and in antiquarian bookshops. Below is just a small sampling of some of the publishers who have released Oz stories over the years following the departure of Reilly & Lee. There are many other private publishers too numerous to mention here that have done a excellent job in producing quality Oz works as well. Some of these can also be a challenge to find, although, for many of these volumes, it is well worth the effort. |
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The Royal Publishers of Oz
IWOOC stands for International Wizard of Oz Club, an organization that began in the mid 1950’s and has continued down to this day. They publish the Baum Bugle six times a year, Oziana magazine once a year, a number of the original books of the Famous Forty, as well as scholarly publications, little known Baumiana, and some of the later Oz books from both authors of the Famous Forty and newer talent. They have also reprinted their older Baum Bugles in “Best of...” editions. You can also order copies of the Oz map seen on my site (free of all the paste-ons and link photos!). It comes with a Borderlands of Oz map as well! Head over to their website at http://www.ozclub.org for more information and a printable order form. They even accept Paypal!
Books of Wonder http://www.booksofwonder.com is a children’s bookstore in Manhattan, NY, founded by Peter Glassman, that specializes in Oz books among other classics of children’s literature. Along with publisher William Morrow & Company, they’ve reprinted Baum’s original 15 volumes in facsimile editions, as well as wonderful new Oz stories under the moniker of Emerald City Press. In addition, their 'Royal Club of Oz' featured a monthly journal called 'The Emerald City Mirror,’ in which new short Oz stories were printed in every issue. Sadly, the Club is no longer active and the 'Mirrors' have not yet been reprinted so we can only wonder at what grand adventures took place prior to out joining...
Buckethead Enterprises of Oz was the private publishing firm founded by author Chris Dulabone. It has since been renamed Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends (or TOTCLAF) and has taken over distribution of not only former Buckethead releases but those of Ozian Seahorse Press, founded by former Bugle editor Atticus (Ryan) Gannaway. The goal of their founder is consistency with the canon of the Famous Forty. Their website is located at: http://members.aol.com/LionCoward/home.html where you’ll find a multitude of new Oz books from a host of different authors at very reasonable prices, much of which goes to the furtherance of upcoming and exciting volumes in the unfolding tapestry of Oz. Best of all, they accept Paypal, so you can order directly online!
Hungry Tiger Press http://www.hungrytigerpress.com is David Maxine and Eric Shanower’s baby. They’ve produced six volumes of the beautiful and highly praised Oz-Story magazine, along with some of the most beautiful volumes of Ozian lore (The Rundelstone of Oz, The Salt Sorcerer of Oz). Eric’s breathtaking art and stories can be found in nearly all spectra of Ozian lore, most notably his series of graphic novels published by First Comics, Books of Wonder and Dark Horse Comics. Highly recommended and you can order directly online!
Dunkiton Press publishes rare works by Oz authors (especially from Ruth Plumly Thompson) and artists, reflections on Oz, as well as expansions to Jack Snow's encyclopedic, yet incomplete, "Who's Who in Oz". These include, "Who's Who in Oz, An Appendix" and "Who's Who in the Borderlands of Oz". Write to: Ruth Berman, 2809 Drew Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55416
Nathan Mulac Dehoff’s online website features all of his excellent Oz short stories (written under the pseudonym Damian Z. Pythias). Definitely check these out! You can find them here.
James Fuller’s website can be accessed online here. There you can sample some of his wonderful Ozian lore (some of which feature a very different and alternate direction in the Oz saga) and email him for the full versions of his stories.
The Oz Research Group/Story Circle is a short journal circulated among fellow Oz writers and contributors and often has at least a short story and/or commentary of some kind. Many of these short stories are published in expanded and re-written form some time in the future.
Recently, major publisher HarperCollins has begun to publish a new series of Oz books by noted author Sherwood Smith. Time and success of these early volumes will tell if this becomes an ongoing series or merely a short-lived endeavour. Let's hope the former.
Looking to get your Oz story published? This can be a daunting task because for the most part major publishers do not recognize any profit value in publishing Oz stories (although this can always change if a successful book or film gives Oz mass-popularity once more). This leaves authors the dilemma of finding a small-press publisher (which some have done with success) or privately printing and distributing their manuscript at conventions and online. Determined writers may even be content to publish their work strictly online for the sheer joy of sharing their work with others. Those who wish to pursue the course of the small-press publishers do well to research well the publishers they're interested in. Go to their websites; write them for information; read the fine-print; and understand exactly what you're getting... and not getting from them. Know beforehand that many companies simply do not have the resources for advertising, volume printing and other common amenities that many have come to expect from the major publishers. Oz publishing is very much a DIY effort, so it pays to go to conventions, talk to people and fellow fans and authors, and get to know your limited, but dedicated fan-base. And recently, the online publishing house www.Lulu.com has gotten a lot of attention for publishing high quality print-on-demand books. Definitely worth checking out. |
