NPR has just done a story on Arkham House: Home to Horror, Sci-Fi Writers:
After his death in 1937, Howard Phillips Lovecraft rose from the dead — in the literary sense. Fans of the reclusive writer published a premiere collection of his nightmarish works, giving birth to Arkham House.
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Arkham House has proven an influential player, giving such well-known sci-fi writers as Ray Bradbury and Greg Bear their first big break — and even providing inspiration for the hit role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.
David Drake’s first publication, too. He always writes of Mr. Derleth with respect. Derleth was more highbrow than most critics of his Cthulhu stories make him sound — published in the influential ‘little magazines’ of the 1930s like Pagany.