The Ship of Ishtar

Abraham Grace Merritt, well known by his byline A. Merritt, was an American Sunday magazine editor and weird fiction author who lived from January 20, 1884, to August 21, 1943. In its fourth class, which included two writers who had passed away and two who were still alive, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame admitted him in 1999. Merritt was one of the highest-paid journalists of his time, earning over $25,000 a year by 1919. A hypochondriac, he talked endlessly about his medical symptoms. Lived in Queens, New York City, and owned thousands of volumes of occult literature. Richard Shaver and H. P. Lovecraft both owed a lot to Merritt. The Ship of Ishtar and Dwellers in the Mirage are listed as two of the 100 Best Books by Michael Moorcock and James Cawthorn. Robert Bloch included Burn Witch Burn on his list of favorite horror novels. "Three Lines of Old French," Merritt's first published fantasy tale, was released in 1917. The Munsey publications thereafter published more short tales and novels in serial form. A few of his stories appeared elsewhere: The Pool of the Stone God (American Weekly, 1923), The Metal Emperor (Science and Invention, 1927), and The Drone Man (Fantasy Magazine, 1934).