Arthur Leo Zagat (1896–1949)

Arthur Leo Zagat was born in New York City and grew up in the Bronx, where his father owned a drugstore. He graduated from City College and fought in World War I in Europe, then studied at the University of Bordeaux in France. After his return to the USA, Zagat attended Fordham University Law School, graduating in 1929. However, the Great Depression reduced the demand for new lawyers, and Zagat found himself out of work. At the suggestion of his wife Ruth, he borrowed a typewriter and began to write. He became an extremely prolific writer of short stories and novels in many genres, including science fiction, pulp fiction, horror, weird menace, and mystery. For more than a year, he collaborated with fellow lawyer Nat Schachner, including on their first story, "The Tower of Evil" (Wonder Stories Quarterly, 1930). He published about 500 stories in magazines such as Argosy, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Dime Mystery Magazine, Horror Stories, and Astounding, sometimes under the pen name Morgan Lafay. He wrote the "Doc Turner" stories that regularly appeared in The Spider pulp magazine throughout the 1930s and the "Red Finger" series that ran in Operator #5. His best known series is probably the Tomorrow series of six novelettes from Argosy, published from 1939 to 1941, later collected into two volumes by Altus Press and published in 2014. His novel Seven Out of Time, published in 1949, was hailed by The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as his best. Zagat also taught writing at New York University. During World War II, he worked for the Office of War Information. Afterwards, Zagat was active in organizing writers' workshops and other assistance for hospitalized veterans.