Arthur Leo Zagat
Arthur Leo Zagat (1896–1949) was an American lawyer and writer of
pulp fiction and
science fiction. Trained in the law, he gave it up to write professionally. Zagat is noted for his collaborations with fellow lawyer
Nat Schachner. During the last two decades of his life, Zagat wrote short stories prolifically. About 500 pieces appeared in a variety of pulp magazines, including ''
Thrilling Wonder Stories'', ''
Argosy'', ''
Dime Mystery Magazine'', ''
Horror Stories'', ''
Operator No. 5'' and ''
Astounding''. Zagat also 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'', and wrote for ''
Spicy Mystery Stories'' as "Morgan LaFay". A novel, ''
Seven Out of Time'', was published by
Fantasy Press in 1949, the year he died. His more well known series is probably the ''Tomorrow'' series of 6 novelettes from ''Argosy'' (1939 thru 1941) collecting into 2 volumes by
Altus Press in 2014.
Zagat was a graduate of
City College who served in the US military in Europe during
World War I. After the war, he studied at
Bordeaux University, then graduated from
Fordham Law School. He taught writing at
New York University. In 1941, he was elected to the first national executive committee for the
Authors League pulp writers' section. During
World War II, he held an executive position in the
Office of War Information. After that war, Zagat was active in organizing writers' workshops and other assistance for hospitalized veterans.
Zagat was married to Ruth Zagat; the couple had one daughter, Hermine. He died of a heart attack on April 3, 1949, at his home in the
Bronx.
Provided by Wikipedia