The Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC) was established as a Doubleday
imprint in March 1953. Up until 1969 it offered one selection per month,
and from then on two books were sent to members who chose to receive
them. The late 1960s also the SFBC offer seasonal releases. By the late
1970s other publishers books were made available as the monthly
selection, with these having to be reset to conform to Doubleday's
printing presses. They were for the most part, however, cheaper quality.
German media corporation Bertelsmann A.G. purchased the Bantam
Doubleday Dell publishing group in 1986, and in the process acquired the
Doubleday book clubs, including the SFBC. In 2000, Bertelsmann and Time
Warner combined their direct book sales (Doubleday Direct Inc. and
Book-of-the-Month Club), creating Bookspan through which the SFBC
continued to operate. Some seven years later Bertelsmann purchased Time
Warner's interest in Bookspan and the following year sold the company
(along with the SFBC) to a private investment firm, Najafi, which
changed the company's name to Direct Brands Inc.
[Source:
Internet Speculative Fiction Database - online (sighted 23/1/2012)]
