This Goodly Land

Mary Elizabeth Counselman (November 19, 1911–May 3, 1994)

Other Names Used

• Mary Elizabeth Vinyard: married name
• Mary Elizabeth Counselman-Vinyard: pen name
• Charles DuBois: pen name
• Sanders McCrorey: pen name
• John Starr: pen name

Alabama Connections

• Birmingham, Jefferson County: birthplace, childhood residence, adult residence
• Montevallo, Shelby County: education
• Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa County: education
• Gadsden, Etowah County: adult residence

Selected Works

• Counselman, Mary Elizabeth. Half in Shadow: A Collection of Tales for the Night Hours. London: World Distributors, 1964. Rpt. as Half in Shadow. Sauk City, Wisc.: Arkham House, 1978.
• Counselman, Mary Elizabeth. African Yesterdays: A Collection of Native Folktales. Centre, Ala.: Coosa Printing Co., 1977.
• Counselman, Mary Elizabeth. The Face of Fear: And Other Poems. Ed. Steve Eng. Pensacola, Fla.: Eidolon Press, 1984.

Literary Awards

• Phoenix Award, Southern Fandom Confederation, 1981

Biographical Information

Mary Elizabeth Counselman was born in Birmingham, Ala. She later moved with her family to Gainesville, Ga., where her father taught at the Riverside Military Academy. Counselman began writing poetry as a child. She attended Alabama College (now the University of Montevallo) and the University of Alabama. Later, Counselman worked as a reporter for The Birmingham News. After her marriage, she and her husband lived in Gadsden, Ala. Counselman taught creative writing classes at Gadsden State Junior College (now the Wallace Drive Campus of Gadsden State Community College) and at the University of Alabama. In 1976, she received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.

Counselman began publishing short stories and poems in pulp magazines such as Weird Tales in the 1930s and continued for over twenty years. Her most famous story published in Weird Tales was “The Three Marked Pennies.” Other stories and essays were published in mainstream magazines such as Collier’s, The Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, and Ladies’ Home Journal. Some of Counselman’s stories were adapted for television, including “Parasite Mansion,” which was broadcast in 1961 as part of the Thriller television series.

Interests and Themes

Mary Elizabeth Counselman wrote short stories in the horror and science fiction genres, many with Alabama settings. She also wrote African jungle stories and poetry on science fiction themes.

For More Information

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There may be more information available through the databases in the Alabama Virtual Library. If you are an Alabama citizen, AVL can be used at your public library or school library media center. You can also get a username and password from your librarian to use AVL at home.

Reference Book Chapters and Encyclopedia Entries

• Davin, Eric Leif. "Mary Elizabeth Counselman (1911-1995 [sic])"; Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926-1965. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, . 375.
• Ruber, Peter. "Mary Elizabeth Counselman (Essay)"; Arkham's Masters of Horror: A 60th Anniversary Anthology Retrospective of the First 30 Years of Arkham House. Ed. Peter Ruber. Sauk City, Wisc.: Arkham House Publishers, . 301-306.

Last updated on May 30, 2008.