The Space Merchants

The Space Merchants
Cover of first edition hardcover
AuthorFrederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth
Cover artistRichard M. Powers
LanguageEnglish
SeriesSpace Merchants
GenreScience Fiction/Satire
PublisherBallantine Books
Publication date
May 18, 1953
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages179
Followed byThe Merchants' War 

The Space Merchants is a 1952 science fiction novel by American writers Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth. Originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine as a serial entitled Gravy Planet, the novel was first published as a single volume in 1953, and has sold heavily since. It deals satirically with a hyper-developed consumerism, seen through the eyes of an advertising executive. In 1984, Pohl published a sequel, The Merchants' War. In 2012, it was included in the Library of America omnibus American Science Fiction: Four Classic Novels 1953–1956. Pohl revised the original novel in 2011 with added material and more contemporary references.