I had a surpise in my mailbox on Friday. A very unexpected and pleasant surprise.

That’s it on the left, the latest issue of F&SF. Someone had commented in a previous post that they had gotten an electronic copy of this issue.

I’m glad to see it isn’t dead. I’ve had a subscription since I graduated college. I’m going to try to work this issue into the reading schedule as soon as I can. *looks at TBR pile and sighs*

At least it’s not dead yet. I’m not optimistic about any of the digests at the moment. I’ll explain further down.

Not unexpectedly, there are some changes. Now that F&SF is in the stable of the (formerly) Penny Press digests, it has the same format as they do. Same dimensions, same cheap paper, and the same flimsy cover. The heavier cover stock and the thicker paper is gone.

Not surpprising, like I said. But not a welcome change as far as I’m concerned. F&SF went to a heavier cover stock some years ago. As a print subscriber, I appreciated that. I would still get issues with torn covers, but not as many. Hopefully, I won’t get too many damaged copies.

So what else has changed? The issue opens with an editorial describing the new owners of the magazine. It’s very much the same type of corporate suck-up/propaganda Analog, Asimov’s, Ellery Queen, and Aflred Hitchcock published when they were bought up.

The pucblishing schedule is different. F&SF is now a quaretly rather than bimonthly. This issue is dated Volulme 1 of 2025. *checks calendar* Hmm, seems to be a bit late. Better late than never, I suppose. The previous issue was published somewhere between a year and a year and a half ago. The other magazines were late with their first issues after being sold, so I’m not really surprised.

One of the good thihngs about this issue is that I recognize four of the nine names on the fiction selections (Nnedi Okorafor, Maurice Broaddus, Matthew Kessel, and John Shirley). I’ve not read much by any of them, but I at least know who they are. I can’t say that about the previous dozen or so issues.

Now, here’s where I’m  going to be pessimistic. The contracts for all five of these digest magazines have changed to something very draconian. I’ve heard them desceribed by long time professionals as a rights grab. I’ve not seen a contract myself, but I know that a number of people have pulled stories that were accepted over the contract terms, saying they weren’t willing to give up all rights. (The way it usually works is that you get an email saying your work as been accepted, and the contract follows.)

The contracts aren’t negotiable, either, from what I’ve been told and read.

This doesn’t bode well for the futures of these publications. Smart writers aren’t going to give up their intellectual property for a few hundred dollars. The quality and sales will deteriorate over time. Sales haven’t been good for any of these magazines for years. While there ahs been some variations, the overall sales trends have tended to be negative.

I hope I’m wrong. I’m going to stick with them at least for the rest of my current subscriptions. (Not that I know how many issues of F&SF I have left. With the missed issues and new publishing schedule, I’ve lost track. There isn’t a final issue number on the mailing label. Just the issue number. Maybe that’s it.} After that, we’ll see.