I am glad to report that Fantasy & Science Fiction may not be dead after all. Locus Online is quoting publisher Gordan Van Gelder as saying, “Ongoing production problems have led us to skip the Spring issue and to switch to a quarterly schedule.” There is a link to the magazine’s page on Weightless Books, but there’s no quote from Van Gelder there.

I’m not sure where Gordan said this. Locus Online didn’t provide a source. Perhaps from an interview in an upcoming issue. He’s further quoted as saying that no subscribers will miss any issues.

This is good news. F&SF has been one of the mainstays of short fantasatic fiction for almost  three quarters of a century. I wish Gordan and the magazine all the best.

However, I have some thoughts.

First, to be nitpickiing,, because it’s been that kind of day, If they skipped the Spring issue, doesn’t that mean they’ve already gone to a quarterly schedule.  And by the way, does going to quarterly drop F&SF out of the professional market category, at least as far as SFWA and awards are concerned? (Not that I really care.)

Also, even though the temperature today was around ninety-four where I am, isn’t summemr over? What about fall?

Now, some more seriouis thoughts.

I’m glad subscriptions will be honored and no subscribers will miss any issues. I renewed my subscription for two years last spring. I should be good for a while.

The table of contents is posted on this issue’s page at Weightless Books. The only two names I recognize are Esther Friesner and Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Both are excellent writers. Their contributions are short stories. The remaining ten short stories and three novelettes are by people whose names I don’t recognize.

I’m all for publishing new authors. I’m not against publishing a wide array of writers from different backgrounds who might have unique voices. i get that.

But from a business perspective, in an industry in which margins are getting thinner and survival less of a certainty, shouldn’t there be more recognizable names on the cover, or at least on the table of contents?

I must admit I’ve been idsappointed in the issues I’ve managed to read in the last few years. I’m definitely going to try to read every story in this issue. I’m hoping to discover some new favorite authors (at least one). I’ll let you know what I think.

Version 1.0.0

Before I start this post, I want to point out that the title ends in a question mark. It is not intended to be a statement of fact.

But it is a valid question.  The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF) hasn’t had a new issue in over six months.  Questions aren’t being answered. Last year some authors claimed they hadn’t been paid for their stories.
The  question has come up over the last week.

I saw a post from Sean CW Korsgaard on Sunday saying his enjoyment of GenCon had been dampened a little when he saw the news about F&SF and SFWA. (There seems to be some drama going on behind the scenes at SFWA, but I’m not going to address that here. I’m not a member. Not my circus, not my monkeys.)

Sean didn’t elaborate or answer any questions about what was going on. Continue reading →