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John Joseph Adams buys Lightspeed and Fantasy Magazines from Prime Books

John Joseph Adams buys Lightspeed and Fantasy Magazines from Prime Books

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fantasy-magazine-56It’s been a tumultuous season for fantasy magazines.

In August Marvin Kaye surprised us by acquiring Weird Tales from Wildside Press, and last week we told you Realms of Fantasy magazine had folded again. And now Sean Wallace at Prime Books informs us that he’s sold Lightspeed and Fantasy magazines to current editor John Joseph Adams.

Lightspeed and Fantasy magazines are two of the finest online fiction magazines. Fantasy originally appeared in 2005, publishing six print issues before moving online in 2007. Its editors have included Sean Wallace, Paul Tremblay, and Cat Rambo, with Adams taking the reins in March of this this year.

Lightspeed, which publishes short science fiction, debuted in June 2010 with John Joseph Adams at the helm; it was a 2011 Hugo Award nominee for Best Semiprozine, and Adams was a 2011 nominee for Best Professional Editor, Short Form.

John Joseph Adams has been called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble.com. His anthologies include The Way of the Wizard, Brave New Worlds, Wastelands, The Living Dead, The Living Dead 2, By Blood We Live, Federations, and The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Adams has not announced if he’ll make any changes to the magazines. “It’s an exciting time to be involved in publishing,” he says in the press release. “Models are changing and so is the readership, and online magazines have a better shot at sustainability than ever have before. I believe the possibilities for growth are tremendous, and I look forward to staying in the vanguard of this new frontier.”

We last covered Fantasy Magazine in April with issue #49.

Read the complete press release here.

APEX #30 and Weird Fiction Review debut

APEX #30 and Weird Fiction Review debut

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issue31_mediumThe latest Apex Magazine is now available; the thirtieth issue is the first by new editor Lynne M. Thomas.  The issue features former editor Catherinne M. Valente’s “The Bread We Eat in Dreams” (who also contributes a farewell essay and a poem) and “The Leavings of the Wolf” by Elizabeth Bear.  This month’s revisited classic story is “The Creeping Thing” by Robert Shearman.  There’s also poetry by Tim Pratt and Bryan Thao Worra and non-fiction by Tansy Rayner Roberts, as well as several interviews.  For those who might fear change, rest assured that the new editor intends to carry on the Apex tradition:

Apex will continue to shove at the edges of the genre until they bleed. I will be publishing transgressive, visceral stories and poems that show us the best and worst of who we are, rendered with style and precision. Expect work outside of your comfort zone: thoughtful, experimental, emotional, and brave. Here you will find stories and poems that show us a heart, sliced out carefully, still beating in the writer’s hands, for all the world to see.

Also, in the one door closes, another opens category, outgoing Werid Tales editor Ann VanderMeer and spouse Jeff (who you may also have heard of) have launched on-line Weird Fiction Review. There’s a combination of fiction, non-fiction, comics, interviews and other, well, weird stuff.  As the editors describe it:

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This site is meant to be an ongo­ing explo­ration into all facets of the weird, in all of its many forms — a kind of non-denominational approach that appre­ci­ates Love­craftbut also Kafka, Angela Carter and Clark Ash­ton Smith, Shirley Jack­son and Fritz Leiber — along with the next gen­er­a­tion of weird writ­ers and inter­national weird. The emphasis will be on non­fic­tion on writ­ers and par­tic­u­lar books, but we will also run fea­tures on weird art, music, and film, as well as occasional fiction.
November/December Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine now on Sale

November/December Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine now on Sale

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fsfnov-dec2011With all the recent bad news surrounding print fantasy magazines, it’s good to pause to reflect on the blessings we have. Especially those blessings that arrive in our mailbox every two months like clockwork, bringing the best in modern short fantasy. I’m talking, of course, of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, now in its 62nd year of publication. The latest issue has just arrived, and it looks terrific as usual.  Contents include:

NOVELLAS
Quartet and Triptych – Matthew Hughes
The Ice Owl – Carolyn Ives Gilman

NOVELETS
Under Glass – Tim Sullivan
They That Have Wings – Evangeline Walton
Object Three – James L. Cambias
How Peter Met Pan – Albert E. Cowdrey

SHORT STORY
The Klepsydra: A Chapter from A Faunery of Recondite Beings – Michaela Roessner

Over at Locus Online Lois Tilton reviews the complete issue, including the excellent epic fantasy “Quartet and Triptych” by Matthew Hughes:

In the far-future Archonate, the thief Luff Imbry has decided it would be profitable to secure a group of rare and valuable alien figures, believed to be hidden in a maze on the grounds of a defunct family of aristocracy. The maze being full of deadly traps, he arranges to obtain the life mask of one of the deceased aristocrats, charged with her essence, in the belief that she will be able to negotiate the maze for him. But the essence in the mask has its own interests and demands, in exchange for which she offers an even greater treasure at the heart of the maze. At much greater risk….

Readers familiar with Hughes’ work will know pretty well what kind of entertainment they’re getting here: the eccentric characters, the highly mannered prose, the intricate plot.

This issue’s cover is by Kent Bash; cover price is $7.50. You can find more details on the issue at the F&SF website. We last covered F&SF here with the September/October issue.

Realms of Fantasy Folds Again

Realms of Fantasy Folds Again

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realms-oct-2011For the third time in less than three years, Realms of Fantasy magazine has closed its doors. This time however, it doesn’t appear likely the venerable fantasy print zine will rise again.

Realms of Fantasy was launched in October 1994 by Sovereign Media, as a sister magazine to Science Fiction Age (published 1992 – 2000).  Sovereign Media canceled Realms with the April 2009 issue, blaming “plummeting newsstand sales, the problem currently faced by all of the fiction magazines.”

The magazine was purchased by Warren Lapine’s Tir Na Nog Press and reappeared in July 2009, skipping only one issue (May 2009). A year later Lapine announced the magazine would be shut down after the October 2009 issue, but Realms was spared again when small press publisher Damnation Books acquired it and resumed publication with the December 2010 issue.

Today Damnation Books publisher William Gilchrist made this announcement on the Realms of Fantasy website:

When we purchased Realms of Fantasy last year we truly thought that we could suceed in publishing the magazine for the foreseeable future. We were unable to realize this goal, have been loosing (sic) money, and we must regetfully announce the closure of the magazine.

During our time with the magazine we picked up without missing a single issue and were lucky enough to produce the 100th issue. We were able to introduce poetry and bring back the tabletop gaming column. We have been truly amazed at the positive feedback on the issues we have produced from all of the fans. This is what makes this decision so painful for us.

As we were considering closing the magazine we thought it was important for the October 2011 issue to be released in print for the fans. We did this knowning there would not be a return on the investment, but did it simply because we felt it was right. This does mean the October 2011 issue will be the last issue…

If there is anyone interested in purchasing the magazine we will listen to all offers. Those intersted should send an email to support@rofmag.com.

Shawna McCarthy, who was the Editorial Guest of Honor at last weekend’s World Fantasy Convention, has been the magazine’s Fiction Editor since its first issue. Editor Douglas Cohen had this to say in his farewell message:

We reached issue 100, and with this latest issue we’ve managed to publish 600 stories in RoF’s lifetime… There’s a lot to be proud of in this final year, and I’m glad we and the magazine managed to have it. It makes for a fitting end. It’s time to move on, and I’m excited at what the future holds for me in this field.

Farewell Realms of Fantasy. You will be missed.

Goblin Fruit: Autumn 2011

Goblin Fruit: Autumn 2011

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gfwolfieThe new Goblin Fruit is LIVE!!! It’s ALIVE, I tell you!

Now, I know I’ve said that before. Always the same way, too. “LIVE!!!” must be capitalized, with exclamation points, because, you see, I’m pretending I’m Frankenstein. I’m sure you knew. It’s not like it’s a secret or anything.

This new issue features poet Neile Graham, including an interview in which her poetry is described as “very green and very blue, full of cedar and rain and stone and sea.” Here is a hint, a taste, a tongue’s dip worth of her verse:

“…Hillfolk trade their cranky babes for our sweet sleepers. Tempt away

our pretty ones. Make deals we pay for. Seduce our poets
underhill for seven silent years then gift them with sore truth…”

– The Ones Outside Your Door

…

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On the Trail of Vanished Pulps

On the Trail of Vanished Pulps

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canadian_war_stories2Collectors have at times in the past discussed the possibility that there may be some fiction magazines issues from the last 100 years for which no copies exist anywhere. Anyone who is disheartened by this news, might take comfort from the following tale which I thought some might enjoy and/or find interesting.

I maintain a sizable online index of fiction magazines at Galactic Central, and although I don’t plan to start any serious work on the Adventure Fiction Index until 2012 (at least), I have spent a little time identifying where there are gaps in the data I have so as to maximise the time I had to fill the gaps.

Top of my list is Canadian War Stories for which, when I started, details were known only of 3 of the presumed 14 published issues – see here.

I knew of the existence of one other issue in “fannish” hands, but in five years had been unable to persuade the owner to send me the Table of Contents (ToC) for the index. As it happened, when I nudged him, he sent me the ToC by return – 4 down, 10 to go!

I put out pleas on the Fictionmags and PulpMags newsgroups, but nobody had any other issues, so the next step was to look at online library listings. No issues were listed for the British Library (or any other British academic library) or the Library of Congress, which wasn’t surprising, but AMICUS (the catalogue of Canadian libraries) identified a single library (the Canadian War Museum) which had a single issue, but it was one I was missing and they kindly sent me the ToC free of charge (they would charge me $15 for a scan or mail me a photocopy free – go figure) – 5 down, 9 to go!

Next up was Google.

…

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Fall 2011 issue of Subterranean Magazine Now Available

Fall 2011 issue of Subterranean Magazine Now Available

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subterr-fall2011The Fall issue of Subterranean Magazine  is now available.

This issue features four pieces of original fiction:

“White Lines on a Green Field” by Catherynne M. Valente
“SHAKA II” by Mike Resnick
“Antiquities and Tangibles” by Tim Pratt
“Balfour and Meriwether in The Vampire of Kabul” by Daniel Abraham

Plus the usual reviews, and a non-fiction essay:

Cutting Edge Technology: The Life and Sad Times of the Western Sword by K. J. Parker

Subterranean is edited by William Schafer, and published quarterly. Most of the first seven issues are still available in print; the 8th print issue — with contributions from Michael Marshall Smith, Tim Lebbon, R. Andrew Heidel, John Scalzi, and others — is in pre-order.

The magazine switched to an online format with the Winter 2007 issue, and has published 20 online issues so far. It is presented free online by Subterranean Press, content is released in weekly installments until the full issue is published.  The complete Fall 2011 issue is available here.

We last covered Subterranean with their previous issue, Summer 2011.

Apex Magazine 28 Arrives

Apex Magazine 28 Arrives

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apex28The 28th issue of Apex Magazine is now on sale.

This issue features two new short stories, “Namasté Prime” by Grá Linnaea, and “Frank” by Betsy Phillips, plus a reprint: “Gemphalon” by Elizabeth Engstrom.

Erik Amundsen contributes a poem: “And Cut Down a Moment Later,” and the award for Best Title of the Issue goes to John H. Stevens, for his non-fiction piece “The Improbable, Inevitable Domestication of the Great Old Ones: H.P. Lovecraft’s Iconic Influence on 21st-Century Fantastic Literature and Culture.”

Seriously, that’s one great title.

This issue of Apex Magazine is edited by best-selling writer and short-timer Catherynne M. Valente. Lynne Thomas will be taking the reins for future issues.

Apex Magazine 28 is sold online for $2.99; it’s also available in Kindle, Nook, and a downloadable format through Smashwords.

Apex is published monthly. Previous issues are available through their back issue page. We last profiled Apex with issue 27.

You can subscribe and get 12 issues for just $19.95.

Interzone #236 September-October 2011

Interzone #236 September-October 2011

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374The new Interzone features contains stories by Jason Sanford (“The Ever-Dreaming Verdict of Plagues”), Mercurio D. Rivera (“Tethered”), Jon Ingold (“The Fall of the City of Silver”), Fiona Moore (“The Metaphor”) and Stephen Kotowych (“A Time for Raven”); art by Richard Wagner, Ben Baldwin, Jim Burns and Martin Hanford. There’s also the regular columns, Ansible Link by David Langford, Mutant Popcorn by Nick Lowe,  and Laser Fodder by Tony Lee; book reviews including an interview with Lavie Tidhar conducted by Maureen Kincaid Speller.

You can also download issue 230 for free, containing stories by Aliette de Bodard, Nina Allan, Lavie Tidhar , Patrick Samphire and Tim Lees.

In other news, Locus reports that the Amazing Stories trademark has been acquired, possibly for use as the title for an online magazine. This would be how many times the dead magazine has been resurrected? Although this time, a true resurrection, as it wouldn’t have a physical paper form.

Strange Horizons 2011 Fund Drive

Strange Horizons 2011 Fund Drive

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sh_headWebzine Strange Horizons is conducting its 2011 fund drive, where your donation supports one of the first (and one of the few surviving from that era) on-line speculative fiction markets. Publishing weekly for over a decade (which in Internet time is something like a century/), Strange Horizons features short fiction (this past week it was Lewis Shiner), regular columns from the likes of John Clute and Matthew Cheney, articles, poetry and book reviews. To my knowledge, Strange Horizons is the only paying on-line market that relies on the “public broadcasting” non-profit model of member donations to keep operations afloat. So the one value of “subscribing” is you at least get a tax deduction out of it.

As of Friday, they were a little over a quarter of the way towards their goal of $8,000.