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News October 24, 2018

Terror at the Crossroads

A new horror anthology under the Dell Magazines imprint, Eris Press, titled Terror at the Crossroads: Tales of Horror, Delusion, and the Unknown, edited by Emily Hockaday and Jackie Sherbow and taken from the pages of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, is now available.

The collection features stories from Kit Reed, David Brin, Tara Laskowski, Alec Nevala-Lee, Will McIntosh, Louis Bayard, Zandra Renwick, Chris Beckett, Barbara Nadel, Rachel L. Bowden, Stephen Ross, Paddy Kelly, Jason Half, Kurt Bachard, O.A. Tynan, Seth Frost, Kathy Lynn Emerson, Teresa Solana, A.J. Wright, Josh Pachter, and Megan Arkenberg.

The anthology is currently available on Amazon and will soon be available via other digital platforms.

Eris Press will be holding a digital launch for the anthology on Wednesday, October 31: a day-long event featuring book giveaways, twenty-minute Twitter AMAs with authors including Alec Nevala-Lee, Chris Beckett, and Josh Pachter, video readings, Q&As, costumed author photos, and more. To follow the event, stay up to date with @ErisPress.

This collection brings readers demonic encounters, the apocalypse and post-apocalypse, ghostly apparitions, mad scientists, demented artists, monsters, and plenty of bizarre and frightening experiences that will stay with you well beyond its pages. Join @ErisPress this Halloween for their digital launch!

Opening Lines September 23, 2018

Opening Lines

“The skippership Hope glided below the surface of reality.”

Opening line from “The Compass” by Edd Vick Asimov’s July 2005 Cover by Jacob de Heusch.

News September 7, 2018

Asimov’s Science Fiction Sep/Oct 2018

Contents
Shelia Williams’ Editorial: Thirty-Second Annual Readers’ Awards’ Results
Robert Silverberg’s Reflections: I Invent the Compact Disc in 1961
In Memoriam: Gardner Dozois (1947–2018)
James Patrick Kelly’s On the Net: X O
Bruce Boston “Vampire Fortuneteller” (verse)
Greg Egan “3-Adica”
Janet Yolen “Song of the Peat Hag” (verse)
Stephanie Feldman “The Witch of Osborne Park”
William Shunn “The Golem” (verse)
Carrie Vaughn “The Huntsman and the Beast”
Suzanne Palmer “R.U.R-8?”
Erin Roberts “The Grays of Cestus V”
Robert Frazier “The Temple Necromanteion” (verse)
Robert Reed “Denali”
Doug C. Souza “The Callisto Stakes”
Herb Kauderer “Ghosts of Robots” (verse)
Sheila Finch “Survivors”
William John Watkins “The Lovecraft Ritual” (verse)
Jean Marie Ward “The Wrong Refrigerator”
F.J. Bergmann “Avocation” (verse)
David Erik Nelson “In the Sharing Place”
Leah Cypess “Best Served Slow”
Next Issue
Rick Wilber “The Secret City”
Mary Soon Lee “Packing for the Afterlife” (verse)
Norman Spinrad: On Books
Classified Marketplace
Erwin S. Strauss: The SF Conventional Calendar

Asimov’s Science Fiction Vol. 42 #9 & 10, whole #512 & 513, Sep/Oct 2018
Publisher: Peter Kanter
Editor: Sheila Williams
Associate Editor: Emily Hockaday
Editorial Assistant: Deanna McLafferty
Senior Art Director: Victoria Green
Cover: Eldar Zakirov
208 pages, $7.99 on newsstands until October 23, 2018
Asimov’s website
Asimov’s/Analog Value Pack-8
Asimov’s/Analog Value Pack-16

Interviews August 7, 2018

Edd Vick on digests

Below are Edd Vick’s comments on digest magazines, from the interview conducted by D. Blake Werts, for The Digest Enthusiast book six:

When I was in high school I read all the digests I could lay my hands on, preferring one that’s no longer around named Galaxy. Where Analog tended to have more tech-oriented stories, and Fantasy & Science Fiction was usually more literary, Galaxy hit a sweet spot of SF focusing on characters and the soft sciences. I have a complete collection still, barring a couple of later magazine-sized issues from when it was being passed from one publisher to another.

The magazine nowadays that’s inherited that mantle is Asimov’s, where I’m very happy to have sold several stories. They’re a little more adventure-oriented, but that’s not an issue where I’m concerned.

Opening Lines August 5, 2018

Opening Lines

Opening Lines from “First Principles” by Edd Vick, Asimov’s Sep 2003 as featured in the author’s interview with D. Blake Werts in The Digest Enthusiast book six.

News July 1, 2018

Asimov’s Science Fiction Jul/Aug 2018

Contents
Shelia Williams’ Editorial: The 2018 Dell Magazine Awards
Robert Silverberg’s Reflections: Terra Incognita
John Richard Trtek “The Hull Breach” (verse)
James Patrick Kelly’s On the Net: Listen, Watch, Read
Bruce McAllister “Leaving” (verse)
Ian R. MacLeod “Ephemera”
Amy Miller “Note to Our Guests” (verse)
Suzanne Palmer “Stone in the Water, Cottage on the Mountain”
Jane Yolen “Counting the Cost” (verse)
Kristine Kathryn Rusch “Lieutenant Tightass”
Michael Meyerhofer “The Big Bang Was Not” (verse)
Dale Bailey “Rules of Biology”
Richard Schiffman “A Love Poem” (verse)
Michael Cassutt “Unter”
In Memoriam: Mary Rosenblum (1952–2018)
Zack Be “True Jing”
Kendall Evans & John Philip Johnson “Lament of the Four Moons” (verse)
Octavia Cade “The Backward Lens of Compromise”
Leah Cypress “Attachment Unavailable”
Harry Turtledove “Liberating Alaska”
In Memoriam: Kate Wilhelm (1928–2018)
Jack Skillingstead “Straconia”
Next Issue
Allen M. Steele “Starship Mountain”
Paul Di Filippo: On Books
Classified Marketplace
Erwin S. Strauss: The SF Conventional Calendar

Asimov’s Science Fiction Vol. 42 #7 & 8, whole #510 & 511, Jul/Aug 2018
Publisher: Peter Kanter
Editor: Sheila Williams
Associate Editor: Emily Hockaday
Editorial Assistant: Deanna McLafferty
Senior Art Director: Victoria Green
Cover: Mycoolssites/Dreamstime.com
208 pages, $7.99 on newsstands until June 19, 2018
Asimov’s website
Asimov’s/Analog Value Pack-8
Asimov’s/Analog Value Pack-16

News May 18, 2018

Asimov’s Science Fiction May/Jun 2018

Contents
Jay Cole: Guest Editorial: A Semester with Isaac Asimov
In Memoriam: Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018)
Robert Silverberg: Reflections: Circe and Doctor Moreau
James Patrick Kelly On the Net: The Art of Algorithms
Bruce Boston “Unwritten” (verse)
Rick Wilber & Alan Smale “The Wandering Warriors”
Robert Borski “World on a String” (verse)
Cadwell Turnbull “When the Rains Come Back”
Janet Yolen “Pachyderm Thoughts” (verse)
Sue Burke “Life from the Sky”
Ken Poyner “Alien Found” (verse)
Paul Park “Creative Nonfiction”
Peter Wood “Riverboats, Robots, and Ransom in the Regular Way”
Nancy Kress “Cost of Doing Business”
John Richard Trtek “The Drone Nurse’s Lullaby” (verse)
Marc Laidlaw “A Mammoth, So-Called”
Jane Lindskold “Unexpected Flowers”
Sandra McDonald & Stephen D. Covey “Time Enough to Say Goodbye”
Next Issue
David Gerrold & Ctein “Bubble and Squeak”
Norman Spinrad: On Books
Classified Marketplace
Erwin S. Strauss: SF Conventional Calendar

Asimov’s Science Fiction Vol. 42 #5 & 6, whole #508 & 509, May/Jun 2018
Publisher: Peter Kanter
Editor: Sheila Williams
Associate Editor: Emily Hockaday
Editorial Assistant: Deanna McLafferty
Senior Art Director: Victoria Green
Cover: Alejandro Colucci
208 pages, $7.99 on newsstands until June 19, 2018
Asimov’s website
Asimov’s/Analog Value Pack-8
Asimov’s/Analog Value Pack-16

News February 20, 2018

Asimov’s Science Fiction Mar/Apr 2018

Contents
Sheila Williams Editorial: More Words About Some Words
Robert Silverberg Reflections: Rereading Fletcher Pratt
James Patrick Kelly On the Net: Is the Internet Broken?
Kristine Kathryn Rusch “Dix”
In Memoriam: Kit Reed (1932–2017)
Mary Robinette Kowal “Artisanal Trucking, LLC”
James Van Pelt “Queen of the River: The Harbor Hope”
Peter Payack “The Evolutionary Race” (verse)
Rudy Rucker “Emojis”
Darrell Schweitzer “When the Time-Travelers from the Future Finally Reach Us” (verse)
Ray Nayler “A Threnody for Hazan”
Robert Reed “Love Songs for the Very Awful”
Jane Yolen “Is It True? It’s Not True” (verse)
Rachel Swirsky & Trace Yulie “Seven Months Out and Two to Go”
Sean Monaghan “The Billows of Sarto”
Todd Dillard “Palate of the Babel Fish” (verse)
James Gunn “The Waiting Room: The Pedia’s Story”
James Gunn “Attack on Terminal: The Pilgrims’ Story”
Robert Frazier “Your Clone Defies Aging” (verse)
Rich Larson “In Event of Moon Disaster”
Alexandra Renwick “Because Reasons”
Bill Johnson “Bury Me in the Rainbow”
Next Issue
Peter Heck: On Books
Classified Marketplace
Erwin S. Strauss: SF Conventional Calendar

Asimov’s Science Fiction Vol. 42 #3 & 4, whole #506 & 507, Mar/Apr 2018
Publisher: Peter Kanter
Editor: Sheila Williams
Associate Editor: Emily Hockaday
Editorial Assistant: Deanna McLafferty
Senior Art Director: Victoria Green
Cover: Jeff Brown
208 pages, $7.99 on newsstands until April 24, 2018
Asimov’s website
Asimov’s/Analog Value Pack-8
Asimov’s/Analog Value Pack-16

News January 27, 2018

2017 Total Paid Distribution

The release of the Jan/Feb issues of Dell’s digest magazines marks the first year of their bi-monthly, double-issue format. The issues also provide the publisher’s statements of ownership, which include the average number of copies for a variety of categories, over a preceding 12-month period, for the print editions.

Magazines print more copies than they sell through subscriptions and newsstands. For the big five digests, excess inventory is offered in Value Packs on their websites. A great opportunity for readers to try out recent issues of a title at a fraction of its regular price.

Dell and F&SF sell far more issues via subscriptions than newsstands. For the most part, combining the two gives you the total paid circulation. However, it’s important to note these numbers don’t include digital sales, which are likely on the rise. Below is the “total paid distribution” from Jan/Feb 2017 and 2018 of the print editions:

AHMM
2017 13,527
2018 12,962

Analog
2017 19,963
2018 18,957

Asimov’s
2017 13,978
2018 13,320

Ellery Queen
2017 16,472
2018 15,486

F&SF
2017 11,108
2018 11,429

Except for F&SF, the year-over-year numbers show declines of ~500–1000. Is this due to thicker, less frequent issues, general magazine publishing trends, distribution challenges, or something else? Without numbers on digital edition sales, it’s unclear. But I will share some anecdotal evidence about my experience buying the Jan/Feb 2018 issue of AHMM. (I generally buy magazines at a newsstand to avoid subscription mailing labels.)

Shortly after the new Dell books were out, I went to Rich’s Cigar Store on SW Alder, which to my knowledge is the largest magazine shop in Portland, Oregon. Dell’s two SF digests were there, but not AHMM. They still had five copies of the previous issue on display.

After the holidays I tried Powell’s in Cedar Hills. They had EQMM and F&SF, but no Hitchcock. A week or two later I called Powell’s to see if it had arrived. The CSR couldn’t locate the issue or the title, despite the fact that I have purchased it there before.

My fallback is wwnewstand on ebay, but as of yesterday they still were not offering it.

I finally found a copy at Barnes & Nobel at Bridgeport Village. After my purchase, there was only one remaining. I also learned you could buy a single issue AHMM from the B&N website. Good to know of another backup option.

I think the difficulty points to the distributor. When I asked for an issue of Strand Magazine at Rich’s one day this fall, the manager told me they were never quite sure what the distributor was going to give them. Apparently, in the case of the current AHMM—zero. As of my last trip there in mid-January, Rich’s still had five copies of Nov/Dec 2017 on display.

Genre digest publishers—even the big five—have their challenges. If you like what they do, please support them at the newsstand, online, or through subscriptions. The world needs stories, and they publish some of the best.

Note: Total paid distribution numbers for Fate and Nostalgia Digest are not listed here, as I didn’t find any Statements of Ownership in recent issues.

News January 15, 2018

Asimov’s Science Fiction Jan/Feb 2018

Contents
Sheila Williams Editorial: A Few Words About Some Words
Robert Silverberg Reflections: Gog & Magog II by
James Patrick Kelly On the Net: Don’t Read the Comments
In Memoriam: Brian W. Aldiss (1925–2017)
James Gunn Thought Experiment: Space Opera and the Quest for Transcendence
James Gunn “The Seeds of Consciousness: 4107’s Story”
James Gunn “The Final Commandment: Trey’s Story”
G.O. Clark “Room With a View” (verse)
Rudy Rucker & Paul Di Filippo “In the Lost City of Leng”
Jane Yolen “Writing Away Coincidence”
Ian Creasey “The Equalizers”
Cixin Liu “Sea of Dreams” translation: John Chu
Matthew Hughes “Solicited Discordance”
Jessy Randall “Annie Jump Cannon Cataloged Stars” (verse)
Jessy Randall “Annie Jump Cannon Goes Home from the Lab” (verse)
Robert R. Chase “Assassin in the Clouds”
Statement of ownership, management and circulation
Jane Yolen “Balance” (verse)
Allen M. Steele “Barren Isle”
S. Qiouyi Lu “Mother Tongues”
Bruce Boston “Synesthesia” (verse)
Kristine Kathryn Rusch “The Rescue of the Renegat”
Josh Pearce “Objects in Space” (verse)
Paul Di Filippo On Books
Next Issue
Thirty-Second Annual Readers’ Award Ballot
Index: 2017
Classified Marketplace
Erwin S. Strauss SF Conventional Calendar

Asimov’s Science Fiction Vol. 42 #1 & 2, whole #504 & 505, Jan/Feb 2018
Publisher: Peter Kanter
Editor: Sheila Williams
Associate Editor: Emily Hockaday
Editorial Assistant: Deanna McLafferty
Senior Art Director: Victoria Green
Cover: Eldar Zakirov
208 pages, $7.99 on newsstands until Feb. 20, 2018
Asimov’s website