SF/F short fiction magazines

[Nerds_feather]

i try to read every issue of Lightspeed and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and read Clarkesworld, Asimov's and Daily Science Fiction less regularly. May wade into Apex soon as well.

do you read any regularly? which ones, how often and why do you focus on those?

[Extollager]

Originally Posted by Nerds_feather

i try to read every issue of Lightspeed and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and read Clarkesworld, Asimov's and Daily Science Fiction less regularly. May wade into Apex soon as well.

do you read any regularly? which ones, how often and why do you focus on those?

None of the above, but I do enjoy every so often ordering a back issue of Fantastic from Cele Goldsmith's day or an old Fantasy and Science Fiction. I have only 15 or so pre-1970 sf magazines, but one is kind of neat, the Jan. 1934 issue of Astounding with Donald Wandrei's "Colossus"! I'm quite sure that this was the story that C. S. Lewis was trying to remember when he wrote a preface to his fantasy The Great Divorce.

But I realize you were looking for comments on current sf mags...

[Nerds_feather]

it's all good

generally curious if others on here read short fiction, as well as if people read SF/F magazines. i'm actually pretty new to the mags, though i read the "best of year" anthologies pretty often.

some great writing going on in the mags though!

[The Judge]

We actually have a magazines section, which -- for reasons which escape me for the present -- is over in Publishers and Industry, so I'll move this thread over there.

[Alex, The G and T]

I've subscribed to ANALOG since the mid 80's, Asimov's since the mid 90's; started a sub to Fantasy and Science Fiction recently.

It's a good resource to see who's new, and a steady supply of shorter work. It's nice to have them show up in the mailbox, on a regular basis.

They're not all gems, but there's seldom a real stinker, either.

[Nerds_feather]

Originally Posted by The Judge

We actually have a magazines section, which -- for reasons which escape me for the present -- is over in Publishers and Industry, so I'll move this thread over there.

sorry! still getting a handle on how this place works...

[Nerds_feather]

Originally Posted by Alex, The G and T

I've subscribed to ANALOG since the mid 80's, Asimov's since the mid 90's; started a sub to Fantasy and Science Fiction recently.

It's a good resource to see who's new, and a steady supply of shorter work. It's nice to have them show up in the mailbox, on a regular basis.

They're not all gems, but there's seldom a real stinker, either.

do you do the hardcopies or ebook versions?

i occasionally buy asimov's, analog or F&SF when i see print copies, but generally gravitate towards the ones where i can get a kindle edition for under $3.

how do you find the differences between asimov's and analog, both being published by the same people?

[Alex, The G and T]

Originally Posted by Nerds_feather

do you do the hardcopies or ebook versions?

i occasionally buy asimov's, analog or F&SF when i see print copies, but generally gravitate towards the ones where i can get a kindle edition for under $3.

how do you find the differences between asimov's and analog, both being published by the same people?

I've stuck with hard-copies, though I do own a Kindle. The e-book subscription service, for all three, has been... ummmm... "evolving," through various formats, distributors, and availability. Available as a subscription, sometimes; as single copies only, at other times.

***
Asimov's stories tend to have "Softer" science, with some room, also for fantasy stories.

ANALOG runs towards Nuts 'n' Bolts Science, in it's fiction; no fantasy.

The publishers are the same; the editors, and their tastes are quite different.

[iansales]

Interzone is probably the best English-language sf magazine currently being published. It's available in print and ebook. Jupiter is also worth a look, if you prefer more traditional sf. Alt Hist specialises in alternate history and historical stories.

Online, the good ones are Strange Horizons and Clarkesworld. Lightspeed has had some good reprints, but I've not been impressed with much of the new stuff. Subterranean and Apex are also worth a look.

The Big Three of Asimov, Analog and F&SF these days only publish the sort of bland sf that makes it onto the Hugo shortlist. I think the only time I read stories from them are when they're shortlisted, and then I wonder why they were nominated...

[Roy1]

Hi N Feather, TTA Press publish Interzone (IZ) the UK SF magazine that reached its 30th birthday with issue 240 last month. (May) Analog is over 80 so we have a way to go.
There are E book versions of IZ on Fictionwise, Smashwords and Amazon. If you have a reader of some sort then IZ 230 is still free if you want to test us out.

TTA also publish the horror/dark fantasy magazine Black Static and Black Static #19 Smashwords E book edition is a free, or pay what you consider fair, download from Smashwords and please let us know what you think of it. That version may not be free on other ebook retail sites, like Apple.

TTA Press have their own set of threads on SFF Chronicles.
The print editions are proper magazines with book, film & DVD reviews plus news and, in Black Static, comment columns and TV reviews all related to their genre. Current issue links are IZ 240 and Black Static 28
159

[Nerds_feather]

Originally Posted by Roy1

Hi N Feather, TTA Press publish Interzone (IZ) the UK SF magazine that reached its 30th birthday with issue 240 last month. (May) Analog is over 80 so we have a way to go.
There are E book versions of IZ on Fictionwise, Smashwords and Amazon. If you have a reader of some sort then IZ 230 is still free if you want to test us out.

TTA also publish the horror/dark fantasy magazine Black Static and Black Static #19 Smashwords E book edition is a free, or pay what you consider fair, download from Smashwords and please let us know what you think of it. That version may not be free on other ebook retail sites, like Apple.

TTA Press have their own set of threads on SFF Chronicles.
The print editions are proper magazines with book, film & DVD reviews plus news and, in Black Static, comment columns and TV reviews all related to their genre. Current issue links are IZ 240 and Black Static 28
159

done! i know interzone primarily via reprints in anthologies...didn't realize you could get it for kindle or other ereaders now. thanks for the heads up! am downloading #230 and also #240 now...

[Roy1]

Great stuff, I hope you enjoy them. I'll be interested in your verdict if you get a moment as I post the e books now.
We do have free podcast stories from all the TTA magazines on the website.

191

[WmPreston]

As a writer whose work has repeatedly appeared in Asimov's, I have to say I do read some Asimov's stories, though not all. This month's story by Theodora Goss is terrific--which leads me to the point that I tend to read collections of short fiction rather than much in the mags. A Goss collection just came in for me at the library, and I'm really loving the Robert Sheckley collection put together by New York Review Books (all of his stuff appeared in the mags decades ago). F&SF also often has wonderful material. Analog isn't to my taste; it's less, I think that it's "hard" SF than that there's less character work in general on the stories. Clarkesworld is regularly amazing; Lightspeed is impressive. I've only seen Interzone once. I didn't care for the design, but that's perhaps because I'm used to the blander look of the US mags (and I have a background in publishing, in which, as an editor, one had to often push back against design that was distracting). It's good to support at least one of the mags.

Cheers,

Bill