This post is in response to Steve's intro to the story Bean There.
One thing that would increase the visiblity of these magazines is if they would shelf them in the bookstores with the rest of the genre fiction. i think people would be much more likely to buy an issue of F&SF if it were next to the Gaiman, Williams, and Jordan books, than over with the rest of the magazines that I, for one, never look at.
For about a year now I have subscribed to four fiction magazines and I'd like to share a bit about my experiences with them to help others pick one or more that is good for them.
First, the Why: When I first started listening to Escape Pod, o so long ago, I heard Steve talk about this subject in a more abstract way and I realized I should probably support short fiction. Then I started getting serious about writing and read Stephen King's book On Writing. In it, one piece of advice he gives is to subscribe to these magazines and read them from cover to cover every month. This is only one of many excellent pieces of advice in this book. If you are a writer, you should have it.
Back on topic. I started looking around at the options. I am more of a fantasy writer than sci-fi, so I leaned toward that genre more. Here are the mags I subscribe to and a brief review of each.
Realms of Fantasy is a bi-monthly glossy magazine like Newsweek or Time. It has excellent non-fiction and reviews. The stories tend toward modern fantasy and updated fairy tales, but all aspects of fantasy are represented. Each story is presented as an event with original color artwork and stylish layout. I really enjoy this magazine. The recent Escape Pod story, Blood of Virgins, was originally printed in Realms and is a good sample of the quality of writing in this magazine.
Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine (or F&SF for short) is a monthly bound newsprint magazine about the size of a paperback book. This one also has interesting non-fiction and reviews. The range of stories is very broad, from hard SF to modern fantasy. I really can't say enough about the quality of the stories in F&SF. If you like the genres that typically appear in Escape Pod, you will definitely enjoy F&SF magazine. I could list the great authors, like Peter Beagle or Gene Wolf that appear there, but even the stories by people I've never heard of have been outstanding.
Jim Baen's Universe is an online magazine available as PDF and html among others. This was the brain child of legendary SF editor Jim Baen. The stories here have a different flavor than either of the other two magazines that is hard to describe. I think they have a richer feel and a bit more bite to them. Universe also publishes a wide variety of stories, though there is slightly more emphasis on science fiction. They have run several excellent fantasy stories though. There is a philosophy behind the way Universe is published and a commitment to avoid DRM (digital copright protection) that I admire as well. This is the genre fiction magazine for the wired age.
Black Gate is a nice magazine, but like many smaller publications, it had trouble getting issues out in a timely manner. It is supposed to be quarterly, but in the year I have been subscribed, only one issue has come out. Bummer. I can't recommend it until it becomes more regular.
I hope this helps people pick one or more of these magazines to support. Universe would be my sentimental choice if I had to pick one, but really you can't go wrong with any of the first three.
How about you scifi fans? Can anyone give us a rundown of what Asimov's and Analog are like these days?
Cheers,
Bryan in Sacramento