Dreaming About Other Worlds

Sunday, May 3, 1970

Fantasy & Science Fiction

First published in 1949 as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and since shortened to Fantasy & Science Fiction, this publication is, next to Analog, the longest running science fiction related publication currently available. As the title suggest, the magazine showcases fantasy fiction as well as the science fiction fare found in Analog and Asimov's. Beginning with the April/May 2009 issue, the magazine shifted from a monthly publication schedule to it's current bimonthly format, but other than that, it's format and appearance have changed very little in the last several years (as opposed to Analog and Asimov's which both changed size relatively recently). Usually referred to by the abbreviated name F&SF, the magazine is different from many other genre magazines in that it has no internal artwork, no regular editorials, and no letters to the editor. The magazine focuses almost exclusively on short fiction and reviews of books and films, with the occasional (and often of fairly weak quality) science article.

The current editor is Charles Coleman Finlay, and he has held that position since 2015. The magazine has featured some very important moments in science fiction history. For example, the Hugo award winning stories A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr., Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, and Flowers of Algernon by Daniel Keyes, were all first published in serialized form with the pages of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Recently, the magazine ran a special feature over the course of several issues where former editors were asked to suggest their favorite stories for republication, which, among other great stories, resulted in the republication of several great stories, including the brilliant Jack Cady story The Night We Buried Road Dog.

Editors

1949-1954 J. Francis McComas
1949-1959 Anthony Boucher
1958 Cyril M. Kornbluth
1958 William Tenn
1958-1962 Robert P. Mills
1962-1964 Avram Davidson
1964-1965 Joseph W. Ferman
1966-1991 Edward L. Ferman
1991-1997 Kristine Kathryn Rusch
1997-2015 Gordon van Gelder
2015- Charles Coleman Finlay

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Saturday, May 2, 1970

Asimov's Science Fiction

When Asimov's Science Fiction was first published in 1977 under the name Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine with George H. Scithers at the helm, the name chosen was an attempt to leverage Isaac Asimov's immense personal popularity and stature as a sort of "elder statesman" in the science fiction genre to help make a new publication successful. Given that Asimov's has been in print for more than thirty years now, this seems to have been a pretty good plan. Contrary to popular perception, Asimov himself never served as the magazine's editor, but rather only contributed editorials and responded to fan mail, two efforts he continued until his death in 1992. The current editor is Sheila Williams, who has held the post since 2004.

The magazine currently shares common ownership with venerable industry giant Analog Science Fiction and Fact, and in format and appearance the two magazines are very similar. Asimov's tends to be more "literary" of the two magazines, regularly featuring science fiction oriented poetry and tending towards more "soft" science fiction stories, sometimes ranging into pure fantasy. Unlike Analog, Asimov's does not contain any regular science fact features. Of the two, I must admit that I used to prefer Analog, but only by a tiny bit, but in recent years this has reversed. I am glad that Analog is around to provide a venue to showcase the "harder" style of science fiction that can be found in its pages, but its editorial direction simply has not been as strong as that of Asimov's in the past several years, and Asimov's has emerged as the top magazine in the field.

Editors
1977-1981 George H. Scithers
1982 Kathleen Moloney
1983-1985 Shawna McCarthy
1986-2004 Gardner Dozois
2004- Sheila Williams

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Friday, May 1, 1970

Analog Science Fiction and Fact

First published under the name Astounding Stories in 1930, Analog Science Fiction and Fact is the longest running science fiction related magazine. Over the years, the magazine has been published under several other names, including Astounding Science Fiction, Analog Science Fact & Fiction, and Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact. The magazine is a fairly important part of science fiction history, as John W. Campbell, Jr. served as its editor from 1937 until his death in 1971, and it was this position that allowed Campbell to exert the substantial influence he had on shaping the field of science fiction during the "Golden Era". After Campbell's death, Ben Bova served as Analog's editor until 1976. In 1976 Stanley Schmidt took the helm as Editor, a position that he held until 2012, when he relinquished control to Trevor Quachri.

Between Analog, Asimov's Science Fiction, and Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog used to have, in my opinion, the most consistently good fiction, although in recent years it has become decidedly uneven. It is also the most oriented towards "hard" science fiction, and generally has the best science fact articles as well.

Editors
1930-1933 Harry Bates
1933-1937 F. Orlin Tremaine
1937-1971 John W. Campbell, Jr.
1971-1978 Ben Bova
1978-2012 Stanley Schmidt
2012- Trevor Quachri

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