Science Fiction Fans: Please Read

~ beetleypete

I have received some information about magazines that contain great stories for fans of the Science Fiction genre. I am pleased to note that one of those featured is Unfit Magazine, from the publishers of Longshot Island. Please check out the links if you are interested.

Eight Times the Gift of Science Fiction

Here are 8 places to find great science fiction short stories. The list is divided between 4 magazines (1-4) with a more traditional lineup of authors and 4 magazines (5-8) that typically showcase younger authors. All the magazines listed here have both, making any of them a great choice as a gift for someone who wants a little of everything.

1. Galaxy’s Edge – This magazine starts with “The Editor’s Word” and believe me, Mike Resnick’s got something interesting to say each time. Although this is a newer magazine, it tends to be graced with stories by older, traditional writers, such as Robert A. Heinlein. You’ll also see Gardner Dozois who worked as an editor for Asimov’s Science Fiction (below). This magazine has wide respect among the science fiction heavy-weights.

Current Issue

2. Analog Science Fiction and Fact – Everybody loves Analog. This magazine began as Astounding Stories of Super-Science in 1930. John W. Campbell took over the magazine in 1937. It grew out of ‘the golden age of science fiction’. The name was changed to Analog Science Fiction and Fact in 1960. In 1972 Ben Bova took over and today it is run by Stanley Schmidt.

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3. Asimov’s Science Fiction – What better name for a magazine than the man himself, Isaac Asimov, one of the ‘big three’ authors of science fiction, one of the originals from the golden days. This magazine began in 1977, and like Analog, is owned by Penny Publications, which handles over 80 magazines. Sheila Williams is the magazine’s current editor. The long list of established writers found within these pages includes: William Gibson, Ursula K. Le Guin, George R.R. Martin, and of course, Isaac Asimov.

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4. The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction – Critics claim the quality of the magazine has remained consistent throughout the decades. This magazine was started in 1949 as The Magazine of Fantasy. Gordon Van Gelder took over the magazine in 1997. Today it is run by Charles C. Finlay. Along with Analog and Asimov’s, it’s one of the ‘big three’ magazines to watch out for.
https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/

5. ClarkesWorld Magazine – This magazine comes straight out of the realm of the newer digital publications. It tends to publish younger writers while working with industry superweights such as Gardner Dozois (above). The number of awards this magazine has collected is impressive for such a short run. The magazine began in 2006, is overseen by Neil Clarke, and is named in reference to him. Breaking with the traditional format, the magazine showcases stories in full on the website and offers digital copies at a reasonable price. Annual collections of the stories appear in print.

Issue 209

6. Unfit Magazine – This magazine has the attraction of a newer publication aimed at a younger crowd while still giving a strong nod to traditional authors. You’ll find both Robert Silverberg and Ken Liu on the pages. SFRevu calls it “a promising new magazine”. The editor is Daniel Scott White.
http://unfitmag.com/

7. Apex Magazine – The covers are fantastic. This magazine began as Apex Digest in 2005 by Jason Sizemore. In 2008 the name changed to Apex Magazine. Inside, you’ll find something new and something old. Past authors include Neil Gaiman, Ben Bova, and William F. Nolan.
https://www.apex-magazine.com/

8. Lightspeed Magazine – This magazine began in 2010 with John Joseph Adams working as the editor. The next year, Adams bought the magazine. It’s a balance of original stories and reprints. Adams is known as the “the reigning king of the anthology world” after publishing an impressive run of short story collections including authors such as Stephen King and George R.R. Martin. Adams worked as an assistant editor for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (above) prior to purchasing Lightspeed.
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/

33 thoughts on “Science Fiction Fans: Please Read”

  2. Pingback: Science fiction magazines – Writer's Harvest

  6. This was timely Pete. I’m participating in the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge and was unfortunately assigned the SCI-FI genre. Yikes! 😦 I sign up for these competitions now and then to be forced to write something outside my comfort zone. So I am perusing these sites for a bit of inspiration to start!

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      1. Thanks Pete. I appreciate your comment. 🙂 These competitions are more about the writing practice for me, and the prompts this time are pretty daunting, starting with the SCI-FI genre. I’m purposing to get something submitted by next weekend but I don’t expect much. How’s that for confidence?

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  7. A valuable list considering the premature and hysterical reports of the death of the short story which always seems to be announced by a media which little values the magazines still engaged in that publishing tradition. (‘The Saturday Evening Post’, long a source for material for films in the 40s and 50s is still publishing new fiction every issue). I still religiously read ‘Alfred Hitchcock’ and ‘Ellery Queen’ mystery magazines. (I was probably the one guy in America who, in my college years, actually read ‘Playboy” for the fiction and interviews.)

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    1. I have been inordinately pleased to be published in real magazines, Chandler. I confess that I don’t read them as much as I once did in my youth. I recall old copies of ‘True Detective’ bought secondhand from comic shops, along with the SF magazine ‘Weird Tales’. I never did read ‘Playboy’, as it was too expensive. I got my satisfaction from the more tawdry home-grown ‘glamour magazines’ in my teens. Their written ‘articles’ were hardly worthy of that description. 🙂
      Best wishes, Paul French.

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  8. I do like science fiction, and have read a number of novels and short stories, both in English and French. Also, I self-published a sci-fi book back in 2002, intended to be the first in a 13-part series. I’ll eventually return to that universe… After my two detective novels are out the door, I intend to write two stand-alone sci-fi novels.

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    1. In this instance, I am just passing on information, BF. I am not an avid reader of SF, but I am sure that the genre has a legion of fans.
      As for the other two authors, I would suggest Robert Heinlein, and Arthur. C. Clarke.
      (I wrote one Science Fiction story a couple of years ago, and even I didn’t think it was all that. 🙂 )
      Best wishes, Pete.

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