The March issue of Amazing Stories is now available exclusively as an online download here. It's $3 for non-subscribers, and free to current subscribers (though it doesn't count against your subscriptions). It's a full-length magazine, packed with the same content that it would have had, had it been printed as a regular issue. It includes brand-new short fiction from Ben Bova, Robert Sheckley, George Zebrowski, and Sarah A. Hoyt, as well as articles on Constantine, Clive Barker, Jeff Smith...
The March issue of Amazing Stories is now available exclusively as an online download here.
It's $3 for non-subscribers, and free to current subscribers (though it doesn't count against your subscriptions).
It's a full-length magazine, packed with the same content that it would have had, had it been printed as a regular issue. It includes brand-new short fiction from Ben Bova, Robert Sheckley, George Zebrowski, and Sarah A. Hoyt, as well as articles on Constantine, Clive Barker, Jeff Smith (Bone), A Sound of Thunder, and Son of the Mask. As usual, the issue is rounded out with news, reviews, a crossword, a Q&A with Lucius Shepard, and more.
We're still working on the future of Amazing Stories, though we don't have anything specific to announce at the moment. Rest assured, when there's news, it'll be posted here first.
Paizo Publishing, LLC, publisher of special-interest gaming and entertainment magazines DRAGON®, DUNGEON®, Undefeated® and Amazing Stories™, announced today that it will temporarily suspend publication of two of its titles—Amazing Stories and Undefeated. Despite respectable sales and increasing circulation, both periodicals face substantial market pressures and competition. Paizo intends to use the break to explore unique opportunities to revamp and reposition each magazine. “We remain quite...
Amazing Stories™ and Undefeated® Going on Hiatus
Paizo Publishing uses break to examine unique opportunities
Paizo Publishing, LLC, publisher of special-interest gaming and entertainment magazines DRAGON®, DUNGEON®, Undefeated® and Amazing Stories™, announced today that it will temporarily suspend publication of two of its titles—Amazing Stories and Undefeated. Despite respectable sales and increasing circulation, both periodicals face substantial market pressures and competition. Paizo intends to use the break to explore unique opportunities to revamp and reposition each magazine.
“We remain quite proud of these titles, and are presently considering a number of options that should provide a long and exciting future for both magazines,” says Lisa Stevens, co-owner and CEO of Paizo Publishing. “Both Amazing Stories and Undefeated are doing well in their respective niches; nevertheless, we believe that they could be even more successful. We certainly value the support our subscribers and regular readers have shown to Amazing Stories and Undefeated, and we hope that this hiatus will be brief.”
Amazing Stories #608 went on sale January 4, with Undefeated scheduled to reach newsstands on January 18. These will be the last regular issues printed prior to the hiatus. As Paizo is still developing plans for the continued publication of both magazines, at this time subscriptions are not automatically being cancelled or transferred to other titles. Subscribers wishing to cancel their subscriptions can contact Paizo Publishing at customer.service@paizo.com. Plans are also underway for subscribers and visitors to the Paizo e-commerce store--http://paizo.com/--to obtain an exclusive e-copy of Amazing Stories #609 in early February. Back issues of both magazines are also available at the http://paizo.com/ Web site.
Amazing Stories 608 is scheduled to ship from the printer this week, so we'll be posting the cover image and contents tomorrow. When we first began planning the new incarnation of Amazing Stories, one of the definition statements I came up with was that I want Amazing to be the kind of magazine that can have Jennifer Garner on the cover, and an interview with J.J. Abrams (creator of Alias) inside. Well, I got my wish with Amazing 608. Admittedly, Jennifer Garner is on the cover not for Alias,...
Amazing Stories 608 is scheduled to ship from the printer this week, so we'll be posting the cover image and contents tomorrow.
When we first began planning the new incarnation of Amazing Stories, one of the definition statements I came up with was that I want Amazing to be the kind of magazine that can have Jennifer Garner on the cover, and an interview with J.J. Abrams (creator of Alias) inside.
Well, I got my wish with Amazing 608. Admittedly, Jennifer Garner is on the cover not for Alias, but for Elektra; nevertheless, as I told writer Kevin Dilmore as he was working on the assignment, the J.J. Abrams feature is the story that the new incarnation of Amazing Stories was literally born to run.
After more than two weeks of intense activity, we've finally got issue 608 pretty much finished and almost off to the printer. Though we can't reveal the contents just yet, rest assured, it has some truly exciting content (and that's not just marketing hype). Yet, as refreshing as it is to have that hurdle nearly behind us, perhaps the best feeling we got this week came from reading a wonderful review of issue 605 posted on YBFREE.com, a fun pop-culture Webzine. We were also recently...
Word is Getting Out
Like the tortoise said, slow and steady wins the race
After more than two weeks of intense activity, we've finally got issue 608 pretty much finished and almost off to the printer. Though we can't reveal the contents just yet, rest assured, it has some truly exciting content (and that's not just marketing hype).
Yet, as refreshing as it is to have that hurdle nearly behind us, perhaps the best feeling we got this week came from reading a wonderful review of issue 605 posted on YBFREE.com, a fun pop-culture Webzine. We were also recently critiqued at Tangent Online, a leading science-fiction review site, and we know a number of other print and electronic publications have got reviews on the way. Of those pieces that we have read thus far, nearly every review has been quite positive, which helps to confirm that we're on the right track with what we're doing.
However, as always, we know we can't do it without you, and we're eager to hear your input. Things get busy sometimes, and we may not post on the blog as often as we'd like (a situation that should change after the holiday crunch), but we're always reading and checking in on what's being said.
We care about science fiction, fantasy and supernatural storytelling, and know you do, too. Slowly but surely, we're making a difference.
Sorry it's been so long since we updated the blog - things are a bit hectic here at Amazing Stories. Jeff, the new EIC, is still in the process of moving to Seattle, so we've had to telecommute with him for the past few weeks. He's in the offices for a week before heading back one last time before his early December move. In the meantime, Theresa, the art director, is prepping for a short leave of absence, so we're trying to get as far ahead as we can while she's still here. We're continuing...
Sorry it's been so long since we updated the blog - things are a bit hectic here at Amazing Stories. Jeff, the new EIC, is still in the process of moving to Seattle, so we've had to telecommute with him for the past few weeks. He's in the offices for a week before heading back one last time before his early December move.
In the meantime, Theresa, the art director, is prepping for a short leave of absence, so we're trying to get as far ahead as we can while she's still here.
We're continuing to project ever further into the future, and now have a pretty solid feature list though issue 613, though fiction isn't slotted much further into the future than 610.
We're wrapping up 608 in the next few days, and it's looking very good.
607 should be in the postal system right now - we've posted the cover image and contents here. When you get your copy, let us know what you think on the messageboards!
The Amazing Stories slush pile is a topic that interests a lot of people, so I thought I'd provide some statistics about what we see in it. Since we started accepting submissions, we've reviewed over four hundred fiction manuscripts. We've got almost two hundred more queued up, and our current average turnaround time is 115 days. (Some of the more promising candidates take a week or two longer to turn around, since they circulate among the editors, and may be debated before their fate is...
On the Slush Pile
The Amazing Stories slush pile is a topic that interests a lot of people, so I thought I'd provide some statistics about what we see in it.
Since we started accepting submissions, we've reviewed over four hundred fiction manuscripts. We've got almost two hundred more queued up, and our current average turnaround time is 115 days. (Some of the more promising candidates take a week or two longer to turn around, since they circulate among the editors, and may be debated before their fate is determined.) We'd like to get that down to under sixty days within the next couple of months.
Nearly seventy-five percent of the submissions have netted our standard rejection letter. Around twenty percent of the submissions have received a different form letter that encourages the writer to submit another story. About five percent have merited personal notes in addition to the standard encouraging letter. And about one percent of the unsolicited manuscripts have been accepted for publication.
Are you thinking of submitting something to Amazing Stories? Check out our submission guidelines. Don't forget the cover letter and SASE!
We had a useful meeting today, and managed to look further ahead in the life of Amazing Stories than we ever have before. 607 is nearly done; 608 is pretty solid, and text should be coming in in the next couple of weeks; the features for 609 are almost finalized; 610 is halfway there; and we even have a good idea about what our cover feature for 611 will be. In the meantime, 606 is shipping... the details on it can be found here. Have you got your copy yet? Let us know what you think on the...
We had a useful meeting today, and managed to look further ahead in the life of Amazing Stories than we ever have before. 607 is nearly done; 608 is pretty solid, and text should be coming in in the next couple of weeks; the features for 609 are almost finalized; 610 is halfway there; and we even have a good idea about what our cover feature for 611 will be.
In the meantime, 606 is shipping... the details on it can be found here.
It's been a hectic few days here at ye olde Amazing Stories editorial offices, with meetings and planning sessions and, of course, editing! It's not even Halloween yet and we're already planning those issues that will appear early next year. We've got a lot of ideas, but of course want to hear your thoughts, too. Any movies you're hot to find out more about? Books you're just dying to read? Upcoming comic book series that you and your friends are already talking about? Let us know, and we'll...
Coming up for air!
We've got a lot planned for the future ...
It's been a hectic few days here at ye olde Amazing Stories editorial offices, with meetings and planning sessions and, of course, editing! It's not even Halloween yet and we're already planning those issues that will appear early next year. We've got a lot of ideas, but of course want to hear your thoughts, too. Any movies you're hot to find out more about? Books you're just dying to read? Upcoming comic book series that you and your friends are already talking about? Let us know, and we'll do our best to find out more and report back to you!
As for the future, well, I can't let too much out of the bag, but rest assured we've got some great fiction coming up, some insightful feature stories about new films, books, and DVDs, and tons of really well-informed reviews. Rest assured, if you thought Amazing Stories was already great, you're going to be in for a treat.
Still, I think things could be improved. In fact, in second grade, whenever I got a good grade, my teacher would tell me "There's always room for improvement." Which, I guess, is sort of like Han telling Luke, "Don't get cocky, kid!" We're awfully proud of what we've done thus far, but we know there are a lot of ways to make Amazing Stories better.
Let me know what you think by e-mailing me at amazing@paizo.com — I'll be listening ...
I've been working night and day (literally) here at Paizo and Amazing Stories for a few days now, and am just now finding a few minutes to take a breather and post a blog entry ... something I had hoped to do almost immediately after the press release announcing my hiring went out earlier this week. So I regret that it has taken me a couple of days to get the chance to properly introduce myself. For those who've never worked behind-the-scenes at a magazine, there are an amazing (no pun...
Glad to be here!
The new EIC finally gets a chance to post!
I've been working night and day (literally) here at Paizo and Amazing Stories for a few days now, and am just now finding a few minutes to take a breather and post a blog entry ... something I had hoped to do almost immediately after the press release announcing my hiring went out earlier this week. So I regret that it has taken me a couple of days to get the chance to properly introduce myself. For those who've never worked behind-the-scenes at a magazine, there are an amazing (no pun intended) number of details that need to be addressed.
First off, I have to give huge kudos to Jenny Scott, Vic Wertz and Theresa Cummins, the editorial team here at Amazing Stories, for both doing such a great job keeping things running comparatively smoothly following the departure of the previous EIC and for being so welcoming to me as the "new kid on the block." And I also want to thank all of you for posting such great thoughts and ideas on the messageboards. Believe me, we all read what's written, and we've already had a couple of great discussions about issues and concerns brought up on the site.
I also want to strongly encourage each of you, if you haven't done so already, to take the online Amazing Stories survey. The magazine is very much a "work in progress," and we want to make it something that really is meaningful and worthwhile to as many potential readers as possible. Your input will genuinely impact the future direction of the publication. In fact, you'll already see some minor changes starting early next year that we believe will make Amazing Stories that much more vital and vibrant.
Anyhow, I think I've rambled enough on my blog debut. I'll be checking in again soon — in the meantime, I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts, concerns, and ideas concerning Amazing Stories!
Busy week here at Amazing! Our new EIC will be starting in the office next week. I can't name names until we do a press release, but his name will be familiar to those who read Amazing Stories closely. We were able to start working up issue 608 (January) during a series of conference calls. I personally had three features to assign to writers yesterday, and all three writers were onboard within minutes, and were already chasing down the contacts on our editorial wishlist for each article. In...
Getting on top of things
Busy week here at Amazing!
Our new EIC will be starting in the office next week. I can't name names until we do a press release, but his name will be familiar to those who read Amazing Stories closely.
We were able to start working up issue 608 (January) during a series of conference calls. I personally had three features to assign to writers yesterday, and all three writers were onboard within minutes, and were already chasing down the contacts on our editorial wishlist for each article. In short, it went as smoothly as we could have ever hoped.
We're even managing to make some headway into the slush pile. Currently, we're reading stuff that came in about three months ago - we'd like to get that turnaround time quartered.
One of the challenges of our slush pile is that, on the whole, the quality is pretty good. We don't run into many submissions that get rejected after reading one or two pages - we end up reading the whole story almost all of the time. That's good if you're a writer, but bad if you're a reader trying to get through a stack in a reasonable amount of time.
Things have been pretty hectic for Paizo, and for the Amazing Stories staff lately. The company moved to new offices this past weekend. Our last day in the old building was last Thursday, and the first day in the new building was Monday. Unfortunately, our handoff for issue 606 was Friday, so that meant we had to accelerate our efforts to get things done in time. Dave Gross also decided to make our last day in the old office his last day on the job, so he didn't have to unpack - lucky him. We...
Transition time!
Things have been pretty hectic for Paizo, and for the Amazing Stories staff lately.
The company moved to new offices this past weekend. Our last day in the old building was last Thursday, and the first day in the new building was Monday. Unfortunately, our handoff for issue 606 was Friday, so that meant we had to accelerate our efforts to get things done in time. Dave Gross also decided to make our last day in the old office his last day on the job, so he didn't have to unpack - lucky him.
We had our second round of interviews for the new editor in chief scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, so we barely had time to unpack until yesterday.
The new space is a great environment for us, but there are the occasional problems with things not quite being right yet. For example, we don't have blinds on all of the windows yet, and it has been somewhat sunny, so it's hard to see our computer screens for a couple of hours each day.
Having wrapped up 606, Jenny, Theresa, and I had to switch into gear for issue 607, which is coming together very well at the moment.
We also got the reader survey assembled - it's now online here, and we'd love for you all to take it - especially once you've received and digested issue 605.
Amazing Stories 605 is due to start shipping to subscribers this week, so I think it's time to let you in on the contents. Our cover story is the Star Wars Trilogy DVD release, and other features include Hallmark Channel's upcoming Frankenstein movie, an interview with comics writer Geoff Johns on Green Lantern's rebirth, a look at movie remakes, an interview with Frederik Pohl, and a Q&A with Greg Keyes. This issue's fiction includes James Van Pelt, Roger Rabbit creator Gary K. Wolf, Greg...
Amazing Stories 605 is due to start shipping to subscribers this week, so I think it's time to let you in on the contents.
Our cover story is the Star Wars Trilogy DVD release, and other features include Hallmark Channel's upcoming Frankenstein movie, an interview with comics writer Geoff Johns on Green Lantern's rebirth, a look at movie remakes, an interview with Frederik Pohl, and a Q&A with Greg Keyes.
This issue's fiction includes James Van Pelt, Roger Rabbit creator Gary K. Wolf, Greg Stolze, and Leslie What, and Jack Williamson is the author of this issue's "1000 Words" feature.
Of course, you get the usual reviews, letters, editorial, and a particularly dastardly crossword puzzle.
Subscribers should be getting the issue in the next week or two; Amazing Stories 605 reaches newsstands in the beginning of October.
We're still looking for good suggestions for the Amazing Stories gift guide coming up in the December issue, so if you know of any great new products that other Amazing readers would love to learn about, drop a note to amazinggiftguide@paizo.com. We're looking for new products that generally wouldn't find their way into the Reviews section, so, for example, the new complete Bone collection will be in there, but the Return of the King extended DVD won't. Randomly selected useful suggestions...
Still seeking Gift Guide suggestions
Last chance!
We're still looking for good suggestions for the Amazing Stories gift guide coming up in the December issue, so if you know of any great new products that other Amazing readers would love to learn about, drop a note to amazinggiftguide@paizo.com.
We're looking for new products that generally wouldn't find their way into the "Reviews" section, so, for example, the new complete Bone collection will be in there, but the Return of the King extended DVD won't.
Randomly selected useful suggestions will be rewarded with stuff from the Amazing swag pile.
When I was a wee lad, I wanted to be a cowboy ... at least before realizing an astronaut is far cooler. When I started becoming a bookworm, I figured writing would be the perfect job. In my teens, I put together little fanzines and fancied myself an editor, and in college I began to think a professorial career would be the ultimate, so I began teaching. Playing a part in bringing Amazing Stories back to life has been one of the most satisfying challenges of my career, but as the Lone Ranger...
Handing Over the Reins
Rumor Control
When I was a wee lad, I wanted to be a cowboy ... at least before realizing an astronaut is far cooler. When I started becoming a bookworm, I figured writing would be the perfect job. In my teens, I put together little fanzines and fancied myself an editor, and in college I began to think a professorial career would be the ultimate, so I began teaching.
Playing a part in bringing Amazing Stories back to life has been one of the most satisfying challenges of my career, but as the Lone Ranger says, "My work here is done." Out of the blue, one of my favorite video game companies inquired whether I'd be interested in turning to writing full-time. While the past ten years of wrangling the words of others has been great fun, the prospect of working on a team herding those words toward a big, spectacular project is too good to pass up. Thus, I'll wrap up Amazing 605 and get issue 606 out of the gate before moseying along.
It's hard to leave Amazing, Paizo, and Seattle, but I'm thinking of the change as the next stage of a career that seems to take a significant turn every ten years. The way my childhood dream jobs keep coming true in reverse order, I should be colonizing mars by age fifty, then roaming the range until riding into the sunset.
I've just returned from Gen Con, where we distributed copies of Amazing Stories to tens of thousands of attendees, met a handful of people interested in writing for us, and even sold a few subscriptions! Right now we're working at wrapping up issue 605, and starting up issue 606. Details on 605 will be forthcoming over the next couple of weeks. -Vic. .
Convention Madness
I've just returned from Gen Con, where we distributed copies of Amazing Stories to tens of thousands of attendees, met a handful of people interested in writing for us, and even sold a few subscriptions!
Right now we're working at wrapping up issue 605, and starting up issue 606.
Details on 605 will be forthcoming over the next couple of weeks.
So, the Amazing Stories blog hasn't been updated as much as we'd like, and much of that is due to the rather arcane assortment of scripts and tools that had to be used to add entries to our old website. With our slick new site, making a blog entry is now [almost] as easy as creating a messageboard posting, so hopefully you'll see more frequent updates to the blog. -Vic.
This is a test ... This is only a test.
Blog-o-RAMA!
So, the Amazing Stories blog hasn't been updated as much as we'd like, and much of that is due to the rather arcane assortment of scripts and tools that had to be used to add entries to our old website.
With our slick new site, making a blog entry is now [almost] as easy as creating a messageboard posting, so hopefully you'll see more frequent updates to the blog.
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, the lads behind Shaun of the Dead, showed off an extended trailer at Comic Con International: San Diego. That was enough to make me insist on accompanying one of our local reviewers for the screening yesterday, and without spoiling his review I must declare it joins my other two favorite horror comedies (Evil Dead 2 and Mr. Vampire) in an unholy trinity of hilarity. ... Conventional wisdom is that horror films are one of the types best suited to low-budget...
Dave of the Dead
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, the lads behind Shaun of the Dead, showed off an extended trailer at Comic Con International: San Diego. That was enough to make me insist on accompanying one of our local reviewers for the screening yesterday, and without spoiling his review I must declare it joins my other two favorite horror comedies (Evil Dead 2 and Mr. Vampire) in an unholy trinity of hilarity.
Conventional wisdom is that horror films are one of the types best suited to low-budget productions, but if the story is good, and it's supported by a good director and cast, I think a low-budget science-fiction or fantasy film can be a breath of fresh air in a field dominated by mega-million blockbusters buoyed by CGI and a star's name on the marquee. My favorite SF movie this year was the (relatively) lower-budget Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Can you recommend a good, low-budget fantasy or SF movie? Tell us about it.
Of course, Amazing Stories wouldn't be worthy of the name without fiction from the finest authors, so we've got plenty of that. Amazing 603 includes "Proof," by Timothy Zahn; "The Spider's Amazement," by Bruce Sterling; "Human Subjects," by Ray Vukcevich; and "Monster," by Gene Wolfe. A regular component of our fiction will be "1,000 Words," in which we provide an author with a picture, and the author tells us which thousand words it's worth....
Fiction First
Of course, Amazing Stories wouldn't be worthy of the name without fiction from the finest authors, so we've got plenty of that. Amazing 603 includes "Proof," by Timothy Zahn; "The Spider's Amazement," by Bruce Sterling; "Human Subjects," by Ray Vukcevich; and "Monster," by Gene Wolfe.
A regular component of our fiction will be "1,000 Words," in which we provide an author with a picture, and the author tells us which thousand words it's worth. The first installment is a little unusual, as Neil Gaiman provided an 800-word introduction to a 200-word story by Harlan Ellison®, "Loose Cannon, or Rubber Duckies from Space."
We've begun to hear that Amazing Stories 603 is now appearing on newsstands nationwide.
In addition to news, letters, devilish puzzles by Mike Selinker, and a couple of other columns, we're planning to wrap up each issue with a one-page Q&A. The subject for Amazing 603 is Larry Niven, who spoke with Darrell Schweitzer about fantasy, reality, and the future. ... Apart from the crossword, what sorts of puzzles (trivia, matching, and so forth) would you enjoy in Amazing Stories?
Nevinyrral's Dish
In addition to news, letters, devilish puzzles by Mike Selinker, and a couple of other columns, we're planning to wrap up each issue with a one-page Q&A. The subject for Amazing 603 is Larry Niven, who spoke with Darrell Schweitzer about fantasy, reality, and the future.
We have one feature that doesn't fit the issue's found theme. It's The Phases of Robert Silverberg, by Dorman T. Shindler. Silverberg's personality comes through strongly as the award-winning author talks about a life dedicated to the printed page. ... Which of your favorite authors would you like Amazing Stories to interview? ... Remember that Amazing Stories 603 hits stands on August 3, and you can subscribe right here.
Grand Master Flash
We have one feature that doesn't fit the issue's found theme. It's "The Phases of Robert Silverberg," by Dorman T. Shindler. Silverberg's personality comes through strongly as the award-winning author talks about a life dedicated to the printed page.
The last feature for Amazing 603 that ties in to our accidental theme is A Dimension of Sound, by Jeff Berkwits. It's about new radio adaptations of the original Twilight Zone teleplays. Amazing talks to the series writer, as well as one of the producers, a few of the stars, and even one of the original screenwriters whose work is being translated to the auditory realm. ... What is your favorite episode of The Twilight Zone, and why?
Timeless as Infinity
The last feature for Amazing 603 that ties in to our accidental theme is "A Dimension of Sound," by Jeff Berkwits. It's about new radio adaptations of the original Twilight Zone teleplays. Amazing talks to the series writer, as well as one of the producers, a few of the stars, and even one of the original screenwriters whose work is being translated to the auditory realm.
Not all of our features are about making movies based on comics. One of them is about making comics based on prose! Four-Color Fantasy, by Dave Gross, is about Dabel Brothers Productions, a new comics company that's adapting fantasy stories into the realm of sequential art. Author George R.R. Martin talks about the reasons he let them bring The Hedge Knight to life, and the Dabels provide a brief peek at other works based on stories by other huge names in fantasy. ... Tell us if you're more...
Call to the Throne
Not all of our features are about making movies based on comics. One of them is about making comics based on prose! "Four-Color Fantasy," by Dave Gross, is about Dabel Brothers Productions, a new comics company that's adapting fantasy stories into the realm of sequential art. Author George R.R. Martin talks about the reasons he let them bring "The Hedge Knight" to life, and the Dabels provide a brief peek at other works based on stories by other huge names in fantasy.
Tell us if you're more or less likely to pick up a fantasy comic than a superhero comic.
Another inadvertently themed feature in Amazing 603, the first new issue since 2000, is Redoing the Dark Knight, by Joel Meadows, in which screenwriter David Goyer explains how he'll bring Batman back to basics in the upcoming Batman Begins. He talks about inspirations expected (Frank Miller) and not (think Wayne... Bruce Wayne), and he discusses how Bats relates to the title character of his other upcoming comics flick, Blade: Trinity. ... What are your hopes about the new Batman movies?
Back to the Beginning
Another inadvertently themed feature in Amazing 603, the first new issue since 2000, is "Redoing the Dark Knight," by Joel Meadows, in which screenwriter David Goyer explains how he'll bring Batman back to basics in the upcoming Batman Begins. He talks about inspirations expected (Frank Miller) and not (think "Wayne... Bruce Wayne"), and he discusses how Bats relates to the title character of his other upcoming comics flick, Blade: Trinity.
An art director's hardest job is choosing artists for each issue. There are a plethora of dedicated, talented artists out there and only a handful to use at a given time. For our first issue of Amazing Stories, my decisions were first based on the contents of the story and who I thought could best capture its identity. ... Colin Adams has a unique ability to stretch dimensions and skew your perspective in a more interesting way. His wonderful use of contrast and good composition draw you in...
Amazing Art
An art director's hardest job is choosing artists for each issue. There are a plethora of dedicated, talented artists out there and only a handful to use at a given time. For our first issue of Amazing Stories, my decisions were first based on the contents of the story and who I thought could best capture its identity.
Colin Adams has a unique ability to stretch dimensions and skew your perspective in a more interesting way. His wonderful use of contrast and good composition draw you in for an exciting view.
James Ryman uses crisp detail and rich colors to create some of the most imaginative surroundings and makes each creature uniquely his own.
Dave Rankin is in a circle all his own with his use of rich colors and mixed media to express his off-beat imagination. He manages to redefine the world through his technique and brings new character to his subjects.
Jim DiBartolo creates drama in his paintings through movement and free-flowing contours. His use of color is unexpected but exciting and wraps it all up with great composition.
All of these artists have two things in common: good composition and a solid technique all their own. They make for a visually exciting issue to come.
We never meant for Amazing 603 to be a themed issue, but late in the process of assembling the magazine, we realized that almost all of our features have a common thread: the challenge of adapting established stories from one medium to another—and more often than not, one of the mediums involved is comics. ... It begins with our cover story, Saving the Superhero, by Kevin Dilmore, which addresses the opportunities and pitfalls of adapting comic books to the silver screen, with Spider-Man...
We never meant for Amazing 603 to be a themed issue, but late in the process of assembling the magazine, we realized that almost all of our features have a common thread: the challenge of adapting established stories from one medium to another—and more often than not, one of the mediums involved is comics.
It begins with our cover story, "Saving the Superhero," by Kevin Dilmore, which addresses the opportunities and pitfalls of adapting comic books to the silver screen, with Spider-Man 2 as a touchpoint. Stan Lee, Peter David, X-Men-sceenwriter David Hayter, and other scribes from the movie and comics industry discuss spectacular successes and tragic failures of recent years, and we highlight some of the upcoming comics projects working their way to a theater near you.
We're in the final hours of wrapping up our first issue of Amazing Stories, so we'll be revealing some of the issue's content in the next couple of weeks. ... In the meantime, we're already planning out the next few issues, and we've come up with a job for you: help us compile our first annual Holiday Gift Guide! Send an email to amazinggiftguide@paizo.com with a short list of books, DVDs, graphic novels, or other sci-fi or fantasy goodies from the last half of 2004 that you'd really, really...
Things To Come
We're in the final hours of wrapping up our first issue of Amazing Stories, so we'll be revealing some of the issue's content in the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, we're already planning out the next few issues, and we've come up with a job for you: help us compile our first annual Holiday Gift Guide! Send an email to amazinggiftguide@paizo.com with a short list of books, DVDs, graphic novels, or other sci-fi or fantasy goodies from the last half of 2004 that you'd really, really like to find wrapped up with your name on it this holiday season.
Include your name and address, and if we find your suggestions especially helpful, you might find a present from Amazing Stories in your mailbox at year's end.
This page has been quiet because we've each been alternately busy or absent, but now it's time for the final push on the first new issue of Amazing Stories. ... We've reserved a little room for your letters, and we'd like to begin with your thoughts on where the best amazing stories are appearing these days. Is it in the movies? TV? Novels? Comics? Fiction magazines? Somewhere else? Who are some of your favorite creators of amazing stories? ... Keep it short, include your name and hometown,...
Dispatches
This page has been quiet because we've each been alternately busy or absent, but now it's time for the final push on the first new issue of Amazing Stories.
We've reserved a little room for your letters, and we'd like to begin with your thoughts on where the best "amazing" stories are appearing these days. Is it in the movies? TV? Novels? Comics? Fiction magazines? Somewhere else? Who are some of your favorite creators of amazing stories?
Keep it short, include your name and hometown, email it to us here, and we
might just print it.
I never launched the previous entry because, well, it was stupid and I came to my senses. ... We've been incredibly busy at Amazing Stories lately, and there are some exciting things in the works for the first issue. I'll tell you more about them as we approach the release date, August 3. ... In the meantime, enjoy this haiku composed by one of our honorable reviewers in an effort to win dibs on an exciting new galley. ... The editor's eye ... From the snowy mountain peak ... Sees slushy...
Your Haiku is Weak!
I never launched the previous entry because, well, it was stupid and I came to my senses.
We've been incredibly busy at Amazing Stories lately, and there are some exciting things in the works for the first issue. I'll tell you more about them as we approach the release date, August 3.
In the meantime, enjoy this haiku composed by one of our honorable reviewers in an effort to win dibs on an exciting new galley.
The editor's eye
From the snowy mountain peak
Sees slushy rivers
—Wolfgang Baur
Can you top that? If so, send me a haiku in which one of the lines is "Amazing Stories." If you include your mailing address and the haiku delights me, I'll send you a little something.
Some thoughtful (and some sassy) responses to our Batman conundrum have arrived. Most of them point out that even when Bats appears in a gritty, realistic story, he still inhabits a world of both fantasy and SF phenomena. ... Jane puts it thus: The 'fantastic' elements in Batman, to me, are a) the frequent use of extreme/futuristic science, particularly by the villains, and b) the hyperreality of the universe in which a super-rich vigilante hero can ... exist. ... Some of our correspondents...
Na na na na na na na na ... Batman!
Some thoughtful (and some sassy) responses to our Batman conundrum have arrived. Most of them point out that even when Bats appears in a "gritty, realistic" story, he still inhabits a world of both fantasy and SF phenomena.
Jane puts it thus: "The 'fantastic' elements in Batman, to me, are a) the frequent use of extreme/futuristic science, particularly by the villains, and b) the hyperreality of the universe in which a super-rich vigilante hero can ... exist."
Some of our correspondents bring up new questions. Chris asks, "Is it the existence of the fantastic or [its] presence that is important? So would a story about trolls and demons ... be considered fantasy if it was made explicit that the trolls and demons were delusions of one of the characters?"
Kathy writes: "I often feel that understated is best, i.e., that some things can just as easily have a supernatural explanation as a mundane one."
Judging by the replies this measly blog has attracted, I'm excited to see the first letters to Amazing Stories. Soon, we'll ask for some for our first issue. Keep an eye on this page, or drop us a note if you've got suggestions for a first topic.
Last weekend I indulged in one of my other geeky pasttimes and spent the weekend at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Perhaps in an effort to entice those daunted by the histories, the playbill compared Henry VI Part I to Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. That might initially seem preposterous, but, upon reflection, it makes sense. There is a little bit of magic in Henry VI—Joan of Arc has mystical visions a la the Force or Galadriel's mirror; and she bests England's mightiest champion,...
Shakespeare's Summer Blockbusters
Last weekend I indulged in one of my other geeky pasttimes and spent the weekend at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Perhaps in an effort to entice those daunted by the histories, the playbill compared Henry VI Part I to Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. That might initially seem preposterous, but, upon reflection, it makes sense. There is a little bit of magic in Henry VI—Joan of Arc has mystical visions a la the Force or Galadriel's mirror; and she bests England's mightiest champion, John Talbot, in a scene that evokes the image of Eowyn on the Pellenor fields—but it's not nearly as fabulous as The Tempest or A Midsummer Night's Dream, either of which makes a much stronger case for Shakespeare as a writer of Big, Fat Fantasies.
This morning I skipped a press screening of Troy mostly because I'm so busy but also because I suspect it will lack the magical elements that divide historical fiction from fantasy (thus making it harder to explain to my boss—and to you, for that matter—why I'm luxuriating in the Cinerama instead of working at my desk). Now I love a (quasi-)historical epic as much as the next fellow, but for Amazing Stories we're sticking to those movies, books, comics, and other tales that include an element of the fantastic, whether that's science fiction or the supernatural. Already we've had a few review items that ride the gray line between an "amazing" story and the more realistic.
Among us editors, the debate has boiled down to Batman. Apart from the rest of the DC universe, Batman lacks the fantastical super powers that separate superheroes from action heroes like James Bond. Put him in a story with Superman, however, and there's no doubt that Batman belongs to the world of Amazing Stories. So, does that mean that a gritty, realistic Batman story falls outside our purview, while one that includes powered superheroes is fair game?
Last week we came across a delightful parody by Naomi Kritzer called Devil's Mailbox, which you might enjoy. The piece originally appeared in Scavenger's Newsletter (September, 1999) under the title Faust's SASE and was reprinted as The Devil's Mailbox in Planet Relish (December, 2000). The author has kindly granted us permission to link to it here. ... Dave
Devil's Mailbox
Last week we came across a delightful parody by Naomi Kritzer called "Devil's Mailbox," which you might enjoy. The piece originally appeared in Scavenger's Newsletter (September, 1999) under the title "Faust's SASE" and was reprinted as "The Devil's Mailbox" in Planet Relish (December, 2000). The author has kindly granted us permission to link to it here.
This month, Wonderfalls (FOX) was cancelled with only four of thirteen completed episodes aired, despite it starting to build a rep on the net during the last couple of airings. Word is that it the network considered it dead before it hit the airwaves. Similarly, Century City (CBS) was axed with four of its nine finished episodes having aired. ... Sure, the reason given for the executions is the traditional low ratings, but it's well known that genre programs benefit greatly from...
Got Cable?
This month, Wonderfalls (FOX) was cancelled with only four of thirteen completed episodes aired, despite it starting to build a rep on the net during the last couple of airings. Word is that it the network considered it dead before it hit the airwaves. Similarly, Century City (CBS) was axed with four of its nine finished episodes having aired.
Sure, the reason given for the executions is the traditional "low ratings," but it's well known that genre programs benefit greatly from word-of-mouth, and it's tough to drum up a good buzz in only four airings. Further, both shows suffered from schedule shuffling, with each show's four episodes spread across two different timeslots. This is even shabbier treatment than Firefly (FOX) recieved; that show at least had twelve episodes aired in a consistent Friday night slot before the plug was pulled.
With few exceptions, the networks just don't seem to support amazing stories.
Fortunately, pay cable has worked out how to sell what the networks can't seem to give away. Six Feet Under (HBO), Dead Like Me (Showtime), and Jeremiah (Showtime) have each been given every opportunity to find their audience, with multiple timeslots for each episode, and reruns of entire seasons to help latecomers catch up before new seasons air. I have to think that if Wonderfalls had been on premium cable, the producers would already be working on season two.
[One startling exception to network TV's indifference to genre TV this season seems to be Tru Calling (FOX), which has lasted 17 episodes so far, with Fox providing a stable timeslot and adequate promotion—even to the extent of an American Idol cross-promotion for last week's episode.]
Thanks to all the writers and editors who've written to me with suggestions and advice about form rejection letters. Currently, we've got a working rejection letter now that we've been using for a week or two, but it will almost certainly evolve. ... As many of you have pointed out, no rejection letter will satisfy everyone, and so I want to clarify that although I admit to having entertained some foolish ideas in my time, I'm not foolish enough to create a rejection letter by consensus,...
Rejecting Ursula K. Le Guin
Thanks to all the writers and editors who've written to me with suggestions and advice about form rejection letters. Currently, we've got a working rejection letter now that we've been using for a week or two, but it will almost certainly evolve.
As many of you have pointed out, no rejection letter will satisfy everyone, and so I want to clarify that although I admit to having entertained some foolish ideas in my time, I'm not foolish enough to create a rejection letter by consensus, incorporating every single suggestion and trying to please everyone. Still, most of the responses I've received have offered extremely insightful, considered, useful advice, and we will likely use more of it than not.
Speaking of rejection, I recently rediscovered something that I wanted to share with would-be Amazing Stories writers. It's a rejection letter received by Ursula K. Le Guin for her novel The Left Hand of Darkness, which won both the Hugo and the Nebula. It's a reminder that rejection does not necessarily mean a submission is "bad"—sometimes it just means that the submission is not to a particular editor's liking, or that it is to the editor's liking but it isn't right for the readers to whom that editor is responsible, or any number of things that have nothing to do with the quality of the writing.
I've no idea whether it's true, but according to poetry lore, Sylvia Plath sent more than a hundred poetry submissions to Seventeen magazine before they finally found one they wanted to publish. She went on to publish in Seventeen many times and became quite a successful poet. All of which is just to say: Don't give up too easily.
We want to see more submissions of hilarious cartoons with a science-fiction, fantasy, horror, or otherwise amazing theme. We prefer color, but we'll also consider B&W cartoons. You can send links to your website to this email address.Or you can send disposable copies of your cartoons to: ... [Amazing Stories has been cancelled and Paizo Publishing, LLC has moved. For our updated contact information, please see our contact page.]
Funny "Ha Ha"
We want to see more submissions of hilarious cartoons with a science-fiction, fantasy, horror, or otherwise "amazing" theme. We prefer color, but we'll also consider B&W cartoons. You can send links to your website to this email address.
Or you can send disposable copies of your cartoons to:
[Amazing Stories has been cancelled and Paizo Publishing, LLC has moved. For our updated contact information, please see our contact page.]
Easter weekend in Seattle was a gorgeous pair of spring days. The weather was sunny and warm (really warm!), and all over town the tulips and camellias and cherry and apple trees were blooming like mad. The city was crawling with joggers and dog-walkers and bikers and strollers, the public parks were teeming with sprawled-out pale Seattlelites, sun-starved after the long winter, and in practically every yard there squatted a busy gardener. ... And what did I do with my own little acre of...
A Tale of Two Zombie Tales
Easter weekend in Seattle was a gorgeous pair of spring days. The weather was sunny and warm (really warm!), and all over town the tulips and camellias and cherry and apple trees were blooming like mad. The city was crawling with joggers and dog-walkers and bikers and strollers, the public parks were teeming with sprawled-out pale Seattlelites, sun-starved after the long winter, and in practically every yard there squatted a busy gardener.
And what did I do with my own little acre of sunshine? Why, I went to the movies, of course, squandered it in the dark, cool company of a couple dozen other Northwesterners who, apparently sharing my warped sense of humor, felt, as I did, that there could be few more delightful ways to spend Easter than in the company of a horde of zombies.
Yep, it was Dawn of the Dead I saw. I enjoyed it a lot inasmuch as I was sufficiently entertained and scared, though there were some gaping plot holes that annoyed me (there are no cars at the mall? they know right where to find the boat?), the cast of characters seemed unnecessarily crowded, and even the main characters were rather thinly drawn.
I really did enjoy the movie, but to the extent that I was disappointed, it's partly because I'd seen the original Dawn of the Dead a week before, and the new movie suffered from comparison. Sure, the special effects and acting are better in the new film, but the original has a couple of crucial things going for it: a pared-down cast of characters that enabled storytellers to explore and develop them better, and a compelling—but not heavy-handed—theme. (The earlier movie, while essentially a straightforward horror tale, is also a surprising critique of American consumerism.)
Believable, well-developed characters and a level of meaning beyond the literal events of the story—these are two of the ingredients that distinguish the amazing stories from the merely good ones. While Amazing Stories will cover all manner of story—good, bad, and undead—we'll always be hoping to come across those movies, books, comics, and television stories that go beyond entertaining us to also move us, make us think, or help us see things anew.
My first convention experience came when my father took my brother and me to a Star Trek convention in Baltimore. My mother was fully committed, sewing us Kirk and Spock shirts. I don't remember much about that day except that we were enthralled as much by the space program exhibit as by any of the products at the tiny dealer's room. We didn't have any spending money, but Mom created some home-made tribbles for us once we described them. ... It wasn't until college that I went to cons...
T for Tiberius
My first convention experience came when my father took my brother and me to a Star Trek convention in Baltimore. My mother was fully committed, sewing us Kirk and Spock shirts. I don't remember much about that day except that we were enthralled as much by the space program exhibit as by any of the products at the tiny dealer's room. We didn't have any spending money, but Mom created some home-made tribbles for us once we described them.
It wasn't until college that I went to cons regularly, and the high points were events like hearing Roger Zelazny read from his upcoming book. There were some disillusioning moments, too, like discovering that the host of Creature Feature was incapable of breaking character when in costume, even in the wee hours when all I wanted was to have an ordinary chat over the punch bowl in the hospitality suite, not banter about the "blahd-red beverage."
Fortunately, even as convention-going became a part of work in the past 10 years, it's remained a pleasure. While we'll be working Norwescon this weekend, I'm looking forward to seeing my "annual" friends and making a few new ones. Maybe some will write us a story for Amazing soon.
When did you start attending conventions? What was the last one you visited? And what do you like best about them? We're dying to know.
As a kid, I read a lot of science fiction, then fantasy, and then horror. Maybe too much, if you asked some of the other kids in the school yard. But I also became addicted to movies, staying up late on Friday nights to watch Creature Feature, and then getting up early to catch classic SF movies on Saturday morning. I had a brief passion for comics in my tweens but drifted away for a while before my fanboy college roomies dragged me back in for good. The anime bug took longer to find me, and...
What's Your Mix?
As a kid, I read a lot of science fiction, then fantasy, and then horror. Maybe too much, if you asked some of the other kids in the school yard. But I also became addicted to movies, staying up late on Friday nights to watch Creature Feature, and then getting up early to catch classic SF movies on Saturday morning. I had a brief passion for comics in my tweens but drifted away for a while before my fanboy college roomies dragged me back in for good. The anime bug took longer to find me, and I fought it off for a few years, only to have it come creeping back.
All that is an oversimplification. Books, movies, comics, animation, and even live theater have taken turns as my obsession, periodically fading into "interests" for a while before returning to captivate my attention. This past year I came down off a cinema binge, passed through a brief but ardent catching-up period on comics, and have become absorbed in prose fiction for the past few months.
I don't think I'm alone in this media fickleness, but I wonder whether more people stay tuned into everything all the time or else go through phases. Which medium do you enjoy most often? Are there any that hold no appeal? Send us a dispatch with your mix.
My favorite science-fiction movie in recent memory is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's also—at least temporarily, because I'm so fickle—one of my favorite movies of any genre, joining Brazil and Breaking the Waves in the way it pits the powers of human imagination against a seemingly unstoppable force. I also love the way the movie messes with the audience's perceptions in telling its story. That's only one of the great things about science fiction. ... In the past few...
Movies That Blow Your Mind
My favorite science-fiction movie in recent memory is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's also—at least temporarily, because I'm so fickle—one of my favorite movies of any genre, joining Brazil and Breaking the Waves in the way it pits the powers of human imagination against a seemingly unstoppable force. I also love the way the movie messes with the audience's perceptions in telling its story. That's only one of the great things about science fiction.
In the past few years, I've been finding more and more of my favorite fantasy, SF, and horror movies coming from outside the United States, especially Japan and Korea for horror, China and Europe for fantasy. They surprise me more than American movies, I think, because of the cultural differences between the filmmaker and me. Maybe there are cliches in that Korean ghost story, but they seem new to me.
Well, the fiction has been getting better. The last stack of slush I took home has so far netted three stories that I'm going to pass on to Jenny and Dave for a second opinion. (Unfortunately, the same stack also had the first story that was so bad I didn't even finish it.) ... Today's tip for prospective writers: If your story is mainly about people and/or aliens having sex, please consider a different magazine. ... I'm really looking forward to some of the non-fiction that will be coming...
Comics Relief
Well, the fiction has been getting better. The last stack of slush I took home has so far netted three stories that I'm going to pass on to Jenny and Dave for a second opinion. (Unfortunately, the same stack also had the first story that was so bad I didn't even finish it.)
Today's tip for prospective writers: If your story is mainly about people and/or aliens having sex, please consider a different magazine.
I'm really looking forward to some of the non-fiction that will be coming in—especially stuff covering the comics medium (you can call it "sequential art" or "graphic storytelling" if you like, but I'm personally not ashamed to tell people I read comic books). It's been a while since somebody's recommended something wonderful to me that I hadn't ever heard of, or had been overlooking, so I'm itching to find something new to add to my pull list.
If I were a little less sick and a little more caffeinated—and a great deal less busy—this would be a cute April Fool's installment of the Amazing Stories Journal. But I'm still sick, Paizo has the world's slowest coffee maker, and the submissions stack isn't getting any shorter on its own. Where the heck are my interns? I was promised interns! ... Over the next week, we'll be concentrating on finalizing the story list for the first couple of issues. We've enjoyed a superabundance...
No Fooling
If I were a little less sick and a little more caffeinated—and a great deal less busy—this would be a cute April Fool's installment of the Amazing Stories Journal. But I'm still sick, Paizo has the world's slowest coffee maker, and the submissions stack isn't getting any shorter on its own. Where the heck are my interns? I was promised interns!
Over the next week, we'll be concentrating on finalizing the story list for the first couple of issues. We've enjoyed a superabundance of excellent nonfiction queries, so much so that we're having to turn away—at least temporarily—some good writers. I only wish we were having the same "problem" with the fiction, although there have been a few promising submissions and one or two stories from some of our favorite authors.
And after next week, we—that is, editors Jenny Scott and I, and art director Theresa Cummins—are looking forward to attending Norwescon and chatting with some of you. The weekend after, Jenny and I hope to meet more of you at the Nebula Awards.
Hello! I'm Jenny Scott, an associate editor of Amazing Stories (Vic, the other one, you've already met). This is an exciting time for us: As you've heard, we're steadily reading through our growing stack of unsolicited fiction and nonfiction queries in preparation for our first issue in August. ... The stack is only shin-high so far but getting taller: We receive, on average, ten stories and three nonfiction queries per day. (We've even received one villanelle.) While it's time-consuming to...
How Do You Want Your Rejection?
Hello! I'm Jenny Scott, an associate editor of Amazing Stories (Vic, the other one, you've already met). This is an exciting time for us: As you've heard, we're steadily reading through our growing stack of unsolicited fiction and nonfiction queries in preparation for our first issue in August.
The stack is only shin-high so far but getting taller: We receive, on average, ten stories and three nonfiction queries per day. (We've even received one villanelle.) While it's time-consuming to read all those submissions, it's worth it. There are few things that delight an editor like discovering an amazing writer, and we've already made a few such discoveries.
The downside is that we have to turn down a lot of writers. At this rate, we'll have read 300 stories by the end of the month—and we can print only three or four. Some people imagine that editors enjoy rejecting writers, but it bites.
It wouldn't be so bad if we could write warm, considered responses to each submission, explaining specifically why it isn't right for us, as well as what we loved about it. But writing 297 personal responses every month is impossible—at least until we hire an intern who will work for jujubes.
Meanwhile, I've been charged with the unsavory task of drafting an Amazing Stories form rejection letter. Blech. I've got some opinions about it, but I wouldn't mind some advice, so if you're a writer, email me your suggestions and I'll see what I can do.
Vic Wertz here. I took home a chunk of the submissions stack last night. ... The good news: Every story I read was written by someone with more than a passing knowledge of the English language. All of the stories had a beginning, a middle, and an end (though I disagreed with one author about just where the end should probably be). The average quality level was far above that of the last slush pile I read. ... The bad news: Several authors skipped a few parts of the submission guidelines....
Reading
Vic Wertz here. I took home a chunk of the submissions stack last night.
The good news: Every story I read was written by someone with more than a passing knowledge of the English language. All of the stories had a beginning, a middle, and an end (though I disagreed with one author about just where the end should probably be). The average quality level was far above that of the last slush pile I read.
The bad news: Several authors skipped a few parts of the submission guidelines. While SASEs were uniformly included, not every one included a cover letter, and only a couple included a list of published credits. One or two stories exceeded our maximum length of 5,000 words.
The sad news: There were no stories in my chunk of the pile that I'm recommending for publication. There was one near miss, from a writer that got the "Stories" part but just missed the "Amazing" part.
My advice to prospective writers for Amazing Stories: You need to craft stories, not just sentences. And if you don't have a great ending, you don't have a great story.
Yesterday I jokingly suggested that we should require all who submit fiction to Amazing Stories to be subscribers. The idea was an unexpected hit with a colleague who became dizzy with visions of 600-800 new subscriptions per month, at least until I explained that such a scheme would be wrong. ... Almost as wrong as sending submissions to a magazine to which you don't subscribe.
Iniquitous
Yesterday I jokingly suggested that we should require all who submit fiction to Amazing Stories to be subscribers. The idea was an unexpected hit with a colleague who became dizzy with visions of 600-800 new subscriptions per month, at least until I explained that such a scheme would be wrong.
Almost as wrong as sending submissions to a magazine to which you don't subscribe.
Somewhere I've read (no pun intended) that Seattle is one of the most literate cities in the U.S. Judging by the number of author readings locally, I find that easy to believe. One of the most active venues for readings is the University Bookstore, which has a great sf/fantasy section minded by the lovely and talented Duane Wilkins. His events calendar is second to none. ... Last night I went to hear Kristine Kathryn Rusch (under her mystery nom de plume, Kris Nelscott) read from her new...
Conventional
Somewhere I've read (no pun intended) that Seattle is one of the most
literate cities in the U.S. Judging by the number of author readings locally, I find
that easy to believe. One of the most active venues for readings is the University
Bookstore, which has a great sf/fantasy section minded by the lovely and talented Duane Wilkins. His events calendar is second to none.
Last night I went to hear Kristine Kathryn Rusch (under her mystery nom de
plume, Kris Nelscott) read from her new novel, Stone Cribs.
Many of the folks who showed up knew each other either personally or by
reputation, and with the exchange of war stories, business cards, and emails, the
dinner afterward was, as a friend noted, "like a slice of a really good
convention in the midst of mundane life."
If you've read Amazing Stories in past, now would be a great time to drop us a note to let us know what you liked best about earlier incarnations and what you'd like to see in future. If you'd like us to consider your letter for inclusion in "Dispatches," sign off with your name, city, and state (or country).
This is Amazing Stories, day one. ... Just less than one week ago, the press release went live. Moments later, I realized my first mistake as editor-in-chief of the new incarnation of Amazing Stories. A few hours later, I corrected it by expediting our submissions guidelines to the website. My inbox whimpered in relief. ... Shortly thereafter, a friendly inquirer suggested that I should expect 600-800 fiction submissions per month. Now, I remember receiving quite a few submissions for the...
Inestimable
This is Amazing Stories, day one.
Just less than one week ago, the press release went live. Moments later, I realized my first mistake as editor-in-chief of the new incarnation of Amazing Stories. A few hours later, I corrected it by expediting our submissions guidelines to the website. My inbox whimpered in relief.
Shortly thereafter, a friendly inquirer suggested that I should expect 600-800 fiction submissions per month. Now, I remember receiving quite a few submissions for the lone fiction slot in Dragon Magazine some years ago, but that estimate seemed high. Bah! I thought. I laugh at your absurdly inflated estimate.
Today the first 21 submissions arrived, and I did the arithmetic. Listen carefully. That's the sound of me, not laughing anymore.
Dave Gross, here, learning a little more html so I can keep you updated while we're preparing Amazing Stories for an August release. By then, we hope to have more elaborate ways to communicate with you, not the least of which will be the letters column itself. In the meantime, feel free to drop me a note with your thoughts on the revival of Amazing Stories at amazing@paizo.com
