In the past, I’ve used these editorials to rattle on about the state of science fiction and fantasy magazines. The subscription and newsstand data for several of the big print magazines is easy to come by and published annually in Locus Magazine. For several years there has been some public concern [...]
Hugo Season
by Neil Clarke
From the May 2011 issue
It’s hard to believe that it’s Hugo Award season once again. I am very proud to say that we’ve been nominated for Best Semiprozine again this year. I’d like to thank everyone who voted for us and hope that we continue to earn your support. It’s a huge honor and I’m looking forward to attending [...]
A Rocket to Clarkesworld and Other Tales
by Neil Clarke
From the October 2010 issue
Last month, Clarkesworld Magazine won the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Like many people, I had to watch the Hugo ceremony from the comfort of my home. Worldcon was in Australia this year, and while I would have loved to have been there, my day job and the sheer expense of traveling halfway around the [...]
Drawing the Lines around a Moving Object
by Neil Clarke
From the August 2010 issue
Twenty years ago, it was very easy to look at something and say whether or not it was a magazine, newspaper or book. With the advent of online magazines, new print technologies and ebooks, it has become significantly more complicated. I regularly run into people who try to claim that online [...]
Helping Hands: Fairylands, Boneshops and More
by Neil Clarke
From the July 2009 issue
It seems that times are tough right now. I know several people who have found themselves without a job, less work than normal, or forced to take pay cuts. I’ve heard from colleagues, at the school I work for, that charitable donations are down and I can say with authority that we’ve [...]
Short Fiction: One Year Later
by Neil Clarke
From the June 2009 issue
Last year, I wrote an editorial on the state of the short fiction market and given all that has happened in the last year, I thought this would be a good time to revisit the topic. It’s been an interesting year for genre fiction magazines and definitely worth talking about.
I’ve previously spoken [...]
Change the Hugos? Yes You Can!
by Cheryl Morgan
From the February 2009 issue
The Hugo Award nominating season is upon us again. In the not-too-distant future the 2009 nominees will be announced, and the blogosphere will resound to cries of how "they" got it wrong again, and how the Hugos desperately need to be changed, but they can’t be because "they" would never allow [...]
Frosty was a WHAT?!!
by Neil Clarke
From the December 2008 issue
The holidays are upon us! Whether or not you believe in Santa or his minions, this is an unmistakably genre season. It’s the time of year when flying reindeers, snowmen coming to life, people wearing elf ears, singing chipmunks, and magical powers are socially acceptable. Into horror? Well, don’t dismay. There is something for [...]
Cavemen Discovered in the 21st Century
by Neil Clarke
From the July 2008 issue
I’ve recently been following a disturbing discussion that is taking place on a major genre magazine’s forum. It all started when Jonathan Strahan, a respected anthologist, publicly apologized for not including enough women in Eclipse 2, an anthology to be published later this year. In the days prior, there had been [...]
Chicken Little and the Death of Short Fiction
by Neil Clarke
From the June 2008 issue
Every few months, leagues of Chicken Littles run to the rooftop to proclaim the impending death of short fiction. Fueled by annually declining subscription numbers for the "big three" genre magazines or the announcement of the closure of another, these reactions have some grounding, but fail to take the big picture [...]
















