You know, every so often I'll pause and wonder if a day might come when I'm no longer with Realms of Fantasy.  Anything is possible, I guess, but whenever I (rarely) consider such a possibility, I know in my heart of hearts that I'm planning on being with the magazine for a while yet. 

But it came as a shock to me today to learn that a colleague of mine, Jetse de Vries, has stepped down as assistant editor of Interzone.  Jetse was the one who pulled my story "Feelings of the Flesh" out of the Interzone slush.  He worked with me on the rewrite, sometimes challenging me as he poked and prodded at my story (I make it sound like we're handing cattle!)  Without his time and effort, I doubt the story would've been accepted by Andy Cox for publication.  I owe a great deal to Jetse for believing in my story enough to help me land my first publication with such a fine venue.  And if I'd gone on to publish this story elsewhere, it wouldn't be the same story, not even close. 

I understand his reasons for leaving if not the specifics behind them.  Either way, it saddens me.  I'm sure Interzone will continue being an excellent product, one I'd be proud to appear in again.  But it's a shame knowing that Jetse will no longer be part of the editorial team.  I'm certain the fine folks at Interzone appreciate all the work Jetse has put in for them over the years.  And I hope all the writers out there--slush survivors and otherwise, whether they've published in IZ or not--appreciate it as well.  I have a feeling (pun not intended) that they do, since I first learned about this from Mercurio Rivera, a fellow slush survivor in IZ.

Jetse, thanks for all you've done.  I wish you luck with all your future endeavors, both in publishing and outside of it.

On a less personal note, I wonder if IZ means to bring in someone else to join the editorial team, and what this means for the future of email submissions with this venue.  Mind you, if the email submission periods cease you won't hear me utter a word of complaint.  Since ROF doesn't accept email submissions, it would be rather hypocritical of me to do so.  And if I have a story that I'd like to see in IZ and I think it's a good fit, I'm more than happy to submit via snail mail if that's the route I must go.  Still, I am curious ...