Poll #1489124
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

What was your favorite artwork in the December 2009 issue of Realms of Fantasy?

The other day I received copies of the February 2010 issue of Realms of Fantasy in the mail. So of course it's time for the fiction poll for December 2009. Have at it!Poll #1489122
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6

What was your favorite story in the December 2009 issue of Realms of Fantasy?

I just wanted to take a moment to express my thanks to everyone who has congratulated me on my recent promotion, whether it was on this blog, via email, in a forum, or in person. It means a lot to me. Thanks.

Transmission out.

All right, I've been sitting on this one for a little while now. But it's been offered, I've accepted, the details seem to have been worked out, and I will be appearing as such in the masthead of the next issue of RoF (Feb 10). So I may as well share ...

I've been promoted to Editor at Realms of Fantasy. :)

Needless to say, I'm thrilled. I'm sure this news also raises a question or two, so let me do my best to answer them now. I will still be handling all of my old duties with the magazine. In addition, I am taking on the managing editor duties. So everything I will now be doing is getting lumped under the title of Editor. It will be my lone title appearing in the masthead.

Now, I have shared this news privately with a few people already. One of the first questions I was asked was whether this meant I was replacing Shawna. To that I say no. Emphatically no. Shawna is the heart and soul of this magazine. She had a hand in its creation and is the only person who is left from the first issue. I could never replace her. Shawna remains the Fiction Editor, which is her current listing in the masthead. She maintains complete control of the fiction department. When it comes to this department, it will be as it has for almost five years: I'm her tireless assistant editor, trying to find slush survivors for the magazine, handling queries, etc. What she says goes.

So, with all of that out of the way ...woo hoo! Big big thanks to Warren for having so much faith in me. Words can't express my appreciation. We haven't even known each other a year, but after the billions of emails we've swapped I feel like I've known you a lot longer. Thanks for saving the magazine. Thanks for bringing me back. Thanks for throwing extra duties my way early on. Thanks for the countless bits of advice and for always making yourself available. In short, thank you thank you thank you, boss!

Also, I would be remiss without thanking Shawna. She was the one who hired me as Assistant Editor back on May 10th, 2005. Over the years she has encouraged me, taught me, recommended me, and demonstrated to me her many levels of awesome. Warren would not have been able to offer me this position if she hadn't taken me on to begin with. So big thank you thank thank yous to Shawna as well.

And to finish ...um, wow.

This is your final reminder that subscriptions on the website are scheduled to go up, as of tomorrow. If you'd like to buy a subscription to Realms of Fantasy or extend your subscription at the old rate, make a point to do it today. Again, subscriptions can be purchased online here.

Tidbit 1: The latest issue of RoF (December 2009) has been reviewed by Lois Tilton over at the Internet Review of Science Fiction.  Now, long ago I stopped commenting on the reviews of various reviewers (and after this past summer I've also given up responding online to folks with strong opinions about me and/or RoF--just not worth it!)  However, I would like to issue one factual statement.  In regards to "In Time of Great Despair and Darkness" by Ken Scholes, Ms. Tilton finishes with the following sentence: "It's not entirely clear that the ending wasn't cut off in the printing process, as the last line seems odd and is not followed by the usual end sign."  She's right that the usual end sign is not there.  That is unfortunate.  However, I would like to assure readers that the last sentence on the page is in fact the last sentence in the story.  I have confirmed this twice over, once in communicating with Ken, and twice by checking this against the original document he forwarded us after the story was accepted.  No disrespect is intended to Ms. Tilton or her review with this statement.  I merely wish to assure any concerned readers that the story in RoF is in fact complete.

Tidbit 2: Yesterday I received a low-res .pdf from Warren for the February 2010 issue.  I always receive the .pdf shortly before the magazine goes to press.  If all goes as planned, that should happen today.

Tidbit 3: I received an email from Shawna today asking if I had any input.  About what?  She had received an email from the good folks at Locus, inviting her to nominate three stories for their final Recommended Reading List of 2009.  And she asked if I had any thoughts on the matter.  That's pretty cool.  She certainly didn't have to do that.  I'm not sure if I could ask for better working relationships than those I have with Shawna and Warren.  Anyway, much as I'd like to share the names of these recommended stories and their authors, I don't want to steal any thunder from Locus.  So you'll just have to wait until they're ready to share. 
 

So as I've mentioned before, the price to purchase an RoF subscription through the website will soon be going up.  In fact, it's scheduled to go up on one week.  So consider this your penultimate reminder that you still have time to subscribe or extend your subscription at the old rates.

Warren has posted the updated cover for the February 2010 issue of RoF.  The artwork to this one is by Gallegos.  It represents another interior illustration we're also running on the cover, and it is for "The Unknown God" by Ann Leckie.  Ann's story is also one of my slush survivors, so this just adds to the overall coolness factor. :)

Here is the complete TOC (no order):

"How Interesting: A Tiny Man" by Harlan Ellison, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
"The Unknown God" by Ann Leckie, illustrated by Gallegos
"Melanie" by Aliette de Bodard, illustrated by Frank Wu
"Mister Oak" by Leah Bobet, illustrated by Gary Lippincott
"The Demon of Hochgarten" by Euan Harvey, illustrated by Dave Leri

This issue's artist gallery features Charles Vess.

As always seems to be the case, there is some stuff worth noting.  Let's start with the fiction.  Harlan has appeared in the magazine before--both in the fiction and nonfiction departments-but this is the first time he's publishing original fiction with us.  Leah & Euan have also appeared in the magazine before.  Ann & Aliette are both appearing in the magazine for the first time.

In the art department, there are several things I'd like to note.  First, by special arrangement with Realms of Fantasy and its art department, Harlan Ellison handled the art direction on his story.  The artists to this piece were selected by him and he worked with them.  I gave the stamp of approval on the artist selections and it was up to me concerning whether to accept the final piece that was turned in, but this was Harlan's baby. 

With the cover/interior illustration by Gallegos, I should note that I learned about this artist through the general submissions pile.  I almost always have to hunt down the right artists through research, either by flipping through back issues of RoF or the latest edition of Spectrum, or poking around on various online artist sites and/or galleries.  So it was kind of cool to skip the research portion for a change and have this artist presented to me on a silver platter.  Gallegos is not an unknown, but he does mark the first artist I learned about through the general art submissions.  Carol Heyer & Stephanie Pui-Mun Law have both submitted portfolios and I've since worked with them both, but I was aware of their work already and had planned to work with them anyway.  Not so with Gallegos.  I was actually still looking for the right artist to "The Unknown God" when I made my weekly trip to the art p.o. box.  Inside was a portfolio from Gallegos, and as I looked through his samples, the proverbial light-bulb went off and I decided to pair him up with Ann's story.  So to any artists who might believe it is a waste of time to snail-mail your portfolios to the general art submissions, I say thee nay!

To any who like to keep track of this sort of stuff, I'd also like to note that Dave Leri's illustration is a piece from the Sovereign Media era.  I've actually worked with Dave already, and the result was published in our last issue, with his illustration to "Felicity's Engine" by Sharon Mock.  But coincidentally enough, his piece for Sovereign Media is being published in the very next issue. Anyway, with the publication of this piece, we're now down to three pieces of art remaining from the Sovereign Media era.

Finally, with Frank Wu's illustration to "Melanie," I present to you the completed trifecta from the art brouhaha a while back.  First there was the intense interest in the mermaid cover from the August 2009 issue.  Then there was the intense interest in the mermaid story by William Eakin in the October 2009 issue.  And early on in that whole unfortunate brouhaha, there was some scrutiny regarding this illustration's nudity.  I said that it wasn't right to judge the interior illustration without reading the accompanying story.  Well, now you can read the story.  So feel free to judge away!  Thus concludes our final chapter of the art brouhaha (or so I sincerely hope).

Anyway, I know there are still some folks out there who have been waiting a while to see their stories published in the magazine.  We're getting there.  Euan's story was tied with another story for our second oldest story in inventory.  And Aliette actually has the oldest story in inventory ...just not "Melanie."  "Melanie" marks her second sale to us, but being as it's shorter we ran this one instead due to space considerations.  Call it a hunch, but I doubt Aliette is complaining. :)

And that, I believe, is all the news fit to print, except to let you know that this one should be finding its way to newsstands and subscribers in December.  Hope you like it!            
   

Hi Folks,

It appears my blog is becoming Job Central for Realms of Fantasy positions.

As some of you may know, Warren Lapine, the publisher of the magazine, has been handling its graphic design and layout.  It's something he enjoys doing, but alas, Warren is a busy man and has decided he would like to hand the reins off to someone else so he can focus on other projects.  Right now he is putting together the February 2010 issue to get it off to press.  After this, he would he like someone else to handle the layout and design.

So he's taking applications.  If you're interested, please send Warren your resume.  Include references and links to your work.  We are looking for someone that can hand in the finished layout and design in seven days from when they receive all materials.  If you're the kind of person who needs extensions or is uncertain whether you could handle this sort of deadline, don't bother applying.  Being late with the work is not an option.  Warren would like to hire someone who is willing to maintain the current look of the magazine.  Some creative tweaks are acceptable, but we are not looking for any kind of radical redesigns.  Writers are often told to read a magazine before submitting to it.  If you're interested in this position, you would be wise to purchase a copy of the latest issue and flip through it with an eye toward its layout and design.
    
If you're interested, please email Warren at warrenlapine@yahoo.com.  Be certain to include what sort of compensation you are expecting.  DO NOT SEND YOUR APPLICATIONS TO ME.  DO NOT APPLY ON THIS BLOG.

If you have questions, you can ask under comments.  I'll attempt to answer them, but I'm not sure how helpful I can be.  I'm just the messenger here.  Warren is running the show on this one, and the final decisions concerning the new designer are 100% his. 

Thanks. 

So I'm leaving for the World Fantasy Convention tomorrow, but before I leave I wanted to provide another reminder that Realms of Fantasy's subscription rates will soon be going up.  You now have a little less than three weeks to buy or extend your subscription at the old rate.  Again, subscriptions can be purchased here.

And this will probably be my last post until I'm back from WFC.  I will provide a con report of some sort once I'm back and caught and rested up. 

Shortly after Sovereign Media canceled RoF and before Warren bought and saved it, I saw a number of online reports (of the formal and informal variety) claiming that significant amounts of RoF's inventory had already been sold elsewhere.  Well, now that everything submitted to RoF during the Sovereign era has been accounted for, I can tell you that in terms of inventory we actually lost very little.

I know this because I kept track.

One story Shawna had accepted, but it hadn't been contracted or paid for at the time of the magazine's cancellation.  The author almost immediately sold this story elsewhere.  There was a second story in the same boat as the first.  The difference here is that after Warren bought the magazine and we attempted to contact this author about his/her story, s/he seems to have dropped off the map.  Emails bounced, phone # no good, no one able to provide proper contact information.  I've never seen anything like it.

So that's two stories lost.  Shawna had other stories on her end that she hadn't read yet when the magazine folded.  After Warren bought the mag, Shawna read these stories and decided which ones she wanted, only two authors had sold their stories elsewhere in the interim.

So that's four.  And beyond this, there is nothing else we lost for certain.  Two authors whose stories would have been automatic passes to Shawna submitted and sold their stories elsewhere before they could be passed along.  But there is no guarantee Shawna would have taken them had she read them first.  I plucked another story from the slush that I wanted to pass along to Shawna, but this author also sold his/her story elsewhere before it could be passed along.  Two other authors with stories in the batch of slush hell (or should I say slush limbo) sold their tales elsewhere before I could read them.  And one author wrote me to inform me s/he was withdrawing his/her story from the slush (no mention of a possible sale).

All told, that's ten stories total.  Of them, only four were guaranteed sales to RoF.  And of those four, one author has gone mysteriously AWOL. That seems like something that would have happened even if Sovereign still owned the magazine.  So not including that one, it brings us down to three stories we absolutely would have published if the magazine hadn't been canceled.  Maybe we would have taken something from these other six submissions, maybe not.  I rather doubt we would've taken all six.  That's not a reflection on the authors, but just the odds of such a thing happening dictate against this.  So I think it's safe to say that the rumors regarding our massive losses of inventory were somewhat exaggerated.  Honestly, we just finally got to the point where we're not overstocked, so I'm a little puzzled as to how these reports surfaced in the first place.

Anyway, just wanted to set the record straight.  Let the slush deluge continue ...  

ETA: The mystery of the AWOL manuscript was actually fully solved today.  The publisher has a signed contract, and we now have e-copies of both the story and the author's bio, meaning we have everything we need.  So no matter how you slice things, we only lost three stories we would've published for certain.

Poll #1471189
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

What was your favorite artwork in the October 2009 issue of Realms of Fantasy?

Poll #1471185
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

What was your favorite story in the October 2009 issue of Realms of Fantasy?

This will be the first in a series of posts about RoF.  Post # 1 is to tell you that I've received my copies of the latest issue (December 2009) in the mail today.  I like the final product on this one.  As with last issue, we're continuing to improve and evolve as we move further away from Sovereign Media.  Hopefully this trend will continue.  Anyway, I imagine copies of this issue should be finding their way to the wider world in the next week or so.  Hope you all like it. 

Hi Folks,

As some of you may have noticed, when Warren took over the magazine he gave it a thicker cover stock to increase its production value.  The general response to this has been very positive.  However, the improved cover stock also required raising the price of the issue, something I'd imagine most of you noticed also.  What you might be unaware of is that to this point, over on the website, the old subscription price has remained intact from when the magazine still cost $3.99.  So I'm blogging to inform you folks that the subscription price will soon be going up, which was bound to happen after we increased the cover price.

But it won't be for another month.  So if you don't have a subscription to RoF but have been meaning to get one, or if you'd like to extend your subscription, you have until November 15th to lock in your subscription at the old rates.  After this the rates will be going up.  I guess I'll also remind you all that holiday season is right around the corner.  This is an opportunity to buy someone a subscription as a present at a great rate.  Anyway, do feel free to spread the word about the November 15th deadline.  It would be a shame for someone to miss this because they don't read my blog.  Online subscriptions can be purchased here.  I'll post a few more reminders about this as the 15th approaches.  

I've just received word from Ben Francisco that his story, "Tio Gilberto and the Twenty-Seven Ghosts" is going to appear in podcast form over at PodCastle.  This story is one of my slush survivors, and it marks the first time one of my slush survivors will be podcast on one of the major speculative podcast sites.  So, I hereby stick another feather in the editorial cap. :) If you'd like to read this story in its original form, it's in the current issue of RoF (October 2009), which should be on newsstands another few weeks.

Congrats, Ben!

Yesterday I saw the pdf of the December 2009 issue of RoF.  It's really interesting watching the magazine continue to evolve as it moves further and further away from the Sovereign Media era.  As with last issue, I believe we've made some improvements on the product.  And as with last issue, I am pleased but not yet satisfied, as I continue to see little ways we can improve even more.  But we're definitely getting there.

Anyway, if I'm not mistaken, Warren will have sent this issue to the printers today.  It should start finding its way to newsstands and subscribers around mid-October.  For a more in-depth post about this issue, you can read this entry.

Hi Folks,

Warren has posted the cover to the December 2009 issue of RoF.  Have a look and let us know what you think.  The cover art is by Carol Heyer.

And this is the TOC for the December issue (not necessarily in this order in the magazine):

"A Road Once Traveled" by Richard Parks, illustrated by Tiffany Prothero
"Felicity's Engine" by Sharon Mock, illustrated by Dave Leri
"Stories of the Sand" by Dirk Strasser, illustrated by Carol Heyer
"In Time of Despair and Great Darkness" by Ken Scholes, illustrated by David Michael Beck
"Narrative of a Beast's Life" by Cat Rambo, illustrated by Alan M. Clark

As the cover indicates, the artist gallery this issue will feature Jill Bauman.

Some interesting things to note about this issue:

You'll notice that the cover art and one of the interior illustrations are both by Carol Heyer.  This is because they're the same illustration.  In past posts I had indicated that whenever possible we're going to try to use one of the interior illustrations for the cover.  We were able to make that happen for this particular issue, and hope to do it with many more to come.  It's also worth noting that this is the first interior illustration to accompany a story to also be used for the cover of RoF.

On the design front, other than the Realms of Fantasy logo, with this issue we've done away with the Sovereign Media fonts on the cover.  As Warren has mentioned before, for the first couple of issues he wanted to use the fonts that Sovereign Media used, so that the magazine would have that familiar look to our readership.  But now we're ready to make another change to the magazine, hopefully for the better.

Also worth noting is that while we still have some art from Sovereign media in inventory, all of the art in this issue are pieces that have been handed in since I took over as Art Director.  This is very exciting for yours truly.  Overall I'm very pleased with the progress the entire art department is making, although I still see some room for improvement to put out an even better product.

On the fiction front, I'll note that I have two former slush survivors in this issue, Sharon Mock & Ken Scholes.  And I'll note that Sharon's story, "Felicity's Engine," is set in the same world as her slush tale, "All Beautiful Things."  Also, the fiction of Dirk Strasser and Cat Rambo will be appearing in the magazine for the first time.

In the nonfiction department, I'd like to note that this issue will include the return of the graphic novel column, under new columnist, Andy Wheeler.  As I've mentioned before, the previous columnist, Jeff Vandermeer, decided to step down.  Andy Wheeler was his suggested replacement, and for providing such an excellent replacement I owe Jeff a big hearty thanks.  I should also mention that this issue we're using an evergreen article for the movie/TV column that was originally written for Sovereign Media.  With this article, we will have burned through all the nonfiction inventory from Sovereign Media.  So in the nonfiction department, the transition from Sovereign Media to Tir Na Nog Press is complete once this issue comes out.

Since we still have artwork from Sovereign Media and are still getting caught up on the fiction front, I'd say these departments are still in a state of transition.  But the last cord will have been snipped for the nonfiction department, so we're getting there!

So that's the story behind the story with this issue.  It should reach newsstands and subscribers around mid-October.  Here's hoping you like it!   

At the risk of being a parrot, I'll mention that Warren reports on his blog that he's started the process of obtaining a spot for RoF right next to the cash register at Barnes & Noble during the month of December.  Also, he's looking into a program at Borders that could lead to RoF being available in the SF/F section of the bookstore.  

I'm not part of the marketing department, but both of these moves strike me as excellent ideas to increase the magazine's exposure.

And now I present to you a new feature: the bimonthly art poll.  You'll notice that there is no artist listed for "Our Lady of Scarlet."  This is not an oversight.  Warren originally had me go to a site where I chose from among a series of illustrations to find a piece to accompany the story in question.  After I made the selection, he paid a fee for the illustration and downloaded it.  Strangely enough (at least to me), the artist to this piece was unlisted.  I looked and looked for a name, but could not find it.Poll #1450303
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 16

What was your favorite artwork in the August 2009 issue of Realms of Fantasy?