Asimov's Science Fiction
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction magazine
Science fiction magazine
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard copy periodical format or on the Internet....
which publishes science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and perpetuates the name of author and biochemist Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. It is currently published by Penny Publications
Penny Publications
Penny Publications is a US magazine publisher, formed in 1996 as the joinder of Dell Magazines, founded 1921 by George T. Delacorte, Jr., which had been acquired by Crosstown Publications and Penny Press, founded 1973, which as Penny Publications, LLC was under the same ownership as Crosstown...
10 times a year, with double issues in April/May and October/November.
Circulation in 2007 was 17,581 as reported in the annual Locus magazine survey.
History
Asimov's Science Fiction began life as the digest-sizedDigest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...
Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (or IASFM for short) in 1977. Joel Davis
Joel Davis
Joel Clark Davis is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox from 1985-1988. He is a left-handed batter and is a right-handed thrower. He was drafted in 1983 in the first round and was picked number 13th.After a major surgery on his right shoulder, Joel had to quit baseball...
of Davis Publications
Ziff Davis
Ziff Davis Inc. is an American publisher and Internet company. It was founded in 1927 in Chicago by William B. Ziff, Sr. and Bernard G. Davis. Throughout most of its history, it was a publisher of hobbyist magazines, often ones devoted to expensive, advertiser-rich hobbies such as cars,...
approached Asimov to lend his name to a new science fiction magazine, after the fashion of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine is an American monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction...
or Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine is a monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. AHMM is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television.-History:...
. Asimov refused to act as editor, but served instead as editorial director, writing editorials and replying to reader mail until his death in 1992.
Initially a quarterly, its first issue was dated Spring 1977. It changed to a bimonthly in 1978 and began publishing monthly in 1979. In the mid-1980s it was published once every four weeks, with an extra "mid-December" issue. Double issues were added in the early 1990s before the schedule was scaled back to the present 10 issues per year.
The magazine was sold to Bantam Doubleday Dell in January 1992, a few months before Asimov's death, and the title changed to Asimov's Science Fiction. Its parent company, Dell Magazines
Dell Magazines
Dell Magazines was a company founded by George T. Delacorte Jr. in 1921 as part of his Dell Publishing Co. Dell is today known for its many puzzle magazines, as well as fiction magazines such as Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Asimov's Science Fiction, and...
, has changed hands several times since then. In 1996, Dell Magazines was acquired by Crosstown Publications, and as of 2011 is part of Penny Publications
Penny Publications
Penny Publications is a US magazine publisher, formed in 1996 as the joinder of Dell Magazines, founded 1921 by George T. Delacorte, Jr., which had been acquired by Crosstown Publications and Penny Press, founded 1973, which as Penny Publications, LLC was under the same ownership as Crosstown...
which is under the same ownership as Crosstown Publications has been, with headquarters in Norwalk
Norwalk
Norwalk is the name of several places in the United States of America:*Norwalk, California, a suburb of Los Angeles*Norwalk, Connecticut, a city in southwestern Connecticut that contains several neighborhoods including Central Norwalk, East Norwalk, South Norwalk, and West Norwalk** The Norwalk...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and uses a combined Customer Service labelled Penny Press/Dell Magazines. In 1998, the magazine's size changed; it is now taller and slightly wider than the standard digest format (matching other magazines published by its newest corporate parent).
Asimov's Science Fiction celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2007, with an anthology edited by the magazine's current editor, Sheila Williams
Sheila Williams
-Biography:Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms...
. Drawing on stories published from 1977 to the present day, it was published by Tachyon Publications
Tachyon Publications
Tachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies....
.
Editors
- George H. ScithersGeorge H. ScithersGeorge H. Scithers was a science fiction fan, author, and Hugo Award winning editor.A long-time member of the World Science Fiction Society, he published a fanzine starting in the '50s, wrote short stories, and moved on to edit several prominent science fiction magazines, as well as a number of...
, 1977–1982 - Kathleen Moloney, 1982 [interim]
- Shawna McCarthyShawna McCarthyShawna Lee McCarthy is an American science fiction and fantasy editor and literary agent. She is married to science fiction artist Wayne Douglas Barlowe....
, 1983–1985 - Gardner DozoisGardner DozoisGardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
, 1986–2004 - Sheila WilliamsSheila Williams-Biography:Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms...
, 2004–present
Scithers was an editor whose taste in science fiction was similar to Asimov's, favoring traditional stories with a strong hero in a future setting. His successors made the magazine more "literary", until under Dozois it became the most influential magazine in the field since H. L. Gold
H. L. Gold
Horace Leonard Gold was a science fiction writer and editor. Born in Canada, Gold moved to the United States at the age of two...
's Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
. Many of the stories he published were set on Earth in the present day or near future, with ordinary people as protagonists.
Scithers left the magazine after five years, winning two Hugo awards as best editor, and was succeeded by Shawna McCarthy
Shawna McCarthy
Shawna Lee McCarthy is an American science fiction and fantasy editor and literary agent. She is married to science fiction artist Wayne Douglas Barlowe....
. McCarthy held the position for three years, winning one Hugo award. Gardner Dozois
Gardner Dozois
Gardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
edited the magazine from 1985 to 2004, winning 15 Hugo awards, before stepping down and becoming its contributing editor. Sheila Williams
Sheila Williams
-Biography:Sheila grew up in a family of five in western Massachusetts. Her mother had a master's degree in microbiology. Ms. Williams’ interest in science fiction came from her father who read Edgar Rice Burroughs books to her as a child. Later Ms...
is the current editor.
Authors published in Asimov's
- Brian W. Aldiss
- Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
- Karen TravissKaren TravissKaren Traviss is a science fiction author, and full-time novelist from Wiltshire, England. Originally from the Portsmouth area, Traviss worked as both a journalist and defence correspondent before turning her attention to writing fiction. She also served in both the Territorial Army and the Royal...
- Stephen BaxterStephen BaxterStephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :...
- Elizabeth BearElizabeth BearSarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky is an American author. Writing under the name Elizabeth Bear, she works primarily in the genre of speculative fiction, and was a winner of the 2005 John W...
- Gregory BenfordGregory BenfordGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
- Damien BroderickDamien BroderickDamien Francis Broderick is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer. His science fiction novel The Judas Mandala is sometimes credited with the first appearance of the term "virtual reality," and his 1997 popular science book The Spike was the first to investigate the...
- Pat Cadigan
- Orson Scott CardOrson Scott CardOrson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
- Greg EganGreg EganGreg Egan is an Australian science fiction author.Egan published his first work in 1983. He specialises in hard science fiction stories with mathematical and quantum ontology themes, including the nature of consciousness...
- Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
- Karen Joy FowlerKaren Joy FowlerKaren Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation....
- Carl FrederickCarl FrederickCarl Frederick is a science fiction author living in Ithaca, New York. He has written numerous short stories that have appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight, Asimov's Science Fiction, Flash Fiction Online, Jim Baen's Universe, Space and Time, and other publications...
- William GibsonWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
- Joe HaldemanJoe HaldemanJoe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...
- Janet KaganJanet KaganJanet Kagan was an author of two science fiction novels and one science fiction collection, plus numerous science fiction and fantasy short stories that appeared in publications such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact and Asimov's Science Fiction...
- James Patrick KellyJames Patrick KellyJames Patrick Kelly is an American science fiction author who began publishing in the 1970s and remains to this day an important figure in the science fiction field....
- Nancy KressNancy KressNancy Kress is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo and Nebula-winning 1991 novella "Beggars in Spain" which was later expanded into a novel with the same title...
- Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
- Ian R. MacLeodIan R. MacLeodIan R. MacLeod is a British science fiction and fantasy writer.He was born in Solihull near Birmingham. He studied law and worked as a civil servant before going freelance in early 1990s soon after he started publishing stories, attracting critical praise and awards nominations.-Writings:He is the...
- Daniel MarcusDaniel MarcusDaniel Marcus is a science fiction author from Berkeley, California. He has written numerous short stories that have appeared in Witness, Asimov's Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and other publications. Binding Energy, a collection of his short...
- Richard D. Orr
- Frederik PohlFrederik PohlFrederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
- Robert ReedRobert Reed (author)Robert David Reed is a Hugo Award-winning American science fiction author. He has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the Nebraska Wesleyan University. Reed is an "extraordinarily prolific" genre short-fiction writer with "Alone" being his 200th professional sale...
- Mike ResnickMike ResnickMichael Diamond Resnick , better known by his published name Mike Resnick, is an American science fiction author. He was executive editor of Jim Baen's Universe.-Biography:...
- Joel RosenbergJoel Rosenberg (science fiction author)Joel Rosenberg was a Canadian American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his long-running "Guardians of the Flame" series. Rosenberg was also a guns rights activist...
- Mary RosenblumMary RosenblumMary Rosenblum is a science fiction and mystery author. Mary Rosenblum grew up in Allison Park, "a dead little coal mining town outside Pittsburgh PA," and attended Reed College in Oregon, earning a biology degree. She attended the Clarion West workshop in 1988.Her first story came out in 1990...
- Kristine Kathryn RuschKristine Kathryn RuschKristine Kathryn Rusch is an American writer. She writes under various pseudonyms in multiple genres, including science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, and mainstream....
- Lucius ShepardLucius ShepardLucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...
- Robert SilverbergRobert SilverbergRobert Silverberg is an American author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple nominee of the Hugo Award and a winner of the Nebula Award.-Early years:...
- Brian StablefordBrian StablefordBrian Michael Stableford is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published as by Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford...
- Allen SteeleAllen SteeleAllen Mulherin Steele, Jr. is an American science fiction author.Steele began publishing short stories in 1988. His early novels formed a future history beginning with Orbital Decay and continuing through Labyrinth of Night...
- Bruce SterlingBruce SterlingMichael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
- Michael SwanwickMichael SwanwickMichael Swanwick is an American science fiction author. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he began publishing in the early 1980s.-Biography:...
- Harry TurtledoveHarry TurtledoveHarry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
- Kate WilhelmKate WilhelmKate Wilhelm is an American writer whose works include science fiction, mystery, and fantasy.- Career :Wilhelm was born in Toledo, Ohio....
- Connie WillisConnie WillisConstance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear...
- Jay A. ParryJay A. ParryJay Atwell Parry is an American author. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his LDS non-fiction.-Early life:...
2004 controversy
The magazine briefly became a figure of controversy in February 2004 when WOOD-TVWOOD-TV
WOOD-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Southwestern Michigan licensed to Grand Rapids. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter in Middleville near the Barry and Allegan County line. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Charter channel...
in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
ran a story alleging that it was an "adult" magazine being targeted towards children. A mother had purchased a subscription for her 13-year old daughter via a school fundraiser
Fundraiser
A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...
and, after looking through it, decided that the content was overtly sexual
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
. She then called Asimov
In truth, the magazine was only one of several "adult " magazines available through the sale (Asimov's in their February 18 response to the news report notes that Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, GQ and Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
were also all available through the fundraiser), none of which was listed in the "Children" section in the fundraiser's catalog; Asimov's was "correctly listed in the catalog," under not "Children", but rather "Science/Technology/Environmental."; this fact is not mentioned in the news report, and in fact the report states that Asimov's "did not know it was on the school magazine list", which Asimov's disputes.
In addition, Asimov's has stated that contrary to the news report's statement that the magazine had been dropped "since [WOOD-TV] started... [the] investigation", it had actually severed ties with the QSP company several months prior to the report: "In fact, we provided Ms. Andersen with documentation showing that our relationship with QSP ended several months earlier over remit rates (the amount of money the publisher receives from the agent for each subscription the agent sells), not as a result of this incident."
The magazine's editors further objected to its characterization in the report, stating "Reporter Kristi Andersen and the News 8 anchors portrayed Asimov's as a pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
magazine. They characterized it as "full of sexual content", "an adult magazine", and said that it "contained stories about sex, drugs, and molestation". Asimov's claims that they were also promised a preview of the report and notification of when it would air by Ms. Andersen, claiming that she "said that she would let us know when the story was going to run and provide us with a way to see it," and that "she never did provide this information."
Asimov's wrote that "News 8 should have allowed Asimov’s Science Fiction the opportunity to respond to their characterization of our magazine, and our disappointment in their distortion of the facts is profound. In our opinion, Ms. Andersen and the News 8 channel are not practicing journalism, but sensationalism."
The event became a minor cause celebre
Cause célèbre
A is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning and heated public debate. The term is particularly used in connection with celebrated legal cases. It is a French phrase in common English use...
among many Internet science fiction fans.
External links
- Asimov's Science Fiction (official web site)
- A Brief History of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
- Wood TV 8 report
- Response to News 8 (from the magazine)