Changing of the guard

At the end of February, Jason Sanford reported on a change to three of the science fiction and fantasy community's pillar publications in his newsletter Genre Grapevine: Analog Science Fact and Fiction, Asimov's Science Fiction, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction were being sold to a new owner, Must Read Magazines.

The revelation brought with it worries from readers and writers within the SF/F community, who were concerned over the uncertainty that new ownership brings to the publications and what it means for the field and the stories that it brings to readers.

Modern science fiction owes its existence to the magazines that published short stories: they were an integral part of the formation of the genre and helped its best-known authors to legions of readers. The heyday of print magazines seems to have passed, and as these three remaining legacy publications move into the future under new ownership, they'll face an uncertain future.

It's hard to stick a pin in the timeline for a definitive starting point for any artistic movement; there are always influences and precursors that move the starting line earlier and earlier. Science fiction as we know it emerged during the 1920s and 1930s; a period of mass media where hundreds of publications crowded newsstands and mailboxes, and where technological innovations such as the radio and television were still in their infancy.

In April 1926, Hugo Gernsback published the first issue of Amazing Stories – widely recognized as the first "true" science fiction publication. With a table of contents full of stories that tapped into the adventurous spirits of readers across the country about fantastical futures and strange technologies, its popularity exploded and led to plenty of imitators and copycats as publishing magnates sought to capture those readers for their own companies.

One such magazine was Astounding Science Fiction, launched in January 1930, and eventually landed author John W. Campbell Jr. as its editor in 1938. Under his tenure, he placed an emphasis on scientific realism and in doing so, transformed the magazine into one of the powerhouses of the field, providing space to authors that included Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, C.L. Moore, Theodore Sturgeon, A. E. van Vogt, and many others.

It was during this period that science fiction was almost entirely published through the pages of magazines like Astounding and the ones that followed, like Planet Stories (1939-1955), The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1949-), Galaxy Science Fiction (1950-1980), If (1952-1974), and Fantastic (1952-1980). These publications formed an ecosystem between writers and readers by connecting them through letter columns, conventions, and club chapters and provided the environment for writers to produce the stories and tropes that make up the genre.

The popularity of magazines didn't last: the market began to contract in the mid-20th century, and readers were also able to tap into other forms of entertainment, from books to television to movies and video games, and as the industry shrank, many genre publications were forced to close up shop.

Those that survived, such as Astounding (renamed Analog in 1960), The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Galaxy Science Fiction were able to hang on, thanks to their owners and editors who were able to recognize, support, and publish high-quality stories and adjust to the genre's changing tastes. New publications, like Omni (1978-1995) and Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (1977-) continued that legacy, providing not only new outlets for authors to publish their work, but key roles for editors and publishing professionals who carried the field into the 1990s.

Astounding/Analog changed hands a couple of times over the years: it was published by Street & Smith through 1959, when Condé Nast purchased it and added it to its portfolio in the early 1960s.

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction took its own route: in 1940, author Anthony Boucher approached editor Fred Dannay with an idea for a magazine devoted to fantasy, and following his success launching Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine from Mercury Publications in 1941, returned to the idea to launch The Magazine of Fantasy in 1949. It was renamed The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction for its second issue, and it grew from there, eventually competing with Astounding. Mercury Publications changed hands in the 1950s, and in 2001, editor Gordon Van Gelder purchased the magazine.

Interestingly, Mercury sold Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine to media company Ziff-Davis in 1957, and in the early 1960s, Bernard – the Davis in Ziff-Davis – left and formed his own group, Davis Publications. He acquired EQMM and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and after launching Asimov's in 1977, bought Analog in 1980, eventually selling all four magazines to Dell Magazines in 1992, which has held them in the years since.

In February, 1 Paragraph acquired Dell Magazines' four publications and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

1 Paragraph is owned by a group of investors, including art collector and fan Michael Khandelwal, who co-founded the Muse Writers Center in Norfolk Virginia, as well as Steven Salpeter, a former literary agent at Curtis Brown and was the President of Literary and IP Development at Assemble Media, where he edited a genre magazine Assemble Artifacts. The magazines will be run through a company owned by 1 Paragraph, Must Read Books Publishing, with P.L. Stevens serving as Publisher.

Editors Sheila Williams (Asimovs), Trevor Quachri (Analog) and Van Gelder (F&SF) confirmed the sale and spoke about some of the initial plans for their respective publications.

In an email, Van Gelder reported that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, "it became obvious to me that I needed to do something to provide for the magazine's future. I made some discreet inquiries. Somewhere along the line, I got to talking about the future of F&SF with the head of 1 Paragraph and that eventually led to the magazine's acquisition."

Van Gelder didn't go into detail about what 1 Paragraph had planned for the publication, other than to say that the company had plans that he hadn't imagined, that it would be providing resources towards that he hadn't been able to in the past and that "getting F&SF back on track is the top priority." He and Sheree Thomas will remain at their editorial posts.

Similarly, Quachri explained in an email that "the editorial staff was brought along specifically for our experience with the magazine. In the immediate term, it probably doesn’t mean all that much. We may take the opportunity to refresh some minor layout or art decisions, but likely nothing that I haven’t been aiming to get to “one of these days” anyway."

Williams also told me that "Our relationship with writers continues to be paramount. As I wrote on Facebook, I’m still working with a lot of well known and previously published authors, but I’m constantly on the lookout for new writers." She went on to note that 1 Paragraph was "encouraging of both," and that there are "plans for expanding our readership" in the works, but didn't have details to share about that that entailed.

Quachri echoed that. "Once we get through the current transitionary period, we’re looking at opportunities to increase Analog's visibility, to expand readership (as always!), and to better promote our authors."

Expanding readership is a critical issue for each magazine. "Our biggest problem is visibility," Williams explained. "Once people discover the magazines, they love them. The loss of newsstands and the consolidation of magazine distribution has been difficult for the entire magazine industry." While the regular science fiction audience are aware of the magazines, she explained, "real growth depends on reaching readers who aren't aware of our existence. Clearly lots to do."

Months ago, I reached out to Salpeter and Khandelwal for this story with a detailed list of questions. While they agreed to answer them, they did not get back to me before publication. Stevens did provide a statement to Locus Magazine in March, saying that "We feel these magazines are extremely important to the legacy and future of these genres, and hope to continue each magazines mission while updating the business behind the magazines in order to reach more readers and writers. The acquisitions were necessary for the magazines to survive and hopefully thrive in the changing publishing economy."

He continued:

The company plans to bolster the magazines by expanding their distribution in trade bookstores, increasing their digital footprint, investing more in marketing the magazines to new readers and writers across channels, and using their platform to promote genre fiction authors in general….

Even with new ownership, each of the magazines face some considerable challenges in the years to come. The magazine industry has seen considerable declines since its peak in the mid-20th century, declines that the science fiction magazines shared. At its heights, Analog counted more than 100,000 subscribers in the 1960s, which fell to below 15,000 three decades later. Asimovs dropped from a high of 105,000 in 1983, to around 30,000 in 2003/2004, while F&SF went from around 60,000 in the 1980s to below 15,000 by 2011.

The magazines have compensated by making some changes: Analog and Asimovs shifted from a monthly to bi-monthly schedule in 2017, and released digital editions of each issue.

Mike Ashley, anthologist, historian, author of an excellent series of histories of science fiction's magazines (The Time Machines, Transformations, Gateways to Forever, Science Fiction Rebels, and Rise of the Cyberzines) noted that while Analog, Asimovs, and F&SF have played a significant role in shaping the direction of science fiction as a genre, "I don't feel they hold the same power and, in any case, most modern readers don't know that legacy."

Growing a print subscriber base also brings with it challenges, as the costs of print publications continues to rise. "For subscribers, the one big factor is the colossal rise in postage costs over the years and this often pushes subscription costs over the limit," Ashley explained. "Add that to the cost of paper, printings and distribution and print magazines are being edged out of the business unless they can be supported by profitable online sales."

A major point of improvement for each of the magazines would likely be their websites: Asimov's, Analog and F&SF , but their priority is clearly their print editions. While they list the table of contents, editorials, and columns of their recent issues, their stories aren't available beyond excerpts and the occasional story nominated for an award – while prior stories aren't available at all. F&SF's website is also badly out of date, currently listing the November / December issue from 2020.

Indeed, Ashley says, the role that Analog, Asimovs, and F&SF played as leaders of the field has shifted "to magazines like Clarkesworld and Uncanny, where its possible to experiment more, include an international range of contributors and do it comparatively cheaply so far as the reader is concerned."

A web presence is critical in 2025, especially as publications such as Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Uncanny, and others have demonstrated that short fiction can thrive on the internet, and that – while still challenging – they can do so by offering paid subscriptions and memberships.

Throughout their history, this trio of legacy publications have shaped the speculative fiction genre, with decades of stories contained within their archives, while also continuing to champion and produce quality work from new and established authors alike. Properly leveraged, those legacies can be a huge asset to these publications as they work to reach new readers.

Van Gelder noted that there remains considerable value in the traditional digest form that the trio of magazines have existed in. "The digest form is remarkably hardy and durable. One example: at F&SF we'd frequently hear from someone who first started reading the magazine when they found a box of old issues in the basement or the attic. I myself found a box of issues on a street corner in Manhattan back in my first or second year as the magazine's editor."

What the future holds for these magazines remains to be seen: institutional change takes time, and 1 Paragraph has yet to roll out its plans for the magazines in its portfolio. But Williams, Quachri, and Van Gelder reported that they are continuing their work on the upcoming issues of their respective publications: the May/June issues of both Analog and Asimovs have hit newsstands since this story broke, and Van Gelder noted that readers will begin to see some of the planned changes in the next issue of F&SF.

Hopefully, these planned changes will help modernize and continue their legacies of storytelling well into the future, where they can continue to provide space for the next generation of writers and the readers to discover them.