Asimov's Science Fiction
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Asimov's Science Fiction is a science fiction magazine. It is currently published 10 times a year, with double issues in April/May and October/November, by Dell Magazines, a subsidiary of Crosstown Publications. Its editor since the January 2005 issue is Sheila Williams.
History
Asimov's Science Fiction began its life as the digest-sized Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (or IASFM for short) in 1977. Joel Davis of Davis Publications approached the well-respected author Isaac Asimov to lend his name to a new science fiction magazine, after the fashion of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine or Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Asimov refused to act as editor, and served instead as editorial director, writing editorials and replying to reader mail, until his death in 1992. Instead, George H. Scithers was hired as the magazine's first editor.
Initially a quarterly, its first issue was dated Spring 1977. It changed to a bimonthly in 1978 and began publishing each month in 1979. In the mid-1980s, it became a tetraweekly, publishing 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, has changed hands several times since then. 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).
The magazine briefly became a figure of controversy in February 2004 when WoodTV in Grand Rapids, Michigan 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 and, after looking through it, decided that the content was overtly sexual. The event became a minor cause celebre among many Internet sf fans.
Editors
- George H. Scithers, 1977-1982
- Kathleen Moloney, 1982 [interim]
- Shawna McCarthy, 1983-1985
- Gardner Dozois, 1986-2004
- Sheila Williams, 2004-present
Scithers was an editor with conservative tastes, and the fiction he published was mostly genre-traditional and unadventurous. His successors' tastes favored fiction reflecting "literary" influences from outside the genre, and quickly transformed the magazine.
Scithers left the magazine after five years, winning two Hugo awards as best editor, and was succeeded by Shawna McCarthy. McCarthy held the position for two years, winning one Hugo award.
Gardner Dozois edited the magazine from 1985 to 2004, winning fifteen Hugo awards, before stepping down and becoming its contributing editor. Sheila Williams is the current editor of the magazine.
External links
- Asimov's Science Fiction (http://www.asimovs.com/) (official web site)
- A Brief History of Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (http://www.sfsite.com/columns/asimov.htm)
- Wood TV 8 report (http://woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1645394&nav=0RclKpQF)
- Response to News 8 (http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0403/response.shtml) (from the magazine)fr:Asimov's Science Fiction