Fantasy & Science Fiction

Even though the magazine has been around longer than I have, I had never come across it before. I was surprised to see the issue weighed in at more than 250 pages and the content was very good. It contained four novelets, seven short stories, and the usual handful of departments/columns (an editorial, Books of Interest, Films, Coming Attractions, and a quirky little one-page entitled Curiosities).

The writing in the magazine is top-notch. I love highlighting periodicals such as this because, especially in the fantasy/sci-fi genre, they are responsible for giving a leg up to aspiring writers as well as giving readers a taste of other, already published authors who someone might not have run across before.

A subscription to the magazine is a little pricey ($34.97 for one year; $46.97 outside the U.S.), but is large enough that it would be like buying six paperbacks for less than $6 each. In addition, you can purchase copies on the magazine’s website for your smartphone or computer (PDF). According to the website, there is supposedly audio copies available from audible.com but I couldn’t find them. If you love fantasy/sci-fi short stories and novelettes, you’ll probably enjoy the magazine.

Fantasy & Science Fiction is published bimonthly by Spilogale, Inc.
The magazine’s website is: http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/
Further information is available here.

Realms of Fantasy

The magazine has had quite a year. It was announced in January that the publication would be closing after its April 2009 issue. But then in March, a new announcement revealed that Tir Na Nog Press purchased Realms of Fantasy from Sovereign Media and would keep the magazine alive. They opened a temporary splash page at http://www.realmsoffantasymag.com.

I was lucky to receive a review copy but I’m embarrassed to admit, the issue got lost in my stack of books to be read. Sorry guys. But I found it and here I am.

My first impression of the magazine was that it is beautiful. The artwork is high quality and the publication is printed on nice stock. According to the official description, the magazine covers fantasy, Arthurian sagas, ancient myths, contemporary fantasy, and features fantasy artists, movie reviews, new computer games, board, card, and role-playing games.

However, in terms of content, I found a mixed bag. The game, movie and book reviews were informative, but I found some of the nonfiction articles were just a little odd, particularly an article entitled “Folkroots.” This article was a wandering assessment of “mystic rhythms” that seemed to drift from one religion to another in its attempt to trace the roots of music. Meanwhile, the fiction was comprised of solid speculative works.

I’m not sure how long Realms of Fantasy has been published, but it undoubtedly has a loyal fan base. And the truth remains (as pointed out in an editorial by Fiction Editor Shawn McCarthy), that publications like this have helped to give a leg up to many talented, aspiring writers and artists. In that regard, I wish them the best of luck.

If you are an artist or writer interested in submission details, see the details found in this blog post by Nonfiction Editor Doug Cohen:
http://douglascohen.livejournal.com/206482.html