<![CDATA[io9: magazine of fantasy and science fiction]]> http://tags.lifehacker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png <![CDATA[io9: magazine of fantasy and science fiction]]> http://io9.com/tag/magazineoffantasyandsciencefiction http://io9.com/tag/magazineoffantasyandsciencefiction <![CDATA[Hear The Voices Behind 60 Years Of Fantastic Stories]]> A new anthology, out now, covers the highlights of 60 years of The Magazine Of Fantasy & Science Fiction. To celebrate The Very Best Of F&SF from Tachyon Press, Rick Kleffel interviewed some classic authors that both companies have published.

I'm dying to get into this volume, which does look staggeringly awesome. Writes Keith Brooke in the Guardian:

The word "classic" could justifiably be applied to many stories in this volume, which, as a tribute to the magazine and an introduction to some of the finest authors of fantasy, SF and horror, is a landmark anthology.

But while you're waiting to get your hands on a copy, you can listen to some of the writers who've made F&SF so classic, plus the magazine's current editor. According to book publicist and blogger Matt Staggs:

Peter Beagle, Karen Joy Fowler, Michael Swanwick, Mary Rickert, Jeffrey Ford, John Kessel, Delia Sherman, Ellen Klages, Gene Wolfe, Charles de Lint, and Fantasy and Science Fiction publisher Gordon Van Gelder himself are among those interviewed.

You can listen to the first half of the interviews as part of Kleffel's regular podcast, Agony Column.

]]> http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5351526&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Short Fiction: Doomed Or Just Dying?]]> Now that Warren Ellis has reopened the perennial debate over the fate of print science fiction magazines, the discussion has mutated a bit. Some observers say it's not just print magazines, but short fiction in general, that's doomed. Eoghann Irving over at Solar Flare says his readers are suggesting the real problem is that most short science fiction, in print and elsewhere, is "simply too literary for many people's tastes." Readers want cracking adventure reads, but most short SF is "cutting edge" and fancy. Wis(s)e Words chimes in that the print SF mags are "incredibly dull." But it's not all bad news: a panel at WorldCon called "Short Fiction: On Its Way Out, Or A Way To Break Into The Market?" ended up concluding that short fiction is not on its way out.

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