To quote Tal: To me, my geeks!

[mousme]

Okay, I realized at WorldCon that I am Teh Ignorant. So much good stuff out there. Novels and such I can find on my own, I'm pretty sure. Short fiction? Not so much.

What's out there in terms of good magazines and good anthologies? Offhand I can think of two: OnSpec and Azimove.

Tell me what else I should be reading/subscribing to in terms of good S.F. PLEASE.

(Also, I miss the Nebula Book Club. One of my regrets concerning my current job. No time for book clubs anymore. *sigh*)

Comments

A good read

[montecristo.livejournal.com]

I've been reading The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/) since I was a kid and have been subscribed to it for the past several years.

[joenotcharles.livejournal.com]

The three Starlight anthologies contain a lot of ridiculously good stuff, including one of the more famous ones by Ted Chiang, who won the Hugo this year.

I have all of them if you want to borrow one. Not sure when I could get it to you, though - I'm busy Wednesday nights so I can't drop by Hurleys.

[toughlovemuse.livejournal.com]

Second the Ted Chiang. He is good.

You can read Strange Horizons magazine online for free, and I think there are a bunch of other online markets, I have a list somewhere.

The "Big 3" Short Fiction magazines are Asimov's, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Analog (which tends toward Hard SF.)

The Year's Best Fantasy and Science Fiction anthologies are generally good - you can find a lot of them used.

The rest of it I will leave for Jeff, since he is The Short Fiction Expert.

[chibipunkdemon.livejournal.com]

http://www.freesfonline.de/ collects all the freely available Hugo and Nebula nominated stories. Most nominees put their stories online for free somewhere to make sure the voters have a chance to read them. I've downloaded this years Hugo winners to my IPod to read.

I have David G Harwell's anthology The Science Fiction Century which collects his short stories from the last 100 years of science fiction.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

Anthology wise, I really like the Penguin Book Of Modern Fantasy By Women which is SF/F rather than strictly Fantasy. (I found some of my favourite SF authors / books through it). Northern Stars and Northern Suns edited by David G Hartwell are also good for lesser-known Canuckian SF writers.

[jteethy.livejournal.com]

I'll post some suggestions when I get home tonight. By the way, when you say sf, do you mean sf/fantasy/horror or just science fiction?

[mousme.livejournal.com]

"speculative fiction" is what I mean by sf. So yes: science fiction/fantasy/horror, all of it. :)

[jteethy.livejournal.com]

I'll split this into a couple of comments, starting with magazines and webzines. Some of these I haven't read yet, but they all come recommended by others that I respect. I hope this list doesn't overwhelm you with choices. These all have websites you can check out to see if they might be up your alley. Go to Multimags and pick up some sample issues that look interesting.

*** First off, the magazines, starting with the big three:

ASIMOV'S
Well-written, character-driven sf. Many of the award-winners were first printed here. I have subscribed to this one in the past and may do so again.

FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION
A balanced mix of character-driven sf, fantasy, and (occasionally) horror. Perhaps a bit more of a literary bent than Asimov's, and another source for award-winners. Now bi-monthly, but with double-sized issues (about 260 pages). I currently subscribe to this one.

ANALOG
Formerly Astounding Science Fiction, great-grand-daddy sf magazines. Hard sf, and more tech- and idea-driven than the other two. Definitely some good writing, but it often leaves me a little cold. A little bit too "rah-rah technology" for my tastes. Monthly.

*** And some more that you'll find on the stands....

ON SPEC
Quarterly, mostly Canadian spec fic. Often very good work, with a broad mix from straight genre story to (more often) slipstream. Very open to new writers. Worth checking out.

REALMS OF FANTASY
Respected fantasy fiction of all stripes. Recently rescued from the brink.

BLACK GATE
A big, fat quarterly, mostly dedicated to adventure-oriented fantasy. Gets good reviews, though I've yet to read an issue.

WEIRD TALES
Strange fiction, now a little more YA friendly. This year's Hugo winner for best semiprozine. Current incarnation of the magazine that originally brought us H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.

CEMETERY DANCE
Dark fantasy and horror.

APEX
Dedicated mix of sf and horror.

SOLARIS
Quebec has the oldest and most distinguished French language sf publication in the world.

***These ones you may have to do a special order...

ELECTRIC VELOCIPEDE
Twice yearly small press zine. This year's Hugo winner for best fanzine. Experimental, cross-genre, slipstream, new weird. Has a devoted following.

LADY CHURCHILL'S ROSEBUD WRISTLET
Eclectic twice-yearly small press zine that gets a lot of respect. Mostly fantasy and slipstream.

SHIMMER MAGAZINE
Strange tales, new weird. Also available as a pdf.

*** And the webzines:

TOR.COM
Spec fic blog/community sponsored by Tor Books. Lots of original fiction here too, of all flavors. Currently the highest paying market for short sf, though submissions are by invitation only.

STRANGE HORIZONS
Weekly fiction, articles, and reviews. Some really good spec fic although slipstream seems to be most be the most common flavor.

SUBTERRANEAN MAGAZINE
Good sf/fantasy/horror from the respected small press.

CLARKESWORLD MAGAZINE
Literary sf/fantasy/horror, including several award-nominees. Updated monthly. Also available in chapbook form.

STARSHIP SOFA
Short story podcasts!

IDEOMANCER
Sf, fantasy, slipstream, and horror... And poetry, too.

CHIZINE
Dark fantasy and horror.

FANTASY MAGAZINE
Everything from science-fantasy to folktales.

ORSON SCOTT CARD'S INTERGALACTIC MEDECINE SHOW
Science fiction and fantasy, edited by Card and often featuring new Enderverse storis by him. $2.50 per issue.

BAEN'S UNIVERSE
By subscription only. Recently announced that it will fold next year.

Also, in addition to the site mentioned by chibipunkdemon, try http://www.bestsf.net/gateway.html for more links to free sf online.

[jteethy.livejournal.com]

I'll try to be a bit more brief with the anthologies. Note: some of these you may only find secondhand.

YEAR'S BEST COLLECTIONS
Hard to go wrong with these. You get a pretty good overview of what's out there right now. Each editor has their obvious favorite authors and story preferences, but the signal to noise ratio is usually pretty good.

BY EDITOR
You're pretty safe picking up anthologies edited by any of the following:

Gardner Dozois
David Hartwell
Ellen Datlow
Terry Carr
Robert Silverberg
John Joseph Adams
Judith Merrill
Marvin Kaye
Jonathan Strahan
Kelly Link
Terri Windling

SOME GOOD SURVEY BOOKS
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, (volumes I, IIA, IIB, III, IV)
The Road to Science Fiction (6 vol.) edited by James Gunn
Women of Wonder (2 vol.) edited by Pamela Sargent
The Dark Descent (omnibus or 3 vol.) edited by David Hartwell
Foundations of Fear (omnibus or 3 vol.) edited by David Hartwell
Northern Stars / Northern Suns, both edited by David Hartwell/Glenn Grant
The Good Old Stuff / The Good New Stuff, both edited by Gardner Dozois
The World Treasury of Science Fiction, edited by David Hartwell
The Science Fiction Century, edited by David Hartwell
Visions of Wonder, edited by David Hartwell
The Norton Anthology of Science Fiction, edited by Ursula K. Le Guin
Modern Classics of Science Fiction, edited by Gardner Dozois
Modern Classic Short Novels of Science Fiction, edited by Gardner Dozois
TesseractsQ, edited by Elizabeth Vonarburg and Jane Brierly (translated French sf)
Future on Ice / Future on Fire, both edited by Orson Scott Card

LANDMARK ORIGINAL ANTHOLOGIES
Dangerous Visions / Again Dangerous Visions, both edited by Harlan Ellison
Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley

ANTHOLOGY SERIES
Starlight, edited by Patrick Neilsen Hayden
Fast Forward, edited by Lou Anders
Orbit, edited by Damon Knight
Universe, edited by Terry Carr
Wild Cards, edited by George R.R. Martin
Ace theme anthologies by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

--------------

Gah. I think I'll stop now. There's a lot of good stuff out there. I won't even get into single author collections, though I will third the motion that you seek out Ted Chiang's collection Stories of Your Life and Others.

There's quite a bit of crap out there, too, but don't let that stop you.