m. c. de marco

Via del.icio.us sf: Warren Ellis reports on declining subscriptions to print science fiction and fantasy magazines.

A few weeks ago, I received the new YEAR’S BEST SF volume as edited by Gardner Dozois. As ever, its indispensable “Summation” preamble contains the best available figures for the annual sales of the major sf magazines.

Via a mailing list: MagCloud is a new print-on-demand magazine publisher. You can browse magazines during the beta or beg for a publisher account.

MagCloud enables you to publish your own magazines. All you have to do is upload a PDF and we’ll take care of the rest: printing, mailing, subscription management, and more.

Via Roy F. Moore: Time is running out to protest postal rate hikes affecting small publishers. FreePress.net has a letter-writing campaign you can join.

SciFi Wire reports that Ann VanderMeer has been named the new fiction editor at Weird Tales, which raises the eternal question, can I resubmit?

Via SciFi Wire reports that Gene Wolfe will be honored with a special issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction, including a new novella, “Memorare,” described in the article.

F&SF’s special issue honoring Wolfe goes on sale March 29. It features appreciations of Wolfe’s work by award-winning authors Neil Gaiman and Michael Swanwick, as well as Wolfe scholar Michael Andre-Driussi. Authors previously honored with F&SF special issues include Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon, Harlan Ellison, Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Kate Wilhelm and Stephen King.

Doug Cohen, slushmaster extraordinaire at Realms of Fantasy, has started a livejournal:

I swore I’d never have anything to do with blogs, livejournals, myspace, etc. When people suggested I start such a page, I laughed. “Not me,” I said, “that’s not my thing. Ain’t nothing gonna change that.”

Alas. Welcome to my journal.

Today, he lists his editorial pet peeves.

Via a mailing list: The Washington Post reports on Plato’s Cream Pie and Other Horror Delicacies from the latest incarnation of Weird Tales.

WT’s April cover is a Morrill painting of a ghostly, hollow-eyed sorcerer clad in a black gown with a chain belt that holds two drooling skulls.