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Science Fiction Chronicle

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Science Fiction Chronicle
Cover of Issue #101
EditorAndrew I. Porter
for most of its run
FrequencyMonthly / bimonthly
PublisherAlgol Press (until 2000)
DNA Publications
FoundedOctober 1979; 46 years ago (1979-10)
First issueOctober 1979 (1979-10)
Final issue
Number		June 2006; 20 years ago (2006-06)
267
CountryUnited States
Based inRadford, Virginia
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0195-5365 (print)
1930-3858 (web)
OCLC5509898

Science Fiction Chronicle (SFC]) was an American science fiction magazine (also called semiprozine) published from 1979 to 2006; during the last four years, it was retitled just Chronicle.

History

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Science Fiction Chronicle was founded, and initially owned and published, by Andrew I. Porter, originally as a section of Porter's older magazine (fanzine), Algol, appearing there first in 1978. SFC became an independent publication with its issue #1 in October 1979.[1] The magazine was first published monthly, then bimonthly, then monthly again, though its publication became irregular for its final few issues. The magazine's circulation reached its highest point around 2001, with over 10,000 copies per issue.[1] It had various subtitles such as the Monthly SF and Fantasy News Magazine and SF, Fantasy and Horror's Monthly Trade Journal.[2][3][4]

Porter sold SFC to DNA Publications in May 2000[2] and was fired from it in 2002 (which led to "swirling rumors" in the science fiction circles[5]);[1] his final issue was #226, July 2002.[6]

From around the same time (issue #228, September 2002), until its final few issues (issue #265, December 2005/January 2006), the magazine was renamed Chronicle, ostensibly to avoid confusion with the San Francisco Chronicle.[1] Its last issue was #267 in June 2006.[1]

Editors

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Porter was also the initial editor of the magazine for about two decades, until 2002.[1][2] According to ISFDb, from 2001 to 2006 the editor of Chronicle was Warren Lapine;[2] SFE instead lists later editors as (from #229, October 2002) John R. Douglas and (from #257, April 2005) Ian Randal Strock.[1]

Content

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SFC published literary criticism, news on authors, artists, events and publishing,[7], information related to fandom, interviews related to the genre (including, among others, Michael Kandel, Michael Swanwick and George Zebrowski),[8], information on the science fiction literary market, convention reports,[7] and fiction.[1][9]

Its contributors included Vincent Di Fate, Jo Fletcher, Harris Lentz III [Wikidata], Frederik Pohl, Jeff Rovin and Robert Silverberg.[10]

Reception

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Gardner Dozois described it as "not quite as vital as Locus" but "also full of interesting information".[11] Peter Nicholls and David Langford also remarked that its "coverage was not as broad" as that of Locus; although it also covered some other topics. They noted that it was "something of an East Coast institution" and that it "offered an alternative voice for the sf community".[1]

In Issue 32 of Abyss, Dave Nalle noted "What SFC has to distinguish it is a rather nice line on the intrigues of publishing, and short but consistently on-target book reviews." However, Nalle also pointed out editorial problems, including, "an amateurish editorial attitude, a nauseating orientation towards the lowest common denominators of SF fandom, annoying convention reports, and trouble keeping up with its [publication] schedule." Nalle also rated the actual amount of content only 2 out of 10, commenting, "On the whole there are actually less than a dozen pages of densely printed text [out of 42] in an issue of SNC." Nalle concluded by giving it an overall rating of 4 out of 10, saying, "The price is reasonable, and SFC is different enough ... that you might find it worth looking into."[7]

Awards received

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Porter received a Special Award at the Worldcon in 1991 for his "years of continuing excellence" in editing Science Fiction Chronicle.[1] The magazine was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine numerous times, winning the award twice (consecutively in 1993 and 1994).[12][13]

SF Chronicle Award

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From 1982 to 1998 SFC presented an award [de] for achievements in the field of science fiction, in a number of categories.[14][15][16] It was based on a reader's poll, similar to the Locus Award.[15] Sources discussing the award refer to it variously as: the SF Chronicle Award,[14][17] the Science Fiction Chronicle Readers Poll[15] or the Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award.[16][18]

Some of the categories and awards given included:[15]

Novel
Novella
Novelette
Short Story
Dramatic Presentation

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "SFE: Science Fiction Chronicle". sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Series: Science Fiction Chronicle/Chronicle". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  3. ^ "n2:0195-5365 - Search Results". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "n2:1930-3858 - Search Results". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  5. ^ Dozois, Gardner (April 1, 2007). The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twentieth Annual Collection. St. Martin's Publishing Group. pp. xix. ISBN 978-1-4299-0383-7.
  6. ^ "Title: Science Fiction Chronicle - 2002". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Nalle, Dave (November 1984). "In the Speculum". Abyss. No. 32. p. 20.
  8. ^ Schweitzer, Darrell (January 1, 2004). Speaking of the Fantastic II. Wildside Press LLC. pp. ii. ISBN 978-0-8095-1072-6.
  9. ^ Mettee, Stephen Blake, ed. (2007). The portable writer's conference: your guide to getting published. Saner, Calif: Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press. p. 369. ISBN 978-1-884956-57-7.
  10. ^ Science Fiction Chronicle v15n01 (1993 10).
  11. ^ Dozois, Gardner (July 11, 2006). The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Third Annual Collection. St. Martin's Publishing Group. pp. xxi. ISBN 978-1-4299-9345-6.
  12. ^ "1993 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Award. July 26, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  13. ^ "1994 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Award. July 28, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Overview of SF Chronicle Award". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d "sfadb : Science Fiction Chronicle Readers Poll". www.sfadb.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award - Fancyclopedia 3". fancyclopedia.org. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  17. ^ Palwick, Susan; Butler, Octavia (1999). "Imagining a Sustainable Way of Life: An Interview with Octavia Butler". Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment. 6 (2): 149–158. doi:10.1093/isle/6.2.149. ISSN 1076-0962. JSTOR 44085657.
  18. ^ Magill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature: Software and wetware. Salem Press. 1996. p. 1125. ISBN 978-0-89356-910-5.
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