Opened up my feed reader to find this post by Jason Sanford where he says:
In only the last few weeks, we've learned that
- Realms of Fantasy will cease publication in April (and after they published a great January issue).
- Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthology is no more.
- F&SF is going to a bi-monthly publication schedule.
On top of that, Asimov's and Analog last year changed to a new format that was more economical to print, while Locus and NYRSF have both recently asked for more subscribers to keep their financials solid. Add this in with problems in the magazine distribution business and cut backs in the book publishing industry, and it isn't hard to see how more bad news could come down in 2009 for written SF/F.
Some of that I'd heard about, but Realms of Fantasy, one of my favorite magazines, closing? Sure enough, go to their web page and you'll see:
Dear Readers: We're sorry to report that the April 2009 issue of Realms of Fantasy Magazine will be the last. Thank you very much for your support these many years!
If you have a remaining subscription to Realms of Fantasy, you can choose one of three options:
-Transfer your subscription on a remaining issue by issue basis to SCI FI Magazine.
-Transfer your subscription on a remaining issue by issue basis to OTAKU USA Magazine.
-Get a refund for the remaining issues left on your Realms of Fantasy subscription.
To tell us about your choice, click on this link to our customer service department. Make sure to include your full name and address. Thank you.
There's perhaps no better reminder that publishing is a business than when doors start closing and someone wraps the proverbial chain and padlock around the door handles.
