COMPETITION #78: THE SECRET HISTORY OF F&SF
COMPETITION #78:
THE SECRET HISTORY OF F&SF
Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine, originally titled The Magazine of Fantasy, was founded in 1949 by Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas…or was it? Describe, in 50 words or less, the secret origins of F&SF. Alternate histories, imagined conversations, and science-fictional (or magical) twists on the truth are more than welcome. Another welcomed element: funny.
Example:
Shirley Jackson and Theodore Sturgeon leave a little basket on the doorstep of Anthony Boucher with a tear-stained note: “Please take care of our baby. Raise it as if it were your own.”
You have six chances to rewrite history before midnight EST, May 28th. Send your entries to carol@cybrid.net.
Please remember to include your telephone number and snail-mail address.
PRIZES: First prize will receive a subscription to F&SF good for the next sixty years along with a copy of The Diamond Jubilee. Second prize will receive advance reading copies of three forthcoming novels. Any runners-up will receive one-year subscriptions to F&SF. Results of Competition 78 will appear in the Oct/Nov. 2009 issue.
Judges are the editors of F&SF, and their decision is final. All entries become the property of F&SF.
Wall-E and Mel Hunter
If you haven’t seen Wall-E yet, you should drop whatever you’re doing and go see it right away because it’s freaking awesome. Tor art director Irene Gallo agrees, and points out some interesting parallels between the robot design in the movie and the iconic covers Mel Hunter did for F&SF.
StarShipSofa on F&SF
The podcast StarShipSofa has a new episode up focused on F&SF:
Today the StarShipSofa blasts off into the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Join Tony as he guides the Sofa across all the years of the magazines long life, from it’s initial concept with editors Anthony Boucher and J Francis McComas, to present editor and publisher Gordon Van Gelder. Get ready… Blast Off!
Go have a listen. [MP3 link]
Unofficial History of F&SF
Over at the new blog Make-Believe for Grown-Ups, the anonymous blogger ("superfluousman"), an aspiring writer with much love for F&SF, wrote up a nice historical overview of the magazine.
He (or she) says a number of very kind things about F&SF in the process, such as:
- "The fact that so many stories from F&SF over the years are known well beyond the usual sf/fantasy-outside world barrier attests to the quality of the fiction published by F&SF. In my mind, it remains the premiere magazine for sf/fantasy."
- "F&SF has been the most reliable source for sweet fiction of the last six decades, and there’s every indication that will continue for the foreseeable future."
Go have a look at the whole piece, it’s a nice overview.
A Visual History of F&SF
Check out this cover index of F&SF, which includes every single issue dating back to issue #1 (in 1949), as well as the full run of British and Australian reprint editions.
If you’re interested in the history of the magazine, but are not particularly visually inclined, poke around in the F&SF Bibliography (1949–1999), or visit the magazine’s Wikipedia entry.
