Spring 2012 Journal

[LouM]

Hi everyone,

We've had a couple of delays getting this out - a combination of circumstances and a printers' hiccup, which (to mix a lovely metaphor) ended up giving us all a bit of a headache. I know it's been a while coming, so thank you all very much for your patience. It's much appreciated!

However, here's the contents of the Spring 2012 Journal, which should be getting to you in the not-too-distant future.



Our cover artist this issue is Chris Roberts.
Journal design is by Cavan Scott.

Fiction:

Don't You Like The Bird Man? - Jonathan Oliver
The Call of Chavthulu - Neil Fulwood
Jenny Khan - Rhys Hughes
Mother's Boy - Grant Quimper
Listen - Marie O'Regan
Faerie Mails - Allen Ashley
The Fabulous Beast - Garry Kilworth

Non-fiction:

Why YA? - Tom Pollock
Worlds Which Never Were - Sarah Pinborough & Will Hill in conversation
A Glow Born of a Different Process - a cover artist spotlight on Chris Roberts
Laying the Foundations - Simon Bestwick
A History of THE SERVANTS - Michael Marshall Smith
BFS Masterclass #2: Writing for Children - F E Higgins
Enterprising Minds - Andrew Reid
Progressive + Inclusive = Popular? - Amanda Rutter
Anne McCaffrey: A Tribute

Poetry:

Morningmares - Zoe Elizabeth Barrett
Shadow Whisper at Black Hole Hotel - Kelda Crich
Doorways - David Glen Larson
The Wheel of Whumpus - John DesPlaines

Plus regular columns from Ramsey Campbell, Mark Morris, Sophia McDougall, and a special feature from Jared Shurin, interviewing Jane Rogers.

As always, our thanks go to all our contributors, and we very much hope you enjoy reading it!

[David A. Riley]

That's an impressive cover - and an impressive line up of contributors. Looking forward to getting it.

[Cate Gardner]

Excellent

[SAWatts]

Looking good!

[Stephen Theaker]

Look forward to reading it. Excellent cover artwork.

[Andrew Hook]

Love that cover!

[Stephen Theaker]

Arrived this morning. The new interior design is very smart indeed. It's just about the best-looking BFS publication I've ever seen.

[Des Lewis]

The BFS Journal Spring 2012 indeed looks great!
des

[Des Lewis]

The BFS Journal Spring 2012 indeed looks great!
des

But pity there are no reviews in it. It doesn't seem right without them.

[LouM]

Arrived this morning. The new interior design is very smart indeed. It's just about the best-looking BFS publication I've ever seen.

We've got Cav to thank for that - he's done a fantastic job on the layout, and he deserves all the congratulations for a great result

[LouM]

The BFS Journal Spring 2012 indeed looks great!
des

But pity there are no reviews in it. It doesn't seem right without them.

I'm sorry you miss the reviews in the Journal, Des - the thing is, it's so hard to keep them up to date with our lead times, and they simply don't get the wider exposure that both the authors (& publishers) and reviewers deserve - hence the decision to move them online, where they can be linked and more easily disseminated. I think Stephen's idea for Shelflings is brilliant: it's the best of both worlds because it means we have more space for fiction & features in the main Journal, plus the reviews get collated into their own publication. And as it's an ebook, hopefully there won't be the problem of delays in putting a hardcopy version together, or in posting it out.

[Des Lewis]

The BFS Journal Spring 2012 indeed looks great!
des

But pity there are no reviews in it. It doesn't seem right without them.

I'm sorry you miss the reviews in the Journal, Des - the thing is, it's so hard to keep them up to date with our lead times, and they simply don't get the wider exposure that both the authors (& publishers) and reviewers deserve - hence the decision to move them online, where they can be linked and more easily disseminated. I think Stephen's idea for Shelflings is brilliant: it's the best of both worlds because it means we have more space for fiction & features in the main Journal, plus the reviews get collated into their own publication. And as it's an ebook, hopefully there won't be the problem of delays in putting a hardcopy version together, or in posting it out.

I agree with all that including the 'Shelflings' idea. It's was a statement of regret rather than criticism, if you see what I mean. The only possible drawback on having BFS reviews on public view will be if there is any perceived problem with BFS members reviewing each other on a public stage. In past years, the reviews were in a members' only mag.

[David A. Riley]

I wouldn't mind there being no reviews in the Journal , though I did enjoy reading them when they were (they were always my first port of call), so long as they appeared on the website. So far, though, what there are seem to have diminished in number.

Still, the new Journal, which arrived this morning, is very impressive and all credit to its designer. I obviously haven't had time to read it yet, so any comments I have to make about its contents will come later. A very high standard in design has been set and it will be interesting to see if this can be maintained over the kind of schedule (quarterly) in which it's supposed to come out. It all looks much more time consuming than in the Dark Horizons/Prism days, and depends on always having someone with much more sophisticated design skills.

[cavscott]

Glad everyone seems to like the design so far. Don't worry David. I'm not aiming to disappear anywhere soon so hopefully I can match it in editions to come.

But the real quality in the issue comes from the great content Lou, Guy and Ian have put together. I've really enjoyed reading it all and hope you will to.

Be great to get some debates going based on the features and stories.

Cheers,

Cav

[CarolineC]

It certainly does look beautiful - well done, everyone!  

Apart from Chairman's Chat and the Editorials (doesn't Guy have lovely cats!), the only thing I've read so far is Allen Ashley's "Faerie Mails" which had me chuckling all the way through. Allen - I think you need a new spam filter!

If the rest of the contents are as good (and I've no reason to doubt that) then this should be a really good 'un.