Editorial
Editor's Desk: Perhaps Light Gray?
This time last year, I wrote two editorials: one light and one dark. The dark version was originally scheduled to be published, but a surprising compromise just days before our production deadline bought us another three months to work things out. While that opportunity fell through, the extra time proved to be just what we needed, leaving us within shouting distance of the minimum we needed to keep the magazine going.
I’ve used many of these editorials to point at the structural problems that contribute to the financial issues most genre magazines face on a daily basis. Amazon terminating their subscription program to adopt (a considerably less favorable) Kindle Unlimited for Magazines program would have been problematic regardless, but combined with the state of this industry, it became a very destabilizing event. I’m grateful that Clarkesworld was able to weather the initial storm, but fallout from Amazon’s actions continues to be felt by those directly impacted by those changes, including us.
As we approach our nineteenth anniversary, I have serious concerns. Nothing to warrant the creation of a new dark editorial, but simultaneously dealing with the long-term economic consequences of Amazon’s decisions and the increased workload manufactured by the arrival of generative “AI,” has impacted my patience and perspective.
We’ve long aimed to make Clarkesworld the fourth short fiction market (behind Analog, Asimov’s, and F&SF) to pay its staff a viable salary. It’s been decades since a genre magazine has reached that level and many believe it’s impossible. Progress has been slow, but progress has been made. I’m beginning to wonder, however, if my remaining lifetime as an editor will be sufficient to accomplish that goal . . . if we stay on the current path. So we won’t.
This conclusion has been months in the making, but I don’t know what that path looks like yet. I can say that we won’t be sacrificing what you’ve come to expect from us. No changes to the editorial direction. This is all on the business side. I’m only even bringing it up now because I’m going to start being a bit more public about my research and I know how the rumor mill twists things in counter-productive ways. It’s not like we’ll be hiding anything. I plan to be rather open about the things we’re considering and hoping others will engage in it. Much like a good story, a good idea can come from anywhere.
Speaking of good stories, award season is upon us, so let’s close out this editorial with some good news about some of them:
Nebula Award Finalists
- “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video” by Thomas Ha (Best Novelette)
- “Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being” by A.W. Prihandita (Best Novelette)
- “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole” by Isabel J. Kim (Best Short Story)
British Science Fiction Award Finalists
- “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole” by Isabel J. Kim (Best Short Fiction)
- “The Portmeirion Road” by Fiona Moore (Best Short Fiction)
- “The Coffee Machine” by Celia Corral-Vázquez, translated by Sue Burke (Best Translated Short Fiction)
- “The Rambler” by Shen Dacheng, translated by Cara Healey (Best Translated Short Fiction)
In both awards, Clarkesworld had more finalists than any other magazine. Thank you to everyone that enjoyed and nominated these works! And, of course, congratulations to our finalists!
Neil Clarke is the editor of Clarkesworld Magazine, Forever Magazine, and several anthologies, including the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. He is a four-time winner of the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form, three-time winner of the Locus Award for Best Editor, a four-time winner of the Chesley Award for Best Art Director, and a recipient of the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. He currently lives in NJ with his wife and two sons.
