For the last two weeks I've been reading nothing but magazines. Here's what's excited me of late on this front:
- Interzone 227, which contains very good stories from Mercurio D. Rivera, Chris Beckett, and many more. My favorite is the sublime "Flying in the Face of God" by Nina Allan, about a harsh method of space travel and what it does to the people who dare embrace the stars. I'd be surprised if Allan's story isn't on the shortlists for the Year's Best anthologies and the major awards.
As a side-note, this issue should soon be available in U.S. bookstores, so look for it. Interzone also recently accepted another science fiction story of mine (titled "Millisent Ka Plays in Realtime"). That means I have two stories forthcoming in the magazine.
- I'd heard rumors that The Baffler, the great magazine of fun-to-read cultural and political criticism, had returned from the dead. Last weekend I discovered a copy in a local bookstore and am pleased to announce it is as good as ever. If their next issue is as good as the current one, I'll likely subscribe.
- Issue 5 of Greatest Uncommon Denominator Magazine arrived in the mail and I'm having a great time reading it. First off, the cover art is amazing, and to my shock I've enjoyed almost all of the poetry inside (especially the poems by Tammy Ho Lai-Ming, Lucy A. Snyder, and Alicia Adams). Since I'm very picky about the poetry I read, this is quite impressive. There's also a interesting essay on computer pioneer Douglas Engelbart. I'm still reading the fiction, but so far my favorite story is the science fiction "Getting Yourself On" by Andrew N. Tisbert. If you haven't read GUD before, this is a cutting edge literary journal well worth checking out.
- Finally, the editor of the new online magazine NOTHE asked if I'd pass the word on their call for submissions. Consider it passed. The magazine plans to launch their first issue in May.