Random Acts of Meaningless Editorializing
Blowing Our Own Horn
Callooh! Callay! O frabjous day!
It appears that Shameless Politicking pays off after all. If you hadn't heard (or couldn't figure out from the cover), Nova Express received that coveted Hugo nomination for Best Fanzine. A hearty thank you to all who voted, and to all the loyal readers and contributors who have supported Nova Express over the years. Forward the conspiracy! On to San Antonio!
Hanging With the Homeboys
We've been accused by some of excessive focus on Southwestern (i.e., Texas and New Mexico) writers, and I suppose we're more guilty than not. Given the length and nature of our interviews, we're limited to authors we can sit down with and talk to for a couple of hours. Since time and budget constraints have cut down on our con-going, that's meant limiting interviews to Armadillocon attendees or Texas writers. (I was hoping to get interviews with Greg Bear and Octavia Butler at the LA Worldcon, but events (i.e. getting laid off and expensive car repairs) intervened.)
This issue isn't likely to change our reputation, since two hometown boys share the spotlight. Both Denton and Spencer write distinct, frequently funny, and always literate novels and stories that could (often as not) be labeled slipstream. Both were born elsewhere, but got to Texas as fast as they could. Both reside in the wilds of south Austin, along with former Dallas dweller Neal Barrett, Jr. And in a world of lame knockoffs and cookie-cutter fantasies, both deserve more attention than they have heretofore received. So please enjoy this duel interview issue of Nova Express, since this is probably the only time we'll do it. It was a royal pain in the ass to transcribe these puppies. . .
Changing the Guard
If you hadn't heard, Gordon Van Gelder has taken over the editor's chair at F&SF, a job he will be performing simultaneously with his position at St. Martins. If you're a regular Nova reader, you might have noticed a fair number of St. Martins books discussed in these pages. That's because Van Gelder has done an excellent job carving out a niche as the genre's premier slipstream publisher. Under his regime, St. Martins has published important works by Barrett, Denton, Spencer, Christopher Hinz, Jack Cady, Jonathon Carroll, and David Prill, not to mention the American editions of Clute's two massive encyclopedias (more about which next issue).
His assumption of F&SF's editorship should be a change for the better, even though Kristine Kathryn Rusch did a lot of good things in her tenure. For example, her selection of Bruce Sterling and John Kessel as regular columnists was truly inspired. However, toward the end of her run I found many of F&SF's stories far too sentimental for my tastes, and her weepy, treacle-laden, dripping-with-sensitivity editorials were frequently (and justly) a target of derision among many of the field's professionals. All of which is a darn shame, since in many ways the fiction she bought back when she was editing Pulphouse was far more interesting (and challenging) than what she ended up buying at F&SF. So a hearty congratulations and welcome on board to Gordon, and regular Nova readers are encouraged to show their support by subscribing to F&SF. Details can be found at: http://www.enews.com/magazines/fsf/index.html
The Loyal Opposition
And speaking of magazines that deserve your support, I think it only fair to list our fellow Best Fanzine nominees: Ansible, edited by Dave Langford, File 770, edited by Mike Glyer, Mimosa, edited by Dick & Nicki Lynch, and Tangent, edited by Dave Truesdale. Since Ansible, File 770 and Mimosa are all previous winners (three times each, actually), let me say a word about Tangent, the other newcomer (besides us) to the Hugo ballot. For those who haven't seen a copy, Tangent is an extremely well-produced zine that has undertaken the vital, gargantuan, and nearly thankless task of reviewing all important short fiction published in the genre. They deserve your support, and subscription information can be found at: http://www.sfsite.com/tangent/.
Where We're Going
And speaking of web pages, we've finally taken the Internet plunge ourselves. By the time you read this, one or more back issues should be up on our Web site at: http://www.delphi.com/sflit/novaexpress/. Bit by bit, our cutting edge science fiction magazine is finally lurching into 1995 . . .
We've made an effort this time around to attract more book reviewers for better coverage of the field. To reflect the fact that many names may be new to Nova readers (and that I've run into previous readers who didn't know I'd had stories published in Asimov's), we've added an "About the Contributors" section (see page 32). We now have book reviewers on three continents! All the better to cover the vital science fiction scenes in Australia and the British Isles. Next issue, we hope to have even more book reviews, some critical articles, a symposium on cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk, and maybe even that letter column (we keep running out of room)!
- Lawrence Person