Sirius Visions
Entry updated 21 August 2012. Tagged: Publication.
US Semiprozine published eight times a year "on the ancient Celtic holidays" by Claddagh Press, Portland, Oregon, edited by Marybeth O'Halloran. It began with an advance preview issue, Winter 1993, and then ran for eight formal issues, August 1994 to June 1995. The first four issues and the advance one were in large-tabloid format (really double letter size), 16 pages, but from issue #5 (February 1995) switched to the more standard (and more easily readable) letter size. It described itself as both a "magazine of speculative fiction, humorous science fiction, fantasy and visionary fiction" and "a speculative fiction magazine specializing in the literature of hope." Editor O'Halloran had tired of the depressing, downbeat nature of much sf and fantasy and wanted to publish a magazine that left people cheerful. Perhaps it is telling that the majority of the contents were closer to Fantasy than sf. O'Hallaran was a slush-pile reader for both F&SF and Pulphouse: and so was able to publish material by their respective editors, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith as well as John Everson, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Kij Johnson and Mary Rosenblum. Production costs proved high, however, and subscriptions were low (around 120); so although there were plans to improve production or switch to the internet, in the end the magazine was simply allowed to stop. [MA]
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