I don't remember the first time I became aware of Locus magazine. It's just always been there, the hub for news about science fiction and fantasy publishing, the place where upcoming books were listed, where books and stories of all kinds were reviewed. The Locus recommended list kicks off the award cycle every year, and it has introduced me to many writers I hadn't read before. It is one of the incubators for conversations about what people in our genre are doing in new and interesting ways. It's a magazine that makes an effort to grow and get better, and to cover as much as it can. This is particularly valuable with each passing year, as professional reviews become more and more concentrated in fewer publications.
As you may have seen, the annual Locus fundraiser has entered its final three days. I've donated two perks (a signed paperback of The Chatelaine, and a letter in response to any question you have for me, which I'll type on my Facit 1620 and sign and put in the mail to you. The question could be "should I keep writing?" or "what is your recipe for pancakes?" or anything at all.) There are also incredible perks from the top writers in the field.
Below is the cover for the issue that featured me, back in April 2020. That article was the result of a long conversation with Locus's Arley Sorg in a hotel room at the 2019 Nebulas. I remember talking to Arley for a long time about some personal things I hadn't really articulated before (because he's a warm, thoughtful person with genuine curiosity and compassion). And I remember Arley carefully triple checking the details of my biography, because Locus sees itself not only as a running conversation, but also as an archive of the genre, the magazine of record.
A few years later, I ran across a small error that involved my participation in a panel, in a Locus convention report. It was an understandable error (the source had provided inaccurate information) on a very minor matter and as a former journalist myself, I am not one to rush off and demand corrections for things from busy people. All the same, in this particular case, the facts mattered to me, and because it was the magazine of record, I wrote and (politely) asked them to correct it. They did, promptly and professionally.
Sure, these days we have a million social media posts and star ratings and all kinds of ways to talk about books. But having a magazine that takes its position in the field seriously is not something I take for granted.
While I'm here, talking about institutions that could use a boost, I also want to mention the current fundraiser for Atthis Arts, a wonderful small press that has published some groundbreaking work in the last few years.
I know life is expensive these days, but with social media so fractured now, I wanted to make sure everyone in my network knew these fundraisers were happening. I hope you're all well, and I'll be back in a few weeks (probably with some publishing news to share!)
