Chronicle (magazine)

''Science Fiction Chronicle'' (later, just ''Chronicle'') was an American science fiction magazine (also called semiprozine) published from 1979 to 2006. It was named ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' until 2002 and from then until 2006, just ''Chronicle''.

It had subtitles such as the Monthly SF and Fantasy News Magazine and SF, Fantasy and Horror's Monthly Trade Journal.

History

''Science Fiction Chronicle'' was founded, and initially owned and published, by Andrew I. Porter. ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' began as a section of Porter's older magazine (fanzine), ''Algol'', appearing there first in 1978. It became an independent publication with its issue #1 in October 1979. The magazine was first published monthly, then bimonthly, then monthly again, though its publication became irregular for its final few issues. The magazine's circulation reached its highest point around 2001, with over 10,000 copies per issue. Porter sold ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' to DNA Publications in May 2000 and was fired from it in 2002 (which led to "swirling rumors" in the science fiction circles); his final issue was #226, July 2002.

From around the same time (issue #228, September 2002), until its final few issues (issue #265, December 2005/January 2006), the magazine was renamed as simply ''Chronicle'', ostensibly to avoid confusion with the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Its last issue was #267 in June 2006.

Editors

Porter was also the initial editor of the magazine for about two decades, until 2002. According to ISFDb, from 2001 to 2006 the editor of ''Chronicle'' was Warren Lapine; SFE instead lists later editors as (from #229, October 2002) John R. Douglas and (from #257, April 2005) Ian Randal Strock.

Content

Among its articles, ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' published literary criticism, news, information related to fandom, interviews related to the genre, information on the science fiction literary market, and fiction. Its content included, among others, interviews with Michael Kandel, Michael Swanwick and George Zebrowski.

Its contributors included Vincent Di Fate, Jo Fletcher, , Frederik Pohl, Jeff Rovin and Robert Silverberg.

SF Chronicle Award

From 1982 to 1998 the ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' presented for achievements in the field of science fiction, in a number of categories. It was based on a reader's poll, similar to the Locus Award. Sources discussing the award refer to it variously as: the SF Chronicle Award, the Science Fiction Chronicle Readers Poll or the Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award.

Some of the categories and awards given included:
; Novel
* 1982 Gene Wolfe: ''The Claw of the Conciliator''
* 1983 Gene Wolfe: ''The Sword of the Lictor''
* 1984 Tim Powers: ''The Anubis Gates''
* 1985 William Gibson: ''Neuromancer''
* 1986 Orson Scott Card: ''Ender's Game''
* 1987 Orson Scott Card: ''Speaker for the Dead''
* 1988 Gene Wolfe: ''The Urth of the New Sun''
* 1989 C. J. Cherryh: ''Cyteen''
* 1990 George Alec Effinger: ''A Fire in the Sun''
* 1991 Dan Simmons: ''The Fall of Hyperion''
* 1992 Michael Swanwick: ''Stations of the Tide''
* 1993 Vernor Vinge: ''A Fire Upon the Deep''
* 1994 Greg Bear: ''Moving Mars''
* 1995 Michael Bishop: ''Brittle Innings''
* 1996 Neal Stephenson: ''The Diamond Age''
* 1997 Bruce Sterling: ''Holy Fire''
* 1998 Dan Simmons: ''The Rise of Endymion''

; Novella
* 1982 Phyllis Eisenstein: ''In the Western Tradition''
* 1983 Joanna Russ: ''Souls''
* 1984 Michael Bishop: ''Her Habiline Husband''
* 1985 John Varley: ''PRESS ENTER[]''
* 1986 James Tiptree, Jr.: ''The Only Neat Thing to Do''
* 1987 Lucius Shepard: ''R&R''
* 1988 Robert Silverberg: ''The Secret Sharer''
* 1989 Connie Willis: ''The Last of the Winnebagos''
* 1990 Lois McMaster Bujold: ''The Mountains of Mourning''
* 1991 Mike Resnick: ''Bully!''
* 1992 Nancy Kress: ''Beggars in Spain''
* 1993 Lucius Shepard: ''Barnacle Bill the Spacer''
* 1994 Jack Cady: ''The Night We Buried Road Dog''
* 1995 Mike Resnick: ''Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge''
* 1996 Mike Resnick & Susan Shwartz: ''Bibi''
* 1997 Gregory Benford: ''Immersion''
* 1998 Allen Steele: ''…Where Angels Fear to Tread''

; Novelette
* 1982 Michael Swanwick: ''Mummer Kiss''
* 1983 Connie Willis: ''Fire Watch''
* 1984 Kim Stanley Robinson: ''Black Air''
* 1985 Octavia E. Butler: ''Bloodchild''
* 1986 George R. R. Martin: ''Portraits of His Children''
* 1987 Lucius Shepard: ''Aymara''
* 1988 Octavia E. Butler: ''The Evening and the Morning and the Night''
* 1989 George Alec Effinger: ''Schrödinger's Kitten''
* 1990 Mike Resnick: ''For I Have Touched the Sky''
* 1991 Mike Resnick: ''The Manamouki''
* 1992 Ray Aldridge: ''Gate of Faces''
* 1993 Susan Shwartz: ''Suppose They Gave a Peace...''
* 1994 Nancy Kress: ''The Battle of Long Island''
* 1995 Greg Egan: ''Cocoon''
* 1996 James Patrick Kelly: ''Think Like a Dinosaur''
* 1997 Bruce Sterling: ''Bicycle Repairman''
* 1998 Stephen Baxter: ''Moon Six''

; Short Story
* 1982 John Varley: ''The Pusher''
* 1983 Greg Bear: ''Petra''
* 1984 Gardner Dozois: ''The Peacemaker''
* 1985 Lucius Shepard: ''Salvador''
* 1986 James P. Blaylock: ''Paper Dragons''
* 1987 Pat Cadigan: ''Pretty Boy Crossover''
* 1988 Carol Emshwiller: ''The Circular Library of Stones''
* 1989 Mike Resnick: ''Kirinyaga''
* 1990 Bruce Sterling: ''Dori Bangs''
* 1991 Terry Bisson: ''Bears Discover Fire''
* 1992 Kim Stanley Robinson: ''Vinland the Dream''
* 1993 Connie Willis: ''Even the Queen''
* 1994 Connie Willis: ''Death on the Nile''
* 1995 Joe Haldeman: ''None So Blind''
* 1996 Michael A. Burstein: ''TeleAbsence''
* 1997 James White: ''Un-Birthday Boy''
* 1998 Robert J. Sawyer: ''The Hand You're Dealt''

; Dramatic Presentation
* 1982 ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''
* 1983 ''Blade Runner''
* 1984 ''Return of the Jedi''
* 1985 ''2010''
* 1986 ''Back to the Future''
* 1987 ''Aliens''
* 1988 ''The Princess Bride''
* 1989 ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit''
* 1990 ''Field of Dreams''
* 1991 '' Total Recall''
* 1992 '' Terminator 2: Judgement Day''
* 1993 ''Aladdin''
* 1994 ''Jurassic Park''
* 1995 '' The Mask''
* 1996 ''Babylon 5'': "The Coming of Shadows"
* 1997 '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'': "Trials and Tribble-ations"
* 1998 ''Contact''

Awards and reception

Porter received a Special Award at the Worldcon in 1991 for his "years of continuing excellence" in editing ''Science Fiction Chronicle.'' The magazine was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine numerous times, winning the award twice (consecutively in 1993 and 1994).

Gardner Dozois described it as "not quite as vital as '' Locus''" but "also full of interesting information". Peter Nicholls and David Langford also remarked that its "coverage was not as broad" as that of ''Locus''; although it also covered some other topics. They noted that it was "something of an East Coast institution" and that it "offered an alternative voice for the sf community".

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website (http://www.sfsite.com)
(archival version from the Internet Archive, December 2000)
All issues of the Chronicle in the Internet Archive
entry with some issues at fanac.org

Monthly magazines published in the United States
Bimonthly magazines published in the United States
Hugo Award–winning works
Magazines established in 1979
Speculative fiction magazines published in the United States
Magazines published in Virginia