Zahir Magazine Ceases Publication
Sheryl Tempchin’s highly respected genre magazine Zahir has ceased publication with the 28th issue, October 2011.
Zahir has been published quarterly since Summer 2003. The magazine managed 20 print issues, before switching to electronic format with the January, 2010 issue.
Over the last eight years Zahir has published short stories by Sharon E. Woods, Sonya Taaffe, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Mark Rich, Francesca Forrest, and many others. The consistently excellent cover art was by Godfrey Blow, Phil Volk, Leslie Shiels, and many other noted artists.
The eight electronic issues have since been assembled into annual print anthologies gathering the complete contents of four issues every year — generous 300+ page-collections available through Amazon.com and Createspace.
Editor Tempchin published the following letter on the magazine’s website:
It is with regret that I must announce we will no longer be publishing new quarterly issues of Zahir. We will continue to have a web presence here, where the online issues from the past two years are available for you to read in the archives. We will also continue to offer our two print anthologies for sale, as well [as] the print issues from 2003 through 2009. If new things develop, we will keep you posted here.
Read the complete letter here, and visit the archives to read the online issues, or snap up print copies of back issues while they’re still available.
It’s sad to see another print magazine going away, but it was kind of cheap that Zahir charged writers for on-line submissions.
Really? I didn’t know that. Was it a separate charge for online submissions, or did they charge for all submissions?
This business makes me very, very nervous…
I THINK it was Zahir. It’s easy to confuse it with Tale Bones. But yes, one or other charged about the same price it would take to send a physical SASE. You’d need a lot of confidence in your skill to submit to them.
Hi Mister Alex,
Okay, but I’m a little confused. A SASE costs about $0.50 (stamp plus an envelope). Writers send them routinely with physical submissions.
Is that that cost you’re complaining about? Surely you have more confidence in your writing than that. 🙂
Scott — I know exactly what you mean!