Postscripts is something of an unusual beast.

It started off as a quarterly British magazine of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime. The first issue, edited by Peter Crowther and published by PS Publishing,  appeared in June 2004 to considerable acclaim. It won the International Horror Guild award for best periodical in 2006 and 2008, and the British Fantasy Award for Best Magazine in 2009. I snatched up the early issues as they appeared… they were a little expensive on this side of the pond, but I never regretted it.

Postscripts has undergone some changes over the years. Early issues were essentially trade paperbacks (at least in the newsstand edition; there was also a signed, numbered, limited edition hardcover for the hardcore collectors.) Starting with issue 18 the magazine transitioned to a quarterly anthology; more recently (starting with issue 20/21) it has settled into a biannual schedule, producing two fat double-sized issues every year. The trade paperbacks are also a thing of the past, the “newsstand” edition, such as it is, is a beautiful thick hardcover with a wraparound cover. The capable Nick Gevers became co-editor with issue 18, and sole editor starting with issue 32/33. Under Nick’s stewardship the magazine has published brand new stories by Brian Aldiss, Scott Edelman, Paul Di Filippo, Darrell Schweitzer, Paul Tremblay, Simon Strantzas, Robert Reed, Michael Swanwick, Paul Park, John Langan, Richard Calder, and many others.

[Click on the images for bigger versions.]

The magazine — if you’re comfortable calling a 400+ page hardcover a magazine — attracts an enviable list of contributors. Here’s the TOC for the latest issue, 36/37, subtitled The Dragons of the Night.

Robert Freeman Wexler, Darkness, and Darkness
James Cooper, S.K.
Allen Ashley, A Reverie of Time
Robert Guffey, The Wedding Photographer
Andrew Jury, Machinists
John Grant, The Second Runner
Lisa L. Hannett, Surfacing
Robert Reed, In Passing
Darrell Schweitzer, The Dragons of the Night
Robert Edric, Last Post
James Cooper, Texas
John Gribbin, Untanglement: The Leaving of the Quantum Cats
Paul Di Filippo, Karen Coxswain, or, Death as She is Truly Lived
Keith Brooke, Rewrites
John Grant, Everything Finishes
Andrew Hook, The Day My Heart Stood Still
Gary Fry, Madam, I’m Adam
Cate Gardner, In the Macabre Theatre of Nightshade Place
Stephen Bacon, Happy Sands
Scott Edelman, The Man Without the Blue Balloon and the Woman Who Had Smiles Only for Him
Bruce Golden, Blesséd
Darrell Schweitzer, The Hutchison Boy
Brian Aldiss, Abundances Above
Lavie Tidhar, The Beachcomber

Postscripts #36/37: The Dragons of the Night was published in May 2016 by PS Publishing. It is 370 pages, priced at £30.00 in hardcover. There is no digital edition. The cover is by David Gentry. See the PS website for more details and ordering info.

The publisher describes Postscripts as a Varied Genre Themed anthology, which is quite a mouthful. I think it means that each issue has a unique theme, and that theme reflects a different genre. For example, the theme for the previous issue, 34/35, was Breakout. As in the viral kind.

Here’s the TOC.

Breakout — John Gribbin
Josephine Knows Who — Allen Ashley
The Cicadas — Jessica Reisman and Steven Utley
Notes on the Future — John Weldon
Circular Tour — Howard Priestley
Yesterday’s Dreams — Kaitlin Queen
Scenes from the City of Garbage and the City of Clay — Paul Tremblay
Those Who Remain — Kelly Barnhill
Chasing Gaia — Garry Kilworth
Endpapers — Lisa L. Hannett
Holes — Keith Minnion
In All Your Sparkling Raiment Soar — Robert T. Jeschonek
A Walk in the Woods — Vaughan Stanger
A Walk in the Rain — Vaughan Stanger
Curb — Robert Reed
Scraps of Paper — Simon Strantzas
Forever Boys — James Cooper
Bradbury’s Finger — Greg Quiring
The Needle, the Stitch, the Night, and the Sky — Kat Howard
The Ebony Crucifix — Kit Reed
The House of the Witches — Darrell Schweitzer
The Aniseed Gumball Kid — Andrew Hook
Easy to Imagine — Ian Whates
The Glasshouse — Emma Coleman
All the Layers of the World — Steven Utley and Camille Alexa
Crossed Gates — Adrian Tchaikovsky
Curse of the Mummy Paper — Anna Tambour
The Seven Mirrors — Marly Youmans

Postscripts #34/35: Breakout was published in August 2015 by PS Publishing. It is 425 pages, priced at £30.00 in hardcover and $5.26 for the digital edition. The cover is by Michael Smith. See the PS website for more details and ordering info.

And here’s 32/33, with the theme Far Voyager.

Here’s the TOC.

Michael Swanwick — 3 A.M. in the Mesozoic Bar
Andrew Jury — Dear Miss Monroe
Mel Waldman — The Case of the Barking Man
Andrew Drummond — One Hundred Thousand Demons and the Cherub of Desire
Darrell Schweitzer — An American Story
Rio Youers — Sister Free
Tom Alexander — A Little Off the Top
Ian Sales — Far Voyager
Mel Waldman — Sweetheart, I Love You
Angela Slatter — Winter Children
Lisa L. Hannett — A Girl of Feather and Music
Alan Baxter — Thirty-Three Tears to a Teaspoon
Angie Rega — The Rusalka Salon for Girls Who Like to Get Their Hair Wet
Suzanne J. Willis — The Psychometrist
Paul Park — The Mermaid and the Fisherman
Kurt Dinan — Plink
Mel Waldman — Darkscapes:Three Journeys to the Night Side
Quentin S.Crisp — Sea Angels
Darren Speegle — Xaro
Richard Calder — We Are Not Alone
Thana Niveau — The Curtain
Gary A. Braunbeck — What Once Was Bone
Bruce Golden — Services Rendered
Gio Clairval — Playground
Robert Reed — GW in the Afterlife
Andrew Hook — Eskimo
Mark Reece — Talk in Riddles
Gary Fry — With Friends Like These
Ian Watson — An Inspector Calls
Mel Waldman — Confessions
Alison Littlewood — A Legion of Echoes
John Langan — Irezumi

Postscripts #32/33: Far Voyager was published in November 2014 by PS Publishing. It is 415 pages, priced at £30.00 in hardcover and $5.99 for the digital edition. The cover is by Phillip Simpson. See the PS website for more details and ordering info.

Our September Magazine Rack is here. See all of our recent fantasy magazine coverage here.