If you’ve been paying attention to the field’s short fiction markets, you’ve seen a lot of bad news recently. Some of the biggest magazines in the industry are changing owners, cutting frequency, or closing entirely. Ominous trends indeed for those of us who love short fantasy fiction.

I want to make it clear that Black Gate isn’t going anywhere. We made the decision years ago to grow slowly, publish when we could afford to, and invest to make the magazine the best it could be. It’s sometimes been a bumpy ride, but the result is that we’re completely debt free, in solid financial shape – and growing nicely.

Our new website, designed by Leo Grin and executed and ably managed by Howard Andrew Jones & Dave Munger, has brought in new readers from around the world. The magazine has more subscribers than at any time in our history. Best of all, we’re now selling PDF versions online, and gradually making our complete back issue catalog available in PDF format for just $4.95 each. Try them out if you’re interested in getting some fantastic reading at a great price.

As we recently announced in Black Gate 13, our official publication frequency is now twice a year, in the Spring and Fall.  What’s coming in our next few issues?  A great deal – including a new tale of Giliead and Ilias from Martha Wells, the return of Morlock the Maker by James Enge, a novella of Lovecraftian horror from Michael Shea, and terrific new fiction from Nina Kiriki Hoffman, E.E. Knight, Chris Willrich, James Stoddard, Darrell Schweitzer, Frederic S. Durbin, John C. Hocking, Harry Connolly, David B. Coe, Howard Andrew Jones, Todd McAulty, John Fultz, Peadar Ó Guilín, and many more.

I want to take a minute to thank you for your support. We’re proud to be thriving in an economy that has resulted in so many magazine causalities, but the truth is we wouldn’t have survived this long without you. Your letters and support mean a lot. We deeply appreciate it.

John O’Neill
Editor & Publisher
Black Gate