The February 2017 issue of Clarkesworld, issue #125, marks an important milestone for the magazine — and for its editor and founder, Neil Clarke. Here’s Neil to explain (from his editorial, “The Next Chapter Begins“).

The day this issue is published will be my first day as a full-time editor, which isn’t to say I’ve reached the point where I’m making a full-time salary. That’s going to take time, which I finally have. The first order of business is to close the salary gap between Lisa’s job and my old one and to cover the cost of our new health plan. I’ve agreed to do some consulting and knowledge transfer sessions with my former employer, so that should help create a bit more of a buffer before our savings account has to come into play.

As for the impact all this new-found time and energy will have on Clarkesworld, give me a couple of months to work that out. I still have some backlogged tasks that need to be completed and then I can start hammering out a long-range plan. In the meantime, each new subscription, Patreon supporter, or advertiser takes a little bit of the financial pressure away, so this will be one of my immediate areas of focus.The other will probably be targeting more anthology projects, both original and new, including catching up on the remaining Clarkesworld annuals. I’ll probably take on a few more ebook clients as well.

If you are already a subscriber or supporter, thank you. You’ve made this leap possible. If you aren’t a subscriber, there’s no better time than now. I know money is tight for many of our readers and listeners, so if you can’t afford to, you can always help by amplifying the calls for new subscribers/supporters on social media or perhaps adding a review on one of the many sites that sell our digital subscriptions — you’d be really surprised by how much of an impact that sometimes makes.

And while part of me will miss my old career, I’m eager to get started on this new chapter in my life and look forward to the new opportunities it presents. Now, back to work… !

Clarkesworld is one of the finest magazines we have — and one of the best things to happen to genre short fiction in the last decade. If you care at all about the future of the field, I hope you’ll consider supporting Clarkesworld, perhaps by just buying a sample issue at Amazon or B&N.com for $2.99 or, as I did, signing up at their Patreon page. I’m very excited to see what the new era brings at Clarkesworld, and I hope you’ll join us for the ride.

In the meantime, the latest issue looks chock full of goodness, with original fiction from Jack Skillingstead and Burt Courtier, Nin Harris, Simone Heller, and Chi Hui, and reprints by Cecelia Holland and K.J. Parker

The cover, “Fallout,” is by Benedick T. Bana

Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

“Assassins,” Jack Skillingstead and Burt Courtier
“Prosthetic Daughter,” Nin Harris
“How Bees Fly,” Simone Heller
“Rain Ship,” Chi Hui
“Dragon’s Deep,” Cecelia Holland (from The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy, 2009)
“The Dragonslayer of Merebarton,” K.J. Parker (from Fearsome Journeys, 2013)

The non-fiction is:

Frodo Is Dead: Worldbuilding and The Science of Magic — Christopher Mahon
Organic Tech and Healing Clay: A Conversation with Nnedi Okorafor — Chris Urie
Another Word: A Doom of One’s Own — Genevieve Valentine
Editor’s Desk: The Next Chapter Begins — Neil Clarke

There are three podcasts (so far), but check back after the end of the month, as more may be posted.

“Assassins,” Jack Skillingstead and Burt Courtier, read by Kate Baker
“Prosthetic Daughter,” by Nin Harris, read by Kate Baker
“How Bees Fly,” by Simone Heller, read by Kate Baker

See the complete issue here.

Clarkesworld is edited by Neil Clarke and Sean Wallace, and published by Wyrm Publishing. The contents are available for free online; individual issues can be purchased for $3.99, and monthly subscriptions are $2.99/month. A 6-month sub is $17.94, and the annual price is $35.88. Learn more and order individual issues at the magazine’s website.

We last covered Clarkesworld with Issue 124.

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