Another Market Bites The Dust

[dr_phil_physics]

Realms of Fantasy

RoF announced a quick demise -- one so fast that the editor hadn't been contacted before the news got out -- and it's roaring about the blogosphere. So I thought I'd mention it here. Just in the last couple of days slushmaster was reminding people about submissions for the Halloween 2009 issue, etc. But he confirms the story here as of fifty minutes ago. Main notice is here at SFScope -- and at LocusOnline. I daresay the staff has been caught flatfooted on this one.

I don't write much fantasy, but had a couple of stories which had been slowly percolating along and I always figured I'd submit to RoF. A sudden drop in newstand sales was cited. I've actually bought RoF at Schuler's, but I haven't been to a book store in the last two months due to weather, not economics. Given that there's been bad weather everywhere, I wonder how much of this is a knee jerk bean counter response to the wrong problem? Alas...

This is the second big hit that fantasy has taken, what with the earlier cancelation of The Year's Best in Fantasy & Horror.

Dr. Phil