Table of Contents, January 1986
This is the scanned Table of Contents for the issue, embedded as a PDF. It is searchable and includes all of the titles reviewed in the month. These issues are not available digitally yet, but most can be ordered by contacting the Locus offices. Locus-ToC-1986-01
Happy Holidays from the Staff…….p.1
World Fantasy Convention in Tucson…. 1
Editorial Matters…………………. 3
J.K. Potter: the Dark Fantastic…….4
Bayley Wins Lawsuit Against Publisher.4
Space Age Closes……………………4
Ellison Quits TWILIGHT ZONE……….. 4
The Data File……………………… 4
Douglas Adams and the $3 Million Deal.5
Ackerman Museum in Doubt……………5
Special SKELETON CREW Appears……… 5
Jean Auel’s Million Books…………. 5
Bookseller Sues Putnam…………….. 5
SFWA to Expand Nebula Weekend……… 5
People & Publishing……………….. 7
Around the Bookstores……………… 7
Agent’s Corner, Richard Curtis……..9
Moons & Stars & Stuff, Fritz Leiber..11
Locus Looks at Books, Faren Miller…13
Locus Looks at More Books,
Debbie Notkin……………….. 15
Locus Looks at More Books, Dan Chow..17
1985 World Fantasy Convention Report.20
Canadian Literary Festival Features
SF: Two Reports………………27
Along Publishers Row………………30
Magazines Received— November……… 33
Books Received— November…………. 35
Classified A ds…………………… 44
Bestseller Lists…………………. 48
Obituaries: Robert Graves, Walter B.
Gibson, Thomas Hector Martin,
Emmett Quinton, Peter W e i n…. 49
LOCus Letters……………………..49
SFWA Fall Reception………………. 51
Locus 1985 Index…………………. 52
ISSUE #300 • VOL 19, NO. 1 • JANUARY 1986 Mailing date: December 27,1985
ISSN-0047-4959
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Charles N. Brown
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Faren Miller
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Donna Burriston
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Carolyn F. Cushman
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Norman Spinrad
Richard Curtis
Fritz Leiber
Debbie Notkin
Dan Chow
Locus, ISSN-0047-4959, The Newspaper of the
Science Fiction Field, is published monthly by LOCUS
PUBLICATIONS. Editorial address: 34 Ridgewood
Lane, Oakland, CA 94611; telephone (415) 339-9196.
Please send all mail to Locus Publications, P.O. Box
13305, Oakland, CA 94661.
Individual copies are $2.50. Individual subscriptions in
the U.S. are $24.00 for 12 issues, $45.00 for 24 issues
via second class mail. Individual subscriptions in
Canada are $27.00 for 12 issues, $51.00 for 24 issues
via second class mail. First class individual subscriptions
in the U.S. or Canada are $32.00 for 12 issues,
$61.00 for 24 issues. Individual overseas subscriptions
are $27.00 for 12 issues, $51.00 for 24 issues via
sea mail. Individual subscriptions to Europe or South
America via air mail are $45.00 for 12 issues, $85.00
for 24 issues. Individual subscriptions to Australia,
Asia, or Africa via air mail are $50.00 for 12 issues,
$95.00 for 24 issues. Institutional subscriptions are
$3.00 extra per year. Make all checks payable to
Locus Publications. All subscriptions, including
Canadian, are payable directly in U.S. funds only. When
converting from second class to first class delivery,
please convert all remaining issues on your present
subscription (75c per issue). The number after your
name on the mailing label is that of the last issue on
your present subscription. We do not send notices
when subscriptions are about to expire. If you change
your address, please notify us immediately. Second
class mail is not usually forwarded. It is either returned
or destroyed. We subtract one issue from your subscription
for each returned copy. We keep expired
addresses on file for one year, so tell us if your
subscription is a renewal or completely new.
British Subscription Agent:
Fantast (Medway) Ltd.
P.O. Box 23, Upwell
Wisbech, CAMBS PE14 9BU
Japanese Subscription Agent:
Takumi Shibano
700 Ninomiya Ninomiya-machi
Naka-gun Kanagawa-ken
259-01 Japan
Subscriptions accepted at current exchange rate.
Display advertising rates on request. Contact Donna
Burriston at (415) 339-3182.
Booksellers discounts available.
We take no responsibility for unsolicited submissions.
Contents copyright © 1986 by Locus Publications.
Second class postage paid at Oakland, California.
Postmaster: Send address changes to Locus Publications,
P.O. Box 13305, Oakland, CA 94661.
A ce…………………………….10,47
Atlantic Monthly…………………. 12
Baen…………………………….8,39
Bantam. ……………………… 6,18,19
Berkley……………………………16
Blue jay……………………………14
Classified Ads…………………….44
Del Rey……………………………25
Drood Review……………………… 43
The January Issue is our most confusing
in terms of timing. Although it
has a 1986 date, it appears Christmas
week and is actually written the first
week in December. This issue is going
to come out later than usual because
our printer is closed the week before
Christmas. We plan to mail on December
27th. It’s also the worst time during
the year to mail, so expect delays in
delivery.
This is our 300th regular issue.
(Nitpickers will of course remember
there were two trial issues before #1,
and a special unnumbered Markets issue
for SFWA members.) I had originally
planned a look back at the beginning of
L o c u s , a summing up, and a look to the
future. Unfortunately, it didn’t get
written. The magazine takes five weeks
to produce now, and I find myself with
less and less time to actually write.
I could wax nostalgic about the old
mimeographed magazine from 1968 to
1974, where it was written on Friday
night and Saturday morning, stenciled
on Saturday afternoon, mimeographed on
Saturday evening, collated on Sunday
afternoon, and mailed that evening.
Whenever the nostalgia gets to be overwhelming,
I go back and actually read
some of them. That cures me. I think
Locus has improved every year and will
continue to do so. Ten years from now,
I expect to look back on these issues,
which I find completely satisfactory
right now, and wince.
PRINTING PROBLEMS
I can wince a bit just looking back
on last issue. The printing was certainly
not up to par. The half tone
reproductions were just awful. We
complained, but got very little satisfaction.
W e ’re currently negotiating
for a new printing contract. Apparently,
we’ve proven to be unprofitable
for our printer and have been relegated
to the back burner and poorer work even
though there are three issues to go on
our p resent contract. We can’t do
anything about moving this issue, but
will probably have to figure something
out for February. Consequently, the
issue may be delayed. We have to juggle
cost, delivery time, and quality.
One is easy, two more difficult, and
three nearly impossible.
Fantasy Centre….. ……………… 40
Harmony……….. ……………….. 38
Mayfair Games……………………. 41
Playboy………………………….. 37
Questar………………………….. 34
Scream/Press………………………36
Science Fiction Shop………………35
Silcon On e ……………………….. 42
Tor ………………… 2,22,28,29,55,56
NEXT ISSUE
February is our month for looking
back on last year. It will have our
recommended reading lists, our year-end
summaries, our statistical analyses,
and the Locus Poll and Survey form. We
would appreciate any comments on changing
the categories or questions. R e member
though, most people won’t answer
questions which are too personal or
take more than a few moments to answer.
For ease of counting, we need check-off
type answers.
A LOCUS BOOK
We plan to produce a reference book
in the next few months and could use
some h e l p from any ni t p i c k e r s out
there. The book will be THE LOCUS
SCIENCE FICTION YEARBOOK: 1985. It
will include the complete listings of
books for the year in one alphabetical
list, plus breakdowns of 1985 original
books by category — novel, collection,
anthology, etc. It will also have a
complete list of the magazines and
anthologies with their contents, an
alphabetical list of all short fiction
published during 1985, our statistical
analyses and recommendations for the
year, and anything else we can fit in.
All the book material is from our computer
disks of the “Books Received”
column, and we need any corrections or
additions you can think of. The book
will be hardcover, 8 1/2″ x 11″, about
200 pages, two column, and run out on a
laser printer. It will sell for about
$20.00. It will be proofread as soon
as the February issue (which comes out
in January and lists material from
December) is finished, and will be
printed in March. I’ll be editing the
novel sections, and Bill Contento (who
wrote the programs which made it possible)
will be editing the short fiction
sections. Again, please help us with
any corrections or suggestions.
WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION
The World Fantasy Convention in Tucson
was, as usual, an enjoyable affair,
with a lot of serious professional work
accomplished. Also as usual, there
were more professional writers, e ditors,
agents, etc., there than anywhere
outside an East Coast world convention.
(Continued on page 51)
LOCUS January 1986 / 3
THE NEWSPAPER OF THE SCIENCE FICTION FIELD
World Fantasy Convention in Tucson…. 1
Editorial Matters…………………. 3
J.K. Potter: the Dark Fantastic…….4
Bayley Wins Lawsuit Against Publisher.4
Space Age Closes……………………4
Ellison Quits TWILIGHT ZONE……….. 4
The Data File……………………… 4
Douglas Adams and the $3 Million Deal.5
Ackerman Museum in Doubt……………5
Special SKELETON CREW Appears……… 5
Jean Auel’s Million Books…………. 5
Bookseller Sues Putnam…………….. 5
SFWA to Expand Nebula Weekend……… 5
People & Publishing……………….. 7
Around the Bookstores……………… 7
Agent’s Corner, Richard Curtis……..9
Moons & Stars & Stuff, Fritz Leiber..11
Locus Looks at Books, Faren Miller…13
Locus Looks at More Books,
Debbie Notkin……………….. 15
Locus Looks at More Books, Dan Chow..17
1985 World Fantasy Convention Report.20
Canadian Literary Festival Features
SF: Two Reports………………27
Along Publishers Row………………30
Magazines Received— November……… 33
Books Received— November…………. 35
Classified A ds…………………… 44
Bestseller Lists…………………. 48
Obituaries: Robert Graves, Walter B.
Gibson, Thomas Hector Martin,
Emmett Quinton, Peter W e i n…. 49
LOCus Letters……………………..49
SFWA Fall Reception………………. 51
Locus 1985 Index…………………. 52
ISSUE #300 • VOL 19, NO. 1 • JANUARY 1986 Mailing date: December 27,1985
ISSN-0047-4959
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Charles N. Brown
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Faren Miller
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Donna Burriston
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Carolyn F. Cushman
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Norman Spinrad
Richard Curtis
Fritz Leiber
Debbie Notkin
Dan Chow
Locus, ISSN-0047-4959, The Newspaper of the
Science Fiction Field, is published monthly by LOCUS
PUBLICATIONS. Editorial address: 34 Ridgewood
Lane, Oakland, CA 94611; telephone (415) 339-9196.
Please send all mail to Locus Publications, P.O. Box
13305, Oakland, CA 94661.
Individual copies are $2.50. Individual subscriptions in
the U.S. are $24.00 for 12 issues, $45.00 for 24 issues
via second class mail. Individual subscriptions in
Canada are $27.00 for 12 issues, $51.00 for 24 issues
via second class mail. First class individual subscriptions
in the U.S. or Canada are $32.00 for 12 issues,
$61.00 for 24 issues. Individual overseas subscriptions
are $27.00 for 12 issues, $51.00 for 24 issues via
sea mail. Individual subscriptions to Europe or South
America via air mail are $45.00 for 12 issues, $85.00
for 24 issues. Individual subscriptions to Australia,
Asia, or Africa via air mail are $50.00 for 12 issues,
$95.00 for 24 issues. Institutional subscriptions are
$3.00 extra per year. Make all checks payable to
Locus Publications. All subscriptions, including
Canadian, are payable directly in U.S. funds only. When
converting from second class to first class delivery,
please convert all remaining issues on your present
subscription (75c per issue). The number after your
name on the mailing label is that of the last issue on
your present subscription. We do not send notices
when subscriptions are about to expire. If you change
your address, please notify us immediately. Second
class mail is not usually forwarded. It is either returned
or destroyed. We subtract one issue from your subscription
for each returned copy. We keep expired
addresses on file for one year, so tell us if your
subscription is a renewal or completely new.
British Subscription Agent:
Fantast (Medway) Ltd.
P.O. Box 23, Upwell
Wisbech, CAMBS PE14 9BU
Japanese Subscription Agent:
Takumi Shibano
700 Ninomiya Ninomiya-machi
Naka-gun Kanagawa-ken
259-01 Japan
Subscriptions accepted at current exchange rate.
Display advertising rates on request. Contact Donna
Burriston at (415) 339-3182.
Booksellers discounts available.
We take no responsibility for unsolicited submissions.
Contents copyright © 1986 by Locus Publications.
Second class postage paid at Oakland, California.
Postmaster: Send address changes to Locus Publications,
P.O. Box 13305, Oakland, CA 94661.
A ce…………………………….10,47
Atlantic Monthly…………………. 12
Baen…………………………….8,39
Bantam. ……………………… 6,18,19
Berkley……………………………16
Blue jay……………………………14
Classified Ads…………………….44
Del Rey……………………………25
Drood Review……………………… 43
The January Issue is our most confusing
in terms of timing. Although it
has a 1986 date, it appears Christmas
week and is actually written the first
week in December. This issue is going
to come out later than usual because
our printer is closed the week before
Christmas. We plan to mail on December
27th. It’s also the worst time during
the year to mail, so expect delays in
delivery.
This is our 300th regular issue.
(Nitpickers will of course remember
there were two trial issues before #1,
and a special unnumbered Markets issue
for SFWA members.) I had originally
planned a look back at the beginning of
L o c u s , a summing up, and a look to the
future. Unfortunately, it didn’t get
written. The magazine takes five weeks
to produce now, and I find myself with
less and less time to actually write.
I could wax nostalgic about the old
mimeographed magazine from 1968 to
1974, where it was written on Friday
night and Saturday morning, stenciled
on Saturday afternoon, mimeographed on
Saturday evening, collated on Sunday
afternoon, and mailed that evening.
Whenever the nostalgia gets to be overwhelming,
I go back and actually read
some of them. That cures me. I think
Locus has improved every year and will
continue to do so. Ten years from now,
I expect to look back on these issues,
which I find completely satisfactory
right now, and wince.
PRINTING PROBLEMS
I can wince a bit just looking back
on last issue. The printing was certainly
not up to par. The half tone
reproductions were just awful. We
complained, but got very little satisfaction.
W e ’re currently negotiating
for a new printing contract. Apparently,
we’ve proven to be unprofitable
for our printer and have been relegated
to the back burner and poorer work even
though there are three issues to go on
our p resent contract. We can’t do
anything about moving this issue, but
will probably have to figure something
out for February. Consequently, the
issue may be delayed. We have to juggle
cost, delivery time, and quality.
One is easy, two more difficult, and
three nearly impossible.
Fantasy Centre….. ……………… 40
Harmony……….. ……………….. 38
Mayfair Games……………………. 41
Playboy………………………….. 37
Questar………………………….. 34
Scream/Press………………………36
Science Fiction Shop………………35
Silcon On e ……………………….. 42
Tor ………………… 2,22,28,29,55,56
NEXT ISSUE
February is our month for looking
back on last year. It will have our
recommended reading lists, our year-end
summaries, our statistical analyses,
and the Locus Poll and Survey form. We
would appreciate any comments on changing
the categories or questions. R e member
though, most people won’t answer
questions which are too personal or
take more than a few moments to answer.
For ease of counting, we need check-off
type answers.
A LOCUS BOOK
We plan to produce a reference book
in the next few months and could use
some h e l p from any ni t p i c k e r s out
there. The book will be THE LOCUS
SCIENCE FICTION YEARBOOK: 1985. It
will include the complete listings of
books for the year in one alphabetical
list, plus breakdowns of 1985 original
books by category — novel, collection,
anthology, etc. It will also have a
complete list of the magazines and
anthologies with their contents, an
alphabetical list of all short fiction
published during 1985, our statistical
analyses and recommendations for the
year, and anything else we can fit in.
All the book material is from our computer
disks of the “Books Received”
column, and we need any corrections or
additions you can think of. The book
will be hardcover, 8 1/2″ x 11″, about
200 pages, two column, and run out on a
laser printer. It will sell for about
$20.00. It will be proofread as soon
as the February issue (which comes out
in January and lists material from
December) is finished, and will be
printed in March. I’ll be editing the
novel sections, and Bill Contento (who
wrote the programs which made it possible)
will be editing the short fiction
sections. Again, please help us with
any corrections or suggestions.
WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION
The World Fantasy Convention in Tucson
was, as usual, an enjoyable affair,
with a lot of serious professional work
accomplished. Also as usual, there
were more professional writers, e ditors,
agents, etc., there than anywhere
outside an East Coast world convention.
(Continued on page 51)
LOCUS January 1986 / 3
THE NEWSPAPER OF THE SCIENCE FICTION FIELD
