The INTERZONE Newsletter // 27 September 2023

News of an award, a drive for IZ subscribers, Ashley Stokes and Carly A-F at the End of the World, and a potential crime

British Fantasy Award

The good news first: Interzone won the British Fantasy Award for best periodical! Andy Cox and the team at TTA Press edited and published 100 issues of IZ and I am overjoyed that Andy’s final issue, his final year, took home the prize. Thank you to the jury, and thank you to Interzone readers and supporters!

Also, if you don’t already know them, check out the other shortlisted zines as they are all great: Shoreline of Infinity, Ginger Nuts of Horror, and Strange Horizons.

You can still find some issues of Interzone at the TTA Press shop, including IZ 292/293. Many of the Andy Cox-edited Interzone issues are also available as ebooks directly from TTA Press or at Weightless Books.

Congratulations also to Roy Gray of TTA Press for winning an award of his own at Fantasycon. Roy has done an enormous amount of work promoting Interzone and it was wonderful to see his work receive recognition.

Subscribe, Support, Share

Back in July I sent an email to Interzone subscribers and asked for help getting IZ 295 out into the world. Finances were (and are) tough.

The response from Interzone readers was staggering. It made a huge difference.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who sent in donations and kind words via the IZ Digital Ko-fi. It all helped. Especially the messages.

Here is a selection:

• Happy to help support the fine work of Interzone. Best wishes!

• Hoping you can weather the storm and come out stronger than ever! ❤️

• Let us keep IZ afloat !!!

• Great stories and wonderful art. Got to support this. Thanks for keeping IZ running.

• I’ve loved Interzone for a long time, and I hope you can keep it going as long as possible.

• Best of luck with getting through the slow down!

All of you are amazing. Thank you.

Interzone lost around 20% of its subscribers when IZ 295 went out, although ‘lost’ is not quite the right word. A lot of TTA Press subscriptions came to an end with that issue.

Resubscriptions are coming in, slowly.

I am also seeing many new subscribers (around two new subscription for every one resubscription, currently) and I am very confident about the future of Interzone.

It is tough, though, and if you would like to support Interzone, if you would like to see Interzone published more regularly, the best way to do that is to start, renew, or extend your subscription early, or to send a one-off donation via the IZ Digital Ko-fi, or to share the Interzone homepage link wherever you are on social media and tell people how much you love IZ!

IZ 296 is another massive, brilliant issue. I don’t have a release date yet, but I’m hoping it won’t be long…

It features fiction by Jon Lasser, Tom Gammarino, Alexander Glass, Chana Porter, Alex Penland, Hesper Leveret, Rachael Cupp, Marie Brennan, Taylor Rae, and Dante Luiz.

The cover art is by Sloane Leong, who also has a story, ‘With the Blade as Witness’, in the issue.

End the Year on a High Note

Coming to IZ Digital at the end of the year, on 31 December, is ‘End-of-the-World Lovesick Blues’, a story by Ashley Stokes featuring bunkers, cocktails, jazz, and all sorts of excellent weirdness.

‘End-of-the-World Lovesick Blues’ will be illustrated by the phenomenal Carly A-F and I can’t wait to show you what Ashley and Carly have created at the close of 2023.

In the meantime, take a look at Gigantic by Ashley Stokes (available from Abebooks) because it is the best Sutton-based quest for a giant sasquatch you’ll read this year, or next. FACT.

Also coming to IZ Digital between now and the end of the year are stories by Dale Smith, Fábio Fernandes, Kate Orman, and Lisa Goldstein. Add the IZ Digital RSS feed to your news aggregator of choice and never miss a new story, review, or interview.

Crimes, Not Necessarily of the Future

If you’d be interested in reading (or writing for) a new crime short fiction print zine – the same format as Interzone, with illustrations, but biannual, black and white throughout, and around ~330pp an issue – pop over to this form and add your email address. When I know more, I’ll send you an email. Thanks!

That’s it. Nothing else today. Thank you very much for reading!

Very best,

Gareth Jelley, Editor & Publisher
Interzone & IZ Digital

‘ “And then I knew,” Gerin Reed said with a show of wonder on his face, “that not only can we see but we can also change. We are not trapped or locked up in these bones. No, no. We are free to change. And love changes us. And if we can love one another, we can break open the sky.” ’

— Walter Mosley, Blue Light

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