Apex Book Company

I want to begin this editorial by thanking Jason Sizemore, the publisher of Apex Magazine, for inviting me to serve as the guest editor for this issue.

Having the opportunity to edit an issue of Apex means a lot. Jason trusted me to put together an issue that would meet with both his standards and the standards of his many readers. I’m hoping you’ll agree that I succeeded – or, at least, that I did nothing to bring shame and disgrace unto the good name of Apex.

As we mentioned when we announced the special issue earlier this year, the theme of the issue is memory or, more specifically, the slipperiness of history and the dangers of forgetting the past.

The issue starts with a reprint that means a lot to me: Jeffery D. Kooistra’s “Love, Dad.” This story originally appeared in the March 1992 issue of Analog, and it won the reader’s poll for the best short story published by Analog that year. On the surface, the story is perhaps more hopeful and not as dark as Apex readers might be used to. But when I read the story, I was a recent college graduate who had just lost my father less then two years before. I think after reading it, you’ll understand why I felt it fitted the theme and why I chose it to kick off this issue.

The two new stories I selected explore personal interests of my own. Jamie Todd Rubin’s story, “Hindsight, in Neon,” offers a bleak perspective on the world we imagined and the world we’re getting, a theme I also examined in the title story of my collection I Remember the Future. Barbara Krasnoff’s Holocaust story, “Waiting for Jakie,” shows how memories of the past can haunt the present, a theme I presented in my own Holocaust story, “Kaddish for the Last Survivor.” I think you’ll find them both worthy of inclusion in Apex.

I was pleased that Jason also allowed me to publish two science fiction poems in this special issue of Apex. Although I myself am not a poet, I am a lifetime member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association and consider myself a patron of the art form. Michael Ceraolo’s “Message in a Bottle” and Elizabeth Barrette’s “Fallen Gardens” both moved me, and if I say anything more I fear I will ruin your own enjoyment of them.

An issue of Apex wouldn’t be complete without some interviews, and I’m pleased that this issue includes interviews with Paul Jessup and Ekaterina Sedia. I’m even more pleased that Jason took care of the logistics of getting the interviews.

I’d like to end this editorial by going back to the start, which in this case is the cover of the magazine. The subscribers of the PDF are in for a real treat. Artist Stephen Rider has done an admirable job of capturing the essence of Jamie Todd Rubin’s main character from “The Last Science Fiction Writer.” I think you’ll agree that the art adds an extra dimension to appreciating the story. And if you’re reading this issue online, perhaps you’ll be intrigued enough to buy a PDF copy of this month’s issue just to see what I mean.

Welcome to this special issue of Apex Magazine.

Michael A. Burstein won the 1997 Campbell Award. His short fiction, mostly in Analog, has been nominated for ten Hugos and three Nebulas. He and wife Nomi live in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he is a Library Trustee and Town Meeting Member. He has two physics degrees, and attended Clarion. See http://www.mabfan.com.

In November, 2008, Apex Publications released Michael’s first collection of stories titled I Rememeber the Future: The Award-Nominated Stories of Michael A. Burstein.

Photo credit: Nomi S. Burstein