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} }) </script> </div> </form> </fieldset> <article class="entryArticle content STeditorial"> <header class="entryHeader icon-publication"> <h1 class="entryTitle">Locus </h1> </header><p class='tagLine'>Entry updated 19 February 2024. Tagged: Fan, Publication.</p><div class="browsingBtns"> <span> <input class="button PNI previous" type="button" onclick="window.location.href='/next.php?id=p&entry=locus'" value="Prev" /> </span> <span> <input class="button PNI next" type="button" onclick="window.location.href='/next.php?&entry=locus'" value="Next" /> </span> <span> <input class="button PNI incoming" type="button" onclick="window.location.href='/incoming.php?entry=locus'" value="About This Entry" title="What links to the entry; contributor initials explained; how to cite; other information" /> </span> </div><p style='float:right; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:10px; position: relative; top: 3px;'> <a href='/gallery.php?id=Bisson-Tomorrowing.jpg' target='_blank'> <img src='https://x.sf-encyclopedia.com/gal/thumbs/Bisson-Tomorrowing.jpg' alt='pic'></a></p> <p>US <a href="/entry/semiprozine">Semiprozine</a> (1968-current), edited by Charles N <a href="/entry/brown_charles_n">Brown</a> (calling himself Charlie Brown in earlier days) until his death shortly after working on issue #582 (July 2009); further editorial staff provided support in the twenty-first century, with Jennifer A Hall and Kirsten Gong-Wong sharing credit for <i>Locus</i>'s Hugo wins in 2003 and 2004, and Kirsten Gong-Wong and Liza Groen Trombi from 2006; Trombi has been editor-in-chief since #583 (August 2009). Published by Locus Publications in Oakland, California, since the 1970s.</p> <p><i>Locus</i> was founded in New York by Brown with Ed Meskys and Dave Vanderwerf as a one-sheet news <a href="/entry/fanzine">Fanzine</a> or <a href="/entry/newszines">Newszine</a>; when Brown's partners dropped out, his then wife Marsha Brown joined him as co-editor. At that time the magazine appeared between fortnightly and monthly. Brown divorced, became sole editor, remarried in 1970, and his new wife Dena Brown became the new co-editor. <i>Locus</i> (and the Browns) moved to the San Francisco area in 1972, a year after winning the first of its many <a href="/entry/hugo">Hugos</a>.</p> <p>In 1976 Charles Brown gave up his job as an electrical engineer and began to edit <i>Locus</i> full-time (Dena Brown had worked full-time on it 1972-1975). He divorced again in 1977, and became sole editor; the magazine effectively became a semiprozine at this point, since Brown was attempting to earn a living from it alone; the first paid employee was hired in 1977. During the 1970s the newsletter became a monthly, increased in size, and began (from 1974) listing all sf books published in the USA. By 1980 the circulation had topped 5000, reaching 7000 in 1984. In 1983 it increased to 48pp an issue and switched to computer setting; it became fully desk-top published with laser typesetting from 1986. Photographic covers, usually of authors highlighted in <a href="/entry/interviews">Interviews</a>, have long been the norm.</p> <p>By the 1990s <i>Locus</i> (74pp as of June 1992 and varying between 70pp to 86pp more recently) had long been established as <i>the</i> trade newspaper of sf; its paid circulation has varied around 8,100-8,700 between 1988 and 1994, falling off slightly from the high of 1990. Its clear superiority over all other news magazines in the field has been confirmed by the astonishing number of <a href="/entry/hugo">Hugos</a> (29) it has received, beginning with eight for Best <a href="/entry/fanzine">Fanzine</a> to 1983, and a further 21 1984-2008 for Best <a href="/entry/semiprozine">Semiprozine</a>, winning consistently for the first nine years of the latter category's existence. The predictability of <i>Locus</i>'s annual Hugo, which had proved irritating to some in the sf world, proved illusory when <a href="/entry/science_fiction_chronicle">Science Fiction Chronicle</a> won in this category in 1993 and 1994, and voters subsequently turned to smaller fiction semiprozines in 2009-2011; however, <i>Locus</i> returned to win its thirtieth Hugo in 2012. Thereafter, a further rules change has excluded it from the Semiprozine category.</p> <p>Wholly professional in appearance, <i>Locus</i> excels in its news coverage (with regular columns from overseas, including the UK and much of Europe, Australia, Russia, China and occasionally various Latin American countries). Its book-review coverage is very ample, taking up a large proportion of the magazine. Brown's policy of not printing strongly adverse reviews, while understandable in view of the magazine's reliance on the book trade for advertising, is unfortunate. The policy matters less in practice than in theory, since most reviews are intelligent and well informed, although some readers find them somewhat bland overall. Nonetheless, <i>Locus</i> is indispensable for professionals in the sf field, and was one of the most important references used in the compilation of this encyclopedia. <i>Locus</i> polls its readers annually about their favourites in different categories of sf publishing, and there is a case for arguing that the <a href="/entry/locus_award">Locus Awards</a> are more securely based across the sf readership than are the more celebrated <a href="/entry/hugo">Hugos</a>. <i>Locus</i> also surveys annually its subscribers' ages, occupations, reading habits, etc. Locus Publications publishes books and digital media (for further details of which, see Charles N <a href="/entry/brown_charles_n">Brown</a> and William <a href="/entry/contento_william_g">Contento</a>).</p> <p>Its online presence <i>Locus Online</i> was launched in April 1997 [see links below]. The current website, run by "Electronic Editor-in-Chief" Mark R Kelly, not only offers summaries of breaking news, blog commentary and links to notable sf developments on the web, but hosts various resources including the cumulative Locus Index to Science Fiction and the invaluable Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards. The latter, often more up-to-date than <a href="/entry/awards">Awards</a>' own official websites, was completely redesigned as the Science Fiction Awards Database in 2012. Though the print edition continues, <i>Locus</i> began digital publication of its full content from #600 (January 2011), with various ebook formats available to subscribers. The magazine is now owned by a nonprofit organization, the Locus Science Fiction Foundation. [PN/DRL]</p> <p><b>see also:</b> <a href="/entry/longevity_in_publications">Longevity in Publications</a>.</p> <p><b>links</b></p> <ul class="x"> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.locusmag.com/"><em>Locus Online</em></a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.locusmag.com/index/">Locus Index to Science Fiction</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.sfadb.com/">Science Fiction Awards Database</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.lsff.net/">Locus Science Fiction Foundation</a></li> </ul> <p><b>previous versions of this entry</b></p> <ul><li><a href='https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/locus' target='_blank'>Internet Archive</a></li></ul><br /><br /></article></div> <div class="sideBarsWrapper"> <div class="sideBarsColsWrapper clearfix"> <div class="column sideBar12 clearfix"> <div class="columnForm"><aside id="blogFeed" class="widget"> <div class="content STeditorial clearfix"> <h2>Recently visited entries<span style="background:url(/images/thingSFE2.png) !important"></span></h2><ul style='width: 50%; 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