Year's Best Science Fiction - Second Annual Collection - 1985 - Featuring the work of William Gibson, Octavia Butler, Robert Silverberg, Fredrick Pohl and Tanith Lee

In spite of its ominous literary associations, 1984 proved to be a rather quiet year for SF. There were no major scandals like 1983’s infamous Great Timescape Fiasco, no SF lines driven into oblivion by corporate greed and shortsightedness, no major editorial shakeups … but if you looked closely enough, in the right places, you could see the foundations of the genre’s future for the next decade or so being quietly laid down.

  • from the introduction by Dozios

Alternative formats available here

Arotrios,
Arotrios avatar

Ok, before anyone asks me, this was the Great Timescape Fiasco:

The most controversial event of the year was undoubtedly the Great Timescape Fiasco, a convoluted affair of almost Byzantine complexity. To simplify: David Hartwell, director of science fiction at Pocket Books’ Timescape line (and probably the premier SF book editor of the seventies), was terminated by Pocket Books in June. (Pocket Books president Ron Busch claimed that the Timescape line was failing to make money; Hartwell denied the charge, citing instead “creative methods of accounting,” according to Science Fiction Chronicle.) But instead of replacing Hartwell with another in-house SF editor, as expected, Pocket Books announced that editorial control of SF at Pocket would be turned over to the Scott Meredith Literary Agency, which would package a new SF line called Starscope Books for them. The reaction from the SF world—and the publishing industry in general—was immediate and almost universally negative; intensely negative, in fact. Phrases like “conflict of interest” and “in restraint of trade” were bandied about, lawsuits threatened by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and by several prominent literary agents, and articles discussing the controversy appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, and elsewhere. Ultimately, the plan failed, with the Scott Meredith Agency backing out of it in late June, although representatives of both Pocket Books and the Meredith Agency denied that the widespread protest and media pressure—primarily orchestrated by SFWA—had anything to do with the disintegration of the plan. Later in the year, Jim Baen left the editorship of Tor Books to form a company of his own, Baen Enterprises, Inc., and Pocket Books announced that Baen Enterprises would package a new SF line for them, tentatively named Baen Books. Later details showed that all editorial work would be done by Baen Enterprises, who would also control cover art, cover copy, advertising and promotion, limiting Pocket Books’ role to that of distributor. At year’s end, the contract for this deal had not yet been signed, but Baen Enterprises has announced plans to publish as Baen Books a total of 48 to 60 mass-market SF and fantasy titles per year, plus 20 trade paperback/hardcover SF and fantasy titles, and a line of computer book titles.

As an ironic coda, David Hartwell—in addition to Terry Carr and Ben Bova—has begun acting as a “freelance acquisitions editor” for Tor Books.

And that completely fills my scifi writer drama of yesteryear quota for the day. I have to admit, I was disappointed it didn't involve a time paradox, or at least some shenanigans in the Tardis...

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • 13thFloor
  • ngwrru68w68
  • rosin
  • GTA5RPClips
  • osvaldo12
  • love
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • khanakhh
  • everett
  • kavyap
  • mdbf
  • DreamBathrooms
  • thenastyranch
  • magazineikmin
  • anitta
  • InstantRegret
  • normalnudes
  • tacticalgear
  • cubers
  • ethstaker
  • modclub
  • cisconetworking
  • Durango
  • provamag3
  • tester
  • Leos
  • megavids
  • JUstTest
  • All magazines