Hi folks, John Harlacher here – the new publisher of Weird Tales.

So here’s what’s going on:

The first Weird Tales issue by our company, Nth Dimension media, has gone to press, and will be in your mailboxes by the end of February. It’s edited by Ann VanderMeer, has art direction by Stephen H. Segal, and is quite beautiful. Here’s the cover.

Stephen worked with our artist, Dave Buchwald (known in the graphic design world for creating the covers of 2600 Magazine), to create this cover, and we think it represents a style we will use for the near future. It features the new/old logo, an intriguing symbol by Jeff Wong (www.JeffWong.com), and a stunning piece of art by Aurielien Police.  The layout achieved what was most important to me – an emphasis on art, while keeping the writer in the forefront.

Did your subscription lapse? Well, you will not escape this issue. As a thank you to our passionate supporters, we are extending everyone’s subscription for TWO issues. So watch your mailbox, and let me know what you think.

I’d like to say a enormous thank you to Ann, Stephen, Paula and John and Carla from Wildeside for their help during this transition, and for taking this magazine as far as they did. I am very grateful that Ann is staying on as a contributing editor, and Stephen and John have made themselves available as consultants.

Now we must take the next step.

I’ll be responding to comments, so comment away, and check this space for more updates in the next few days.

Weird Tales, America’s first and foremost magazine of gothic fantasy, science fiction and horror, has been purchased by Nth Dimension Media, Inc., co-founded by veteran writer and science fiction book anthologist Marvin Kaye and director/producer John Harlacher.

Kaye is the latest in a series of distinguished editors who have guided “The Unique Magazine” through nearly nine decades. Under the direction of current editor-in-chief Ann VanderMeer the publication earned a Hugo Award, the most prestigious honor in the sci-fi world.

Publisher Harlacher plans to have VanderMeer edit one final issue before turning over the reins to Kaye in early 2012. Kaye says he is “interested in continuing and expanding the splendid work” of VanderMeer. “When I take over the helm,” he adds, “I hope Ann will continue her involvement as a consulting and contributing editor.”

Kaye describes his own vision for Weird Tales as “Janus-faced,” honoring the long history of the publication while continuing its legacy of discovering new and unusual fiction. Content will feature works of well-known, midlist and new writers, and a few reprints of classic stories.

Beginning in February 2012 each issue will have a theme, though Kaye states, “the usual assortment of stories and poetry will be included along with tales that fit the governing conceit.”

The new Weird Tales will be open to nearly all sorts of genre fiction, including absurdist humor, fantasy, horror, mystery and surrealism. “The only kind of story that probably won’t fit would be neo-realism,” says Kaye, “though even there I’m willing to be convinced otherwise.”

Kaye, the author of sixteen novels and editor of over 30 genre fiction anthologies, has a long personal history with Weird Tales. Fascinated by the “creepy-looking” magazine that his sister Dorothy brought into their Philadelphia home, he was an avid fan by the age of nine. He edited two anthologies celebrating the magazine’s distinctive brand of fiction: “Weird Tales: the Magazine That Never Dies,” published in 1988, and “The Best of Weird Tales: 1923,” published in 1997. Kaye also edited H.P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror, which will remain an ongoing portion of Weird Tales.

No novice to the world of fantasy and horror, Harlacher is the co-director of “Nightmare,” an interactive theatre experience widely recognized as New York’s most horrifying haunted house. This year’s motif, a creepy rendition of familiar fairy tales, has been described by Fangoria horror magazine as “entirely spooky and full of nasty, nasty fun…imaginative, and yes, hilarious and repulsive.”

Weird Tales was launched in 1923 as a showcase for writers of speculative and alternative fiction – in other words, stories that were too bizarre to be published anywhere else. It launched the careers of such authors as H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Robert E. Howard; even Tennessee Williams made his first sale to Weird Tales. The original magazine folded in 1954, but resurfaced over the years in the form of reprint anthologies, original magazines and paperback editions. Weird Tales has been printed regularly since 1988, when it was resurrected by editor-publishers John Gregory Betancourt, Darrell Schweitzer and George H. Scithers.

For more information, contact Terry Kaye at (818) 694-3016 or weirdtalespr(at)gmail(dot)com.

Like Ann, I am no longer a member of the Weird Tales staff. (I was the nonfiction editor and the webmaster.) Unlike her, my tenure did not last as long nor did I have much influence on the magazine. In other ways, though, since I worked for Wildside and with Stephen Segal during her tenure (and even before), I’ve felt like a member of the Weird Tales team — in a minor unofficial way — for just as long.

I also helped with tables selling WT at many conventions over the last few years. I was privileged to meet some contributors and talk to many readers and subscribers. “I can’t afford them all,” a customer might say, looking at the array of eye-catching Segal-designed covers. “Which do you recommend?” Or “Really, should I subscribe? Small press is so…iffy…but…” Or we might just chat about Weird Talesoverall.

I also got to hear, firsthand, how delighted folks were with the new look, the new approach to “weird”, the whole “coolth” exuded by the most recent incarnation of the magazine. I know there were those who wanted the old “red W logo” and the older style of fiction…but enthusiasm is all I ever heard directly from readers. I recall one dealer complaining the new issues did not sell as well as the “red W logo”; it seems the collectors didn’t want them. Well, wahoo! Who wants to be collected? No publication’s value should gauged by the numbers of copies being slid, unopened, into a protective Mylar bag in hopes of accruing worth. The value of Weird Tales came from being read and enjoyed and influencing the genre. Under Ann and Stephen, it did just that.

I am a huge fan of the original pulp version of Weird Tales. Its true value came from being read and enjoyed and and not only influencing the genre, but creating several genres. What we all owe Farnsworth Wright who published H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E, Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, Seabury Quinn, and others is incalculable. Dorothy McIlwraith published the “young guns” of the day, including Ray Bradbury, Manly Wade Wellman, Fritz Leiber, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, and Theodore Sturgeon.

Another innovation for a pulp magazine was WT‘s use of interior graphic art and atention to design. (This tradition was renewed and refreshed by Stephen and then continued by Mary Robinette Kowal.) The pulps as a whole paid little attention to illustration, but beginning in 1926, artists like Hugh Rankin, Vincent Napoli, Harold DeLay, the incredible Virgil Finlay, Hannes Bok, Harry Ferman, and Boris Dolgrov create indelibly weird images. Farnsworth Wright created a unique interior design for “the unique magazine” in a an era when layout (I think it was called “make-up”) of such a magazine was rarely considered.

And then there was the cover art—most memorably that of Margaret Brundage. When I was assigned to do an article on her for the “Uncanny Beauty” issue, I felt I made a discovery. Outside of my personal feelings about her art, it seems everything ever written about Brundage’s work was written by guys (yup, all males) viewing it through eyes clouded by youthful libidos and/or later prejudices both good and bad. Looking back at all of her covers, I felt I found a new way to appreciate her work. (You can download a PDF of that article, if you wish. Sorry, I think this version is minus proofreading, so forgive the errors!)

Just as with the stories, not all of the illustrations or covers were great. Some were downright bad, of course. But what we remember in the end is the good stuff. And that’s what I will remember about my small role in the ongoing history of Weird Tales—the good stuff. (And if you’d like to know more about the past history of WT, read Robert Weinberg’s The Weird Tales Story.

For the present history, thanks must go to to John Betancourt of Wildside who revived the magazine with George H. Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer in 1988, then re-revived it in 2005. Without his love of WT , his investment in it, and support of Stephen and Ann, there would never have been the chance to make it into the magazine it became.

As for myself, like Ann, I’ll still be involved in the weird in a variety of ways. One project of particular interest to you may be a forthcoming anthology: New Cthulhu: The Recent Weird. It presents some of the best of twenty-first century Lovecraftian fiction. (It’s dedicated to Ann, by the way.)

Meanwhile, I look forward to the eventual publication of the last issue we put together—the book reviews may be a bit outdated, but, oh well—and offer my best wishes and hopes for success to Marvin Kaye and his partner. Marvin Kaye loves Weird Tales and I’m sure he will serve it well in his own fashion, just as we’ve all tried to do in ours.

If you are interested in keeping up with future weirdness from me, check the Prime Books site and sign up for the mailing list, RSS, and Twitter feed there.

Paula Guran

First I’d like to say many thanks to everyone for their encouragement and good wishes. I must say that your kindness has really touched me. And the outpouring of support bodes very well for the continued creation and love of weird fiction.

I have had very positive meetings with the new publishers of Weird Tales and I have good expectations for the future of the magazine. I am happy to announce that Issue #359, (with fiction from Conrad Williams, Joel Lane, Tamsyn Muir, Tom Underberg, Leena Likitalo, Stephen Graham Jones and Evan Peterson – and an interview with & artwork from Richard A. Kirk), will be published; however there are no firm dates yet. And I plan on adding my own editorial to welcome the new editors. We continue to talk and spectacular things are sure to come out of these discussions – this can only be good for the Weird Tales audience and community.

Again, many thanks. Please stay tuned for more news soon.

We’re in the middle of yet another heat wave and things are heating up at Weird Tales as well. Our latest issue #358 (which I fondly call the Weird Tales Goes to Hell issue and therefore appropriate for this weather) is finally out in the world and subscribers are receiving their copies. Contributors will receive theirs soon as I expect a shipment to arrive this coming week. I’ll mail them out as soon as possible.

It’s been a very busy summer here in Weird-land. I just got back from a short mini-tour plus a week of teaching at Shared Worlds (the teen writing camp). The students are all fans of Weird Tales (naturally) and just might be the next generation of weird writers! Jeff and I also had a few book events to celebrate The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities. Putting the final touches on The Weird anthology (more news on that later), which will be released in October. And on Sunday, August 21 we’re planning a big Cabinet/Steampunk/Weird extravaganza here in Tallahassee with guest artist Carrie Ann Baade. So if you live in or near Tallahassee, please come join in the festivities! (Ray’s Steel City downstairs from 4-7pm).

No one should be surprised that we’re behind in our reading. So very sorry about that. This is one of the reasons we allow simultaneous submissions. We want to make sure that each story is given the attention it deserves and be fair to the writers. Sometimes this means you might wait longer than 8 weeks…we just had no idea the number of stories submitted would be so high. Thanks so much for your continued patience.

And speaking of submissions, we’re closing on September 1, 2011 to avoid an overstock situation (but will re-open January 1). So please get your submissions in before then. The portal will close on that day.

Thanks for keeping it Weird!