Dell Magazines announced the retirement today of Stanley Schmidt, Editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, America’s longest-running science fiction magazine, since 1978. Schmidt will be succeeded by Trevor Quachri, Analog‘s current Managing Editor.

Commenting on his retirement, Schmidt said: “I have now been editor of Analog for 34 years, tying or (depending on how you count) slightly exceeding the previous longest-tenure record of John W. Campbell. I still enjoy it thoroughly, but am leaving to pursue a wide range of other interests. Two of the most important of these are doing more of my own writing, and reading Analog purely for the enjoyment of it, which I expect to remain at a high level under Trevor Quachri’s direction.”

“Under Stan’s editorship, Analog reached its highest circulation and remains America’s best-selling science fiction magazine,” said Peter Kanter, President of Dell Magazines. “We are grateful for his distinguished service with Dell Magazines, and will continue to benefit from his counsel and experience as we move forward. Besides being a fine editor, Stan is a nice guy and a true gentleman, and I will miss seeing him in the office.”

Schmidt’s editorship influenced Michael F. Flynn, Jerry Oltion, Timothy Zahn, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, Harry Turtledove, and Geoffrey A. Landis, all of whom made their first appearances in his magazine. Other authors who became regular and major contributors on his watch include Catherine Asaro, Robert J. Sawyer, Adam-Troy Castro, Lois McMaster Bujold, Allen M. Steele, Jack McDevitt, and Joan Slonczewski.

“Stan loves Analog and won’t be leaving it entirely,” said Christine Begley, VP of Editorial & Product Development for Dell Magazines. “He will continue to be available to Trevor as Science Advisor. Trevor has learned a lot from Stan over the past 13 years, and made connections with many authors. He also brings to the job a lifelong passion for science fiction.”

A true Renaissance man—editor, writer, physicist, astronomer, musician, and linguist—Schmidt and his wife Joyce are relocating to the mountains of western North Carolina where they plan to enjoy one of the most scenic hiking areas in the country.

A publishing industry veteran, Quachri has been the Managing Editor of both Analog Science Fiction and Fact and Asimov’s Science Fiction for the past two years. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations of those magazines, he’s written for the web, collected scientific data for museums, and helped produce the pilot for a television show. He’s looking forward to continuing the tradition of publishing ground-breaking hard science fiction in Analog.