Weird Tales publisher John Gregory Betancourt announced the selection of Ann VanderMeer as the magazine’s new fiction editor. VanderMeer will take over Weird Tales with the October 2007 issue #347.
“We’re thrilled to have Ann working on Weird Tales,” said Betancourt. “Her work on Prime Books’ new Best American Fantasy anthology is exciting and provocative, and we can’t wait to see what she’ll surprise us with in the magazine.”
Ann VanderMeer was the founding editor of the surrealist fiction magazine The Silver Web (1988-2002), and has been a publisher and editor for over twenty years, running her award-winning Buzzcity Press. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year’s best anthologies. In addition, she has been a partner with her husband, Jeff VanderMeer, on such editing projects as the World Fantasy Award-winning Leviathan series and the Hugo finalist The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases. A Best of the Silver Web is forthcoming from Prime Books. Currently, she is serving as one of the guest editors for the new Best American Fantasy, and is co-editing anthologies including The New Weird (Tachyon Publications), Fast Ships, Black Sails (Nightshade Books), Last Drink Bird Head, and Love-Drunk Book Heads.
“I am very honored and excited to be the newest member of the Weird Tales team,” said VanderMeer. “I’m inspired by all the extraordinary work I see being created today and can’t wait to bring a diversity of experience to the Weird Tales audience.”
The current Weird Tales editorial trio — George H. Scithers, Darrell Schweitzer, and Wildside Press publisher Betancourt — will assume modified roles at the magazine. Betancourt continues to oversee the entire Wildside magazine group as publisher; Scithers has been promoted to editor emeritus in charge of special projects, and is editing Wildside Press’ forthcoming Cat Tales series; and Schweitzer will be regularly bylining as a senior contributing editor for nonfiction.
Creative director Stephen H. Segal will serve as interim editorial director for issues #344-#346, and will then continue to serve as Weird Tales‘ nonfiction editor.
Weird Tales, the world’s first fantasy fiction magazine, will celebrate the 85th anniversary of its founding in early 2008 (as well as the 20th anniversary of its modern-day incarnation).