Future Science Fiction and Science Fiction Stories

Both publications were edited by Charles Hornig for the first few issues; Robert W. Lowndes took over in late 1941 and remained editor until the end.

Lowndes spent much effort to set a friendly and engaging tone in both magazines, with letter columns and reader departments that interested fans.

In October 1940, Hornig received his military draft notice; he was a pacifist, and decided to move to California and register as a conscientious objector.

Silberkleit allowed Hornig to retain his post as editor of Science Fiction, and offered the editorship of the other two titles to Sam Moskowitz.

[2][3][8] Moskowitz declined, saying afterwards "I would never strike at a man's job",[10][notes 1] but Donald Wollheim heard of the offer and prompted Robert W. Lowndes to write to Silberkleit.

Lowndes later recalled Wollheim's idea: "In the letter, I'd suggest that it might be a good idea to add a science fiction title to the list, offering my services as editor at a slightly lower price than Hornig was being paid, and also find fault with all the other sf titles presently out, but particularly with Hornig's".

[8][11] Lowndes relates that Silberkleit took the bait and hired him in November 1940; Hornig recalls the separation as being by mutual consent because of his move to California.

[3][14] He completed the preparations for the last issue of Science Fiction, dated September 1941, but he used material that Hornig had already selected for the magazine, with minor exceptions.

[17] The final two issues of the combined magazine, dated April and June 1943, were, confusingly, titled Science Fiction Stories;[17] this was an attempt to improve sales by reminding readers of Science Fiction, but before sales figures could be tallied to determine the impact of the title change, Silberkleit made the decision to cease publication.

[18] The June 1943 issue was the last for some years: Silberkleit was forced to cut some of his titles because of wartime paper shortages, and he decided to retain his western and detective magazines instead.

[20] In the summer of 1953, with Future still in pulp format, Silberkleit issued a single digest-sized magazine with no number and no date, under the title Science Fiction Stories.

The first issue in the new format was dated January 1955, and in response to reader feedback the title was changed to Science Fiction Stories.

Science Fiction Stories was bimonthly throughout, except for a brief period from mid-1958 to early 1959 when it patchily adhered to a monthly schedule.

Lowndes addressed the confusion in the letter column of Science Fiction Stories, saying[24] I am often asked whether Future SF October 1954 Volume 5 Number 3 should be followed by Volume 5 Number 4 (Science Fiction Stories January 1955) or by Future SF No.

with the utmost aplomb, should be confused.In 1960 Silberkleit's distributor stopped carrying his magazines, and both titles ceased publication, with no notice given in their final issues that this was the end.

[2][32] The magazines paid on publication, rather than acceptance, and this slower payment also discouraged some authors from submitting material.

[36] He also bought work by some of the women writers active in the 1950s, including several early stories by Carol Emshwiller.

[27] Lowndes knew many successful writers in the field, and was able to call on them for stories, but the expanding sf magazine market of the mid-1950s meant that the best material was spread thinly.

[37] To attract readers, Lowndes established a friendly and personal style for the magazine, with letter columns and departments aimed at science fiction fans.

[27][37] Blish, writing as William Atheling, Jr., commented in 1953 that Lowndes was doing a "surprisingly good job" with Future, despite the low rates and the slow payment to authors.

[35] During the period when Science Fiction Stories was monthly, it carried serialized novels, including de Camp's The Tower of Zanid and Ward Moore and Robert Bradford's Caduceus Wild.

[27] Some well-received stories did appear in Future towards the end of the decade, including "Vulcan's Hammer", an early novella version of Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name; Clifford D. Simak's "Worlds Without End"; and Judith Merril's "Homecalling", reprinted in the 1960s in SF Impulse, whose editor, Kyril Bonfiglioli, commented "I don't believe I have ever read a more successful attempt to imagine an utterly alien way of thought.

"[39] Lowndes did what he could to provide interesting non-fiction departments: a book review column was started in the early 1950s, and the end of the decade saw a series of science articles written by Isaac Asimov, and critical articles on science fiction history, written by Lowndes himself.

[27] The budget for both magazines, never very great, shrank even further towards the end, so that Lowndes had to fill space with reprints and re-use old illustrations to avoid paying for new stories and artwork.

Strato Publications also produced a reprint series of Science Fiction; this ran from October 1957 to May 1960, for 12 undated issues, in digest format, 128 pages, priced at 2/-.