I don’t recall when I first discovered Locus. I suppose it seeped, slowly, into my awareness, much in the way none of us recall at which moment we first found language; we simply realize that we can speak, that perhaps, we have always been speaking, even though that is not true. I don’t know when I first discovered Locus, but I know that I have always turned to its pages.
I started writing fantasy and horror on another continent. Removed from the center of the English-speaking speculative fiction industry, I was but an outsider with his face pressed against the panes. Locus, then, became my telescope, through which I gleaned from afar the happenings in the field. I read about book deals and convention reports. I read author interviews, which not only offered me an appreciable insight into the works of authors I admired, but allowed me to dream of one day gracing the journal’s glossy pages. Locus, then, became my compass: their exhaustive reviews of stories and coverage of speculative fiction journals led me to the many magazines where I could and did send my stories. My elation at making the Locus Recommended Reading List for the first time can’t be quantified. A Locus reviewer had read my story, and from the thousands of competent stories published in a given year, deemed it worthy of especial recommendation. I eagerly anticipated Locus reviews of my stories, and when my collection Jackal, Jackal was published in 2023, it received two favorable reviews from Locus, replete with a prophecy of inevitable award ballot appearances.
Metaphorically and geographically, I have since found myself at the center of the English-speaking speculative industry. Locus has continued to remain ever important to me. At the 2024 World Fantasy Convention at Niagara Falls (where that prophecy came to pass for the fourth time!) I had the honor of meeting some of the truly lovely folks of Locus: Arley and Liza and Fran, and it was a joy to talk and make merry with them. In January 2025 I opened Locus to find my smiling face staring at me—a surreal moment for me, from an aspiring writer to a full-page spread in the pages of this prestigious journal.
Locus is the oldest and longest-running journal of the science fiction and fantasy field, and it has survived this long because of the support of the community. But it needs continued support. The journal’s stewards attend it with all the attention and dedication and care and love they can muster, and we must in turn attend them with all of our love and care and dedication and support. I encourage you all to support Locus’ fundraiser in any way you can, for a robust and healthy field. What I cherish most about the SFF community is that it truly is a community, and Locus is the locus of our community. Let us help keep this wonderful flame alive.
Locus Magazine is running their annual fundraiser from May 5th to May 31st. Go here to donate, subscribe, or get one of their amazing donation gifts.