Sam Tomaino of SFRevu recommends that you subscribe to Kaleidotrope:

Kaleidotrope is a magazine that you must take your time with, but it is very rewarding to do so. In addition to the stories, it always has a hilarious Horoscopes section, which I always enjoy.

Congratulations to Simon Petrie, whose story "Single Handed" (Kaleidotrope #6, April 2009), which Rich Horton described as "quite clever," has been nominated as Best Novella/Novelette in this year's Sir Julius Vogel Award. This isn't the first time a contributor to Kaleidotrope has been nominated for the New Zealand fan-based awards, but it is the first time a story from the zine has been. Congratulations again to Simon!

Bill Ward's story "How Antkind Lost its Soul" (October 2009) was recently named among the stories in the Tangent Online Recommended Reading List for last year.

Kaleidotrope contributor Heather Clitheroe ("Replicate Fade," April 2009) reads her short story "Come to Me" from the new vampire anthology Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead:

The reading! from Heather C on Vimeo.

Kaleidotrope's eighth issue will be available in April 2010. Here's what you'll find inside:

Fiction
"Harmony" by Therese Arkenberg
"le souper a la maison d'ombres" by Terrie Leigh Relf
"Away from the Window" by David McGillveray
"A Descent into a Maelstrom" by C. Groover
"Mouse and I" by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz
"Eris Sinks Pluto" by Will Kaufman
"The Beewolf" by Rob Hunter
"The Jar" by Peta Jinnath Andersen
"Invisible Bullets" by Kevin Brown
"More’s the Pity" by Paul Abbamondi
"The Usherette" by Kathleen J. Stowe
"The Silver Tree" by Fred Warren
"The Speed of Heavy" by Simon Petrie
"Visiting the Ladies Room Exhibit at the Human Museum" by Jeff Soesbe
"A Capricious Disposition" by Benjamin Smith

Poetry
Two Poems by Dan Smith
"Ghost Cats" by William Doreski
"Holes" by Marcie Tentchoff
Three Limericks by Camille Alexa
Two Poems by Mari Ness
"If Snow White Were a Cyborg" by Susan Slaviero
"Medusa on the Half Shell" by Brian Rosenberger
"Man of 1000 Faces" by Alec Kowalczyk
"I Met God at Benihana's by Phil Estes

Nonfiction
"The Humanity of Nonhumans in Eraserhead" by C.J. Arellano

Rich Horton summarizes Kaleidotrope 2009.

A lengthy review of Kaleidotrope #7 at Tangent Online:

As a community of speculative fiction readers and writers, we are fortunate to have access to Kaleidotrope....

The 7th issue of Kaleidotrope has supplied this humble critic with enough graphic images and far-fetched suppositions to grant her nightmares and inspirations until the next issue comes out. If you, too, groove on vivid depictions as well as like your writers served up fresh, I encourage, you to read this publication.

Beginning today, and for the entire month of December, subscriptions to Kaleidotrope are half-price! That's 50% off the already discounted subscription rates -- meaning you get four issues of what SFRevu called "a wonderful magazine of varied and interesting stories" for just $9 ($14 International)!

Just click on either of the PayPal buttons at the top of this page, or send a check or money order to Fred Coppersmith (P.O. Box 25, Carle Place, NY 11514) to subscribe at the December '09 rates. The offer ends December 31, so act now! Kaleidotrope makes a great early Christmas present!

There's a pretty mixed review of Kaleidotrope #6 over at Tangent Online. Reviewer Bob Blough didn't exactly love the issue, but he writes:

Kaleidotrope is not a magazine for everyone. This issue presents a group of passably decent stories written at (presumably) the beginning of (some of) the authors' careers. If you are interested in reading the first (or nearly so) stories of possible New Names in the field then this magazine is for you.

I'd argue that Kaleidotrope has more to offer than that -- we're very happy to feature the work of new, up-and-coming writers, but we've also published stories and poems from established and award-winning authors. But obviously, it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

Sam Tomaino of SFRevu has nothing but kind words for the latest issue of Kaleidotrope:

The new issue of Kaleidotrope, #7, is here with its usual mix of distinctly different stories, all of them worth reading...

He runs through the issue story by story, and it's great to read his feedback on each of them!

Andrew Howard’s genuinely creepy story “Molting” (from the still available April 2008 issue) made the Honorable Mentions list for Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year! Congratulations to Andrew!

Kaleidotrope contributor ("The Blue Testament," Oct. 2008) Marshall Payne was kind enough to interview me about the zine. I had a lot of fun with this and was really happy to sit for his weekly interview series.

Check it out!

Tomorrow, October 1, is Support Our Zines Day. As Damien G. Walter writes:

...‘zines are where we go to find good, new short fiction. Magazines like Asimov’s or Weird Tales. Fanzines like Electric Velocipede or Shimmer. Webzines like Clarkesworld or Strange Horizons. Podcasts like Escape Pod and The Drabblecast. There are hundreds and maybe even thousands of ‘zines publishing speculative fiction stories, and from the largest to the smallest they all contribute to building the SF community.

While there are lots of great zines of all different types being produced, the focus of SOZD is squarely on SF and fantasy publications.

This includes lots of varied zine -- from big names like Asimov's and F&SF, to small-press outfits like Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Electric Velocipede, Shimmer, and Sybil's Garage. It even includes yours truly and Kaleidotrope.

You can show your support by visiting your favorite zine online and buying a subscription, or a sample issue, or donating some money, or just even e-mailing them and letting them know how much you enjoy what they do.

As John Klima writes:

You'd be surprised at how rarely magazine/zine makers get positive feedback from their fans.

And every little bit of support helps!

Berrien C. Henderson, whose poem "Flickering She" appears in the October issue of Kaleidotrope is interviewed over at Fantasy Magazine.

Just testing something.

From Damien G. Walter’s blog for Support Our ‘Zines Day* (and via Sense Five Press):

###

So. No idea if this will work. But, to give people a handy guide to ‘zines they can donate to on Support Our ‘Zines Day (1st October 2009), I’m going to try and put together a complete list of speculative fiction ‘zines! However, I don’t want to do all the work myself, so am stealing the recent SF Reviewers Link-up Meme to make the…’ZINE LINK-UP MEME! I’ve added a few of the big ‘zines, just to get it started.

The ‘Zine Link-up Meme

Copy and paste the list (including links) of speculative fiction ‘zines below to your blog or website (include this informative introduction as well). Add your ‘zine (and link). Any ‘zine of any size and format that publishes speculative fiction of any kind can take part. Let other people, especially people publishing ‘zines, know about the meme. And help publicise Support Our ‘Zines Day by linking back to: http://damiengwalter.wordpress.com/sozd/

• Asmiov’s science fiction
• Analog science fiction and fact
• Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
• Sybil’s Garage
• Electric Velocipede
• Shimmer Magazine
• Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet
• Interzone
• Black Static
• Kaleidotrope
  

* I know technically some of these are not “zines” in the strictest sense. But they are an important part of the field and we should support them equally. Also, this list is nowhere near inclusive. If you see something missing, copy this entire post to your blog and add it!

Kaleidotrope subscription information can be found here.

Wondering about the contents of Kaleidotrope #7? Then wonder no more...

Fiction "Remember" by Lindsey Duncan "Albatross Ghosts" by Joanne Anderton "How Antkind Lost its Soul" by Bill Ward "The Beekeepers" by J. Alan Pierce "Fortune" by Alberto Chimal "The Vigilant" by Jason Hinchcliffe "Please Share My Umbrella" by Jean Huets "The Clay Men" by C.L. Holland "Lock and Key" by Alyssa Fowers "Chamberlain McLaverty" by Sean Ruane "Duma of the Valley Kifaru" by A. Kiwi Courters "Intuo" by Dale Carothers "What Bear Skull Holder Taught Me" by Jeffrey Meyer "To Put Away Childish Things" by Aaron A. Polson "Star Over Babylon" by John Walters "Horseshoe" by Stacy Sinclair Poetry "Marbles" by David C. Kopaska-Merkel Two Poems by klipshutz "My Friend, the Sculptor" by Terrie Leigh Relf "Sligo" by Oritsegbemi Emmanuel Jakpa "Flickering She" by Berrien C. Henderson "Cower" by Aurelio Rico Lopez III "Speaking to Socrates" by Rhian Waller "Nostalgia" by Marcie Lynn Tentchoff

With cover art by Kurt Kirchmeier, and short comic art by Erica Hildebrand and Tom Powers & Amanda Banaszewski. That's 70+ pages of great writing and art, coming October 2009!

Jason Heller, whose poem "A Voice Not Her Own" appears in the most recent issue of Kaleidotrope, has been selected as Fantasy Magazine's new Book Editor. Congratulations to Jason!

Rich Horton reviews Kaleidotrope #6 in the July issue of Locus:

The continually improving small 'zine Kaleidotrope has put out a sixth issue, which is its best yet. Two SF stories were best. Heather Clitheroe's "Replicate Fade" is about an ex-soldier struggling to get by who takes a job to find a runaway, only to learn to his distress why his employers want her found, which nicely ties into something he's taken with him, as it were, from his military past. Simon Petrie's "Single Handed" is a murder mystery about a strange cult heading to another planet, until the ship's captain is killed. The whole setup is a bit implausible -- but that's part of the flavor of this sort of story, and it leads to a satisfyingly clever resolution.

Really pleased with this review. If you'd like to read these, and lots of other, great stories and poems, copies of the issue are still available!

Want a sneak peek of the cover artwork for the October 2009 issue of Kaleidotrope, along with a short profile of writer A. Kiwi Courters, whose story "Duma of Valley Kifaru" will appear in the issue? Then check out this article in The Almeda Sun