Cirrus@Austlit

'Attention all passengers - this is your Captain speaking!

'If you have been watching the news, you will know that the people of Earth are currently suffering through a pandemic known as “COVID-19.” For those of you who are not students of history, various worlds have experienced similar pandemics in the past such as the “Clone-Killing Nanovirus,’’ the “Great Plague of Middle Earth,” the “Shame” of Betelgeuse 5, and, of course, the always insidious “Cooties.”

'We here at Andromeda Spaceways take the health and wellbeing of our passengers very seriously and will be following the strict guidelines developed in the wake of the aforementioned pandemics in order to keep everyone safe throughout their journey.'

Source: Editorial (p.1).

Special issue of Andromeda Spaceways Magazine containing eleven apocalyptic stories by Sean Williams, released during the COVID-19 pandemic. The author describes the collection as the result of a request by editor Amy Gordon for 'a story or two that might gel with the times' (p.3).

Science-fiction and fantasy magazine launched at ConVergence, the 41st Australian National Science Fiction Convention.

Since being founded in the New South Wales Northern Tablelands township of Glen Innes in 2002, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine (ASIM) has been run as a co-operative that relies very much on the passion and on-going commitment of its members. The initial objective in starting ASIM, described by its publishers as 'Australia's Pulpiest SF Magazine', was to correct the apparent misfortune surrounding speculative-fiction publishing at that time. As Robbie Matthews notes, 'We founded ASIM at a time when Aurealis was for sale, Eidolon had gone into hiatus, Altair had stopped publishing - in short, the local market was looking pale and wan' (p.158). It was also intended that the magazine be different to those that had come before it; therefore, ASIM has been produced as an off-beat, zany, pulp-style magazine that emphasises the fun and adventurous side of speculative fiction and, particularly, science fiction.

Since its inception, ASIM has used a different editor for each issue, an aspect that has led to it being seemingly erratic, but has simultaneously allowed it to continue being fresh and different. The covers are often zany, while the stories and editorials range across a broad spectrum of interests and specific genres. Since it is run as a co-operative, the magazine's production is also shared among its members, with individuals taking on a variety of tasks, including advertising editor, non-fiction editor, and layout designer.

From April 2006, each issue of ASIM was made available either as a digital (PDF) version or in the traditional print format. A little over twelve months later, the publishers released the first of a series of 'best of' anthologies in PDF format. To date, the anthology series runs to three editions, each one featuring a different speculative-fiction genre: science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine won a Ditmar Award in 2003 for 'Best Australian Production.' The following year, two of its published stories tied for the Sir Julius Vogel Award for 'Best Short Story'. In all, the magazine and its stories have been nominated for more than twenty speculative-fiction awards (notably Ditmar and Aurealis Awards). In 2008, it also won a special Sir Julius Vogel Award for services to New Zealand science fiction.

Further Reference

Matthews, Robbie. 'Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine.' In Australian Speculative Fiction: A Genre Overview (2005).

'Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine.' Wikipedia. Online. (Sighted: 14/06/2011)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_Spaceways_Inflight_Magazine