As the attentive Strange Horizons readers I know you are, you'll have spotted that there's something missing from this week's issue. It's the fourth week of the month, which should mean a new article, but—nothing. So what's up?

Well, we've got a few behind-the-scenes changes, and a few changes in how we're publishing non-fiction. Today I want to explain the changes, and launch our new submission guidelines.

Staff changes

First, we're saying goodbye and thank you to three people who have contributed a huge amount to Strange Horizons over the last few years. Pamela Manasco and Phoebe North are stepping down as Articles Editors, and Dave Nagdeman is stepping down as Senior Articles Editor. All three of them have been with the magazine since 2009, and have published a consistently interesting and challenging range of features, as a browse through our articles archive shows. We'll miss all three of them, but wish them good luck in all their future endeavours.

Second, I'm delighted to welcome Farah Mendlesohn as a new Articles Editor. Farah is a Professor and Head of the Department of English, Communication, Film and Media at Anglia Ruskin University. She was the editor of Foundation from 2002 to 2007, and is the author of a number of Hugo-nominated books including Rhetorics of Fantasy, On Joanna Russ, and (with Edward James) The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction and The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature. She is also currently serving as Director of Exhibits for Loncon 3, the 2014 Worldcon.

Third, I'll also be taking a more active role in commissioning and editing our articles, working with Farah and continuing Articles Editor Vanessa Phin as we develop the department.

And on that note ...

What to expect

In some ways, more of the same. We'll still be using the fourth issue of every month to focus on our non-fiction content; the changes are primarily of emphasis, a refresh rather than a relaunch. But we also have a couple of new features we're pretty excited about.

In the articles department, we expect to publish more, and more in-depth, interviews and round-table discussions with authors, editors, critics, artists, and other members of our field. We will still publish original essays of particular merit, focusing on critical examination of works of speculative fiction, SF history, associated SF theory and criticism, or SF fandom and culture.

However, starting next month, alongside our original content we will also be reprinting classic essays that made a significant contribution to SF criticism or the SF field. We hope that this will primarily be material that is not currently available online, helping to draw connections between the present and the long history of SF fandom and scholarship.

And to keep an eye on a wider focus, in additional to our regular columnists, we will now be soliciting and accepting submissions of individual columns on any topic of interest to SF readers—from current debates within the SF community to broader cultural, political, and technological issues.

So that's the new approach. We want to highlight the best of the conversation about SF, past and present; and we want to start new conversations. I'm looking forward to it.

Submissions

If any of the above interests you—and we hope it does!—you can read our new non-fiction submission guidelines in full here. As with all our departments, we encourage submissions from both established and newer writers, and in particular from voices that have historically been marginalised within the SF community. And if you have any questions, you can contact me direct at editor@strangehorizons.com.