So far, 2012 has been a busy year behind the scenes here at Strange Horizons. We've been advertising for new staff in a number of departments, and the response has been tremendous: so much so, actually, that it's taking us a while to sort through the applications we've received. To those who've applied but haven't heard back yet, thank you for your patience.

But bringing in new staff, and therefore new perspectives, also makes it an energizing time to be working on the magazine. Over the last couple of months, it's been a pleasure to announce that Brit Mandelo and Julia Rios have joined the fiction department: and today we can confirm the final shape of the new fiction editing team.

That means there are multiple announcements today. First, we are welcoming a third new fiction editor, with An Owomoyela joining Brit and Julia. You may well have already read some of An's own stories, which have appeared in Clarkesworld, Fantasy Magazine and Lightspeed, among others (not to mention a couple of Year's Best anthologies), which means you may well already know how widely ser interests range across the continuum of speculative fiction, and beyond. It's safe to say we're all thrilled to have An on board, and have no doubts that se will be a great member of the editorial team.

Second and third are two linked changes. After twelve years as a fiction editor, Jed Hartman is standing down; and in his stead, Brit Mandelo is taking on the role of senior fiction editor.

As Jed relates in his blog post today, his decision has been a long time coming, and it marks the end of an era. During the time that Jed, Karen Meisner and Susan Marie Groppi were running the fiction department, Strange Horizons had stories nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon, Locus, Aurealis, BSFA, and World Fantasy awards, and honor-listed for the Tiptree Award; and had over forty stories selected for reprinting in Year's Best anthologies. Jed, Karen and Susan presented us with astonishing new writers, and exceptional stories from established talents, and I'm sure I speak for everyone reading this when I say I'm profoundly grateful for all they've contributed to the magazine over the years.

And yet I can't feel anything other than excited about completing the transition to a new fiction-editing team. Strange Horizons is among other things about finding the new, finding speculative fiction that embraces the challenges of writing in the twenty-first century; and it's good that we get new guides from time to time. Which means that so far as I'm concerned, the best thing I can tell you about Brit, Julia and An is that I trust their sense of direction.