When I started Luna Station Quarterly, I didn’t really have a plan for it. I knew I wanted to see more of the kinds of stories my friends and I were writing out in the world. I knew I had the skills to build a website and organize a magazine. Beyond that, I didn’t know what running a magazine like LSQ was going to look like.
This lack of foresight was an advantage in my case. It enabled me, and by extension LSQ, to be flexible. The format could change, the design could change, how many people I had on staff could change. And change it did, quite often in fact. The development and growth of LSQ was an iterative process, and I’m grateful for my past self’s naive approach because it has grown and evolved well beyond anything I could have imagined back in 2009.
With all that behind me, I find myself sitting here writing the editorial for issue 050. What an incredible milestone. So much, almost everything really, is different. We publish print editions thanks to new print-on-demand technology. We’ve seen the rise of ebook readers and the stabilization of that format that, it turns out, was not the death knell of print. The issue of LSQ that you hold in your hands, or visit on our website, looks completely different from that sweet little website I launched all those years ago, it’s theme and layout I coded by hand now long forgotten.
Because so much is different, I decided to do something with this issue that brings things back around to the beginning. I wanted to do something that would tie this fiftieth issue to that first one. As such, you may have noticed that the artwork on the cover of this issue is in black and white.
When LSQ began publishing, print-on-demand publishing didn’t exist yet in any reasonable, useful way for a magazine like this. Still, I wanted a way for those who preferred reading offline to have that option available. Print zines of all kinds were still quietly flourishing at the time and I was very much (and still am) attracted to the grassroots accessibility of printing something you made at your local copy store.
To support that intention, and because LSQ felt very much like a zine to me back in those early days, the first couple of years we published a printer-friendly PDF of every issue.
As a nod to those early issues, issue 050 has a black and white cover, with much thanks to Theodora Capat for the gorgeous illustration. Though this time I wouldn’t suggest printing your own copy. At almost 300 pages, it would be a bit of a bear! I always wondered if anyone ever printed out those early issues for their collections.
There’s one thing that definitely hasn’t changed, and it’s honestly the best part. From issue 001 to 050, every issue is consistently packed with a collection of amazing stories. The one you’re reading now is no exception. I’m consistently amazed by the variety we receive in our slush pile every quarter. Narrowing those tales down to the final choices is both my favorite part of the job and the hardest. Thank you, as always, to our hard-working editors who help me manage this challenge!
Now, send you on your way with a quote from my very first editorial:
Genre fiction, in particular, can do extraordinary things. When grounded to a solid character or idea, the lessons of the ages can be passed from author to reader. Profound experiences are shared in the deepest ways, in the poetry of words, the exploration of the mind, and the opening of the heart.
And that is the kind of story I hope to share with you. A little action and adventure, a few surprises, twists, and turns, wouldn’t be too bad either, and you’ll find those within these pages as well.
I do hope you enjoy the stories we’re presenting this first issue. Each of the authors within have contributed something special and all their own. I’m so thrilled to be able to share them with you.