Cover of issue 308, January 2019
| |
| Editor | Darren Scott |
|---|---|
| Former editors | Matt Bielby Dave Golder David Bradley Richard Edwards |
| Categories | Science fiction magazine |
| Frequency | Every four weeks |
| Circulation | 25,835 (January 2013 – January 2014, including digital)[1] |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Company | Future plc |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Based in | Bath, Somerset |
| Language | English |
| Website | sfx |
| ISSN | 1749-6969 |
| OCLC | 813632043 |
SFX is a British magazine covering the topics of science fiction and fantasy. Its name is a reference to the abbreviated form of "special effects".[2]
SFX magazine is published every four weeks by Future plc[3][4] and was founded in 1995.[3] The magazine covers topics in the genres of popular science fiction, fantasy, and horror, within the media of films,[5] television,[6] video games, comics, and literature.[7] According to the magazine's website, the SF stands for "science fiction", but the X doesn't stand for anything in particular.[3] Given the magazine's cinematic content, SFX may stand for 'Special Effects'.
Matt Bielby was the editor for the first 11 issues. He was followed by Dave Golder[8] who left the magazine in 2005 but later returned as its online editor. Golder was replaced by David Bradley, who edited for over nine years before being promoted to Group Editor-in-Chief, handing over the issue editor role to Richard Edwards, who had been deputy editor. In 2019, Edwards left and was replaced by Darren Scott. Other members of staff include deputy editor Ian Berriman who ran the reviews section for many years, and, until January 2019, features editor Nick Setchfield.
The magazine featured a column written by David Langford from issue one to issue 274. Additional contributors have included Simon Pegg, Mark Millar, Paul Cornell, Jayne Nelson, and Bonnie Burton. SFX also publishes regular special editions.
In April 2013, the 35th European Science Fiction Convention in Kiev named SFX Best Magazine in its Hall Of Fame award category.[9]
The magazine's website sfx.co.uk used to feature news, reviews, competitions, reader blogs, and a reader forum. In November 2014, the website was closed and the URL redirected to the website GamesRadar which is now the online home of Future's sci-fi content, featuring TV and film features alongside videogames.[10]
The SFX Awards celebrate the previous year's achievements in science fiction and are voted on by the readers of the SFX magazine.[11] The first SFX Awards took place in 1997.
The winners were announced at the SFX Weekender (a sci-fi Festival in North Wales) and in the magazine.[12][13] In 2013, the event continued under the name SciFi Weekender, without SFX's sponsorship.[14]
Quarterly title to capitalise on popularity of comics, videogames and movies such as Iron Man and Batman: the Dark Knight
Space thriller Serenity has beaten Star Wars to the title of best sci-fi movie in an SFX magazine poll of 3,000 fans.
Time-travelling hero Doctor Who has been named as the greatest science fiction character of all time.
Fantasy novelist David Gemmell, best known for stories such as Legend and Waylander, has died at the age of 57. ... He had a real sense of how excitement builds in a story - his books were real page-turners, Dave Bradley, SFX magazine
We've seen the series and in some scenes we thought, how are they going to show that? -- SFX magazine editor Dave Golder
Best Magazine: SFX (UK)
