Locus, subtitled "The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field", is published monthly in Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

. It reports on the science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 publishing field, including comprehensive listings of all new books published in the genre. It is considered the news organ and trade journal of choice for the English language science fiction community. The magazine also presents the annual Locus Awards.

Locus Online

Locus Online

Locus Online is the online component of Locus Magazine. It publishes news briefs related to the science fiction, fantasy and horror publishing world, along with original reviews and feature articles, and excerpts of articles that appeared in the print edition. Information for Locus Online is...

was launched in April 1997, as a semi-autonomous web version of Locus Magazine.

History

Along with Ed Meskys

Niekas

Niekas is a science fiction fanzine published from 1962–1998 by Ed Meskys of New Hampshire. It won the 1967 Hugo Award for Best Fanzine, and was twice more nominated, losing in 1966 to ERB-dom and in 1989 to File 770.Originally, Meskys Niekas (from Lithuanian: nothing or nobody) is a science...

 and Dave Vanderwerf, Charles N. Brown

Charles N. Brown

Charles Nikki Brown was the co-founder and editor of Locus, the long-running news and reviews magazine covering the genres of science fiction and fantasy literature. He was born on June 24, 1937 in Brooklyn, New York. He attended City College until 1956, when he joined the military ; he served in...

 founded Locus in 1968 as a news fanzine to promote the (ultimately successful) bid to host the 1971 World Science Fiction Convention

29th World Science Fiction Convention

The 29th World Science Fiction Convention, also known as Noreascon I, was held September 2–6, 1971, at the Sheraton-Boston Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, USA....

 in Boston, Massachusetts. Originally intended to run only until the site-selection vote was taken at St. Louiscon, the 1969 Worldcon in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, Brown decided to continue publishing Locus as a mimeographed general science fiction and fantasy newszine. Locus became the immediate successor to the decades-old monthly newszine Science Fiction Times (formerly Fantasy Times, founded 1941), when SFT ceased publication in 1970. Brown directed Locus as publisher and editor-in-chief for more than 40 years, from 1968 until his death at age 72 in July 2009.

Locus announced that the magazine would continue operations, with executive editor Liza Groen Trombi succeeding Brown as editor-in-chief.

Locus publishes:

1. News about the science fiction, fantasy, and horror publishing field—stories about publishers, awards, and conferences—including "The Data File", "People & Publishing" (rights sold, books sold, books resold, books delivered, publishing news, promotions; people news and photos about vacations, weddings, and births), and obituaries
2. Interviews with well-known and up-and-coming writers (and sometimes editors and artists), usually two per issue
3. Reviews of new and forthcoming books, usually 20–25 per issue, by notable SF critics including Gary K. Wolfe
   Gary K. Wolfe
   Gary K. Wolfe is a science fiction editor, critic and biographer. He is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Pilgrim Award, the Eaton Award, BSFA award and been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Related Book. He has had a monthly review column in Locus since 1991...
   
   , Faren Miller, Nick Gevers
   Nick Gevers
   Nick Gevers is a South African science fiction editor and critic, whose work has appeared in The Washington Post Book World, Interzone, Scifi.com, SF Site, The New York Review of Science Fiction and Nova Express...
   
   , Jonathan Strahan
   Jonathan Strahan
   Jonathan Strahan is an editor and publisher of science fiction. His family moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1968, and he graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts in 1986....
   
   , Damien Broderick
   Damien Broderick
   Damien Francis Broderick is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer. His science fiction novel The Judas Mandala is sometimes credited with the first appearance of the term "virtual reality," and his 1997 popular science book The Spike was the first to investigate the...
   
   , Russell Letson, and Carolyn Cushman, plus short fiction reviews by Gardner Dozois and Rich Horton.
4. Reports from around the world about the SF scenes in various countries
5. Listings of US and UK books and magazines published (monthly), bestsellers (monthly), and forthcoming books (every 3 months)
6. Convention
   Science fiction convention
   Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
   
    reports, with many photos
7. Annual year-in-review coverage, with extensive recommended reading lists and the annual Locus Poll and Survey
8. Letters and classified ads

Locus has won many Hugo Award

Hugo Award

The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...

s, first the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine

Hugo Award for Best Fanzine

The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...

 and then, when the new category Best Semiprozine was created in 1984, in that category. , Locus has won the award for Best Fanzine eight times, and the award for Best Semiprozine 21 times (in the 25 years the award has been given). Authors Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...

, Connie Willis

Connie Willis

Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear...

, Robert A. Heinlein

Robert A. Heinlein

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...

, and Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett

Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...

, and The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

, have all cited the value of Locus to the field.

Locus Press has published several books, including Fantasy: The Very Best of 2005.