by Janet Stilson and Liza Groen Trombi
Editor’s Note: This is the inaugural piece in a series celebrating fellow 501(c)3 nonprofits. We are honored at SFWA to be working alongside so many organizations serving writers and other creators, both within our target genres and in service to improved literary outcomes in general.
If an extraterrestrial species wanted to know how Earthlings have imagined what they’re like over the last half century, they’d be well advised to dig into the archives at Locus Magazine. It’s a publication of record for sci-fi and fantasy literature from around the world. Each month it posts an extensive array of reviews, think pieces, and news. Locus also maintains a deep database, publishes books, runs a foundation, and bestows the prestigious Locus Awards.
How does its staff choose which books and short prose to review? How can writers better their chances for coverage? And what are the inner workings of its awards selection process? Those are some topics that Locus Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Liza Groen Trombi, discussed in the following e-conversation with Janet Stilson. Along the way, Trombi explained the challenges that the publication faces, how it has evolved, and what she finds most rewarding.
I have lots of questions about Locus, but before we get into them, I want to know about you. How did you first get involved? Has your role there changed over the years? And do you write sci-fi or fantasy yourself?
I grew up with a bibliophile mum and too many cats, ended up reading every book she owned, and then discovered science fiction and fantasy around age 12, like you do. When I was in university finishing my degree, I explored a bit doing different jobs: bartending, property management, and playing music. I was preparing to go back to university for a terminal degree when I saw an ad for this local science fiction magazine…
I first came to Locus in 2003, initially as an editorial assistant. Once I started, I was completely hooked—Locus was (and is) a wonderland of science fiction and fantasy information and knowledge and community. Over time my role evolved: I went from shelving books to doing interviews and writing news, then became executive editor until my predecessor, Charles N. Brown, passed away in 2009. We’d had some long discussions about me taking over the magazine, so while it was hard, it was at least already in place.
As for writing—I’m not a fiction writer myself. I thought I might be once a long time ago but quickly sorted out that my creative side expresses itself more through editing, curating, and shaping projects.
What aspect of working at Locus do you find most rewarding?
I especially love doing interviews and getting access to the inner workings of the writer brain—also, meeting SFF fans, who truly buoy the community with their enthusiasm and dedication.
Locus occupies a unique position where we get to connect fans, readers, authors, publishers, and scholars, and help contextualize and record what’s happening. That sense of community and creativity keeps me going: being able to witness and document the evolution of speculative fiction; to see the extrapolation of new worlds and ways of thinking, new voices emerge, and the boundaries of the genre expand.
When you consider Locus today versus five years ago or when it began, do you see dramatic differences? Has the mission evolved?
The core mission—to chronicle and celebrate the field—hasn’t changed much, but how we fulfill it absolutely has. Locus started as a one-page mimeographed bid ’zine in 1968, and over time it became the “trade journal” of science fiction and fantasy. Even in just the past decade, Locus finds itself operating in a very different media landscape. We’ve expanded our digital presence, diversified our coverage, and adapted our model to try to reach readers where they are.
The mission now encompasses not just reporting on publishing and awards, but also building a sustainable, inclusive space that reflects the genre’s global reach.
What are the biggest issues that Locus faces today? Do any of them keep you up at night?
Like many independent publications, we’re navigating an extremely challenging financial and media environment. Advertising has shifted dramatically to favor Meta and Google over everyone else, and the print landscape is tougher than ever with paper and shipping costs constantly on the rise. Maintaining our deep editorial coverage—the long-form reviews, interviews, and data reporting—while keeping the business sustainable is a challenge.
I think a lot about discoverability: How do we continue to reach new readers in an era when attention is fragmented, and information and entertainment come in on a constant drip from your phone? Those are the things that keep me up at night.
In your view, are there certain ways that Locus stands out from the pack of publishing ventures in the particular genres you specialize in?
Locus is unique in its combination of independent reviews, journalism, data, and critical and community coverage. We’re not just reviewing books; we’re tracking the field through listings, publishing news, interviews, awards coverage, conventions, and obituaries. The historical continuity matters: We have decades of data about who’s published what and when, and that makes Locus a living record of the field.
I believe we are the only indie doing what we do specifically for the SFF field, and unlike the more commercial review journals out there, you can’t buy a review from Locus, so our readers know there’s no commercial influence and the reviews are fairly gotten.
Your reviewers write about so many books and literary journals in each issue. Do they have time to sleep? It makes me wonder about how many submissions they have to choose from on a monthly basis. And how do they determine which ones to spend time reading? Is there a fair amount of lobbying from publishers?
The reviewers don’t exactly pick the titles they review; it’s a bit more of a process than that. We receive submissions and review copies at the office from nearly every major and many small publishers, in the hundreds every month. Publicists send reminders or nudge us, but there’s not really “lobbying”. Our focus is on quality fiction, coverage breadth, and balance—though I do have relationships with many of the editors, and when they are really excited about a new title, it means something.
Our usual process is I go through all of the ARCs that come in and send a long list of potentials to our Reviews Editor, Jonathan Strahan, who then makes assignments for reviewers based on the best fit. The reviewers also make book suggestions, note their preferred authors and genres, and get to veto if they don’t like a book. In the end, like all good projects, it’s a group effort.
The short fiction reviews work a little differently. We apportion the different fiction venues to reviewers per their preferred reading habits, and then they choose which stories to cover.
The goal is to include established and emerging writers, large and small presses, and a range of styles and subgenres. It’s definitely a lot of reading. I’m pretty sure that our reviewers do read in their sleep!
How many people are on staff? And how many volunteers do you have?
We’re a small, dedicated team. I used to say “seven scrappy editors working out of a basement”. There’s a handful of core staff who make the magazine and manage the website and awards and the business, along with a couple dozen reviewers and contributing freelance writers around the world, and we also reach out to volunteers for things like the Locus Awards weekend and database work… It takes a village to make a magazine.
It’s difficult, in general, for indie authors to interest publications in reviewing their work. Is there something that needs to change in order to make indie reviews more feasible for Locus? Are there certain conditions that would make for that?
It’s been challenging to wrap the mass quantities of self-pubbed books into our process, though we do make a concerted effort. If I know the author already, then it’s simpler, and there are plenty of smaller indie SFF press titles that get a straight shot into our review list, because we respect the quality and consistency of their past publications.
If I don’t recognize an author, I start with the flap copy and—if the work is in our remit—the first pages on advance copies that come in. Unfortunately, we often don’t see the books until they have been published, which is kind of too late for a review. The real issue is time and resources, not disinterest.
Are there things that first-time novelists from smaller presses need to consider doing in order to improve their odds of scoring a review in Locus—or elsewhere?
One thing that I think surprises some people is that I lean on blurbs a lot. If a writer that we know has a strong note about a book, that means something to me. It’s very rare to see blurbs on self-pubbed or micropress books. So, ask that published author friend to give you a blurb!
Professional presentation makes a difference. Send advance copies early enough—we plan months ahead. Make sure your flap copy is as good as your opening paragraph: it will get read first! I also notice things like awards or honors in publicity copy, and if your book is already getting buzz elsewhere, mention it; that will help it stand out in the flood of submissions.
Let’s turn to the Locus Awards. They’re really special, because they include some categories that generally aren’t covered by other award programs, such as nonfiction SFF and first novel. Why does Locus honor such a wide spectrum?
That’s been part of our DNA since the beginning. The Locus Awards grew out of our readers’ poll, which reflected what Locus itself covers: the full ecosystem of the field—novels, short fiction, art, anthologies, nonfiction, and emerging voices. We’ve always given special attention to debuts because they are the future. The idea is to celebrate not just the front-facing authors but also the new voices and the editors, publishers, and scholars who shape the field.
I understand there’s no awards submission process. Is it a matter of Locus reviewers thinking back over the works they’ve reviewed and figuring out which ones were the most outstanding?
We start with our big annual Recommended Reading List in February, which is created by Locus staff and reviewers over about six weeks of discussion. We don’t have a formal submission system; instead, we compile the Recommended Reading List based on our coverage throughout the year. There’s also a write-in system, so that if we missed something important the readers can still vote for it. That forms the basis for the Locus Awards ballot.
Anything that was published in the past year is eligible, and readers are free to vote for whatever they’ve read and loved. The awards results tend to reflect the tastes of a very engaged, knowledgeable readership, with occasional surprises!
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Check back in 2026 for more articles about our industry peers! For over 50 years, Locus has documented the evolving landscape of science fiction and fantasy. Your support helps them preserve the past and champion the future, an independent guide to the world’s imagination. You can support them at https://bwc.io/locus2025 through the month of December.
Liza Groen Trombi is the four-time Hugo Award winning Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Locus Magazine. A life-long reader of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, she studied literature, history, and translation at university, and worked in several fields before joining the magazine in early 2003. She has been Editor-in-Chief and Publisher since 2009. Trombi also participates in convention panels and awards juries, runs the Locus Awards Weekend and writing workshops, publishes books with Locus Press, and serves as board president of the Locus Science Fiction Foundation. She lives in California with her two daughters and a little dog, too.
Interviewer Janet Stilson is an award-winning writer whose novels, The Juice and Universe of Lost Messages, are sci-fi rollercoaster rides that imagine the future of huge media companies and how they’ll shape our lives even more than they do today. Find out more at janetstilson.com.