As most of you have probably read elsewhere by now, scifi.com, the umbrella website owned and operated by cable television network The Sci Fi Channel, is pulling the plug on SCI FICTION, the free fiction service they’ve offered readers around the world for a little better than half a decade. SCI FICTION has been the finest and surest source for quality speculative short stories throughout its existence, as evidenced by the impressive number of awards its stories have been nominated for or won.
The stories were all selected and edited by Ellen Datlow, one of the most skilled and influential editors in the history of the genre. The Sci Fi Channel has taken a lot of deserved flack for the quality of their television programming (and for what that programming does and does not have to do with science fiction), but if anybody ever writes a history of the channel’s influence on the arts, they'll have a good book to write, one that will start with the day Craig Engler set up SCI FICTION and, probably, end on December 31st, 2005, the day the fiction section of their website goes dark (the archives apparently will stay online at least through 2006), with maybe a single chapter to cover the one or two halfway decent tv shows they’ve produced.
It’s sad that they’re shutting it down, and you know what else? It is surprising, too, despite what a lot of others have said. It seems like a lot of people (like, disappointingly, many SFWAns) are innately suspicious of any endeavor that they can’t at least see some revenue in, even if they don’t see a “profit.” A lot of people "knew it was just a matter of time." Well, patronage has got a fairly respectable track record in Western art, predating even good old Adam Smith. I think that was part of the impulse behind SCI FICTION and I think it's an impulse that will continue to exist, one that should be fostered.
So whatever else you can say about it--and sure, you can say a lot--for five years the Sci Fi Channel was a patron of the arts. I thank them for that. I thank Craig Engler for being the wizard behind the curtain. Most of all, I thank Ellen Datlow, who has positively influenced me as a reader for most of my life, and positively shaped me as a writer for my entire career. Long may she reign.
You can send your own note of thanks--or whatever--by following John Joseph Adams’ advice when he writes:
Everyone who is dismayed over the death of SCI FICTION, email SCIFI.com at feedback@scifi.com and tell them of your displeasure. Also, if you want to write a long, detailed, and eloquent letter that you'd like the community to see, send a note to Science Fiction Weekly too, at scifiweekly@scifi.com, and maybe they'll publish it in their letters column.
And even better, you can join in the community celebration of the stories of SCI FICTION that writer David J. Schwartz has arranged at The ED SF Project. David writes:
By my count there are 320+ stories archived at the site. I'm willing to bet that there are that many SF writers/critics/fans/what have you who have some sort of presence on the web. So I'm thinking, let's all of us write an appreciation of one of the stories.
It doesn't need to be something long -- it could be a few paragraphs, or it could be in-depth; it could be a critical analysis or just a reaction to the story. Just something that focuses on the fiction and shows how much impact the site has had. Remember, this is an appreciation. A celebration. Pick a story you love, or discover a new one by reading through the archives. Discover for yourself just what we're losing. Then let's give it the best sendoff possible.
Yeah, let’s.