It is with pleasure that we reveal the new look of Sci Phi Journal, now presented on an all-new website running on a new host server. We hope you find the changes lead to an improved reading experience, with faster load times.
The transition to the new SPJ required a slight interruption to the flow of stories and articles but we have some great material lined up to compensate. Tuesday 11th July is the 20th anniversary of the release of Contact, the philosophical science fiction film starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey, and based on Carl Sagan’s novel of the same name. To celebrate we have an article about the themes of the film, written by long-standing SPJ contributor David Kyle Johnson, Associate Professor of Philosophy at King’s College, Pennsylvania. On Sunday 16th we then publish the first story of the new SPJ era. Written by marine scientist Kate Kelly, the narrative explores the meaning of freedom on a dying planet. Our intention is then to share at least one new piece every Sunday, alternating between fiction and non-fiction.
The new website has no paywalls, meaning visitors can access the great archive of content that was previously restricted to paying subscribers only. That is because our goal is to broaden the audience for SPJ and the authors it champions. Exclusive subscriber-only content will now be found in the digital digests produced at the end of each quarter; the first will be distributed at the end of September. These digests will come in EPUB, Mobi and PDF formats, and will be emailed straight to the inbox or Kindle of the subscriber. That means subscribers will automatically receive the digests as soon as they are ready, with no need to log on to the website to download them. Readers can subscribe for just US$4 per month, and they will know that the number of exclusive stories and articles will grow in line with the increase in the number of subscribers.
If you looked carefully you may have noticed that you are visiting a website primarily located at http://sciphijournal.org, not the old .com address. The reason for the change is straightforward: Sci Phi Journal is going to be run as a not-for-profit, meaning growth in the number of paying subscribers will be recycled into better pay for contributors and more content for readers. It seemed misleading to continue to present Sci Phi Journal as a business when the goals are to break even and to grow as rapidly as possible.
SPJ has a loyal following. We believe SPJ‘s thoughtful exploration of the intersection between science, philosophy and fiction will appeal to many more, so long as we let them know about it. Storytelling helps us to express our wonder at the universe. Keep coming back as we embark on the next leg of the journey of Sci Phi Journal, and bring your friends along for the ride.
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Wherein the editors get slightly overexcited about a summer replete with international SF action.
Grab the latest edition here - as always, free to print or read on your device.
