In this issue of SQ Mag, we bring you two of our finalists from the hotly contested 2012 SQ Comp. Jason Lairamore’s story My Trip to the Circus and Dan Hankner’s Unbound were both outstanding stories of ‘Disaster’ that caught the judge’s attention. We hope you enjoy them too.

We also received a great crop of new submissions at the magazine. A dark story by Robert Harkness is in to thrill you. A great new submitter, Kevin Rainak, has a story of the digital world. Well-crafted science fictions works appear from W.B. Stickel and Hanson Hovell Holladay.

Aaron Garrison’s Intangible serial continues. The shaman is building his chosen target, and the world she lives in is starting to succumb to his influence. Read the great next instalment.

Damien Smith reviews Unidentified Funny Objects, a humorous anthology published by UFO Publishing. Mysti Parker covers Heather Graham’s The Vision, a paranormal romance, third book in her Harrison Investigation series. I have reviewed The Twelve, the sequel to Justin Cronin’s The Passage.

The team here at SQ Mag feel that this is an illustrious beginning to the year, and are continually looking forward to the next bumper edition.

Particularly, we’re thrilled to have fantastic up-and-coming female authors to highlight in Edition 8: Women in Writing, for May 1. There’s some superb original stories that we’ve had donated and we are excited to be able to share them with you soon. Follow us on Twitter (@SQ_mag) or on Facebook for more updates.

We also hope to have up-and-running a place where you can comment on the mag, and tell us what you think.

Of course, we love to receive submissions, so if you have a miniature masterpiece waiting to find a place to be published, think of us.

We’re also keen to reach more readers, because after all, we got started at SQ Mag by believing in great stories and sharing the wonderful worlds of speculative fiction. This field is so broad and magnificent, and we’d love to keep showcasing it. If you like our e-zine, please share us. We’d love to have many people interested in our work.

Here’s to a wonderful edition, and to the many joys a good story, either written or read, brings.

Sophie Yorkston
Editor, SQ Mag