Asimov's, Analog and F&SF purchased by new owner
For months there have been rumors in the science fiction and fantasy genre that the traditional "big 3" print magazines – Asimov's Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, and Fantasy and Science Fiction – were being purchased by new owners.
Confirmation of this has now appeared on the websites of Asimov's and Analog, as first reported by Amazing Stories. The ownership language at the bottom of both websites changed recently from “© 2024 PENNY PUBLICATIONS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED” to “© 2025 1 PARAGRAPH, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Must Read Magazines is a division of Must Read Books Publishing, a 1 Paragraph, Inc. company. No part of Must Read Magazines or this website may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems.”
No change has appeared as of yet on the F&SF website, but based on other information I’ve received I can confirm they are included in the purchase.
The new owner of the magazines is Steven Salpeter and a group of investors. Salpeter is the president of literary and IP development at Assemble Media and previously worked as a literary agent for Curtis Brown. According to a profile on Bisprofiles, 1 Paragraph incorporated on January 16, 2025, in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Salpeter is listed as the corporation's main officer.
However, according to sources I’ve spoken with, Salpeter will not be the only owner, having pulled together a group of investors to purchase the magazines. I’ve also been told that Salpeter purchased the magazines because he is a big SF/F fan.
Asimov's and Analog have been owned by Penny Press since 1996, when the magazines were purchased from Dell Magazines. F&SF has been owned by Gordon Van Gelder since 2001. While Asimov's and Analog have been stable in recent years in terms of their publishing schedules and circulations, F&SF has experienced difficulties including delayed author contracts and large time gaps between published issues. In the summer 2024 issue of F&SF, Van Gelder announced the magazine would switch to a quarterly schedule.
An official announcement on the purchase will be released in the near future. I’ve been told by sources that the intention is to keep the magazines in print and that the current editors will be staying in their positions.
Update: In a comment to File770's post about this news, Ellen Datlow said 1 Paragraph has also purchased Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Nick Mamatas said the same thing on Bluesky. Both magazines were previously owned by Penny Press and, like Asimov's and Analog, now have the same 1 Paragraph ownership information on their websites.