I subscribed to science fiction prozines faithfully for 30+ years, reading the following for extended periods of time:
> WORLDS OF IF from 1963 through 1974
> GALAXY from1963 through 1980
> FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION from 1973 through 1995
> ASIMOV’S (1983 through 1995)

I also read a few other prozines for shorter periods of time, such as WORLDS OF TOMORROW, Algis Budrys’ TOMORROW SF, and SCIENCE FICTION AGE. But in 1995 I rebelled against how much time I was committing to reading zines each month, so I let my subscriptions to all of them lapse.

I still love short fiction though, so now I read a few “best of the year” anthologies each year to fill in a bit of the gap left by the prozines. Which anthologies I read fluctuates though from year to year. Gardner Dozois’ YEAR’S BEST SCIENCE FICTION is the stalwart, since I have read all 20 volumes of it so far. This year I also plan to read David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer’s 4th volume of YEAR’S BEST FANTASY, and Karen Haber and Jonathan Strahan’s 2003: THE YEAR IN SCIENCE FICTION and possibly Strahan’s BEST NOVELLAS OF 2003 which is being published by the Science Fiction Book Club. Should be some good stuff in there!

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Everybody has different signs of aging, so here is one of mine: When I first “discovered” science fiction in the 1960s, my favorite young authors were Roger Zelazny, Samuel R. Delany, and Robert Silverberg. Now Zelazny is dead, and Silverberg has just been named as this year’s Science Fiction Writers of America Grandmaster Award, an award that I associate with somebody who is so aging that the SFWA rushes to give them one last award before they uttered their last breath.

I’m sure I am exaggerating that situation in Silverberg’s case, since he is a fellow FAPA member and seems as hale and hearty as I am (perhaps even more so ☺), but it still makes me feel old that one of my once-upon-a-time favorite young authors is now a grandmaster!

By the way, Silverberg well-deserves the award, since he is indeed one of science fiction’s all-time greats. If you don’t believe me, run out and buy a copy of NIGHTWINGS or DYING INSIDE. You’ve got a great reading experience awaiting you if you do!