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December 8th 2006 sees the launch of a brand new UK genre fiction magazine, Hub. The mag's editor is a chap called Lee Harris, and we dropped him a line to ask him about the new publishing project.

We started by asking Lee to introduce us to Hub. What, we wanted to know, is the ethos of the magazine, what sort of genre mix does it have, what sort of audience is it aiming to attract, will it primarily featuring fiction by new authors and established small press 'zine writers, or does he hope (or is he already planning) to publish some of the established names of the genre? You know... just a quick starter for ten.

"Hub is a fairly even mix of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror." Lee told us. "We don't favour one genre over the others, and the mix is fairly eclectic - from classic-style science-fiction, through whimsical fantasy and disturbing horror.

"It was difficult to give a brief to our contributors, particularly as we are still working on our first issue. We had to work on a 'we'll know it when we see it' basis and we've seen some amazing fiction even before Issue #1 is printed!

"Our intended audience is anyone who likes to read genre short fiction. We believe we'll be popular with the established genre audience, but we'd also like to attract the folk who like genre fiction but don't necessarily see it as their main focus - you know the sort of people I mean: they watch Lost and i but probably don't have a standing order at their local comic shop like the rest of us (though comic retailers will be our main outlet in the UK, other than online sales).

"The design of the magazine is quite different from anything else out there, too, so people who wouldn't normally be comfortable holding a copy of 'Amazon Women from the Planet Luros' (with the usual graphic cover) should be happy to be seen holding Hub."

"Writers-wise, we're not banging any particular drum. We didn't set out to say let's give priority to the unknown writers' or anything like that, but we're publishing a few unknowns (along with some semi- and reasonably well-knowns) in the first issue.

"If we have any sort of editorial rule of thumb it's 'don't let previous success sway us'." Lee continued. "We'll print a story if we like the story, and it doesn't matter if the writer has never been published before (we have at least one of those in the launch issue) or if the writer is regularly featured elsewhere.

"As for established names, the first story that I knew I wanted in Hub is a wonderfully comic tale of first contact - 'Bubba Pritchert and the Space Aliens' by Bud Webster. I first discovered Bud's work through his recent Nebula-nominated 'Christus Destitutus' and had to read more. I tracked him down and he agreed to let us reprint 'Bubba' which has been publisheded before, and won some awards. We won't be reprinting much previously-published material in Hub but I had to share 'Bubba' with anyone else who hadn't read it, as I loved it so much."

At the risk of dropping a fly into Lee's ointment, we couldn't help wandering whether he thought there would definitely be room in the UK market for a new print title, with the likes of Interzone and Black Static (The Third Alternative as-was) already so well established?

"Let's face it, short fiction magazines are never going to outsell Celebrity Mud Wrestling." said Lee. "The market is pretty small. Andy and Jetse and the gang over at TTA Press do a fantastic job on Interzone, and I'm expecting great things from Black Static.

"Hub is a different style of magazine. Where Black Static is aiming for more subtle horror (I'm given to understand), Hub will happily mix in the gore when the need arises. We also aim to have more humour in the magazine than some of the other titles out there.

"Interzone, Black Static and Hub are all bi-monthly, too, which means that even if someone buys all three they're only getting one and a half magazines a month (we don't mind being the half). So yes - I think there's room, but it'll be a squeeze. If we sell enough copies to break even I'll be a happy man."

There was one more insect-esque question we wanted to put to Lee, along the lines of what made him decide to launch a print magazine at a time when so much content is going straight to the web?

"Sheer bloody-mindedness, combined with a pinch of masochism." was the straight-up reply.

"I love the web, and when we relaunch the Hub website (www.hub-mag.co.uk, folks) there will be a lot of web-only content on there, including weekly web-only reviews, and podcasts of classic genre fiction which will be backed up by features in the magazine.

"There will also be areas of the website which can only be reached by entering the password which is to be found in the printed 'zine (or by asking your mate who bought a copy). We want the relationship between the website and the magazine to be a close one.

Finally, what are the Hub team's plans for future issues? Any major features that readers might like to keep an eye out for?

"Issue #2 contains a piece on the rise of Electronic Books as a medium, and also sees the start of our regular podcast feature. We have a prominent UK producer of genre audio fiction onboard for a regular column (he's currently working on Robert Rankin's Brightonomnicon series starring the amazing David Warner).

"We'll also be continuing our series on SF staples in the real world (issue #1 contains a feature on invisibility as a real-world application. Scientists are working hard to make this a reality); oh, and pots of superb quality fiction, of course! We have over 39,000 words of fiction in issue #1 and about 10,000 of non-fiction. 10 short stories and loads of interesting features. It's like buying an anthology book for £3.50! We're also starting a podcast serial with a difference, but you'll have to keep an eye out for that as details are strictly under wraps for the moment.

"Anyone who likes genre fiction should try issue #1 - we're confident they'll be back for more (we've already sold subscriptions all over the world and we've not even launched yet!)

"And if any of your readers are in the York area on December 8th they're welcome to join us at the Yorkshire Hussar for our launch party. It's low key and you can buy your own drinks (and some for us - we're not proud), but it should be a good night; and you can use the old 'yes I'm going out again, dear, but it's for art' excuse. If you do intend coming, just drop me an email so I can let the venue know how many to expect..."

All the info on Hub you could possibly want, and more, is on www.hub-mag.co.uk. Check it out. Order an issue. Take out a subscription. You know it makes sense.

Source: Lee Harris

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