Well, this is it. The first and only quarterly issue of Jersey Devil Press, and the twenty-fifth and final issue with me as editor. From here on out, the magazine is in the gnarled, twisted, possibly blood-soaked hands of Mike Sweeney. May God have mercy on us all.
Giving up the editorship of Jersey Devil Press was not something I took lightly. There were some personal reasons, some professional ones. But a big factor — probably bigger than it should have been, given that this is an online magazine — was that I didn’t want to sever JDP’s Jersey roots. I could have carried on, sure — I am, and always will be, a Jersey son — but it wouldn’t have been right. You can’t run a magazine from the middle of the desert and call yourself Jersey Devil Press. And renaming it Chupacabra Press was completely out of the question. No, Jersey Devil Press needed to stay in New Jersey, even if it was only a technicality.
Choosing Mike Sweeney was much more than a technicality, though. He has always been one of my favorite writers, and he embraces everything Jersey Devil Press is about. He’s jumped into his new position feet first and guns blazing. Yes, that’s kind of a mixed metaphor, but that’s also exactly how awesome Mike is. And thankfully, he’s not alone. Samuel Snoek-Brown and Laura Garrison are cannonballing in along with him, blades drawn. With a little luck, the three of them will make it well past issue fifty. And possibly star in a new action blockbuster.
These past two-plus years have been great, and the magazine’s surpassed almost all my expectations. Thank you for helping with that, and for making Jersey Devil Press what it is today.
Speaking of what Jersey Devil Press is today, sic your eyeballs on the most panda-lovingest, vestigial tail talkingest issue we’ve come up with yet. The online version of Issue Twenty-Five is here and the .pdf is here.
