Welcome to the official website of the

Star*Line Editors and Mastheads

Introduction

Since January 1978, Star*Line has been the official publication of The Science Fiction Poetry Association. Star*Line started out as a newsletter, but has developed into a journal and is the method that the SFPA uses to bring together poets and readers.

The early years of Star*Line were packed with articles about constructing poems with a few examples. Another important role Star*Line initially played was to relay news about markets and science fiction poets.

Under editor Suzette Haden Elgin (SFPA Founder), the magazine moved to feature a mix of articles and poems. The format changed from 8.5x11 to a 5.5x8.5 format in the third year. Also the frequency changed to 6 issues per year from 12. The very first illustrated cover was issue 1.7 (July 1978 - coincidentally the first Rhysling anthology). Again in 1979, issue 2.7 (the Rhysling) also had an illustrated cover. Beginning with issue 3.1 (Jan/Feb 1980) cover illustrations were the norm. Robert Frazier became the new editor in the beginning of the fourth year - 1981. This year also saw the cover printed on different colored paper.

Over the years the editors have continuously strived to make Star*Line a professional and quality publication. They brought their experience from other publications to the process, producing a polished journal.

The early editors did everything: typing, layout, labels and labeling; it was a real labor of love. As Elissa Malcohn remembers, this was "still in the days of manual paste-up and on a tight budget, so improv was part of the fun. I put together clip-art montages until I could get enough drawing submissions. Scissors, White-Out, and glue-sticks completed my toolbox."

As Star*Line matured, additional staff were added to handle layout and production duties. Production managers have included Mike Williams and Malcolm Deeley. Layout designers have included Mike Allen and Robert Frazier.

Below is a complete list of Star*Line's editors. Many used more than one masthead during their editorships. We have included a representative masthead for each.

--Rich Gombert

Editors and Representative Mastheads

Elgin, Suzette Haden	1978-1980

Frazier, Robert	1981-1985

Malcohn, Elissa	1986-1988

Frazier, Robert	1988-1991

Rowand, Richard	1991-1992

Simon, Marge	1992-1995

Kopaska-Merkel, David C.	1996-2002

Pratt, Tim	2002-2004

Simon, Marge	2004-Current