Our February issue hits the stands on Christmas Eve, so we can’t judge too harshly if you decide to avoid family gatherings and parties in favor of surreptitious readings of Asimov’s. (Those of you reading at the table as dinner is served are on your own.) Folks who don’t observe Christmas get to curl up with great fiction while avoiding those frantic last-minute shoppers tearing around town—it’s a win-win for you. And, yes, the issue is just stuffed.

February’s new novella by Judith Berman, her first with us since the critically acclaimed “The Fear Gun” back in 2004, is sure to please fans of the linguistically charged space operas of Samuel R. Delany. A young woman, employed against her will by a motley group of space sailors on the living starship Hajo-aa, must traverse the mysterious asteriod-cum-spaceship “Pelago,” all the while plotting her risky escape. We feel sure this epic, ambitious story will appear on many of your Best of 2009 lists.

Next up is a story by Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling, about a topic no less serious than the end of the world . . . and the crucial role internet bloggers have to play in it. Needless to say, it’s both biting and hilarious. Carol Emshwiller returns with “The Bird Painter in Time of War,” a heartbreaking examination of the collateral damages of conflict on innocents caught in the fray; Colin P. Davies questions the morality behind the disposability of non-human citizenry in “The Certainty Principle”; Matthew Johnson takes us to Antarctica for a taut examination on tactics during “The Coldest War”; and Steven Utley contributes a mordant fable worthy of Robert Bloch where two conflicting personalities attempt to reconcile their differences by taking “The Point.”

Robert Silverberg reminisces about his early days breaking into the field in his Reflections column, reminding us “It Wasn’t All That Easy”; Peter Heck brings us “On Books”; plus an array of poetry you’re sure to enjoy. Look for our January issue at your newsstand on December 24, 2008. Or you can subscribe to Asimov’s—by mail or online, in varying formats, including downloadable forms, by going to our website, www.asimovs.com. We’re also available on Amazon.com’s Kindle!