Hey, we made it to a second issue! (And that despite Kevin and I spending much of the last month in Australia.)

So, issue #2 is now online. It features fabulous cover art by Ben Baldwin and a whole lot of other good stuff.

Jonathan Clements talks about a new anime movie that is, “sheer mayhem, as if the cast of Top Gear raced through minefields on the North Korean border, or the cast of the Cannonball Run took on Darth Vader.” Being Jonathan, he supplies a wealth of background detail about the influences on the film. It is only coincidence that some of the pitches tossed by Brian Wilson yesterday seemed to be in the air for half an hour. (Don’t know what I’m taking about? Go read.)

Karen Burnham’s column features three stories by Rick Bowes, Rachel Swirsky and Lucius Shepard. All three bring the tool kit of fantasy to bear on the difficult subject of child abuse.

I have been reading a lot of YA books of late, and talk about them here. If you haven’t tried Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy yet I can heartily recommend it (unless you prefer your fiction without politics).

This months Salon podcast features Nicola Griffith, Hal Duncan and Catherynne M. Valente who join me to talk about Writing LGBT Characters. The Salon is now available on iTunes for those of you who prefer to listen that way.

Our interviews for October are with Jay Lake and Pat Cadigan, both of whom provide excellent value. Finnish readers in particular should check out what Pat has to say.

Talking of Finland, this month’s Pipeline includes news of a new novel from Johanna Sinisalo. That will also be of interest to people from New Zealand, and anyone who loves parrots.

And finally we have news of Dark Spires. We are taking pre-orders now. If you want a paper copy, do let us know, we won’t be printing many to begin with.