And, of course, some SF is set close enough to here and now that Anglo and European do apply. Since many of the writers come from those backgrounds, so does much of the fiction.

It's most presumptuous to believe we already know all the answers and will never get any more big surprises.

Don't mistake a good setup for a satisfying conclusion - many beginning writers end their stories when the real story is just ready to begin.

Resist the temptation to try to use dazzling style to conceal weakness of substance.

Blaming society makes it awfully easy for a person of weak character to shrug off his own responsibility for his actions.

Ideally, I'd like every issue to include a diverse group of stories that meet the qualifications sketched above, but covering a wide range of specific matter and flavour.

It's easy to imagine ways the future can be ugly and depressing. It's harder, but more worthwhile, to imagine plausible ways we can make it better.

As for sticking strictly to presently known science, I will simply point out that we have already experienced at least two major revolutions in science in this century alone.

There may be something to the suggestion about the pace of technological change intimidating writers, though - it's been awfully hard to keep ahead of real developments.

I think the rising and falling popularity of areas like hard SF and far-future SF is, to a considerable extent, the same as any other fashion.

This means I must pay close attention to the writing, but equally so to the scientific background - which sometimes means doing fairly involved calculations.

Let my learning be my experience.

Music was always a big part of my family. Only a few of us had the talent - or the courage - to walk out on a stage.

I am about to vote. I am about to do something that human beings are rarely allowed to do. I am doing something that did not exist until America.

Eleven times Jesus died on the cross, Eleven times falls down a body thrown upward, Eleven times also I abandon the logical flow of thought.

I’m not into ‘Let’s go out with one guy on a Monday and another guy on a Wednesday’ – that’s just not me.

The whole point for me is to change as much as possible. If I've done one movie, I've done that, move on.

You're obstinate, pliant, merry, morose, all at once. For me there's no living with you, or without you.

North Eurasia is one of the best examples of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence of Islam and Christianity. This is a rare thing in today's world, even in its most liberal parts.

Love as a power can go anywhere. It isn't sentimental. It doesn't have to be pretty, yet it doesn't deny pain.

Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it.