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ASFFQ : 1991

The year of moderate output! After the year 1990, marked by the inflated number of novels (no less than 39!), and the year 1989, which beat all the records, the publishing apparatus apparently understood the dangers of overproduction in science fiction and fantasy (as is the case in general literature, in fact). Therefore the number of short stories (153) is on par with the production of an ordinary year. With 30 novels or novellas, there are, however, a high number of books, due to the contribution of YA authors, the books for the adult readership being limited to 5.
The number of original short stories is thus lower, but the spread between science fiction and fantasy (again including fantastic and supernatural literature) still favours the latter: 96 works of fantasy (63%) and 57 SF texts (37%). Fantasy is predominant in collections or anthologies (67% of all fantasy short stories), and in the non-specialized magazines (24%), while SF, with 24 stories, is far more predominant in the specialized magazines.
On the reprints and translations front, all is quiet for books (only 4), but it is a good year as far as short stories are concerned, with 70 texts mostly reissued through collections or anthologies. It has been a long time since the SF short stories have been predominant like this year: 46 have been reprinted or translated.
Last analysis indicator: the number of writers having published at least one original work is 96, which is about average for recent years. However, only 37 newcomers have published for the first time in our genres. This decrease might be considered worrying, since it could indicate a decrease in interest among would-be writers for one or the other genre. Personally, I see it as a sign of maturity and the development of a loyal readership, which would tend to demonstrate that the core of specialized writers is slowly growing.

Claude Janelle

Original Production	Science Fiction	Fantasy & Horror	Total
Novels	17	13	30
Short stories in...	57	96	153
a) collections & anthologies	24	64	88
b) specialized magazines	24	9	33
c) non-specialized magazines	9	23	32

Reissues and/or translations	Science Fiction	Fantasy & Horror	Total
Novels	3	1	4
Short stories in...	46	24	70
a) collections & anthologies	42	19	61
b) specialized magazines	3	2	5
c) non-specialized magazines	1	3	4

Combined production	Science Fiction	Fantasy & Horror	Total
Novels	20	14	34
Short stories in...	103	120	223
a) collections & anthologies	66	83	149
b) specialized magazines	27	11	38
c) non-specialized magazines	10	26	36