Starburst (magazine)
Starburst is a British science fiction magazine published by Starburst Magazine Limited. Starburst contains news, interviews, features, and reviews of genre material in various media, including TV, film, soundtracks, multimedia, books, and comics books. The magazine is published quarterly, with additional news and reviews being published daily on the website.
Publication history
Starburst was launched in December 1977 by editor Dez Skinn with his own company Starburst Publishing Ltd. The name Starburst was settled on after rejecting other names, including Starfall, as Skinn considered it too negative.Starburst was taken over by Marvel UK with issue #4, as part of deal whereby Skinn was put in charge of the UK comic reprints division. Marvel put the title up for sale in 1985 and it was bought by Visual Imagination and published by them from issue #88.
Having reached issue #365 in 2008, the magazine ceased publishing due to Visual Imagination folding.
In early 2011 Starburst Magazine Ltd announced that Starburst would resume publication as an online magazine. Founder Dez Skinn was named Honorary Editor-in-Chief. The first online issue was released on 14 May 2011, and carried an editorial by Skinn.
Starburst was returned to print publication by Starburst Magazine Ltd in February 2012, with issue #374.
The magazine celebrated its 40-year anniversary with issue #443, which included an editorial by creator Dez Skinn. Starburst headquarters is now based in Manchester.
Editors-in-chief
- 1977–1981: Dez Skinn
- 1981–1985: Alan McKenzie
- 1985: Cefn Ridout
- 1985–1999: Stephen Payne
- 1999–2001: David Richardson
- 2001: Andrew Cartmel
- 2001–2002: Gary Gillatt
- 2002: Stephen Payne
- 2003–2005: Simon J. Gerard
- 2005–2009: Stephen Payne
- 2009–2022: Jordan Royce
- 2022–2025: Kris Heys
- 2025 - present: Martin Unsworth
Columns and features
Starbursts review sections were edited by writers and reviewers such as Alan Jones. For several years, the magazine also carried a column by the writer John Brosnan. Its television review column, TV Zone, was used as the title of its sister publication, TV Zone.Current columns
- TV Zone by Paul Mount
- It's Only a Movie by Jordan Royce; previously penned by the late John Brosnan
- Horror Obscura by Editor-In-Chief Martin Unsworth
- Brave New Words and Roll for Damage by literary editor Ed Fortune
- OST by Nick Spacek
- Monsters University by Laura Potier