The periodicals holdings at Liverpool are primarily formed by the Science Fiction Foundation Collection of over 2200 titles, making it one of the most extensive in the world. The collections are comprised of critical journals, fanzines and fiction magazines, covering most of the last century and continuing to grow to this date. All of our periodicals contain a wealth of material for you to explore and exploit, whatever your research interest.
Critical journals: Over 600 titles, including complete runs of all the major journals, such as Foundation, Science Fiction Studies, Extrapolation, Science Fiction Eye, SF Commentary, The New York Review of Science Fiction, Vector, SFRA Review and Utopian Studies. Our journals contain a vast amount of critical work and, to facilitate access to this valuable content, we have indexed many thousands of individual articles from the major titles (see Articles Index for details). Most of our journals are British, American, Canadian or Australian in origin but we also have around 100 non-English titles covering Western and Eastern European science fiction.
Fanzines: Over 1000 titles from the mid-20th century to the present day, including over 100 non-English fanzines. Our fanzines are a rich source of author interviews, contain plentiful critical analysis to complement the more formal journals and provide insights into the history of science fiction fandom. Consequently, many items from the most substantial fanzines can be found in our Articles Index.
Fiction magazines: 600 titles from the 1920s to the present, including some of the earliest issues of Amazing Stories, Wonder Stories and Astounding, as well as 100 non-English titles. Our collection of magazines reflects the importance of their role as a fertile breeding ground for science fiction and records the earliest works of many leading writers, helping to complete the picture of many a literary career.
Searching for periodicals
Records of all our periodical titles can be found within the SF Catalogue. Each periodical is catalogued in detail to facilitate advanced searching, including full bibliographic details, publication history, holdings information, editors' names and subject headings. Where the title of a periodical has changed, links to the continuing or preceeding title are also provided. Please pay particular attention to the holdings notes for each record, as we do not have complete runs for all titles in our collections. If in doubt, please contact us. Further guidance for using the SF Catalogue can be found in the Search Tools area of the Home page.
Donations
In developing the collection, we are entirely dependent upon the generosity of publishers, writers and collectors. Our aim is to promote research into science fiction by providing access to and complementary research tools for as comprehensive a collection as possible. Please help us to fill gaps in the collection by contacting us if you have any relevant material to donate.
Periodicals for sale
Most back-issues of Foundation: the International Review of Science Fiction are currently available to buy. We also have a number of duplicate issues of other critical journals, as well as some fanzines and fiction magazines, to sell or exchange. All proceeds fund the development of the collection. Please check our current For Sale List or contact us for details.
