After 6 issues and 3.5 years at the helm, Pete Sutton is stepping down as Editor of BFS Horizons—and current Assistant Editor Robin C.M. Duncan is stepping up. This marks Robin’s continuing adventures with the BFS, as he also acts as Editorial Officer for the committee as well as co-hosts our podcast with David Green.
Robin will bring Pete’s final two editions (#18 and #19) to publication, and is currently choosing stories for the Spring 2026 edition, his first as sole Editor.
BFS Chair Shona Kinsella said: ““We’re very sad to see Pete stand down, and thank him for all the work he’s done for the society, and welcome Robin to the role. Robin has worked alongside Pete on issues 18 and 19 and has brought great energy and enthusiasm to the role.”
A note from the new Editor of BFS Horizons, Robin C.M. Duncan:
I’ve been a BFS member for 6 years, and a fan of Horizons for the same period. My first Horizons, #9, had the massive waterfall and almost Tolkien-esque landscape (cover art by Sophie E Tallis). I was immediately struck by the huge variety of stories and poems, and how talented and diverse the membership must be to populate that volume.
As Horizons developed through the editorship of Tim Major and Shona Kinsella to Pete Sutton – always underscored by Ian Hunter’s poetry curations, and then with Jenni Coutts-edited artworks – I more and more eagerly awaited the arrival of my biannual edition. Last year, I was moved to join the submission readers, quickly taking on admin tasks, then accepted Pete’s invitation to become assistant editor. (Any excuse to build and maintain a massive spreadsheet!)
I’ve learned so much from Pete in a short space of time. He’s been nothing but knowledgeable, generous and patient in showing me the ropes: it’s sad he has had to step down for family health reasons, and I wish him the very best. I would never have wanted the role in such circumstances, of course, but I very much will embrace the opportunity to bring the stories, poems and art already selected for Issues #18 and #19 to members, and the wider Horizons readership.
My AGM report contains the figures, but opening up as a paying market has (excitingly!) led to a big increase in submissions from all around the world – probably the biggest challenge of the last year. When we closed for fiction subs on 7 July, we had more than 300 stories to read.
There have been delays to this year’s issues, but Pete strengthened the team (including typesetting and layout/formatting), and I added more readers. We’re in good shape for next year. I’m now choosing stories for Issue #20 (Spring 2026) and #21 (Autumn 2026). Also, we continue to discuss Horizons’ development, exciting innovations like internal coloured art for #20.
I’m very excited about the future, the excellent stories members will read this year, the great variety and quality of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories (plus all points in between!) I’ll be selecting from for future issues. I hope to reopen fiction submissions in Summer, and encourage BFS members to submit their work, as we would always like to see more of that.”
For more information about BFS Horizons, including submission guidelines, head here.
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