Monthly Serial Novel Magazines?

DeeryQueen asks: "I enjoy reading both regular/text novels and Japanese graphic novels (manga), but while there are a few magazines serializing manga (a few hundred pages each month, consisting of a chapter each from many different graphic novels) with which I am familiar (such as Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat), I don't know where to start looking for US magazines which serialize text novels using this formula. I read all genres. Any recommendations?"

Comments

Here's my favorite...

[parvenu74]

I'm partial to the classics from O'Reilly...

Are you sure you want what you're asking for?

[JavaRob]

Well, what are you really looking for? Do you like the serial form because it makes you slow down when reading an entire novel, or cuts it up into bite-sized chunks?

You could always just take a regular novel, slice it up, put each chapter in an envelope, and get a friend to mail them to you one at a time.

Seriously, this just isn't done much anymore. I know one example -- Dave Eggers was publishing a serial novel on Salon.com (subscription or sommething probably required)... it got up to episode 35 and kind of stopped (was that the end? I don't know) last summer. I'm guessing they abandoned the idea... and frankly, I wasn't reading it anymore, anyway. Serial novels are a form that seems very hard to do well -- the author doesn't get a chance to *revise* when he's painted himself into a corner, plotwise, or when he realizes he's running out of good material; he just has to keep on going, ignoring the inconsistencies and poor story arc and so on.

I'd say you're better off with a good book. Or... you could do some digging in a good library (ask the reference librarian for help) in finding what you want in old magazines; one of those old serials packed with spies and women on railroad tracks, with a cliff-hanger at the end of every segment could be fun to read.

Analog sci-fi mag

[jedimaster101]

Analog Science Fiction & Fact runs 3 to 4 part serials pretty regularly. I don't know whether the sum of the parts would be the length of a full-blown novel, but it's something. It's a pretty effective gimmick to keep me subscribing, especially when they run a really good serial, like "Shootout at the Nokai Corral" by Rajnar Vajra.

Useful (?) Reply Follows

[gmhowell]

Not sure if this is exactly what you are looking for, but Analog and Asimov magazines feature short stories, but once or twice per year will serialize a novel. If you prefer mysteries, I imagine similar offerings are available for Ellery Queen and Hitchcock magazines.

There is a Fantasy magazine in the same format, but the name escapes me.