Outlands (magazine)

Outlands was a semi-professional science fiction-based magazine, only one issue of which was ever produced. Outlands was published by Outlands Publications in England in the winter of 1946. It was digest size, 40 pages long, and cost 1/6d.

The magazine was edited by Leslie J. Johnson, who had used his RAF gratuity to establish Outlands with fellow science-fiction fans. He edited the magazine from his home in Liverpool.

Johnson had previously worked on science fiction stories with John Russell Fearn and Eric Frank Russell, his co-writer on the story Seeker of Tomorrow which appeared in Astounding Stories magazine in July 1937.

Around the time of the magazine's launch in October 1946, a preliminary announcement described the magazine as "for all who seek wider fields of thought and imagination, and who aren’t afraid to face facts that run counter to accepted beliefs." Offering scope for writers with original ideas, the creators distanced themselves from committing to any set formula for the magazine, and promised to feature whatever they wanted to write as long as it was "unique and significant." The creators attempted to solicit interest in advance of publication by circulating this announcement to science fiction and fantasy fans, and inviting anyone interested in receiving more information about the magazine to contact them at "Outlands Publications", 19 Richmond Avenue, Liverpool 21.

The published magazine consisted of 40 pages of fiction and articles, and an editorial illustrating the stated aim of the creators "to interest you with stories and articles which will have a slant towards the future. Yet we don’t like to say we are publishing any particular type of material. You may label our stories ’science fiction,’ ’weird fiction’ or ’fantasy’; call them what you will..."

Contents included science-fiction pieces by John Russell Fearn and George C. Wallis, and fantasy stories by Charnock Walsby, Sydney J. Bounds and John Gabriel. Articles included "Psychic Scents," by A. Hastwa, dealing with spiritualism and later reprinted in the December 1950 issue of Fate, and "Mystery Power," by Leslie V. Heald, citing inexplicable Fortean phenomena. The only story title displayed on the cover was 'Pre-Natal' by Fearn.

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