Lightspeed Magazine is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by bestselling editor John Joseph Adams. Lightspeed launched in June 2010, and since then has published a mix of original and reprinted fiction from both established pros and bestsellers and exciting newcomers, including: Stephen King, Sarah Langan, George R. R. Martin, Jack McDevitt, Carrie Vaughn, Carol Emshwiller, Joe R. Lansdale, Charles Yu, Catherynne M. Valente, Genevieve Valentine, Alice Sola Kim, Yoon Ha Lee, Robert Silverberg, and many more.
Lightspeed also includes feature interviews, fiction podcasts, and Q&As with our authors that go behind-the-scenes of their stories. While Lightspeed originally published only science fiction, in January 2012, we merged with our sister publication, Fantasy Magazine, and we now publish an equal amount of fantasy and science fiction.
Our current publication schedule each month includes four pieces of original fiction and four fiction reprints, along with two feature interviews and an artist gallery showcasing our cover artist. We publish ebook issues on the first of every month, which are available for sale in ePub format via our website and is also available in other formats such as Kindle and Nook. Each issue’s contents are serialized on our website throughout the month, with new features publishing on the first four Tuesdays of every month.
ADVERTISING IN LIGHTSPEED
Traffic: In 2012, Lightspeed averaged 63,500 pageviews a month, with 31,000 visitors and 17,000 uniques.
Notability: Lightspeed was a 2011 Hugo Award nominee, and stories from Lightspeed have been nominated for the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Theodore Sturgeon Award. Additionally, nine out of the sixteen original stories published in Lightspeed in 2010 were selected for reprint in a best-of-the-year anthology.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Age: 82% of Lightspeed’s readers fall into the coveted 25-54 age demographic. 10% of Lightspeed’s readers are 18-24.
Gender: 59% male, 39% female
Purchasing Habits: On average, Lightspeed’s readers purchase 1.25 hardcovers, 2.5 paperbacks, and 2 ebooks per month.
Download our Advertising Demographics (PDF) for more information about our reader demographics and purchasing habits.
RATES AND SPECIFICATIONS
Rates for online advertising are as follows, for monthly placements:
Top, Left Sidebar
—box ad, 300 x 250: $250
Middle, Left Sidebar
—option 1: tower ad, 300 x 600: $250
—option 2: box ad 300 x 250: $150
Bottom, Left Footer
—box ad, 300 x 250: $150
Bottom, Right Footer
—box ad, 300 x 250: [not currently available]
Variable Position
—banner ad, 460 x 60: $100
Placement: All ads will appear on the Lightspeed homepage and on all subpages.
Duration: Rates shown are monthly. Discounts are available for multiple and long-term orders.
File Formats: GIF, JPG, Flash, or Javascript
Size Limit: 55kb (more or less, within reason)
Frequency: Lightspeed publishes monthly ebook issues, with all of the ebook content being released weekly online for free, on Tuesdays, including a new piece of fiction and nonfiction, along with “author spotlights” on our contributors.
Closing Dates: Five days before the 1st of the month you want to advertise in.
Contact: [email protected]
Disclaimer: All advertising is accepted subject to publisher’s approval. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising which he feels is not in keeping with Lightspeed‘s standards. Advertiser and advertising agency assume liability for all content of advertisements printed, and also assume responsibility for any claims arising therefrom against the publisher.
SITE SPONSORSHIP
Get all four ads for $600 ($50-$150 off the list price), plus branding rights on the Lightspeed banner in the month you advertise (i.e., Publishing Company Presents… LIGHTSPEED). Discounts available for long-term sponsorship buys: a three-month sponsorship agreement reduces the monthly rate to $550 a month; a six-month sponsorship agreement reduces the monthly rate to $500 a month.
Site sponsorship would give your company all the benefits of publishing an online magazine, but with very limited risk (just $500-600 a month), and would give you a high profile venue in the community to advertise your new titles.
EBOOK EDITIONS
Our ebook editions cannot contain advertising, as per Amazon’s (and some other ebook retailers’) terms of service. However, we can make the ebook covers of Lightspeed also include the “[Publishing Company] Presents…” branding, and we can include simple, text-based “advertainment” in our editorials, spotlighting various new titles your company is offering.
