In this issue, we have not only our regular issue's worth of outstanding original stories, but our Editor's selections of  their Best Of submissions of 2020.  We hope that this will hold you, Dear Readers, until we return in February with our next regularly-scheduled issue--which will be the first of our 24th year of continuous publication!

One of the things that will be missing next year is the annual P&E Readers Poll Awards that you see at the top of this page.  P&E are undergoing a  move & reconstruction of their website, as well as the retirement of their previous senior editorial staff. At the moment, it looks as if the Polls have not been offered this year. If the Polls are to return, they will be welcomed by all and sundry. If not, then they will be missed.

Two things I will not be touching upon in my Editorial this month are US Politics and the pandemic.  Quite frankly, politics is too divisive here and now, and the virus is too well covered by any source of news that you have access to.  Both subjects are serious, and as such deserve better coverage by wiser heads than mine own.

One thing that we have seen this past year that I can comment upon is the poliferation of Small Press Publishers and Indy Publishing--both of which are proving to be a Good Thing. Which is not to say that traditional publishing is in decline, but rather that they now have healthy and worthwhile competition. Competition is rarely a bad thing. This has been building up since the creation of the Internet. As of now, it is rapidly becoming a recognised force for traditional publishers to recon with. What will happen is that the readers/purchasers will make their voices felt in the wider marketplace. I expect several waves of up and down before everything shakes out into what can be called a New Normal. 

I expect to see a healthy balance between Traditional, Small Press, and Indy Publishing to eventually become the above-stated New Normal. However, we're still within the "shake-down" period when those new norms have yet to be fully defined or extablished to everyone's satisfaction. This could go on for quite a while before everything settles down. Stay close to the candles, the staircase can be treacherous.

For now, I'm going to keep on keeping on, and see what developments the future hold. Y'all stay safe and have fun. Aphelion will return in February of 2021 with more of that best online amateur fiction you have grown to know and love. Whatever holidays you each may celebrate, I wish you and yours the very best and brightest!

About time I quit talking and let you get to reading!

Dan