Omni (magazine)

Omni was a science and science fiction magazine pub- End of the Whole Mess". Omni also brought the works
lished in the US and the UK. It contained articles on of numerous painters to the attention of a large audience,
science, parapsychology, and short works of science fic- such as H. R. Giger, De Es Schwertberger and Rallé. In
tion and fantasy.[1] It was published as a print version the early 1980s, popular fiction stories from Omni were
between October 1978 and 1995. The first Omni e- reprinted in The Best of Omni Science Fiction series and
magazine was published on CompuServe in 1986 and featured art by space artists like Robert McCall.
the magazine switched to a purely online presence in
1996.[2][3] It ceased publication abruptly in 1997, follow-
ing the death of co-founder Kathy Keeton, and closed 1.3 Market
down in 1998.[4][5]
Omni entered the market at the start of a wave of new
science magazines aimed at educated but otherwise “non-
1 History professional” readers. Science Digest and Science News al-
ready served the high-school market, and Scientific Amer-
ican and New Scientist the professional, while Omni was
1.1 Concept arguably the first aimed at “armchair scientists” who were
nevertheless well informed about technical issues. The
Omni was founded by Kathy Keeton and her long-time next year, however, Time introduced Discover while the
collaborator and future husband Bob Guccione, the pub- AAAS introduced Science '80. Advertising dollars were
lisher of Penthouse magazine.[6] The initial concept came spread among the different magazines, and those without
from Keeton, who wanted a magazine “that explored all deep pockets soon folded in the 1980s, notably Science
realms of science and the paranormal, that delved into Digest, while Science '80 merged with Discover. Omni ap-
all corners of the unknown and projected some of those peared to weather this storm better than most, likely due
discoveries into fiction.”[7] to its wider selection of contents. In early 1996 publisher
Dick Teresi, an author and former Good Housekeeping Bob Guccione suspended publication of the print edition
editor, wrote the proposal for the magazine, from which of Omni, attributing the decision to the rising price of
a dummy was produced.[6][8] In pre-launch publicity it paper and postage. At the end of its print run the circu-
was referred to as Nova but the name was changed be- lation was still reported to be more than 700,000 copies
fore the first issue went to print to avoid a conflict with a month.[12]
the PBS science show of the same name.[1][9][10] Guc- In September 1997, Keeton died of complications from
cione described the magazine as “an original if not con- surgery for an intestinal obstruction.[13] The staff of Omni
troversial mixture of science fact, fiction, fantasy and the Internet was laid off, and no new content was added to
paranormal”.[11] The debut edition had an exclusive inter- the website after April 1998. General Media shut the site
view with Freeman Dyson, a renowned physicist, and the down and removed the Omni archives from the Internet
second edition carried an interview with Alvin Toffler, in 2003.
futurist and author of Future Shock.

1.2 Fiction 2 Editions

In its early run, Omni published a number of stories that 2.1 International editions
have become genre classics, such as Orson Scott Card's
"Unaccompanied Sonata", William Gibson's "Burning Omni magazine was published in at least six languages.
Chrome", "New Rose Hotel" and "Johnny Mnemonic", The content in the British editions closely followed the
and George R. R. Martin's “Sandkings”. The maga- North American editions, but with a different number-
zine also published original science fiction and fantasy ing sequence. This was mainly accomplished by wrap-
by William S. Burroughs, Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan ping the American edition in a new cover which featured
Carroll, Julio Cortazar, T. Coraghessan Boyle, and other British advertising on the inside. At least one British edi-
mainstream writers. The magazine excerpted Stephen tion was entirely unique and was shipped under the ban-
King's novel Firestarter, and featured his short story "The ner of Omni UK. An Italian edition was edited by Al-

1
2 2 EDITIONS

berto Peruzzo and ran for 20 issues from 1981 to 1983, hosted by Keir Dullea under the title Omni: Visions of the
when Peruzzo detached the name Omni from his local Future. Episodes were titled Futurebody, Space, Amazing
edition. The italian spin-off continued with the name Fu- Medicine and Lifestyles in the 21st Century.[16]
tura, while maintaining the same graphical style and with
an unchanged intended audience, for another twenty is-
sues, upto July 1985. The Japanese edition ran from 1982 2.4 Comics
to the summer of 1989 and included almost entirely dif-
ferent content to the American edition. The German edi- An equally short-lived spinoff magazine called Omni
tion began in 1984 and ended in early 1986.[14] The first Comix debuted in 1995, and was published in the same
Spanish edition appeared in November 1986 and ran until glossy, newsstand magazine format as its sister publica-
the summer of 1988. A Russian edition was published in tions Omni, Penthouse and Penthouse Comix. Omni Comix
the Soviet Union beginning in September 1989 in con- ran for only three issues, and the third and final issue fea-
junction with the USSR Academy of Sciences. These tured an abortive revival of the classic 1960’s superhero
editions were 80% in English and featured both Russian series T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.[17]
and English advertising.[15] Publisher Guccione arranged
for 20,000 copies of the Russian edition to be placed
on news stands and onboard internal Aeroflot flights in 2.5 Anthologies
the Soviet Union in exchange for an equivalent number
of copies of “Science in Russia” being distributed in the From 1983 to 1986 Zebra Books published a series of
USA. Omni ran subscription adverts beginning in August anthologies containing selected non-fiction content from
1989 for “Science in Russia”. This arrangement was in- Omni magazine:
tended to last for one year and was made possible by the
Glasnost events in the Soviet Union. • The Omni Book of Space edited by Owen Davies
(ISBN 0-8217-1275-6 published October 1983)

2.2 Webzine • The Omni Book of Computers and Robots edited by

Owen Davies (ISBN 0-8217-1276-4 published Oc-
Omni first began its online presence as part of tober 1983)
Compuserve in the summer of 1986. On September 5,
1993 Omni became part of the America Online service. • The Omni Book of Medicine edited by Owen Davies
The AOL unveiling took place at the 51st World Science (ISBN 0-8217-1364-7 published April 1984)
Fiction Convention in San Francisco. AOL subscribers
• The Omni Book of the Paranormal & the Mind
had access to much of the Omni printed archive as well as
edited by Owen Davies (ISBN 0-8217-1365-5 pub-
forums, chat groups and new fiction. After the print mag-
lished April 1984)
azine folded, the Omni Internet webzine was launched on
September 15, 1996. For the first few months the new • The Omni Book of Psychology edited by Peter Tyson
website was integrated into the AOL service, replacing (ISBN 0-8217-1868-1 published July 1986)
the existing AOL Omni interface. Now free of pressure
to focus on fringe science areas, Omni returned to its roots • The Omni Book of High-Tech Society 2000 edited
as the home of gonzo science writing, becoming one of by Peter Tyson (ISBN 0-8217-1896-7 published
the first large-scale venues to deliver a journalism geared September 1986)
specifically to cyberspace, complete with real-time cov-
erage of major science events, chats and blogs with sci- From 1984 to 1989 Zebra Books also published a se-
entific luminaries, and interactive experiments that users ries of Science Fiction anthologies containing stories pub-
could join. The world’s top science fiction writers also lished in Omni magazine with all volumes edited by Ellen
joined in, writing collaborative fiction pieces for Omni's Datlow who was also serving as the editor of Omni mag-
readers live online. azine at the time:

2.3 Television • The First Omni Book of Science Fiction (ISBN 0-

8217-1319-1 published January 1984)
A short-lived syndicated television show based on the
• The Second Omni Book of Science Fiction (ISBN 0-
magazine’s format (and called Omni: The New Frontier)
8217-1320-5 published January 1984)
aired in the United States beginning in September 1981,
hosted by Peter Ustinov. A French-language, dubbed • The Third Omni Book of Science Fiction (ISBN 0-
version of the show appeared on the Canadian public 8217-1575-5 published April 1985)
TV network Radio-Québec (now known as Télé-Québec)
in 1994. In 1985 extracts of the 1981 television series • The Fourth Omni Book of Science Fiction (ISBN 0-
were re-edited and repackaged into four television shows 8217-1630-1 published July 1985)
4.1 Reboot 3

• The Fifth Omni Book of Science Fiction (ISBN 0- 4.1 Reboot

8217-2050-3 published April 1987)
In August 2013 plans to launch “a new online project, de-
• The Sixth Omni Book of Science Fiction (ISBN 0- scribed as an 'Omni reboot'" were reported by The Verge.
8217-2606-4 published March 1989) The project was said to be under the guidance of pro-
ducer Rick Schwartz and businessman/collector Jeremy
• The Seventh Omni Book of Science Fiction (ISBN 0- Frommer who purchased a storage locker “on a whim”
8217-2688-9 published June 1989) in November 2012 that was found to contain “a siz-
able chunk of the estate of Bob Guccione.” The redis-
covered materials include “cover drafts with greasy pen-
Ellen Datlow also edited and released the following Sci-
cil notations, thousands of 35-mm slides, large-format
ence Fiction anthologies of stories published in Omni
chromes, magazines bundled with stapled paperwork,
magazine under the OMNI Books imprint.
production materials, and untold amounts of photos and
artwork.”[19][20]
• Omni Best Science Fiction One (ISBN 0-87455-277-
X published October 1992)
5 See also
• Omni Best Science Fiction Two (ISBN 0-87455-278-
8 published November 1992)
• Future Life
• Omni Best Science Fiction Three (ISBN 0-87455- • Galileo
284-2 published June 1993)

• Omni Visions One (ISBN 0-87455-298-2 published

November 1993)
6 References

• Omni Visions Two (ISBN 0-87455-308-3 published Footnotes

July 1994)
[1] Ashley 2007, p. 367

[2] “Omni Internet Relaunch”. Locus 36 (6). June 1996. p.

8.
3 Editorial staff
[3] “Physical Omni Bites the Dust”. Science Fiction Chronicle
The magazine was initially edited by Frank Kendig, who 17 (4). May 1996. p. 6.
left several months after the magazine’s launch. Ben [4] Collins, Paul (7 January 2010). “Defunct Omni magazine
Bova, who was hired as Fiction Editor, was promoted forecast a future of robots, telecommuting”. The Wash-
to Editor, leaving the magazine in 1981. After Kendig ington Post (Washington, D.C.). Retrieved 2 December
and Bova, Editors of Omni included Dick Teresi, Gurney 2012. – via HighBeam Research (subscription required)
Williams III, Patrice Adcroft, Keith Ferrell, and Pamela
[5] “Omni Online Folds”. Locus 40 (5). May 1998. pp. 8,
Weintraub (editor of Omni as one of the first major stan-
61.
dalone webzines from 1996-1998). Kathleen Stein man-
aged the magazine’s prestigious Q&A interviews with the [6] Ashley 2007, p. 368
top scientists of the 20th century through 1998. Ellen
[7] Ashley 2007, pp. 367–368
Datlow was Associate fiction editor of Omni under Robert
Sheckley for one and a half years, and took over as Fiction [8] “Quest for longevity entails paradoxes, compromises”.
Editor in 1981 until the magazine folded in 1998. Winnipeg Free Press. 17 March 2012. Retrieved 2 De-
cember 2012. – via HighBeam Research (subscription re-
quired)

4 Ownership [9] Brown, Charles. "Nova coming”. Locus 208(1): Jan-

uary/February 1978. Cited in Ashley (2007); p.367

In 2013, Glenn Fleishman undertook a research project [10] “Bob Guccione wanted to start a science magazine called
with the goal of learning who currently owns the Omni Nova, but was stopped by a television program of the same
intellectual property, and concluded that the rights to the name — so he switched to Omni.” Klingel, John (1 Jan-
fiction published in Omni had long since reverted to the uary 1986). “What’s in a name?". Folio. Retrieved 2 De-
cember 2012. – via HighBeam Research (subscription re-
original authors (who had only sold first North American
quired)
publication rights), and that “possibly even the current os-
tensible owner” may not know who owns the rights to the [11] Guccione, Bob (6 October 1978). “First word”. Omni 1
rest of the content.[18] (1).
4 7 EXTERNAL LINKS

[12] Guccione Halts Publication of Omni

[13] Pogrebin, Robin (September 23, 1997). “Kathy Keeton

Guccione, 58, President of Magazine Company”. The
New York Times.

[14] Omni International Editions

[15] Omni Magazine Gets A Lesson In Russian - Chicago Tri-

bune

[16] Omni Advertising

[17] Omni Comix on Comicvine.com

[18] Who Owns Omni? at BoingBoing; by Glenn Fleishman;

published July 9, 2013; retrieved July 15, 2013

[19] "Omni, reboot: an iconic sci-fi magazine goes back to the

future”. The Verge. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August
2013.

[20] Evans, Claire (2013). "OMNI MAGAZINE WILL RISE

AGAIN”. Vice. Retrieved 9 August 2013.

Bibliography

Ashley, Mike (2007). Gateways to Forever: The Story of

the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1970-1980. Liver-
pool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-8463100-
2-7.

7 External links
• Omni Magazine Collection at the Internet Archive -
An almost complete set of scanned issues.

• Omni (magazine) series listing at the Internet Spec-

ulative Fiction Database

• Omni Magazine leads the upsurge of mass-audience

science journalism - Lengthy review of the magazine
shortly after its introduction.
• Omni: The forgotten history of the best science
magazine that ever was.
• Welcome to Omni Reboot, where today turns into
tomorrow.
 5

8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1 Text
• Omni (magazine) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omni_(magazine)?oldid=684165157 Contributors: AxelBoldt, Roadrunner,
Maury Markowitz, Edward, EvanProdromou, Paul A, Tregoweth, Goblin, Jschwa1, GCarty, Mw66, Riddley, Bearcat, Lowellian, Auric,
David Gerard, DragonflySixtyseven, Writerguy, Grstain, JTN, Rich Farmbrough, Dave souza, Mr. Billion, Tgeller, Tjic, AKGhetto, Uucp,
Guthrie, Kouban, Ceyockey, Mindmatrix, Bellhalla, DoctorWho42, Nightscream, Matt Deres, Brendan Moody, Jaraalbe, Wasted Time R,
Subwayguy, Xihr, WayneRay, Tavilis, Anomalocaris, Rick Norwood, Inkblurt, Donald Albury, Zvika, Attilios, SmackBot, CRKingston,
Jagged 85, Primaryspace, Marc Kupper, Colonies Chris, Scwlong, George Ho, Racklever, Pam3001, Jvandyke, KoalaMeatPie, Interlingua,
Killer ninjas, AGK, Eassin, Mike Christie, JAF1970, CynicalMe, Kenchan~enwiki, Skomorokh, TAnthony, Magioladitis, Ramurf, Reny-
seneb, Robatino, Grantsky, Gwern, CommonsDelinker, Katharineamy, Cometstyles, Shortride, Chomsky1, Mchumandeluxe, Kepiblanc,
Lamro, Ergonaut2001, Bunnyhugger, Malcolmxl5, Oda Mari, Steven Crossin, JL-Bot, Randy Kryn, ImageRemovalBot, Martarius, Clue-
Bot, TheOldJacobite, Pmcalduff, Auntof6, Deerstop, Good Olfactory, Salvador50532, Addbot, TStein, Lightbot, Zorrobot, Anysia, Yobot,
Skarrde, LilHelpa, Datlow, Ytican, Keri, Tbhotch, Scotchtape1000, ZéroBot, SporkBot, Wingman4l7, NikolaTesla2010, Nick Dougan,
Norbytherobot, Helpful Pixie Bot, CarlyShmee, Desertnaut, Egeymi, Bluelight999, Amortias, BrittJerrick and Anonymous: 71

8.2 Images

8.3 Content license

• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0