Reactor (magazine)

{{Short description|Online science fiction and fantasy magazine}} {{Redirect|Tor.com|the software and anonymity network|Tor (network)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox magazine | title = | logo = 220px | logo_size = 270px | image_file =  | image_size =  | image_alt = | image_caption = | editor = | editor_title = | previous_editor = | staff_writer = | photographer = | category = Science fiction, fantasy | frequency = | format = | circulation = | publisher = | founder = | founded = {{Start date and age|2008}} | firstdate =  | company = Macmillan Publishers | country = United States | based = | language = English | website = {{URL|reactormag.com}} | issn = | oclc = }}

'''''Reactor''''', formerly '''''Tor.com''''', is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. Unlike traditional print magazines such as ''Asimov's'' or ''Analog'', it releases online fiction that can be read free of charge.<ref name="verge-2019" />

''Reactor'' was founded (as ''Tor.com'') in July 2008<ref name="SFE" /> and renamed ''Reactor'' on January 23, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lough |first=Chris |date=2024-01-23 |title=Welcome to Reactor! Here's Where Everything Went and How to Use It |url=https://reactormag.com/welcome-to-reactor-heres-where-everything-went-and-how-to-use-it/ |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=Reactor |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Reception==

Gardner Dozois called ''Tor.com'' "one of the coolest and most eclectic genre-oriented sites on the Internet". He felt in 2011 that its short fiction output that year was weaker than usual, but said it was still a fascinating place to visit.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Eighth Annual Collection |editor-last=Dozois |editor-first=Gardner |editor-link=Gardner Dozois |page=xx |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-312-54633-5}}</ref> In 2014, ''The Guardian''{{'s}} Damien Walter remarked on a "digital renaissance" in short SF, and cited a new generation of online magazines, including ''Lightspeed'', ''Strange Horizons'', ''Tor.com'' and ''Escape Pod'', as having transformed the genre. Of these, he described ''Tor.com'' as "the reigning champion of science-fiction magazines". He noted the broad range of its output, and said that it had published "many of the most exciting new talents" such as Maria Dahvana Headley and Karin Tidbeck.<ref>{{cite news |last=Walter |first=Damien |title=A digital renaissance for the science fiction short story |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/13/science-fiction-short-story-digital-renaissance |access-date=14 June 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=13 June 2014 |archive-date=August 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810021217/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/13/science-fiction-short-story-digital-renaissance |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Awards==

''Tor.com'' has won eight Locus Awards for Best Magazine (2015, 2017–23), breaking a 40-year-long streak where the category was only won by ''Asimov's'' and ''F&SF'' (in addition to ''Locus'' itself).<ref name=SFADB/> For its art direction, Irene Gallo received the 2014 World Fantasy Award for Professional Work.<ref name=SFADB-Gallo/>

There have also been several award-winning collections of ''Tor.com'' content. Reviews and commentary by Jo Walton were collected in the books ''What Makes This Book So Great'' and ''An Informal History of the Hugos'', with the former winning the 2014 Locus Award for Best Non-Fiction, and the latter nominated for the 2019 Hugo and Locus Awards.<ref name=SFADB-Walton/> The fiction anthology, ''Worlds Seen in Passing: 10 Years of Tor.com Short Fiction'', won the 2019 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology.<ref name=SFADB-Gallo/>

==References== <references>

<ref name=SFE>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tor_com |title=Tor.com |date=June 28, 2021 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |author1-last=Langford |author1-first=David |author1-link=David Langford |editor1-last=Clute |editor1-first=John |editor-link=John Clute |display-editors=etal |publisher=Gollancz |edition=3rd |access-date=September 21, 2021 |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025205154/https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tor_com |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name=SFADB>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_Winners_By_Category#mag |title=Locus Awards Winners By Category |work=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |access-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-date=September 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904020109/http://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_Winners_By_Category#mag |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name=verge-2019>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/8/17819652/tor-com-sci-fi-fiction-anthology-stories-publishing |title=How Tor.com went from website to publisher of sci-fi's most innovative stories |website=The Verge |first=Andrew |last=Liptak |date=September 8, 2018 |access-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229053054/https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/8/17819652/tor-com-sci-fi-fiction-anthology-stories-publishing |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name=SFADB-Walton>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Jo_Walton |title=Jo Walton Awards |work=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |access-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-date=September 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923064453/https://sfadb.com/Jo_Walton |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name=SFADB-Gallo>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Irene_Gallo |title=Irene Gallo Awards |work=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |access-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920140834/https://sfadb.com/Irene_Gallo |url-status=live }}</ref>

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Category:Speculative fiction magazines published in the United States Category:Magazines established in 2008 Category:Science fiction webzines Category:2008 establishments in the United States Category:Speculative fiction websites Category:Fantasy fiction magazines