Welcome to Issue 33 of IGMS. Apparently the theme for this issue is authors who use their initials instead of their first names, because we have got a bunch of them for you.

Our cover story this issue is "The Cartographer of Dreamland" by Robert J. Howe, a dream-like story about a place the young narrator refers to as Dreamland. But as he wanders in and out of this desolate and beautiful world, exploring and mapping this new world even as he seeks new entrances when the old ones disappear, the most interesting discoveries our narrator makes usually have more to do with human nature than geography.

In "The Other City," by J.S. Bangs, a young man and a woman intersect in a post-apocalyptic landscape where there are two lands: a pristine but harsh city where everything must be kept pure, and an even harsher wilderness where children run wild and men survive on human flesh.

M.F. Haynes' "Small Creatures and Large" is the story of a girl in an orphanage who likes an older boy who can secretly create moving animals out of inanimate objects. But in the world they inhabit, the biggest secret of all is in deciphering who you can trust and who you can not.

"Explaining Cthulhu To Grandma," penned by Alex Shvartzman, is a light-hearted tale of a young girl seeking to prove her abilities in the family business -- a pawn shop that specializes in the exceptionally unusual.

Also in this issue, Darrel Schweitzer's InterGalactic Interview with award-winning novelist and short story author Elizabeth Hand.

And last but very far from least, is J. Deery Wray's story "Thirteen Words." I mention her last because not only is her new work featured in the current issue, but her story from Issue 29 ("The Butcher of Londonium") is the winner of the third annual IGMS Readers' Poll. I'm not sure if I should congratulate her for winning or thank her for making our readers so happy, so let's take a moment to do both simultaneously. Thanks, and congrats!

Here is the full list of this year's winners, who receive fame, glory, and, yes, a little bit of cash:

Stories:
1st Place: "The Butcher of Londinium" by J. Deery Wray
2nd Place: "Sojourn for Ephah" by Marina Lostetter
3rd Place: "Remains of the Witch" by Tony Pi

Interior Art:
1st Place: "Arkmind" by Jin Han
2nd Place: "Dragonslayer" by Anna Repp
3rd Place: "Probability Flatline" by Nick Greenwood

Cover Art:
"The Butcher of Londinium" by Dean Spencer

Also, everyone who vote during the poll was entered into a drawing for a free hardback copy of Ruins, the second in Card's Pathfinder series, autographed by the Uncle Orson himself. Congratulations to the lucky winner, Fei Fei Wang.

Enjoy.

Edmund R. Schubert
Editor, Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show