March 31, 2026
Press pause, cue the comments
We're Pausing Asimov Press
Asimov Press hits pause — readers mourn, skeptics shout “just charge”
TLDR: Asimov Press is taking a break in April while keeping its archive free and releasing a book this summer. The comments lit up with name confusion (“not that Asimov”), sadness from fans, and a fiery debate over money, with some insisting the real fix was simple: start charging to keep it alive.
Asimov Press says it’s pressing pause in April, keeping all articles free and dropping a hardcover book this summer — and the comments instantly turned into a town hall. Newcomers confessed they thought the name meant sci‑fi stories, not science essays, with one reader asking for “a quick intro” and another deadpanning, “I thought they were a sci‑fi publishing company at first.” A helpful PSA arrived with a wiki link: this is not Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine. Cue the identity-crisis memes and “wrong Asimov” jokes.
Meanwhile, the hottest thread was money. One commenter claimed no one cared and everyone read for free, adding that the pause post got the most love because “they should be charging.” That set off a bigger debate: if funding isn’t the problem, why hit pause just as they hit 42,000 subscribers, 149 original pieces, and sold‑out books (including that wild DNA‑encoded book)? Fans dropped heartfelt farewells like “Truly sad to see this go,” while others called it a branding and business miss — “press pause” became “press pay.” The vibe: a bittersweet send‑off spiked with naming confusion, elegies for smart science writing, and armchair economist takes on how indie media survives without a paywall.
Key Points
- •Asimov Press will pause operations in April; archives remain freely accessible.
- •A few more articles will be published before the hiatus, and a hardcover book, “Making the Modern Laboratory,” is due in summer.
- •Since inception in 2023, the press grew to about 42,000 subscribers, published 149 articles, and reached ~500,000 monthly readers.
- •Two anthologies sold out; profits were donated to charities, and a second book was issued in both print and DNA, drawing coverage from The New Yorker and WIRED.
- •The pause is not funding-related; Asimov supported the press, and grants came from Astera Institute and Stripe; new projects have drawn away key editors.