After 34 years at the helm of Analog, Dr. Stanley Schmidt is retiring. Analog is one of the “big three” publications in the short speculative fiction field, and has produced numerous Hugo and Nebula winning stories and launched the careers of some of the best known names in the business, including Asimov and Heinlein (that was back when Analog was called Astounding). While I know many who think Analog publishes “old-fashioned” stories, some very good fiction still appears in its pages. Writers I know who have worked with Dr. Schmidt talk about his generosity and approachability. I wish Dr. Schmidt the best in his retirement.
Trevor Quarchi will be taking over Analog‘s reins. Mr. Quarchi served as Managing Editor at Dell Magazines (Analog‘s publisher), and oversaw my story “Observations on a Clock,” published in the February 2012 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction (also published by Dell). I found him to be friendly, professional, and easy to work with, so I suspect Analog will be in good hands. It will be interesting to see how Analog changes over the next few years under his leadership.
D. Thomas Minton 
Have you heard if they will continue to focus on hard science fiction?
I haven’t heard specifically, but I expect they won’t change their focus. Analog carved out a niche in the field and have their readership, so it seems like it would bad business to deviate too much from that. I’m sure some things will change simply because of diffrernt editorial tastes, but I expect Analog will continue to focus on hard science fiction. What will be interesting to see is if the tone of the stories change or if the number of “softer” science fiction stories increases.