The Return of Scientific Awe: OMNI’s Highly-Anticipated Winter Issue Hits Newsstands

OMNI announced its highly-anticipated Winter 2017 issue, focusing on topics of time travel and the mysteries of time.

Los Angeles, CA - Iconic science and science fiction magazine, OMNI, announces its highly-anticipated Winter 2017 issue.

“OMNI was groundbreaking when it launched in 1978, a time of fascination and awe in both science and science fiction,” stated publisher Kelly Holland. “It was in the pages of OMNI that we coined the term cyberspace and charted the journey of Voyager toward the solar system’s edge. When Apple’s Steve Jobs left his garage, OMNI was there, shining a light on the computer revolution, test tube babies, and the secrets of consciousness and the mind. We sat in dark theaters thrilling to Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars, and OMNI captured the wonder, propelling our imagination and stoking our passions and dreams.”  

In addition to the print magazine, OMNImagazine.com will explore science and imagination at the crossroads of culture. The site will publish all-original content, including interactive features, a participatory Mind-Brain Lab, fiction from emerging writers, wide-ranging blogs on technology, gaming, evolution, and cosmology, as well as coverage of genre film, TV, fiction, and the arts.

OMNI also welcomes back Ellen Datlow as their fiction editor. Datlow has been a recipient of the Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for “outstanding contribution to the genre,” was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award. Most recently Datlow won the Locus Award for Best Editor and the Hugo Award for Best Editor, short form.

“This remains the magazine of wide-open possibilities, tapping the same spirit of awe and anticipation that propelled the original OMNI, but for the zeitgeist of today,” said Editor-in-Chief Pamela Weintraub. “We are still explorers across space and time. We still honor exceptional journalism that surveys the outer limits of human intellect, and top fiction that ventures into the even more remote realms of imagination. Every so often, we expect to take a hard left turn to the mysterious, fantastic, and unknown.”  Weintraub was part of OMNI’s early team and later served as its Editor.

Holland added,“In 2017 the trajectories of science and science fiction have drawn ever closer, so that we take for granted what we could only have imagined four decades before. But we still need OMNI, a portal to ongoing revolutions in artificial intelligence, interstellar travel, transhuman evolution, and the culture of science and tech. OMNI will always challenge our assumptions, inspire our imagination, and offer a window to future worlds.”

As a nod to the magazine’s early incarnation and its leap into the future, the Winter 2017 issue devotes itself to time travel and the mysteries of time. Notable features include Sherry Baker’s “Doing Time on a Generation Starship,” mind-bending photography from Erik Johanson and Sulaiman Almawash, an interview with iconic author William Gibson, and fiction from author Nancy Kress, Maureen McHugh, and Rich Larson, to name a few. It represents a new star in the magazine’s historic constellation, which traces back to its first publication in 1978. OMNI’s vision of the future continues to be filled with awe and scientific wonderment.

Visit OMNI’s official website at OMNImagazine.com or follow the company on Twitter @OMNIMagazine.
 

ABOUT OMNI

OMNI’s highly anticipated new issue hit newsstands in November, addressing the cultural yearning for science and innovation during a time of political uncertainty. The magazine, first published in 1978, was best known for its Q&As with the world’s top thought leaders, like Richard Feynman, Candace Pert, and Freeman Dyson, its gonzo-style journalism, literary long-form on the sciences, award-winning fiction, and stunning, futuristic art. OMNI published work by George R.R. Martin, Stephen King, William Gibson, Octavia E. Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, and renowned artist H.R. Giger. Omni was founded by Kathy Keeton and her long-time collaborator and future husband Bob Guccione, the publisher of Penthouse magazine. The magazine ceased publication abruptly in 1997, following the death of co-founder Kathy Keeton but returned in 2016 with two print issues. It is considered to be a pioneer for its time. Follow the company on Twitter (@OMNIMagazine) or Facebook (RealOMNI). Visit OMNI’s official website at OMNImagazine.com.

Press inquiries can be directed to press@omni.com.

Synergy and Science: Penthouse Acquires Beloved OMNI Magazine

Industry powerhouse Penthouse Global Media announced the acquisition of OMNI, the much-adored science and science fiction magazine with roots dating back to the late 1970s.

Los Angeles, CA - Penthouse announced the acquisition of OMNI magazine, adding that its upcoming issue is slated for print in late October. This ground-breaking deal symbolizes the company’s reinvigoration of a cultural appreciation for science, science fiction, and technological innovation.

“As Penthouse Global Media enters its second year under new ownership, our driving principle is to put all of the pieces of the brand back together again.  As a result of decades of neglect, much of this company’s brilliant legacy was lost…until now,” stated Penthouse CEO Kelly Holland. “I am proud to announce that one of those casualties, OMNI—the magazine of science and science fiction, heralded as one of Guccione’s most iconic brands—is once again a part of the Penthouse family where it belongs.  Thanks in large part to Pamela Weintraub, one of OMNI’s original editors, who had the foresight to bring the brand back to life by re-registering the trademarks and launching a digital site, she, along with many of the original OMNI staff, will deliver the award-winning magazine to newsstands once again.”

“The acquisition of OMNI by Penthouse represents a powerful synergy overall,” said OMNI’s longtime and current editor, Pamela Weintraub. “Both Penthouse and OMNI were created by Bob Guccione and Kathy Keeton as part of their cultural vision for the late 20th century, and since OMNI’s founding in 1978, sat side-by-side in the same offices, sharing the same coffee machines and the same editorial support.

“The two major brands of Guccione's media empire, Penthouse and OMNI cast an edgy, iconoclastic gaze on the world, and the open, creative, energetic environment of Penthouse remains the perfect media lab for reinvigorating and reinventing a 21st-century version of OMNI for the Zeitgeist of today.”

OMNI’s highly anticipated upcoming issue is scheduled to hit newsstands in October,  with the intention of addressing the cultural yearning for science and innovation during a time of political uncertainty. The magazine, first published in 1978, was best known for its Q&As with the world’s top thought leaders, like Richard Feynman, Candace Pert, and Freeman Dyson, its gonzo-style journalism, literary long-form on the sciences, award-winning fiction, and stunning, futuristic art. OMNI published work by George R.R. Martin, Stephen King, William Gibson, Octavia E. Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, and renowned artist H.R. Giger. OMNI temporarily halted publication after the death of co-founder Kathy Keeton, but then returned in 2016 with two print issues. It is considered by many to be a pioneer for its time.  

Holland added, “As a magazine publisher, I understand the value in acquiring OMNI  and believe the timing is perfect to go back into print. In the eighties, OMNI captured the spirit of a culture enthralled with science and its possibilities—one that explored and obsessed over the magic put forth in reality-bending films like Alien and Terminator and Blade Runner, and the technological boon that brought us the space shuttle, flip phones, and flourishing test tube babies.

“Here we stand in that moment again—in an era of ‘Alternative Facts’ and climate change deniers, evolution skeptics and flat earthers, where the science of wonder is more relevant and urgent than ever. Today scientists and geeks are the rockstars of popular culture.  Science fiction continues to be our collective obsession, and, given Moore’s Law, the intersection of fantasy and science is closer than ever.”

Weintraub stated, “OMNI was given life by Bob Guccione, but its original creator was his wife, Kathy Keeton, who not only breathed life into the publication in 1978, but also inspired its vision and joyous spirit. With Bob, Kathy believed in science as a transcendent force -- one with the power to help us cure ills, reveal the nature of the universe, and catapult us to the stars.”

Likewise, OMNI’s content and irreverent tone were informed by Keeton’s sense of adventure. The resurgence of the magazine by Penthouse marks a return to its hallmark vision and standards of excellence, including an authentically radical voice reimagined for a new generation of science-minded dreamers.
 

About Penthouse Global Media

As a globally recognized leader in adult entertainment and a premiere lifestyle brand, PENTHOUSE has positioned itself as a cutting-edge, trendsetter in the industry.  

As an international, multimedia entertainment company, Penthouse continues to redefine and expand its iconic appeal and its remarkable place in history.

Made famous worldwide for its fearless approach to sexuality and its unabashed support of those rebelling from the norm, Penthouse has the cache many brands have only dreamed of attaining. As the greatest adult brand in history, its delivery of sex; style and scandal create loyal fans. It’s not only remained as the showcase for the most beautiful women in the world, but its strong roots have allowed the brand to endure as a relevant and influential resource to guide consumers to what they truly want. Visit their official website at PenthouseGlobalMedia.com.

Press inquiries can be directed to press@penthouse.com.