Parent of Astronomy Magazine Divesting All Assets and Closing...

[Sureshks]

Hi all,

Kalmbach Publishing, based in Waukesha, WI, is selling many of its assets to Firecrown Media in Tennessee.

Among Kalmbach's brands is Astronomy Magazine. This magazine is a primary source of astro information for all levels of amateur astronomers, and is one that I have continuously subcribed to for 40 years. I still have every issue I've received...

Kalmbach has been in business for 90 years. It looks like they will be divesting everything and then will close down completely (see the attached notice). Astronomy Magazine has been published continuously since 1973. The good news is that it appears that the new owners plan to keep the magazine going, and will be retaining the majority of its staff, some of whom our members know personally.

Hopefully, the magazine will continue to serve many more generations of amateur astronomers to come.

Suresh

[SEmert]

Well, that would explain why their web page states "Offer Unavailable" for Club member discount subscription offers at the astronomy.com/clubmember link. A few weeks ago I called customer service to ask when (or if) the offer would be reinstated, and the rep said they'd get back to me, which they haven't to date. I guess we'll just have to wait to see whether the new owners are willing to extend the club discount offer.

In the current economic environment, I fully expected that they would need to raise the subscription rates of $34 (one year), $60 (two years), or $83 (three years) to something higher as S&T did recently, as these prices had been in place for a very long time.

[SEmert]

Interesting, in light of the above. Yesterday I received an email advertisement for Astronomy magazine at a "special rate" of $34.95 for the print + digital version or $24.95 for the digital only version. Here is the link from the advertising email: https://kalmbach.dragonforms.com/loadin ... 7131645J7Z

[krichter]

Hmm, looks like new subscription offer. I juts got a renewal offer Astronomy magazine for $44.95 - seems a little expensive. My subscription expires in September. Maybe they will come back with a better offer. No update yet on club rate?

[SEmert]

Nope, no update on the club rate yet. Web site still says club rate "unavailable". I sent another message to them yesterday asking for an update.

On the other hand, at least on my computer, the link for the discount rate I have in an earlier post still shows the same price as it did before.

[clayton]

You can find a discount occasionally from https://www.discountmags.com/magazine/astronomy

[DahnGee]

I'm not sure about other systems, but the current issue of BBC Sky at Night and Astronomy magazines are available for reading online for users of Hennepin County libraries. I read them via the Libby app on Android devices.

[clayton]

Not the greatest interface but S&T free at https://elibrarymn.org/

[SEmert]

May 1:
Firecrown [also] becomes the new owner of Astronomy, the largest magazine serving the space community. Published for over 50 years, Astronomy has become the go-to source for amateur and professional astronomers.

Firecrown plans to retain all of the editorial and content resources of the former Kalmbach Media brands and open a new office in Wisconsin to accommodate the teams currently working on them.

[KrisBethea]

Wow, bet that's why Space And Beyond Boxes were eliminated last year. I loved those boxes. Got some great stuff!

[krichter]

Any recent update on club rate for Astronomy Magazine?

[SEmert]

Yes. I checked with them recently and the prices at https://kalmbach.dragonforms.com/loadin ... &pk=2PA4C1 (which can be found by going to the MAS Member Benefits page) are accurate.

We just decided to leave the current club discount rates for both Astronomy and Sky & Telescope off the Member Benefits page so we don't have to keep updating them when they change. But the links on that page for the club rates for both magazines have recently been updated and are correct.