Interregnum

Interregnum was an amateur publishing association (APA) that covered roleplaying games, science fiction and fantasy literature, TV, and movies, and pretty much anything else that contributors wanted to write about.

It usually consisted six to twelve separate segments, or "zines". These were written and produced by individual authors, and then mailed in to the publisher. The publisher then assembled the zines into a complete issue with an editorial and covers, had copies made, staple-bound them, and mailed them out to contributors and subscribers. By tradition, zines included comments on all of the zines in the previous issue of the APA.

Interregnum ("IR" for short) was started in March 1994 by Peter Maranci, in response to the decline and impending end of The Wild Hunt RPG APA. Many regular contributors to The Wild Hunt ("TWH") continued writing for IR after TWH ceased publication.

from fantasylibrary.com

One thing that people almost always ask about is the name Interregnum. It's an English word, deriving from the Latin: inter-, meaning "between", and regnum, meaning "reign" (or "kings"). There are several layers of meaning to the word; it's not too inaccurate to describe it as a period of lawlessness between the reign of a king and his successor. It can also mean an interval, a break, or an intermission.

Why that name? Some of the writers for IR used to write for a very old roleplaying APA called The Wild Hunt ("TWH" for short). After twenty years, TWH gave signs of dying out; issues became more and more rare. Shortly before the final issue, it was announced that The Wild Hunt was going on indefinite hiatus, but would start up again some day. Interregnum was started in 1995 as a way for some of the newer members of TWH to keep writing.

Since that time, things have changed. TWH doesn't seem to be coming back. But even if it does, Interregnum will continue as a separate entity. IR is very different from TWH now.

Like most healthy APAs, IR has had a constant changing (and we hope growing) audience of writers and subscribers. Only a few of the original writers for TWH remain involved.

Peter Maranci edited and collated Interregnum for 28 issues, and did most of the work on issue #29. Unfortunately Pete's work and life schedules collided and he became overcommitted. IR went on a Hiatus for over a year after #28.

Thus entered Kiralee McCauley into the poistion of Editor, along with Joseph Teller as Assistant Editor (and Webmaster). Long-time writers for IR, Gamers, and publishers of a now extinct seperate Online Roleplaying APA, we decided our experience and the ability to share the workload would make it possible to get IR back onto schedule.

IR has changed a little from Peter's period at the helm, and we have expanded the scope and content of the publication, but have left intact the feeling of friendship and community that has kept it together all these years. Roleplaying games, as always, are an important part of IR. We also have expanded a little on the fiction and discussion elements of the APA, as we feel that the things that a paper APA can give an author that a website cannot is a lot more in the way of constructive feedback on what they write, and a real sense of community.

The Last issue of Interregnum #46, giving Kiralee & Joe a full 18 issues after the one-year hiatus between editors. A lot was covered in that time, including an attempt to produce both electronically and on paper, but ultimately it wasn't possible to find enough folks to continue the legacy and IR was discontinued at the end of 2001.