The Indices

Regular visitors may notice that there are (finally!) some updates happening. The last of the Omni books should bde added to the indices in the next few days.

Omni Magazine was published between 1978 and 1995, and it is fondly remembered by many people.  For some background, see this article from 1979.  It has it’s own Facebook page, Wikipedia entry, and many web sites dedicated to keeping the memory of its colourful, eclectic and sometimes downright strange content alive.  What it has never had, to my knowledge, is a complete index.  These pages will attempt to remedy that lack.

The magazine indices on this website were created by scanning the table of contents of each issue of Omni and using OCR to recognise the text. Scripts written in Python were then used to reorganise the text into the layout that you see on these pages. It is more than likely that there are some errors: characters that were not recognised properly, or artefacts caused the formatting process. If you see something that you think is wrong, drop me a line.

Some entries are not complete, particularly the Continuum sections and graphics credits.

122 responses to “The Indices”

  1. I’m very grateful to you for putting together this site: I spent a good hour last night searching through it for articles that I wanted to revisit from my youth, and rediscover new ones. So thanks a million for all your work.

    I was convinced – until last night! – that I read an interview in OMNI, many years ago, with Julian Jaynes, author of ‘The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind’ – but I can’t find this on your site.

    Am I mistaken?

    • The article about Jayne is in the December 1980 issue.

      • Hi Richard – I can’t find the article in my copy of the December 1980 issue, but it is in the January 1981 issue – “Odd Man Out” by Philip Hilts. Could you do me a favour and recheck your copy? I’ve often suspected that there were slight variations in the content published in different countries. I’ll update the indices to make Jayne’s name searchable.

  2. There some mention (not particularly flattering) of Jayne’s work in the article “Finding God in the three pound universe” by David Porush (Omni Oct. 1993, p.60). I can’t locate any specific interviews, but such a thing might have been bundled into a Continuum piece, and thus would not appear on the contents pages. Detailed indexing of all the Continuum pieces may happen one day, but due to the extremely manual nature of the task, it will not be done anytime soon (sorry, too many competing projects).

  3. there was a brief moment in time when OMNI magazine published a small set of audio tapes as audio dramas. They were excellent though short-lived. Are they still in existence? I remember one of the stories being titled, Think a Thought.

  4. Hello. Does anyone know where I can find the January 1985 OMNI article about the psychic kids of China? I was told it existed by Drunvalo Melchizedek,

  5. I am trying to find an Omni story about a booby trapped apartment/holding cell that was used as an execution chamber. Almost no one survived because the apartment was deceptive. I believe that the character in the story was electrocuted when a sign flashed “Not Guilty” and he tried to leave the room.

  6. I am looking for a short story about future pregnancy where women are constantly monitored and one woman kind of goes nuts about it and ends up having her fetus taken away.

  7. Hi, I’m trying to locate a short story about bugs (antish) that grew larger, based on the environment they are in. The queen had psionic powers that also became stronger depending on her size.

    I think they start out in a small box or something, but as they multiply, the protagonist moves them into larger and larger containers (and they grow larger and larger). Finally at the end, he trips and they get released into environment, including the queen.

  8. awesome, thanks!

  9. I’m having difficulty locating a fictional short story in OMNI about a professor about to lose his funding who needed to prove the worth of his department. I think he was a sociologist. Anyway, to me, was a fascinating coverage of the power of social networks (a big topic these days!). In the end, he reorganized a social group of ladies to the point that they became much more than the knitting club(?) from which they began. Sorry, have no real details to help, but think it’s from the late 70’s to mid-80’s.

  10. Hello Melodie and WOW!!! Thanks for all of your work. What a joy to be able to see these images from my childhood. 🙂 I have a brain test for you…
    Do you remember an interview article in which was described an electrical device which could “inject” audio directly into a person’s acoustic nervous system, allowing the person to “hear” without an audible sound. It required two electrodes applied to the skin, and was described in good detail. I’m sure it was an interview, and it was (probably) 2-3 paragraphs on the left hand side page, 1st or 2nd column of the article. Any help you could give locating this article would be great.
    Thanks again for your time… p.s. It was NOT in Issue #2 (True Bionic Man) and concerning Cochlear implants… I already found that article. 🙂

  11. Hello Melodie. I’ve got one for you. I remember a short story about a couple who found that time would stop (or maybe slow down a lot) for everyone except them, as long as they were touching in a specific place (I want to say a loft bed in an apartment). They would use the effect to study more for tests, or recover from a hangover, but I think they end up breaking up and losing the effect. Does it ring any bells?

  12. Hi Melodie: I am trying to find an article about an unusual Japanese art form in which a 3-dimensional sculpture is created which hold two “images” at once, depending upon whether it is viewed from the front, or rotated 90 degrees and viewed from the side. Do you recall such a feature piece?

    • I’m afraid I don’t think I can help with this one. The only two “folded paper” articles that I can think of are the folded paper plane from April 1984 and the bit on Masahiro Chatani’s cut and fold architectural models from September 1989. Neither matches your description.

  13. I am looking for a PDF copy of the October 1981 contest results for “Medium Rare”. I have been searching high and low for these results as I believe my Late Great Grandfather was a winner in this contest. Please help with how I can get this info, It is not in the Internet Archives.

  14. Hi Melodie….I’m hoping you can help me find a story. Pretty sure I read it in Omni. The story took place on a prisoner transport a few years in the future. I think they were taking a prisoner to The Hague for trial on a TAV. It was either a guard or a prosecutor trying to determine if he was the scientist who had created a virus that decimated the earth and was designed to only kill non whites. I think the faction the prisoner was from were called bio nazis. I absolutely remember a mention of funeral pyres in India that could be seen from space. God that story freaked me out. Never forgot it and would like to read it again.
    Thanks!

  15. I remember a story about a boy with psychic abilities who used his gift to cruel purposes. There was a Twilight Zone episode something like that, but the story I’m thinking of was different. I remember one scene in particular: The boy is walking and talking with a peer-age girl (cousin?) somewhere on a farm. They pass a pig pen, and the boy turns one of the pigs into a giant piggy bank. He takes some coins from his pocket and places them inside the slot on the bank’s back. He then turns the bank back into a living pig, which then, of course, suffers terrible pain from the coins now embedded in its body. The boy commits this act utterly without conscience, he’s almost cavalier about it, and the girl barely reacts. I can’t remember if this was a commentary on the basic lack of moral guilt and empathy in children, but it certainly points to something like that. I keep thinking that I read this story in OMNI, but I might be wrong. Does this ring any bells with you?

  16. I’d like to read Harlan Ellison’s Mefisto in Onyx which appeared in Omni of October 1993, as it was published in the magazine. Can you help me Melodie?

  17. I am trying to find an article on polyneopeptides & their use as a last measure cancer cure. I believe I read this article in Omni at the end of 1981…

  18. Hi. I’m looking for a “Last Word” article from (likely the first half of 1986 or late 1985 about a “tunnel through the center of the earth” as a convenient way to travel from America to China. The article mentioned that if you drilled straight down from “Pekin” (Beijing now), you would not come out in America but in a place in Argentina near the town of Choele Choel. I remember laughing about this since I am from Argentina and I have relatives in Choele Choel. I’d appreciate if you could try and find this article and refer me to any available copy on the net. Thanks a bunch.

  19. I was looking for a cartoon that showed 2 men in lab coats holding clipboards with bins and conveyor belts in the background. The text was something like “Our research has shown that right about here our product quits being food.”

  20. I’m looking for a short story set in a future where the environment has collapsed. The opening paragraphs relate the protagonist’s story of his mother (?) or wife (?) who was “lucky” enough to die quickly in a subway or train accident before the onset of societal collapse.

  21. I’m looking for a short fiction set in a future where the environment has collapsed. In the opening paragraphs, the protagonist describes the death of his mother (?) or wife (?) in a subway or train accident and describes how “lucky” she was to have died quickly before the world fell apart and society collapsed.

  22. I found it! WOOHOO! I had the details a bit scrambled, but it was “Apres Moi” by Gardner Dozois, published in the November 1990 issue. Hope you enjoy it as well.

  23. It’s so very awesome that you are offering this service! Many thanks in advance! I’m looking for a story that was computer generated, and I believe they claimed it was the first one ever created by a computer. It would have been around 1981 or 82 but not later. It was very quirky (of course); I remember that the phrase “bolting pears” was in there a few times. Other things “bolted”, as well. I think the story took place in an apartment… Sorry I can’t remember much else…

  24. Hello! Thanks for your awesome site. I was a huge OMNI fan when it was published and I’m so happy to find sites like yours are keeping the publication available.

    I was wondering if you could help me find an issue by an illustration: My friend was describing an issue of OMNI that was his favorite. He said the cover had a dragon on it, but viewed as it if were from a pilot’s perspective, with controls and digital readings overlaid. I’ve looked through all of the covers and can’t find anything like this. Does that description ring any bells? Or maybe he is remembering either something inside an issue, or from another publication altogether.

    Thanks for any help tracking down the illustration and/or issue I’m looking for. I really appreciate it!

    Kim

    • I don’t recall a cover like that, but the concept is vaguely familiar. I’m just not sure it is from Omni – perhaps Dragon Magazine or Heavy Metal? Can your friend recall anything else about this issue? Approximate date, other content, even a sense of the predominant colour of the illustration would help. I’ve located pictures previously, based on a rough date and the colour – makes it possible to do a quick skim of the relevant issues.

  25. I’ve been looking for a story that I think was published in Omni, about an alien artist who grew up on a savage, violent world, and whose art was influenced by it until she left.

    Anyone remember it?

  26. I am trying to find artwork by an artist who did an illustration for a short story in the first 2 years of Omni. She was a former ballerina. Her artwork was surrealistic and was used for I think 2 stories. One piece I remember had Renaissance style angels in a birdcage. What was this artist’s name and is her work available anywhere now?

  27. Im looking for a short story from I believe the fall of 1981 set around 2040 in a joint Soviet/American space station-War breaks out between the US and the Soviets and the commander of the space station, -a revered Soviet space hero in his 70’s defies his superiors. I forget what his specific actions were.

  28. Was telling my wife about the great Omni and did a web search to get more info, Was so excited when I saw that the archive was available but it all seems to have been taken down. Any links that work?

  29. I am trying to find a contest on the misuse of English grammer. I friend was a runner up with her poem. She though it was around 1980 or 81 but I can’t find it. I thought it would be in the Games section. It starts out:
    One who’s fixing to leave,
    Must he repair to the door?

  30. Thank you to the person or people who put this site together. I was looking for a very particular one from 1978. I got ahead of myself and haven’t even found it yet but became so excited that this site exist and had to make a comment. I know a lot of work and time it takes to do this. This site saved me a lot of time and possibly some money. Thank you.

  31. Melodie,

    I am searching for a short story from OMNI circa 1982. There was an alien (or robot) that was head over heals in love with another alien (or robot) that was trying to kill him. He would get close enough to watch her from afar only to escape her wrath avoiding death at the last second. I only remember hazy fragments of this story, but I hope what I remembered is good enough to pick it out of the many fine stories that OMNI published way back in day.

    Thank you for putting this content together and your work to answer questions. I think that’s awesome 🙂

    Best regards,
    DeBug

    • Hi DeBug – sorry for the slow response, I’ve been out of town. I’ve gone through all the fiction for 1982, part of 1983 and the Best of Omni for that period, and I can’t see anything that matches your description. Do you recall anything else? Any detail of artwork, the cover of the issue, other material that was in the same issue? Any clue would be helpful.

      regards

      Melodie

  32. Thank you, Melodie, for checking on this.
    It’s funny. I can remember walking into the 7-11 across the street, always checking for new additions, and the feel of the glossy covers if it was yesterday.
    The story details not so much.
    I remember two other stories that may have been in that same issue or one close to it. One was a futuristic setting where wrestlers/fighters would enter a ring followed by a dome that covered and shielded them from the crowd. This dome silenced the crowd and allowed the fighters to focus on the battle at hand, which was to the death. There was quite a bit of blood and gore including spines being ripped out, and other cruelties.
    The other story I remember included a doctor/psychologist whose job it was to prevent the returning astronauts from committing suicide. Which the astronauts seemed to do every time. I don’t remember just what exactly they were returning from that compelled them to off themselves.

    best regards,

    DeBug

  33. Here we are on firmer ground. The first story is almost certainly Wayne Wightman’s “The Fighter” (http://www.williamflew.com/omni36a.html), published in September 1981, and I think the second is William Gibson’s “Hinterlands” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinterlands_(short_story), October 1981). However, I still cannot locate the story that you originally asked about. I will keep looking, as time permits. You may be able to locate the story by working through William Flew’s website – he seems to have scans of most of the fiction from that period.

  34. Thank you for the links. 🙂

    I browsed through “The Fighter” and can see why these stories are hard to find using the less than stellar memory fragments provided. In fact, my recollection of the story really didn’t have much to with the actual plot at all. I apologize.

    I see that both editions were back-to-back issues from 1981 and will start there to find the missing story. Of course, I won’t be looking just yet. I’ve got two wonderful short stories to read first. 😉

    Best regards,

    DeBug

  35. Everyone has been so helpful in helping everyone else…how about this: I remember a “comic” panel that showed a starfish on a beach on a starry night. It has climbed up onto the highest dune and is reaching up, trying to join the stars. Ring any bells?

  36. One of my favorite memories with my Dad. He would sort of walk me through conceptualy how the problem could be solved if I could free my self from the frame I was given. Puzzles need an open mind.

  37. Anyone remember an article about Nobody for President? I remember reading it and believe it was in Omni in the late 1970’s to early 1980’s. I have been searching for it for a while. Any help would be appreciated.

  38. Nope, This was a short story. The candidate had three items on his platform. If elected, he would disband the government; declare national bankruptcy; and then resign. I am almost positive it ran in Omni but I cannot remember the issue. Thank you for looking into it for me.

  39. I’m trying to locate a very strange short story. It’s a sort of murder mystery in which a flesh guitar is the reincarnation of a murder victim.

  40. Hi,Melodie–I have not read all the comments posted here, so maybe you have already answered my question. I would like to find a story called “Bruno’s Shadow”. I have forgotten the author’s name. The story was about a modern-day man who visited the cell in which Giordano Bruno was held for several years before his martyrdom. Bruno had fitted out his cell to act like a camera obscura, and his shadow was still on the cell wall.

  41. I posed a question here a few minutes ago, but I guess I did it wrong, because my post is not here. I am back to tell you that I found the story I wanted to see.

  42. Hello Melodie. This has bugged me for years.
    I remember a short story that started with a male administrator who worked in a church, his name may have been Peter, who kept running into this street girl in or near the church. At some point he partakes of some drug and watches snow melt and slide off the roof of the church outside his window. A janitor who was previously diagnosed with cancer is miraculously cured. I believe the world ends after that. I hope I didn’t imagine reading this.
    Thanks!

    -Kim.

  43. Hi, I’m trying to find an Omni article about us coming from the green planet. And I don’t mean our green planet in the traditional sense. I’m not sure of the best way to search on here. The table of contents of each issue?

    • Unless you know the name of the author, or words that occur in the title or description, this will be very difficult. The search facility on WordPress only indexes words that appear on the pages that make up a site; so the search bar on the front page of this site only searches words that are in the table of contents pages that I have created – it doesn’t know anything about the content of the magazines themselves. Do you have any other clues? What year, any impression of associated artwork for this article? If you can provide me with some hints, I can just go and scan through the magazines. Searching the entire run manually isn’t practical, so we do need to try and narrow the search a bit.

  44. Melodie, it looks like you’re still here, so I’d like to pick your memory. I’m looking for a story that was written as an interview with a woman who had helped overcome a plague that had caused everyone in the world to isolate themselves (sound familiar?). I remember a few details:

    * One of the later symptoms of the plague was the “Hong Kong trots” where infected people would manically run down the street spewing droplets of blood and other contagions.
    * The protagonist was working with other scientists via computer links (effectively cyberspace) to “hack the human immune system,” which is what eventually defeated the plague.
    * The protagonist had a child with her scientific collaborator by downloading his genetic information and and synthesizing the biological material.
    * The ending of the plague was symbolized by the unwrapping of a building (I think it was the UN building), which was one of the first ones essentially shrink-wrapped for quarantine.

    Any bells? I originally thought it might be a Wired article, but I read a lot of Omni as well.

    Thanks.

  45. I can’t see a story that closely matches your description in that run of Omni. The closest is Kate Wilhelm’s “Bloodletting”, which you can find here: https://books.google.com.au/books?id=_KSeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT67&lpg=PT67&dq=kate+wilhelm+bloodletting&source=bl&ots=W-qEOEp3P-&sig=ACfU3U1c9Ix9CwIm-IY7_VnXjx-Kwvn2uQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiEr43i97boAhWLyDgGHRl1CH0Q6AEwAnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=kate%20wilhelm%20bloodletting&f=false
    But I don’t think that’s the story you are looking for – however, the “Mammoth Book of Apocalyptic SF” might be a good place to look.

  46. Depending on where you are, you may be able to access the issue via interlibrary loan (see https://www.worldcat.org/title/scenarios-the-future-of-the-future/oclc/34183459). Also, there is a review of the issue here: https://medium.com/@pjn123/book-review-scenarios-the-future-of-the-future-c7ee71bb57f2, which describes the story that you are looking for in some detail. The story was called “The Plague Years 1996-2020” – it appears to have been a collaborative effort by staff at Wired. And based on those clues and a bit of digging, I have found a scan online: https://twitter.com/astern/status/1238636408249528321

  47. How in the world…? I went to the Twitter feed, and that’s the story. Thank you very much. That was a mental itch I just could not scratch.

    Can I buy you a beer or make a donation in your name or something?

  48. I’m an ex-librarian who has worked around IT security for years. I also do genealogical research from time to time. Locating the obscure, the misfiled and the hidden based on vague clues is something at which I have experience. I believe that you are in Illinois: I’m in New South Wales, so beer is (alas) out of the question. If you want to donate to a good cause I think well of Médecins Sans Frontières, and in these troubled times they need all the support they can get.

  49. Brad, here’s the link where I found the description I posted:

    https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/194012/magazine-story-about-global-pandemic-causing-bursts-of-energy-near-the-late-stag

    Between this site, scifi.stackexchange.com/ and http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi, I can usually find what I’m looking for. Glad you could scratch the itch. All the best!

  50. Hi Melodie, not sure if this is the correct forum to ask about this, but my research has turned up nothing and I cannot think of anywhere else to turn. I’m looking for a classic sci-fi image that I believe was once in Omni.

    The image is of a man at the end of the world looking at a bloated, red sun against the blackness of space. He’s on a planet surface at the edge of a shallow sea. There’s some sort of creature in the tide pool at his feet. He may or may not have an umbrella and may or may not be a well-dressed British looking gent with a bowler. Not too sure of the last part.

    Any help you might be able to provide would be much appreciated.

    • Hi Dom – I’ve had some success in finding particular illustrations in the past, but we need to try and narrow down the search field if possible. Can you recall any other details? Possible date range, other content in the same issue and (this is the critical one) the main colour of the illustration itself: if I am scanning through magazines, to what colour do I need to pay attention?

  51. Melodie, Thank you for getting back to me. Fortunately I was able to find the image I was looking for! It appears to have been from October of 1979 (is it sad that I actually remember that year?) The link is here:

    https://io9.gizmodo.com/omni-magazine-is-coming-back-to-life-1069015902

    Not sure where I came up with the well dressed British gent in a bowler! I must have conflated this image with something else in my mind.

    Thanks for the help.

  52. For anyone who would like to do their own research, here are a bunch of Omni Magazines online: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/164HyE6FG3vgoU3glyvZDiQ4wejQAkVOu?usp=sharing

  53. Hmmmm…true. Maybe it would be better to offer the link as an occasional help to specific people. I had to acquire those after I didn’t get any response at all to my post in April of 2009. I finally found it https://www.flickr.com/photos/foqus/49758037417/ Thanks!

  54. In 1985 or ’86 there was an issue that talked about in the future, we would be connected to computers. We would become cyborgs. It talked about the connections to the brain using wire like filaments. I have always remembered that article. And would love to read it again 35 years later! If you can find it, thank you!

  55. Hi Melodie,

    Could you or someone else help me identify an Omni short story from either the late 80s or early 90s? A little girl continues to grow and grown until, if I remember correctly, she eventually dissipates. Thanks in advance!

  56. Hi Melodie. First off, what a task you have taken on.I just wanted to thank you ahead of time whether or not you find what I am looking for. In the end of the magazine, they had a section, I think it was UFO Update, but not sure that was it. The story I am looking for was about a photo that was taken by a preacher or pastor. He was woken up by aliens. He wanted to take a picture of them but they told him they were going to go behind the drama masks he had on his wall. The article, on the beginning page, was a picture of the drama masks. I remember I looked at that picture and there was such a depth in the eyes. Do you know what issue that was. It had to be between 81 – 84, 85 at the latest. My ex wife and I were married in 85 and we had already moved from our old house at that point.

    Thanks Melodie

  57. I’m afraid that doesn’t ring any bells for me, and an initial scan is not finding anything that fits your description. UFO update was generally towards the middle of an issue (and it didn’t appear in many issues in the ’80s). The end of an issue was usually a Games section and “Last Word” (humour). Any other clues? Anything about the cover of the issue, or even the general colouration of the image that you are looking for? Was the image one page, or was it a two-page spread? The contents page images are available here: https://omnimagindex.wordpress.com/contents-pages/ , if that helps.

  58. Hi Melodie, I am trying to find an article (from around 1975 I think) about Glenn Doman and the Institute of Human Potential. Can you help please? Also is there any way of getting back copies – preferably digital of the magazine?

    • Hi Jane

      The first issue of Omni was published in October 1978. The Internet Archive appears to have PDFs of all the issues (https://archive.org/details/OMNI197908/OMNI_1978_10). A friend and I scanned the complete run years ago, for our own use, and it looks to me as though those scans have found their way to the Internet Archive (the cover page images show the same wear and damage as the scans on my hard drive) – I’m not sure how they are managing that, since most of the material must still be under copyright. The article that you are seeking doesn’t ring any bells, but I’ll have a look.

  59. Hi There,
    I’m trying to find who holds the rights to an Omni Short story by Bob Shaw called, In The Hereafter Hilton. Any leads or assistance would be extremely helpful.
    Nick Loren nickloren2002@yahoo.com

    • I can find no record of Shaw having a literary executor. ‘In the Hereafter Hilton’ was republished in a collection of short stories (A Better Mantrap), by Granada around 1984. In the various buyouts of publishing houses Granada (and presumably whatever rights it held) wound up as part of HarperCollins, so you could try contacting them. There is also a very small UK publisher called Beccon (https://www.beccon.org/) who might have some idea who administers Shaw’s literary estate.

  60. Hi. I’m trying to locate a story that I think appeared originally in Omni. Its about a man who continuously shrinks down through successive universes/dimensions. Sort of like an extension of Matheson’s Incredible Shrinking Man.

  61. Hello Melodie, this is a really great service you’re doing here! I’m trying to find an old Omni story and not having any luck. It’s about an alien that makes first contact with Earth. And this bigger-than-life talk show host manages to score the first interview. The alien thinks the interview will be serious, but it isn’t. He’s confused. Then he figures it out, and winds up being funnier than the host. And eventually gets his show. I think the alien is named Eleven. I’ve been all over and can’t figure this out. Thanks!

  62. Hi! Looking for a short story told I believe by the daughter of a scientist who becomes or grows into an organic space ship/station

Leave a reply to Harvey Montana Cancel reply