This essay considers how possible worlds theory has been applied to science fiction, arguing that such an approach has tended to obscure issues of intertextuality within science fiction's diegetic world-building. Rather than addressing sf's alternative histories as "counterfactuals," it is suggested that "counterfictionality" may also be significant. This is defined as the process through which new texts borrow from, combine, and rework the narrative worlds of existent fictions in order to pay homage to, but also comment on, originating classics in the genre's cultural history. Taking the work of British writer and film critic Kim Newman as a case study, the essay then focuses specifically on Newman's gothic sf reworkings of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), and on his retooling of Dracula (1890) in the novel Anno Dracula (1992). Analyzing these popular fictions intertextually leads into a consideration of how Newman draws on literary/cultural theory to inform his counterfictions. His rewritings of gothic sf are also critical re-readings: "Further Developments in the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (1999) is a queer reading of the original Stevenson novella, while Anno Dracula challenges the imperial power relations and foreign others of Stoker's novel. Rather than addressing "counterfictionality" simply as an example of postmodern, self-referential fiction, it is argued that Kim Newman's work indicates the need to carefully consider the cultural politics and theories underlying "alternate-story stories."

Science Fiction Studies is a refereed scholarly journal devoted to the study of the genre of science fiction, broadly defined. It publishes articles about science fiction and book reviews on science fiction criticism; it does not publish fiction. SFS is widely considered to be the premier academic journal in its field, with strong theoretical, historical, and international coverage. Roughly one-third of its issues to date have been special issues, with recent topics including Technoculture and Science Fiction, Afrofuturism, Latin American Science Fiction, and Animal Studies and Science Fiction. Founded in 1973, SFS is based at DePauw University and appears three times per year in March, July, and November.

Founded in 1893, University of California Press, Journals and Digital Publishing Division, disseminates scholarship of enduring value. One of the largest, most distinguished, and innovative of the university presses today, its collection of print and online journals spans topics in the humanities and social sciences, with concentrations in sociology, musicology, history, religion, cultural and area studies, ornithology, law, and literature. In addition to publishing its own journals, the division also provides traditional and digital publishing services to many client scholarly societies and associations.