Category: Print

2009 Nebula Award Nominees from Semiprozines

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The 2009 Nebula Awards ballot is now available and includes the following works originally appearing in semiprozines:

Short Story

  • “Non-Zero Probabilities” by N. K. Jemisin (Clarkesworld, November 09)
  • “Spar” by Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld, October 2009)

Novelette

Novella

Congratulations to Clarkesworld, Interzone, Nora, Kij, Eugie and Jason!

Greatest Uncommon Denominator (GUD)

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Established: 2006gud
Editors: Kaolin Fire (founding editor & editor-in-chief), Sue Miller (founding editor), Sal Coraccio (founding editor), Julia Bernd (editor & copyeditor), Debbie Moorhouse (editor & copyeditor)

Overview:
GUD (pronounced “good”) is a print/pdf magazine with two hundred pages of literary and genre fiction, poetry, art, and articles. Modern in business, method, and execution, but timeless in message, GUD is published twice a year, for your reading pleasure.

GUD is FOR THE WRITER or ARTIST. A simple submission process, and the potential to earn royalties. Our issues never go out of print.

GUD is FOR THE READER. We print the best of the best. Our business model is built for artists and consumers, not for ourselves. And GUD is flexible—buy the whole magazine or a single .pdf of the story, poem, artwork, or article you just have to have.

Awards and Recognition:
2008 Aurealis Award for Best Horror Short Story (Painlessness by Kirstyn McDermott, Issue 2)
Nebula Recommendation (Night Bird Soaring by Traci Morganfield, Issue 3).
BSFA Best Short Fiction Recommendation (ditto).
Three Honorable Mentions in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror 2008 (Twenty-First Annual Collection) (Songs of the Dead by Sarah Singleton and Chris Butler, Issue 0, Unzipped by Steven J. Dines, Issue 1, and Max Velocity by Leslie Claire Walker, Issue 1)
2008 Locus Recommended Reading List (Offworld Friends Are Best by Neal Blaikie, Issue 2)

Other Items of Interest:
We publish reviews of books and magazines on our site.

Website:
www.gudmagazine.com

Information provided by Debbie Moorhouse.

Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet

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lcrw23-200gifEstablished: 1996
Editors: Gavin J. Grant and Kelly Link

Overview:
LCRW is a paperzine — although we’ve been selling ebooks (on our site and fictionwise.com) for a couple of years now. We’re also going to go back and release the back issues as ebooks in the near future (i.e. when Fictionwise catches up with its submissions!).

When I started the zine, it was in frustration at not being able to find the kinds of things I wanted to read. This isn’t true any more, but as long as we get great stuff in the mail, we’ll keep publishing.

Small Beer Press publishes 4-6 books a year but it’s fun to keep things simple with LCRW. It basically pays for itself, no small feat for a magazine of any size. We do black and white covers and legal sized paper because it’s affordable and a good page size.

Awards and Recognition:
LCRW was a Hugo nominee a couple of years ago, that was fun. Various stories have been reprinted in various year’s best anthologies.

Other Items of Interest:
I suppose the most interesting part would be that, if you like, you can get a chocolate bar with each issue. (That’s one part of the zine we’d love more submissions for.)

Website:
www.lcrw.net/lcrw

On Spec

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onspecEstablished: 1989
Editor(s): The editorial team has changed over the years. Current for 2009, we have Diane Walton as the Managing Editor, Barb Galler-Smith (Fiction Editor), Susan MacGregor (Fiction Editor), Ann Marston (Fiction Editor), Robin Carson (Copy Editor) and Barry Hammond (Poetry Editor).
Design/layout: Lynette Bondarchuk, Production Editor
Administration Staff: Jen Laface, Publisher’s Assistant

Overview:
Our quarterly journal On Spec adheres to a strong mandate that has served us well over the years. We discover and showcase quality works by predominantly Canadian writers and artists, in the genres we call “Speculative and Fantastic” literature. We foster the growth of emerging writers in this genre, by offering support and direction through constructive criticism, education, mentoring, and manuscript development. We try to publish as many new writers as possible, alongside works by established writers, and we also endeavor to support these writings with innovative cover art for every thought and emotion-provoking issue! We pay $50 to $200 for short stories (maximum 6,000 words) and poetry. As a member of Magazines Canada, we are currently undertaking an endeavor to offer our issues in a digital format to download through Zinio.

Our History:
In 1989, a small group of Edmonton writers formed The Copper Pig Writers Society in order to fill a niche in Canada. At the time, there was no paying market for literary works that the major American SF & Fantasy magazines deemed to be too “alien” for their audiences.

English-speaking Canadian SF writers were frustrated with having to “Americanize” their stories for the paying markets. We knew there was an audience hungry for thoughtful, intelligent (often unconventional) SF and Fantasy with a uniquely Canadian perspective. After selling out our initial print run of a test issue filled with stories sent to us by invitation, we began receiving inquiries as to when the “next one” would appear. That was nearly twenty years ago!

Awards and Recognition:
Nomination – 2008 Aurora Award for Best Work in English (Other), Diane Walton, Managing Editor
Winner – 1997 Aurora Award for Best Work in English (Other), The Copper Pig Writers’ Society
Winner – 1995 Aurora Award for Best Work in English (Other), The Copper Pig Writers’ Society
Winner – 1991 Aurora Award for Best Work in English (Other), The Copper Pig Writers’ Society
Winner – 1990 Aurora Award for Best Work in English (Other), The Copper Pig Writers’ Society

Other Items of Interest:
“The ABCs on how NOT to write speculative fiction” seminars. Our editors have presented at the Canadian Authors Association (CAA) Edmonton Branch and Edmonton Youth Week in 2009.
We also have a MySpace account and “I Read On Spec” Facebook group and a Facebook Fan Page.

Website:
www.onspec.ca

Locus Magazine

- Neil Clarke

locusmagEstablished: 1968
Editors: Charles N. Brown (editor-in-chief), Liza Groen Trombi (executive editor), Kirsten Gong-Wong (managing editor). Also, Carolyn Cushman (senior editor), Tim Pratt (senior editor), Amelia Beamer (editor), Jonathan Strahan (reviews editor), Mark Kelly (electronic editor-in-chief), Francesca Myman (assistant editor).

Overview :
Locus Magazine, covering the SF field since 1968, is a full-size, monthly glossy-cover magazine which publishes news of science fiction, fantasy, and horror publishing; author interviews; extensive reviews; and listings of new SF books and magazines.

Contents include:

  • News about the science fiction, fantasy, and horror publishing field, with stories about publishers, awards, and conferences in sections called The Data File, People & Publishing (rights sold, books sold, books resold, books delivered, publishing news, promotions, people news and photos about vacations, weddings, and births), and Obituaries
  • Interviews with well-known and up-and-coming writers (and sometimes editors and artists), usually 2 per issue
  • Reviews of new and forthcoming books, usually 20-25 per issue, by notable SF critics including Gary K. Wolfe, Faren Miller, Russell Letson, Paul Witcover, Adrienne Martini, and Carolyn Cushman, plus short fiction reviews by Gardner Dozois and Rich Horton
  • Reports from around the world about the SF scenes in various countries
  • Listings of US and UK books and magazines published (monthly), bestsellers (monthly), and Forthcoming Books (every 3 months)
  • Convention Reports, with lots of photos
  • Annual year-in-review coverage, with extensive recommended reading lists, summaries, and the annual Locus Poll and Survey

Awards and Recognition:
29 Hugo Awards

Other Items of Interest:
Locus Awards; co-sponsors Science Fiction Awards Weekend with SF Hall of Fame in Seattle

Website:
www.locusmag.com

Information provided by Charles N. Brown.

Interzone

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interzoneEstablished: 1982
Editor: Andy Cox
Co-fiction Editors: Andy Hedgecock, Dave Mathew
Book Reviews Editor: Jim Steel

Overview:
Britain’s longest running science fiction magazine, published bimonthly (in alternate months with Black Static). New stories of science fiction and fantasy, highly illustrated, with lots of regular features including David Langford’s Ansible Link (news), Nick Lowe’s Mutant Popcorn (film reviews), Tony Lee’s Laser Fodder (DVD/BD reviews), book reviews and interviews. Widely considered to be one of the most daring sf magazines and renowned for helping launch the careers of many well-known and becoming well known authors. Comes in second a lot in the Hugo Semiprozine category. 🙂

Awards and Recognition:
British Fantasy Award, Hugo Award, a great many awards and reprints for individual contents.

Other Items of Interest:
Interzone sponsors the annual James White Award for new authors and publishes the winner; biweekly free podcast of stories selected from Interzone (and other TTA Press magazines Black Static and Crimewave); increasing amount of website exclusive content; annual Interzone Readers’ Poll

Website:
ttapress.com/interzone

Information provided by Andy Cox.

New York Review of Science Fiction (NYRSF)

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nyrsf1Established: 1988
Editors: Kathryn Cramer, Kris Dikeman, David G. Hartwell, & Kevin J. Maroney

Overview:
NYRSF is a monthly 24-page magazine of book reviews and criticism covering the science fiction and fantasy field published by Dragon Press, and run by an all-volunteer staff. The New York Review of Science Fiction was founded in 1988 by a group of people who were at that time the editorial staff of the Little Magazine. They included David G. Hartwell, the publisher of the magazine, who had been a founder of the Little Magazine (then known as The Quest, edited and published by Alexis Levitin) twenty-two years before, in 1965. Others were Samuel R. Delany, at whose Manhattan apartment meetings were held weekly, Kathryn Cramer, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, and Susan Palwick were the editorial board, and Tom Weber (who resigned at the first issue) and Greg Cox (his replacement, the first one not from the Little Magazine) were staff. Patrick Nielsen Hayden designed the magazine, and the look and feel has remained
substantially the same since the first issue.

Contributors to the magazine have included Brian Aldiss, Eleanor Arneson, Brian Attebery,  Gregory Benford, Michael Bishop, Jenny Blackford, Russell Blackford, Damien Broderick, John Clute, F. Brett Cox, L. W. Currey, Samuel R. Delany, Candas Jane Dorsey, David Drake, L. Timmel Duchamp, Andy Duncan, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Joan Gordon, Howard V. Hendrix, Gwyneth Jones, Michael Kandel, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, David Langford, Justin Larbastier, Rob Latham, Jonathan Lethem, Richard A. Lupoff, James Morrow, Larry Niven, Patrick O’Leary, Rebecca Ore, Alexei Panshin, Daniel Pinkwater, Charles Platt, Frederik Pohl, Rachel Pollack, Paul Preuss, Kit Reed, Bruce Holland Rogers, Rudy Rucker, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Darrell Schweitzer, Deliah Sherman, Tom Shippey, Graham Sleight, Brian Stableford, Michael Swanwick, Jean-Louis Trudel, Alice K. Turner, Jeff VanderMeer, Ian Watson, Don Webb, Janine Webb, Gene Wolfe, Zoran Zivkovic, and many others.

Awards and Recognition:
NYRSF is a winner of the Readercon Small Press Award; NYRSF been nominated for the Hugo Award every year of its publication since 1989.

Other Items of Interest:
For 19 years, there has been a reading series associated with NYRSF: The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series has showcased some of the most prominent and upcoming authors in the genre. However, the series’ commitment to providing a venue as an ongoing science fiction reading series in New York City, is open to all works of speculative fiction, whether they be works of fantasy, magical realism, horror, or science fiction. The range of writers who have participated in the series speaks of not only of its diversity, but its quality as well. Jonathan Carroll, Susanna Clarke, Samuel R.
Delany, Ellen Kushner, Ursula K. Le Guin, Jonathan Lethem, Patricia A. McKillip, Walter Mosley, Naomi Novik, and Peter Straub are among the authors who have participated. The reading series typically showcases two authors, once a month.

Website:
www.nyrsf.com

Information provided by Kathryn Cramer.

Weird Tales

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weirdtalesEstablished: Originally founded in 1923; relaunched spring 1988.
Editors: Stephen H. Segal (editorial director), Ann VanderMeer (fiction editor)

Overview:
Weird Tales has enjoyed a devoted following for many decades as the very first magazine of strange fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Founded in 1923, the pioneering publication introduced the world to such counter-culture icons as Cthulhu the alien monster god and Conan the Barbarian. Weird Tales is well known for launching the careers of great authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Robert E. Howard — heck, Tennessee Williams made his first sale here! — not to mention legendary fantasy artists like Virgil Finlay and Margaret Brundage. The magazine’s influence extends through countless areas of pop culture: fiction, certainly, but also rock music, goth style, comic books, gaming… even Stephen King has called Weird Tales a major inspiration.

After the original Weird Tales operation folded in 1954, there were several brief attempts to revive it during the ’60s and ’70s before the resurrection finally achieved full-fledged afterlife as a small-press magazine in 1988. Over the past twenty years, the magazine has featured works by such modern masters as Tanith Lee, Gene Wolfe, Michael Moorcock, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, and more. Today, Weird Tales has recommitted to its original mission — to publish brilliantly strange material that can’t be found elsewhere — even while bringing its unique aesthetics fully into the 21st century. In print and online, we look forward to introducing a new generation of writers, artists, and other storytellers who lure unwary readers into the shadowy places between dream and reality…

Awards and Recognition:
World Fantasy Award 1992: Special Achievement/Professional, editors Scithers & Schweitzer.
Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror: many Honorable Mentions over the years.
“Bufo Rex” by Erik Amundsen, WT, #347 was selected for Fantasy: The Best of the Year 2008 and Best American Fantasy 2008.
“The Difficulties of Evolution” by Karen Heuler, WT, #350 was selected for Fantasy: The Best of the Year 2009.
Current 2009 nomination — Hugo Award, Best Semiprozine, editors VanderMeer & Segal.
Current 2009 nomination — Prix Aurora: “All In” by Peter Atwood, WT #351.

Other Items of Interest:
Weird Tales has an active website that publishes original material ranging from fiction (web exclusives as well as print selections) to artwork (e.g. Steven Archer’s year-long Lovecraft series “365 Days of Blasphemous Horrors”) to nonfiction (assorted blog mini-series like the recent two-week-long Sandman 20th-anniversary retrospective). 2008 saw our debut Spam Fiction Contest, wherein writers turned email spam headlines into weird flash fiction. Learn more at our “2008 year in review” web page.

Website:
www.weirdtalesmagazine.com

Information provided by Stephen H. Segal.

Black Gate

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Established: 2001blackgate
Editor: John O’Neill

Overview:
Black Gate publishes epic fantasy fiction at all lengths, including novel excerpts, as well as articles, and reviews. We’re looking for adventure-oriented fantasy fiction suitable for all ages, as long as it is well-written and original.

The magazine publishes all kinds of fantasy. Nobody wants to open up a magazine, especially a big magazine like Black Gate at 224 pages, and read only one kind of fantasy, so we try to cover everything. Do we have a focus? Yes – about 70% of what we publish is adventure-oriented fantasy. Does that mean a lot of sword fights in fantasy? No. It means that we’re looking for stories with a lot of dramatic tension. A good, rousing climax. Something based on the basic rules set down by Aristotle two thousand years ago, the three acts of drama. You’ve got to have an introduction, introduce your characters. You’ve got to get your characters to a point where your audience is convinced they cannot succeed. And then they have to succeed.

We want fiction with a more exotic setting. Most of what we see has a very familiar setting. Generic Middle Ages. It starts off in a tavern with a ranger and a bard and a half-orc having a conversation. I want more originality than that. You need to grab the reader on the very first page. It’s tough to do that with character, because character needs to be developed. It’s tough to do that with plot, because any plot that’s simple enough to grab me on the first page probably isn’t complex enough to maintain my attention. It’s easy to with the setting. If you’ve got an innovative, dynamic setting, then you’ve got my attention on the first page. You’ve got my reader’s attention, and that works.

Awards and Recognition:
“Awakening” by Judith Berman was nominated for the Nebula and several stories have been reprinted in Year’s Best anthologies.

Website:
www.blackgate.com

Information provided by John O’Neill

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine

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Established: 2001, first issue published in 2002asim
Editors: Robbie Matthews: Senior Editor. Editorship for each issue is rotated among members of the Andromeda Spaceways Publishing Co-op.

Overview:
ASIM’s mission is to support Australian speculative fiction, and to provide a venue for stories that sample the ‘lighter side’ of specfic. Although we’re an Australian magazine, we have subscribers worldwide (well, almost worldwide: we’re still struggling to crack the lucrative Antarctic market) and our authors are also scattered far and wide. A typical ASIM issue (if there is any such thing) will contain roughly equal quantities of stories by local and international authors, ranging from frivolous space opera to grim and gritty dark fantasy. We’re available in both print and PDF editions, and publish bimonthly. We’re a paying market, offering 1.25 Australian cents per word. And we’re justifiably proud of the reputation our slush-handling system has achieved – doing right by our authors, whether their stories make it into the magazine or not, is something we’ve worked damn hard at.

Awards and Recognition:
The three-hundred-odd stories published to date in ASIM have accrued the following awards between them:

  • Aurealis Awards (AUS): 8 shortlisted stories
  • Australian Shadows Awards (AUS): 3 shortlisted stories
  • Ditmar Awards (AUS): 1 winning story, 5 shortlisted stories, winner of a Best Professional Production Award, and also of a Best Professional Achievement Award
  • Sir Julius Vogel Awards (NZ): 4 winning stories, 9 shortlisted stories, and winner of a Special Award for Services to Science Fiction
  • …and we think there’s been a Tin Duck or several in there somewhere, too.

Other Items of Interest:
In lieu of payment, Co-op members receive virtual gold star performance bonuses, and staff discounts on interstellar travel.

Website:
www.andromedaspaceways.com

Information provided by Felicity Dowker.