by Cameron N. Coulter
Since March 2018, I’ve been writing a monthly short fiction review column for Skiffy and Fanty. A year ago, I didn’t have too many thoughts on reviewing, but now I find I can have long conversations about it.
The SFWA Contracts Committee believes there are serious problems for writers with the non-compete and option clauses in many science fiction and fantasy publishers’ contracts. The non-compete language in these contracts often overreaches and limits authors’ career options in unacceptable ways.
by Caren Gussoff Note: Part One appears here: Lit Fic Mags for Spec Fic Writers 101. Part Two appears here: Lit Fic
On February 23rd, at 8PM, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, located at 3310 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21224, will host Scott H. Andrews (Beneath Ceaseless Skies), Damien Walters Grintalis (Electric Velocipede), Rahul Kanakia (formerly of Strange Horizons), Leslie Connors (Apex Magazine) and moderator Sarah Pinsker (published in multiple magazines) for a round table discussion titled, “From Slush to Sale: Behind the Scenes at Science Fiction Magazines.”
Strange Horizons is a non-profit magazine of and about speculative fiction and related nonfiction. The magazine was founded in September 2000 by Mary Anne Mohanraj, who was Editor-in-Chief until 2003.
I feel passionately that some of the information we are getting is increasingly wrong and motivated by selfishness and, yes, to some degree, a form of hyperbolic illogic. We are so hung up on predicting the next big thing, on getting in on the next gold rush when it comes to ways for authors to promote themselves and market their work that we often seem to be active participants in our own destruction.
The energy for my money is all with publishers like Small Beer, Dalkey Archive Press, Aqueduct Press, Coffeehouse Press, and places like that. Strong, committed independents willing to take a chance on great, hard-to-classify material.
The truth is working on an anthology is like an obsession to me, and the more difficult the execution of the idea or focus, the more I become locked in on it to the exclusion of all else.
I never imagined that my love of reading and editing would bring me to this point. I just wanted to share the stories that excite me with as many people as possible.
Inside of genre circles, “YA” seems to be taking hold as a catch-all term for anything written for anyone under 18. Since so many people use YA as a catch-all, it’s becoming a catch-all, so how children’s book industry people define the category doesn’t matter. Does it?
