Clarkesworld

A New Clarkesworld

~ Cheryl ~ 4 Comments

It being a new month, Neil Clarke has been busy getting the new issue of Clarkesworld Magazine online. In #29 you can find fiction by Berrien C. Henderson and Ken Scholes (the latter also available as a podcast), an interview with Jeff VanderMeer, and a fabulous article about the real life horror of right wing fanaticism by Robert N. Lee. I didn’t buy the Lee article – it is the last of Kathy Sedia’s purchases, but I wish I could claim credit for it.

I do have one contribution to the issue – my annual rant about people who think they are “not qualified” to vote in the Hugos. Hopefully having in it Clarkesworld rather than here or on SFAW will reach a different audience. We also announce our 2008 Readers Poll, and there is the fine piece of cover art by Geoff Trebs shown here (LJ and Facebook readers, you’ll need to click through).

Finally I’d like to remind you that Clarkesworld is able to pay its authors professional rates only because of donations from kind people like you. If you would like us to continue bringing you good fiction and articles, please consider making a donation.

Some Pimpage

~ Cheryl ~ 1 Comment

No, not for me. You know what I do, and most of it is here anyway.

Instead I would like to ask you to think a bit about semiprozines. I happen to work for one now. That job started this month, so I can’t claim any influence on the eligibility period, but Clarkesworld Magazine has been running monthly throughout 2008 and has published stories by a number of major writers including Robert Reed, Theodora Goss, Mary Robinette Kowal, Catherynne Valente, Jeff Ford, Jay Lake, Stephen Dedman and Tim Pratt. It has also included non-fiction by Jeff VanderMeer, Ekaterina Sedia and Tobias Buckell. And despite being online it has fabulous covers. You can see the whole back issue archive here.

Clarkesworld is one of a large number of magazines that count as semiprozines because they pay their contributors good rates and take advertising, but are run mainly by enthusiasts in their spare time. (Like me, Neil Clarke has a “real” job outside of the SF industry. Sean Wallace is full time in publishing, but at Prime Books, not with us.) Without them the short fiction market would be much the poorer. Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, which has been a nominee in the past, falls into the same category. We are all part of that group of magazines that Ben Yalow claims are not worthy of a Hugo nomination, and Seth Breidbart says are not even worth reading.

I can’t predict whether the semiprozine category will go away this year. It is a very complex debate. But I do know that if the abolition of the category is ratified in Montreal then Clarkesworld, and many other magazines like it, will never have another chance. (Neil would, of course, be eligible for Best Editor (Short Form), but that means competing against the likes of Ellen Datlow, Gardner Dozois and Gordon Van Gelder.)

More to the point, if all of those small press fiction magazines start getting a bunch of nominations, perhaps SMOFdom assembled will actually acknowledge that they exist. So if you do have nominating rights, share a little love on semiprozines, please.

New Job

~ Cheryl ~ 15 Comments

Now there’s a good way to start the new year.

As announced here, I have been asked to take over as non-fiction editor of Clarkesworld Magazine. As is the way of such things, this is yet another part time job I have added to my collection, but Clarkesworld is a paying venue (10c per word for non-fiction) and is serious about being a commercial operation. So while this is going to be a lot of fun, it is a real job too.

I’m currently working on a revised set of submission guidelines, but they are not going to be that different from the existing ones, which you are welcome peruse (and which I think were written by Nick Mamatas). Once I have got that sorted I shall be nudging various people that I’d like to see submissions from.

One thing that you should be aware of is that we do not publish book reviews. That’s not going to change just because I’m in charge. Critical essays are fine (as long as they are accessible), but please don’t send me reviews.

Also don’t expect any obvious changes in the near term. Articles get bought several months in advance and the previous editor (the very wonderful Ekaterina Sedia) has a few good ones in the pipeline.

I’m very grateful to Neil for giving me this opportunity. Here’s hoping that some good stuff comes from it. In the meantime, you can help by supporting the magazine. The more money that comes in, the more budget I’ll have to buy articles.

So, that was Sekrit Projekt #3, which came together very quickly this week. Here’s hoping that Sekrit Projekts #1 and #2 get to be official soon too.