Market News for Writers of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Julia West, Editor Vol. 11, No. 10 28 October 2003 Website: http://www.callihoo.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE News Publication Notes Deadlines Anthology All-Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories (gls) Market Guidelines Arabella Romances (gls) Neverary Speculative Fiction Writing (gls) Market Information Astropoetica Black Gate Magazine The Decay Within (dead) Elysian Fiction Fiction Inferno (dead) Fortean Bureau Gothic.net Grimoire (dead) Horror Garage (closed 'til Mar 04) HP Lovecraft Mag of Horror Humpty Dumpty (temp closed) Leng! (dead) The Metastatic Whatnot microSHOCKS Strange Horizons This Way Up (hiatus 'til Sept 04) ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS PUBLICATION NOTES James Van Pelt sold a Christmas-themed story, "Echoing," to =Asimov's=. It should appear in the December 2004 issue. ----------------------------------------------------------------- DEADLINES Check out the CALLIHOO website, listed above, for more information on these contests, magazine issues, and anthologies. (Where it says "GLs in Vol. X No. Y," these are volume and issue of the CALLIHOO newsletter.) MOTA 4: INTEGRITY Deadline 1 November 2003 [Annual antho, theme of "Integrity." Fiction to 6,000 wds. Pays $100/story on pub. No reprints or E-mail subs. Mult subs okay; separate envelopes. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 7)] OCEANS OF THE MIND WINTER 2003: AUSTRALIAN WRITERS Deadline 1 November 2003 [PDF magazine, SF to 8,000 wds. Pays from 6 cents/wd. No H/F/S&S. Prefers E-mail subs. Sim subs okay. RT E-mail 4-5 wks, snail 6-8 wks. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 29)] BYLINE NEW-TALENT SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 5 November 2003. Open to writers who have never won cash prize in a ByLine fiction contest. Maximum 5,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $50, $35, $25, $15. Winners not printed; no rights taken. No reprints or E-mail subs. Mult subs okay; separate entry fees. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] FANTASTICAL VISIONS 2003 SHORT FICTION WRITING CONTEST Deadline 15 November 2003 [Contest, F 2,000 to 10,000 wds. 1st $200+pub, 2nd $150+pub, 3rd $100+pub, HM .5 - 1.5 cents/word+pub in Fantastical Visions Vol. III. Entry fee: none for 1 entry, $5 for 2nd, $3 for each thereafter. No reprints. Subs must be hardcopy with electronic; electronic can be E-mail or online entry form. GLs in Vol. 11 No. 8)] BYLINE SHORT-SHORT STORY CONTEST Deadline 5 December 2003 [Short story of any type or subject, to 2,000 words. Entry fee $5. Prizes: $60, $30, $20. Winners not printed; no rights taken. No reprints or E-mail subs. Mult subs okay with separate entry fees. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] DELACORTE PRESS CONTEST FOR A FIRST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL Open 1 October to 31 December 2003 [Contest, YA (age 12-18) contemp. novel 100-224 typed pages. U.S. & Canadian writers without prev. pub YA novel. Standard contract, HC and PB, advance and royalties, $1,500 cash and $7,500 advance. No sim or E-mail subs. Two subs max. No entry fee. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 9)] WRITERS OF THE FUTURE, 1ST QUARTER 2004 Deadline 31 December 2003 [$1000 first, $750 2nd, $500 3rd place. No entry fee. L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, P.O. Box 1630-JBW, Los Angeles, CA 90078. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 33)] OCEANS OF THE MIND SPRING 2004: COLONIES Deadline 1 February 2004 [PDF themed mag, SF to 8,000 wds. Pays from 6 cents/wd. Science Fiction stories about colonies. How they do or don't survive, the challenges and rewards. No H/F/S&S. Prefers E-mail subs. Sim subs okay. RT E-mail 4-5 wks, snail 6-8 wks. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 29)] ALL-STAR ZEPPELIN ADVENTURE STORIES Reading 1 January to 16 February 2004 [Print antho, Zeppelin stories 2,000 to 8,000 wds. Pays 5 cents/wd. to $400 max on accept. No E-mail subs. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 12)] HIGHLIGHTS 2004 FICTION CONTEST Open 1 January to 29 February 2004 [Contest, Children's stories to 800 wds. (500 wds. for beginning readers). Three $1,000 prizes. No entry fee. Entrants 16 yrs and older. No reprints or E-mail subs. Entries returned Jun 04. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 9)] SAY. . . WHY AREN'T WE CRYING? Reading 1 November 2003 to 1 April 2004 [Semi-annual printzine, themed. Fic to 8,000 wds. Pays $10/piece. No sim, mult or electronic subs or reprints.] THE LICHFIELD PRIZE Deadline 30 April 2004 [Contest, unpub 1st novel, past, present or future, 80,000 to 120,000 wds. Prize L5,000 and maybe pub by Times Warner Books. No entry fee. No reprints. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 9)] CLOAKED IN SHADOW ANTHOLOGY Deadline 1 May 2004 [Antho, DF abt dark elves to 8,000 wds. Pays 1-3 cents/wd. on accept, as advance on pro rata share of 50% of royalties. No reprints, mult or E-mail subs. RT 3-6 wks. (GLs in Vol. 11 No. 9)] OCEANS OF THE MIND SUMMER 2004: SPIRITUAL SCIENCE FICTION Deadline 1 May 2004 [PDF themed magazine, SF to 8,000 wds. Pays from 6 cents/wd. No H/F/S&S. Prefers E-mail subs. Sim subs okay. RT E-mail 4-5 wks, snail 6-8 wks. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 29)] OCEANS OF THE MIND FALL 2004: SCIENCE FICTION MYSTERIES Deadline 1 August 2004 [PDF themed magazine, Robbery, murder, piracy, locked room SF to 8,000 wds. Pays from 6 cents/wd. No H/F/S&S. Prefers E-mail subs. Sim subs okay. RT E-mail 4-5 wks, snail 6-8 wks. (GLs in Vol. 10 No. 29)] DAIKAIJU ANTHOLOGY Deadline 30 November 2004 [Antho, giant monster stories to 12,000 wds. Pays Aus$30/story. Enquire for E-mail subs. GLs in Vol. 10 No. 31)] ----------------------------------------------------------------- ANTHOLOGY ALL-STAR ZEPPELIN ADVENTURE STORIES [Print antho, Zeppelin stories 2,000 to 8,000 wds. Pays 5 cents/wd. to $400 max on accept. No E-mail subs. Reading 1 Jan through 16 Feb 2004.] David Moles, Editor All-Star Stories 3518 Fremont Ave. N. #523 Seattle, WA 98103-8814 USA http://www.allstarstories.com/ Submission Guidelines All-Star Stories and Wheatland Press announce an open reading period for =All-Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories=, a new retro-pulp anthology to be published in late 2004, edited by David Moles and Jay Lake. What we're looking for The title of the anthology pretty much says it all, but let's start with what we're not looking for. While a sense of humor is always welcome, we're not looking for parody--particularly self-parody. We're not looking for pastiche. (We're especially not, it should be noted, looking for Led Zeppelin stories.) We're looking for pulp stories with a literary sensibility and literary stories with a pulp sensibility. We're looking for stories with self-respect. We're looking for your best work. And--this being a themed anthology--we're looking for Zeppelins. Stories that do not include at least one Zeppelin, dirigible, blimp, aerostat, or similar lighter-than-air vessel will be rejected out of hand. What we're buying and what we're buying it with Submissions can be of any length, but we prefer stories between 2,000 and 8,000 words. We will pay 5 cents per word on acceptance, up to a maximum of $400, for First Print and Electronic World Anthology Rights. (You will note that this means it is probably not in your best interest to send us anything much longer than 8,000 words.) Authors will also receive two author's copies on publication. We intend to respond to all submissions by April 18th, 2004. Electronic submissions will be deleted unread. If you are submitting from outside the US and would like us to make an exception to this rule, please send a query first, to zeppelin@allstarstories.com. How to send it to us We will be accepting submissions from January 1st through February 16th, 2004. Manuscripts postmarked before or after will be discarded unopened. We will not accept reprints, simultaneous submissions, or multiple submissions. Please follow standard manuscript formatting conventions: cleanly typed or printed, double-spaced, in a 12-point monospaced font such as Courier. (If you have any doubts as to what constitutes standard manuscript formatting, we recommend you consult Vonda N. McIntyre's manuscript preparation guidelines.) Please make sure every page has on it your name and the title of the story, or a comprehensible abbreviation thereof. Send your manuscript, by postal mail only, to: David Moles, Editor, All-Star Stories, 3518 Fremont Ave. N. #523, Seattle, WA 98103-8814 USA We look forward to reading your submissions. David Moles, Editor Jay Lake, Co-Editor These guidelines may be freely redistributed in their entirety. [http://www.allstarstories.com/] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET GUIDELINES ARABELLA ROMANCES [Printzine, romance (incl paranormal, time travel) fict 1,000-5,000 wds. Pays 10 cents/wd. Query for longer. Usually no reprints. Mult subs--two max. Prefer E-mail subs.] Editor Arabella Romances Magazine 1735 Market Street, Suite A-523 Philadelphia, PA 19103 E-mail: submissions@arabellamagazine.com http://www.arabellamagazine.com/ Our Mission For romance readers everywhere . . . Our goal is to fuel your passion for romantic literature. Now, modern, hardworking women like you will have a single outlet for a variety of romantic stories, non-fiction romance features and reviews of the latest romance titles. The shorter magazine format will allow you to achieve a quick romantic fix when time is of the essence and allow you to savor full-length books later. 60% of =Arabella Romances= will be short romantic fiction. Each issue will contain 5-8 original short stories spanning all romance subgenres. From time to time, we'll publish serialized romance novellas that will leave you breathlessly awaiting the next issue. We'll give you exclusive excerpts from soon-to-be-published novels, and from romances that are out-of-print or hard-to-find. The excerpts will be accompanied by author profiles and interviews, as well as book reviews written by =Arabella= staff and readers. [www.arabellamagazine.com/aboutus/mission.htm] Writing Needs Superb short romantic fiction of 1,000 to 5,000 words in the entire range of romance genres, including suspense, historical, contemporary, paranormal, time travel, inspirational - all subgenres. We will occasionally serialize longer fiction - query first. Must include: Strong, well-developed characters. Happy resolution or, in the hands of a very skillful writer, an ending that may not be considered the traditional HEA, but one that is emotionally transcending/empowering - if in doubt, go for the HEA. Sensual, but not graphic or gratuitous sex. And, naturally, lively dialogue - every word must count. Romance is the central theme of =Arabella Romances= and romantic tension between the hero and heroine is all-important. Make us laugh or make us cry - the read should be entertaining and/or cathartic. Violence and abuse are not romantic - if included, must be integral to the story and the perpetrator must be punished. =Arabella= believes romance is universal and we welcome stories set in any country and from writers in any country. Although =Arabella= will be published in English at this time and submissions must be in English, except for short phrases, the expressions and spellings of our international writers will not be Americanized. Idioms, spellings, etc. will be kept intact wherever possible to add to the authenticity and to further appreciation of all cultures. International writers need not Americanize their submissions to sell to us. We prefer original writing not previously published elsewhere. We will, from time to time, publish reprints if the work (1) is exceptional, (2) has not been in print for a long period of time, and (3) received very limited readership when originally published. Tantalizing recipes for a romantic dinner or brunch for two. Set the stage: tell us about the table settings, the candlelight, the music, the recipes and the presentation - and if you have room to add a happy-ever-after ending, go for it. Length 500-750 words. Romantic travel features - query first as our needs will vary depending upon other content. We will be accepting credentials/resumes/clips for those who have non-fiction feature-writing experience. Open to queries for feature articles, interviews, etc. No more than two submissions should be submitted at one time without prior permission - query first. All manuscripts are read by at least two readers. Response time will vary, depending upon flow of submissions. At this time, we prefer single-spaced electronic submissions, either in a Word attachment or embedded in the body of your email. Submissions may be made to submissions@arabellamagazine.com. If you do not wish to submit electronically, please mail to: Editor, Arabella Romances Magazine, 1735 Market Street, Suite A-523, Philadelphia, PA 19103 Submissions sent by regular mail must be accompanied by a SASE if you wish to have your manuscript returned. Please do not send your only copy. Currently, payment is 10 cents per word as published and will increase substantially as the magazine grows. Art and Photography We are looking for talented artists and photographers for upcoming issues of =Arabella=. Send your resume and query letter to heather@arabellamagazine.com; feel free to include a small electronic sample (5MB) or digital portfolio links. [http://www.arabellamagazine.com/authors/guidelines.htm] NEVERARY SPECULATIVE FICTION WRITING [Bimonthly webzine, spec fic to 5,000 wds. Query for longer. Pays $5/story on pub. E-mail subs only. Reprints okay.] Lon Prater, Editor Submissions: subs@neverary.com Other Email: editor@neverary.com URL: www.neverary.com Theme Issue Announcement for =Neverary= #5 I'd like to make the April 2004 issue of =Neverary= an all-alternate history issue. I will be applying a pretty broad definition of alternative history here. As far as fiction goes, I am looking for stories with both large and small deviations from our "true" history. The story can be in the spirit of the various works of Turtledove & Harrison, or just take an odd twist on the whole alternate history thing as Stephen King did in "The Reploids" (=Dark Visions=, 1988). [Update: To answer a common question on how "broad" my definition is for this issue: Very. Stories that add a speculative element (e.g. aliens in Turtledove's WWII series, or magic in Card's =Seventh Son=) to historical "facts" are welcome, as are stories that include not so speculative deviations from history and take place after these changes have had a chance ripple out and create a world similar to, but different from our own (Think Harrison's =Stars and Stripes Forever=.) And finally, I'll also consider stories that use time- or dimensional-travel to show how different our history could have been. (Robert Sawyer's =Hominids= is a darn good example of this kind of story.)] As far as non-fiction, I'm open to your ideas, but will toss out a handful of mine, just to get the idea mill turning: *What kinds of legal issues should an author consider when writing about historical figures? *How should you research your alternate history tale? *Just what exactly is this alternate history stuff? (An overview of the field and its recent swell in popularity.) *What pitfalls are unique to writing alternate history? Email queries for article ideas are welcome at editor@neverary.com Poets, I'm not sure what guidance to give you. So instead, I'll give you a challenge: send me an original poem that defines (or redefines ) alternate history poetry. Thanks in advance for your submissions! Lon Prater, Editor of =Neverary= P.S. I will also consider buying your photo for the cover of the theme issue. Image properties should be: 800ish x 500ish pixels, 16 bit or better color, less than 40KB footprint, and-- obviously--in some way reflect the alternate history theme. Payment will be 2$ via Paypal, unless other arrangements are made in advance. [http://www.neverary.com/althist.htm] Neverary Speculative Fiction Writing Edited by Lon Prater URL: www.neverary.com Submissions: subs@neverary.com Other Email: editor@neverary.com Submission Guidelines (UPDATED 15 SEP 2003, effective for Dec 2003 issue) What I Buy Non-fiction: *Anything that would be interesting and/or useful to spec-fic writers. *No word limits *I pay $5.00 upon publication. Short stories: *Any speculative genre. *Stories can now be up to 5000 words. *Will consider serializing to 10,000 words, but QUERY FIRST! *I pay $5.00 upon publication. Speculative poetry and/or flash fiction: *Up to to 40 lines for poetry, 750 words for flash. *I pay $2.00 upon publication. I buy exclusive web rights for the first two months after publication, and non-exclusive web archiving rights for the four months after that. (Exclusivity may vary for reprints.) At any time after the six months are complete, you may request that I remove your content from my site. Unless you make such a request, I will assume that I have your permission to continue archiving the content. Deadlines & Response Times New issues will be posted at the beginning of every other month, starting with August 2003. The deadline for submissions is: Issue, Deadline: Oct, 15 Sep; Dec, 15 Nov; Feb, 15 Jan; Apr, 15 Mar; Jun, 15 May; Aug, 15 July I respond as soon as I'm sure I want your piece. Sometimes this is quick, sometimes this is a couple days after the deadline. If you haven't gotten a response from me by about 3 days after the deadline, query. Submission Format I now accept Microsoft Word and RTF submissions. These should be in standard manuscript format. Please put your cover letter in the body of the email, instead of in the attachment. Send your submission in the body of a plain text email to subs@neverary.com. Include a short bio that you'd like me to use if I buy your piece, and any link or email address you'd like me to use with it. Reprints are welcome, so long as you let me know that it is a reprint, and from where. For reprints, include a statement in your email verifying that the web rights are yours to sell. Your subject line should look something like this: Subj: [Fic/NF/Poem] SUB: [Your Title Here] Miscellaneous Generally, I will only do a light edit for grammar, spelling, and clarity. Occasionally, I will want to publish a piece only after it gets a little more thorough editing. I will get the author's okay before publishing a submitted piece with any significant alterations. Every nonfiction article, story, and poem will have the author's copyright notice posted below his or her bio. I reserve the right to remove links if the linked site is changed to something offensive or otherwise inappropriate. I pay authors via Paypal. Any questions not addressed? Send me an email at editor@neverary.com [http://www.neverary.com/newGLs.htm] ----------------------------------------------------------------- MARKET INFORMATION ASTROPOETICA =Astropoetica=: Call for Submissions =Astropoetica= has reopened to submissions. We are currently seeking poems of any length, style, or genre that explore astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, planetary science, astrobiology, or archaeoastronomy. Payment is $5 per poem, paid on acceptance. Please visit our revised guidelines for complete details: http://www.astropoetica.com/guidelines.html. Emily Gaskin, Editor, Astropoetica.com [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 18 Oct 03] BLACK GATE Continuing his thoughts on what makes adventure fantasy, John O'Neill, editor of =Black Gate=, said, "I think it's fairly common for "adventure fantasy" to be equated with physical confrontation (fighting), but it's not what I mean by adventure fantasy--at all. "The number one element of a strong adventure fantasy for me is character. Adventure fantasy is peopled with dynamic, exciting, realistically portrayed people in dangerous, unusual situations. If you really want to boil it down, that's the very heart of the genre for me right there. "Does that formula (if you want to call it that) lead to violence? Often, yes. But I'm not looking for violence; I'm looking for action. There's a very big difference. I'm most fond of adventure fantasy which surprises the reader, and that very often means unorthodox heroes who look for an innovative way out of the mess they're in. "Rather than tackle this through abstracts, let's look at examples. Based purely on reader response, the most popular story in our first year was Harry Connolly's "The Whoremaster of Pald" - the tale of an outwardly cowardly barkeeper who went to extravagent lengths to avoid violence of all kinds. It starts as classic sword & sorcery, with a complex plot involving a cursed magical bag, and ends as a courtroom drama. I consider it one of the purest examples of adventure fantasy we've published, and I can't recall a single fight scene. "More recently, Patrice Sarath's "A Prayer for Captain La Hire" (from our 4th issue) was reprinted in =Year's Best Fantasy 3=... it features a knight, a castle filled with secret passages, and a horrible secret... it builds towards a violent confrontation, but ends with a chilling realization instead. "My point is that by limiting your definition of "adventure fantasy" to those with a lot of fighting, you are perhaps boxing in the entire genre. There's a tremendous amount of great fiction out there - fiction that deserves the accolade of "adventure fantasy" - that doesn't limit itself that way." [sff.publishing.black-gate-magazine, 21 Oct 03] THE DECAY WITHIN A writer on the =Speculations= Rumor Mill received this note from Nicole Thomas at 3F Publications: "It is with deep regret that I write you. I am experiencing some problems and I have to put everything on hold. I have no choice but to cancel =The Decay Within=. "Thank you for your wonderful stories and my apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 7 Oct 03] ELYSIAN FICTION Jim Bailey, editor of webzine =Elysian Fiction=, posted a status update for the magazine. October 22nd, 2003 As of this afternoon, I've replied to all but 60 stories of the 320 submissions dated 6-30-03 or earlier, and these are all in my 2nd read pile, and there are around 40 stories in the post 7-1-03 pile yet to be read. The plan of attack continues to be to: 1. Finish replying to stories I've already decided to reject. ETA for this looks to be end of Monday or Tuesday. [done Wednesday afternoon] 2. Reread the hold stories and make final decisions and reply to all of these. This will probably take until next weekend. 3. Read and reply to July through current submissions. I'd like to get this done before heading to World Fantasy Convention, but more realistically, I'm guessing that I'll still have some left over for the first week of November after I get back. The older of this batch should at least have an answer by then. (Note: given the long delay in my replies on a lot of submissions, I've been getting a good number of e-mail bounce messages, primarily because the account is closed. I'll give a report on the final numbers once I'm done, then try to figure out what to do about those.) The Plan Once I've cleared the submission pile, this is the method I'll be using to stay caught up. A. Each Friday night, I will log incoming submissions then post a report to this page that will give the basic stats of those submissions, as well as a report on my previous week's reading. I'll log previous reports on a separate page so that potential authors can track my record of responsiveness. B. Reading will take place Saturday through Tuesday, with my initial reply coming as I've read each story. That reply will either be an immediate rejection (obviously most common), an immediate purchase (fairly rare), or a notice of hold (my historical tendency seems to be that about 20% of stories catch my interest enough to look at again). C. For held stories, the (intended) quarterly nature of =Elysian Fiction= should mean that the maximum hold time is 90 days. I'll be constantly re-evaluating the stories in this pile so that I can release or buy them as quickly as possible to minimize the average time, but I think there will still be times when I will need to look at an accumulation of final-cut works at the end in order to provide the best balance for readers. If a story hits 60 days in the hold pile, I will send a note to the author. The stats of the hold pile will also be part of the Friday update (e.g., on hold: 12 stories, average length: 22 days, long: 54 days). [sff.publishing.elysian-fiction, 22 Oct 03] FICTION INFERNO From the Submissions page for =Fiction Inferno=: Good Fiction Makes Us Hot So Hot, in Fact, that We Are Completely Burned Out Sorry, but =Fiction Inferno= is not accepting submissions for the foreseeable future. The magazine will stay up and be available as it is for a very long time, but the current issue, 3-009, is probably the last. If you are interested, please check back from time to time just in case we change our scorched-crispy little minds. For more information, contact editor@fictioninferno.com [http://www.fictioninferno.com/submissions.html] FORTEAN BUREAU A writer on the Rumor Mill got a rejection from =Fortean Bureau=. "Apparently stories with figures from history leave him a little cold. . . ." In a note to another writer, the editor said, "I see an awful lot of stories about mean-spirited fey, and I'm not very interested in the subject." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=201&m=17445&sh ow_all_topics=0, 17 Oct 03] GOTHIC.NET A writer on the Rumor Mill said, "Gothic.net is back up and running! The editor has apparently had to drop payment back to 3 cents/word, but the site is operational once more." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 1 Oct 03] GRIMOIRE Ralan Conley said that =Grimoire= has been shut down by the editor and all submissions released. [www.ralan.com, 17 Oct 2003 ] HORROR GARAGE Ralan Conley said that =Horror Garage= is closed to all submissions until March 2004. [www.ralan.com, 4 Oct 2003] H.P. LOVECRAFT'S MAGAZINE OF HORROR Marvin Kaye, Editor E-mail (no subs, queries only): HPL_Magazine@yahoo.com We will read queries from HWA, SFWA, and MWA members and other established professionals, but *do not send stories without getting permission first*. Unsolicited stories will be deleted unread. The only thing we're looking for at the moment are proposals for interviews with major names in the horror field. These assignments will be made by Marvin Kaye. Response time is generally under 48 hours for e-mail queries. Payment is 3 cents/word. [www.ralan.com] HUMPTY DUMPTY A writer on the Rumor Mill received this hand-written on a rejection from =Humpty Dumpty= this morning. "We are sorry to say that we are not accepting any new manuscripts at this time." He says, "I don't know if this applies only to =Humpty Dumpty=, or to all the CBHI stable. (=Children's Digest=, =Jack & Jill=, etc.)" [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=201&m=17445&sh ow_all_topics=0, 17 Oct 03] LENG! =Leng!= magazine has been shut down by the editor and all submissions released. [sff.publishing.market-report, 20 Oct 03] THE METASTATIC WHATNOT Nicholas Liu, one of the editors of =The Metastatic Whatnot=, said, "Here's a semi-official bit of market news, semi-official because I'm speaking only for myself and not for my two co-editors. Contrary to the (sigh) still outdated guidelines on our site, we are looking for non-fiction submissions of all varieties, and I personally would particularly like to see a good solid interview or two, especially since we've just had to let one very good one slip through our fingers. "We are, as always, also on the lookout for fine fiction and poetry in any genre, and reviews/criticism of the same. Our next issue is slated for 1st January 2004, and we will be accepting work up till as close to that date as humanly possible. http://www.metastatic-whatnot.com" [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 18 Oct 03] MICROSHOCKS Michael W. Anderson, who was editing the print anthology =microSHOCKS=, got this note from his publisher, Nicole Thomas at 3F Publications: "With deep regret I have to let you know I cannot publish =microSHOCKS=. I am having some serious problems and must concentrate on those. I don't know when or if I will publish and I didn't think it fair to not let you know what was happening. "I am sorry, Mike. I thank you for staying with 3F and I believe in =microSHOCKS=, I just can't be the one to finally bring it to publication. "My apologies for any trouble this may have caused and wish you the best of luck in finding a home for =microSHOCKS=." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 7 Oct 03] STRANGE HORIZONS Jed Hartman, one of the fiction editors at =Strange Horizons=, said, "The =Strange Horizons= fiction department has now responded to everything submitted before 8/15/2003. If you sent us a story on or before 8/14 and haven't heard back from us, please query. (If you submitted on or after 8/15, and you received an autoresponse saying that we'd received the story, then please don't query yet.)" [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&m=3124&sho w_all_topics=0, 9 Sep 03] An editorial at =Strange Horizons=: "Changing of the Guard," by Mary Anne Mohanraj, 9/22/03 I started this editorial while sitting in the bar of the Fairmont Hotel in Toronto, at the 61st WorldCon. I was trying to decide whether to have a chocolate raspberry martini or a slice of chocolate cake drizzled with raspberry sauce, or possibly both. Life as an editor seemed very good indeed. Clever writers were sitting beside me, trading witty repartee--at that moment, two of our writers were at the table, David Moles and Greg van Eekhout. Over the course of the convention, I'd talked to many more of the people we've published, in fiction, poetry, articles, art, and reviews--the ones I'd missed seeing in panels and hallways came to the Sunday =Strange Horizons= tea party. I'd been accompanied throughout the con by Jed Hartman, our senior fiction editor (who, not long after I started writing this, stole some of my chocolate cake); his company made the entire convention immensely more pleasant. And I was having a terrific time already--despite some programming snafus, my convention was filled with interesting conversations, exciting ideas, and plenty of friendly writers, artists, and =Strange Horizons= readers. I've loved going to WorldCon ever since we launched =Strange Horizons=, in September 2000--each year our parties get bigger, our audience grows, and the convention gets more and more fun. Of course, it's not all cake and pleasant conversation, working as staff at =Strange Horizons=. It takes more than thirty volunteers to put the magazine out, week after week, month after month--and now year after year! Take a look at our staff gallery if you get a chance, familiarize yourself with the faces. They're all generous and wonderful volunteers. Our staff put in many hours of work every week, for love of the genre, in order to share with you some of the best writing and art the field has to offer. If you think they're doing a good job, let them know--the staff are always happy to get e-mail from readers, or you can just post in the forum. Volunteers get paid in praise, and if you have some criticism--well, send that along too. We're always ready to learn and eager to improve. We'll do our best for you. Writers and artists, unlike volunteers, prefer to be paid in cash--of course, they're delighted to get praise too, either in e-mail or on the forum. Thanks again to all of you who make it possible for us to give them that cash, including those of you who donated money during our last fund drive, bringing the fund drive total for our third year of operation to $3000. That's about a fifth of our annual costs, and a very comfortable step along the way to our eventual goal of being financially self-sufficient, funded primarily by small donations from our readers. Please remember that =Strange Horizons= is a 501(c)(3) non-profit -- your donations are tax-deductible, and while we have fund drives twice a year (the next one is scheduled for November), we're happy to take your money any time, and pass it along to the writers and artists you enjoy every week. We're going to be making another concrete move towards passing that money along--effective immediately, we're raising our rates for articles to fifty dollars per article. That may not sound like much, but you'd be amazed at how long a hungry writer can survive on fifty dollars' worth of food. That's not the only new item to announce--we're also delighted to note that the long-awaited book, =Strange Horizons: Year One=, collecting some of the best fiction, poetry, articles and reviews from our first year, will be coming out soon from Lethe Press. We're planning to launch it at World Fantasy Convention this year in D.C. (where fiction editors Susan Groppi and Karen Meisner will be hosting our regular tea party as well as co-hosting a book launch party with a variety of fabulous small press folks). So if you're going to the con, be sure to stop by--and if you can't make it there, don't worry. We'll give you plenty of opportunity to buy it on-site. The profits from the book get split evenly between the authors included and the ongoing operating expenses for =Strange Horizons=--wouldn't it make a fabulous holiday gift for you or someone you know who loves spec fic? We've had a great third year, and we've got lots of exciting stuff planned for the upcoming year. We're planning on implementing a much more interactive forum system, which hopefully will encourage all of you to talk not just to us, but to each other. We have the book coming out, and if it does well, other books will follow. In January, we'll have our second annual Readers' Choice Awards, giving you the opportunity to send a little extra money to your favorite hard-working writers and artists. And there's one more change coming up -- one that isn't quite as full of unmitigated delight as the others. I'm both pleased and a little saddened to announce that I'm going to be stepping down as editor-in-chief of =Strange Horizons= at the end of this calendar year, and on January 1st, 2004, Susan Groppi (one of our current fiction editors) will be taking charge of the magazine. Now, I'm not actually planning on going anywhere. I love this magazine with a passion, and I plan on staying plenty involved. This is the second summer I've coordinated the =Strange Horizons= workshops (in Oregon and New Jersey), and I'm planning on continuing those, as well as hopefully adding a third in the Midwest next year, possibly at the beginner level. I'll still be going to conventions whenever I can, telling everyone I can about how great =Strange Horizons= is, how enjoyable the magazine is to read every week, and what immense fun it is to work on. Editing =Strange Horizons= for the last four years (since we first started planning the magazine in January of 2000) has been the most satisfying project I've ever been involved in. I've met wonderful editors, fascinating writers and artists, and I've gotten to have cake and chocolate martinis with some of the sharpest up-and-coming writers in the field. Editing this magazine has been a pleasure and a privilege, and I wouldn't be stepping down now if I didn't think that the time had come for some fresh blood, some new ideas -- I feel that I've taken =Strange Horizons= as far as I know how, and I'm confident that Susan's going to do a terrific job of taking it further. And of course, with my new title of Editor Emeritus, you can be sure that I'll be hanging around, pestering her with plenty of (possibly unwanted) advice, and watching with immense pride as she and the staff take the magazine forward into a shining future. All of us at =Strange Horizons= thank you for your continuing support--for reading the magazine, for participating in the forum, and for making every hour we put into this project worthwhile. We're delighted to have you with us as the magazine enters its fourth year, and we hope you'll be with us for many, many years to come. Thank you, and good night. --Mary Anne Mohanraj, Editor-in-Chief [http://www.strangehorizons.com/index.pl?Contents=/2003/20030922/ editorial.shtml] Jed Hartman said, "Wanted to note that the fact that Susan's becoming editor-in-chief at =Strange Horizons= probably won't result in many changes as far as contributors are concerned; and in particular, "new editor" here doesn't mean the same thing that it means at most magazines. (It's really more like "new publisher," in a way.) "In more particular, the editors in all the individual departments will remain the same--for those unfamiliar with our structure, the fiction department editors (for example) choose the fiction, not the editor-in-chief." [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 4 Oct 03] THIS WAY UP A writer on the Rumor Mill said, "=This Way Up= is going on hiatus until September 2004. The website has the following message from the editor on it: A Message from the Editor Regular visitors to this website will be aware that =TWU7= is long overdue. I intended to postpone =TWU7='s publication date to December 2003, to give me time to implement the =TWU= Fair Deal for Authors (FDA), but I now realise that due to other commitments this is not practical. I am therefore putting =TWU= 'on hold' until September 2004. =TWU6= will remain online until then. (Any authors who require their work removed from =TWU6=, please email me and it shall be done.) The hiatus will give me time to revise the guidelines in accordance with the FDA and possibly allow for revamping the whole website. Paul S. Jenkins, October 2003 [http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/index.php?t=291&show_all_t opics=0, 27 Oct 03] ==End of the CALLIHOO Newsletter for 28 October 2003==