Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, multiple Hugo nominees as editors of the semiprozine Apex Magazine, are funding the first year of Uncanny, their new professional online SF/F magazine, with a Kickstarter appeal.

Uncanny: A Magazine of Science Fiction & Fantasy will contain new and classic speculative fiction, poetry, essays, art, and interviews.

The Thomases are raising $26,000 to cover operation and production costs. So far on day one of the campaign (July 29) they have already received over $5,500 in pledges. Fundraising will continue through August 28.

Uncanny will appear bimonthly, in eBook format (MOBI, PDF, EPUB), with each issue containing 4-6 new short stories, 2 reprinted stories, 2 poems, 2 nonfiction essays, and 2 interviews.

Half the material from each issue will be posted free on the Uncanny website, and there will also be a monthly fiction podcast.

Lynne and Michael Thomas will guide the magazine as Publishers and Editors-in-Chief. Lynne was Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine from 2011-2013, which was nominated for three Hugo Awards during her tenure. She co-moderates the two-time Hugo Award-winning SF Squeecast.

Michael, as the former Managing Editor of Apex Magazine, was a Hugo-nominee in 2012-2013.

Michi Trota will become Uncanny’s Managing Editor. She is a professional editor with fifteen years of experience in publishing.  Deborah Stanish will conduct Uncanny’s author interviews. Its short fiction podcast will be edited and produced by Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky.

The full press release follows the jump.

Lynne & Michael Thomas Kickstarting New SF/F Magazine: Uncanny

DeKalb, IL – Three-time Hugo Award-winner Lynne M. Thomas (Apex Magazine, Chicks Dig Time Lords, Glitter & Mayhem) and three-time Hugo Award nominee Michael Damian Thomas (Apex Magazine, Queers Dig Time Lords, Glitter & Mayhem) are launching year one of a new professional online SF/F magazine: Uncanny: A Magazine of Science Fiction & Fantasy. Each issue will contain new and classic speculative fiction, fiction podcasts, poetry, essays, art, and interviews. Uncanny is raising funds via Kickstarter to cover operation and production costs for the first year, with an initial goal of $26,000. The Kickstarter will launch July 29, 2014, and run through August 28, 2014.

“Uncanny will feature passionate SF/F fiction and poetry, gorgeous prose, and provocative nonfiction, with a deep investment in our diverse SF/F culture. We will publish intricate, experimental stories and poems with verve and vision from writers from every conceivable background. The Uncanny team believes there is room in the genre for stories that inspire the imagination, challenge beliefs, and make readers feel,” Lynne says.

During year one, Uncanny has solicited original short fiction from Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award winning and nominated authors including: Charlie Jane Anders (“Six Months, Three Days”), Liz Argall (“Mermaid’s Hook”), Paul Cornell (Doctor Who, London Falling), Amal El-Mohtar (“The Green Book”), Maria Dahvana Headley (Queen of Kings), Kat Howard (“Breaking the Frame”), Hao Jingfang  (Ken Liu Translator), Mary Robinette Kowal (Glamourist Histories series), Ken Liu (“Paper Menagerie”), Scott Lynch (Gentlemen Bastards series), Sofia Samatar (A Stranger in Olondria), Rachel Swirsky (“If You Were A Dinosaur, My Love”), Catherynne M. Valente (Deathless), and E. Lily Yu (“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees”). There will also be slots for unsolicited submissions.

Uncanny year one plans to showcase original poetry by Neil Gaiman, Emily Jiang, Rose Lemberg, Mari Ness, Sonya Taaffe and Bryan Thao Worra, and essays by Jim C. Hines, Kameron Hurley, Sarah Kuhn, Julia Rios, Diana Pho, and Tansy Rayner Roberts.

Uncanny will also feature cover art by Carrie Ann Baade, Julie Dillon, Galen Dara, Tran Nguyen, and Matthew Dow Smith.

Uncanny issues will be published as eBooks (MOBI, PDF, EPUB) bimonthly on the first Tuesday of that month through all of the major online eBook stores. Each issue will contain 4-6 new short stories, 2 reprinted stories, 2 poems, 2 nonfiction essays, and 2 interviews, at minimum.

Material from half an issue: 2-3 short stories, 1 reprinted story, 1 poem, 1 nonfiction essay, 1 interview) will be posted for free on Uncanny’s website (built by Clockpunk Studios) once per month, appearing on the second Tuesday of every month (http://uncannymag.com/). Uncanny will also be producing a monthly fiction podcast.

The magazine is currently working on providing additional exclusive content just for subscribers. Subscribers and backers will receive the entire double issue a month before online readers.

Lynne and Michael Thomas will guide the magazine as Publishers and Editors-in-Chief. Lynne is the former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013) which was nominated for three Hugo Awards during her tenure. She co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords with Tara O’Shea, as well as Whedonistas with Deborah Stanish and the Hugo Award-nominated Chicks Dig Comics with Sigrid Ellis. She co-moderates the two-time Hugo Award-winning SF Squeecast, a monthly SF/F podcast, and contributes to the Hugo Award-nominated Doctor Who: Verity! podcast.

Michael is a two-time Hugo Award nominee as the former Managing Editor of Apex Magazine (2012-2013). He also co-edited the Hugo-nominated Queers Dig Time Lords with Sigrid Ellis and Glitter & Mayhem with John Klima and Lynne M. Thomas. He also has worked as an Associate Editor on numerous books at Mad Norwegian Press, including Chicks Dig Time Lords and Chicks Dig Comics.

Michi Trota will serve as Uncanny’s Managing Editor. She is a writer, editor, speaker, communications manager, and community organizer in Chicago, IL. Michi writes about geek culture and fandom, focusing primarily on issues of diversity and representation, on her blog, Geek Melange. She was a featured essayist in Invisible: An Anthology of Representation in SF/F (edited by Jim C. Hines) and is a professional editor with fifteen years of experience in publishing.

Deborah Stanish will conduct Uncanny’s author interviews. She co-edited the Hugo-nominated Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who with L.M. Myles and Whedonistas with Lynne M. Thomas, and is a founding member and the moderator of the Doctor Who Verity! podcast.  

Uncanny’s short fiction podcast will be edited and produced by Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky. Erika is a founding member and producer of the Verity! podcast, and she produces a short fiction podcast for Apex Magazine. She also co-hosts The Audio Guide to Babylon 5. Steven is one of the three hosts of the popular Doctor Who podcast Radio Free Skaro, as well as a co-host of another Doctor Who podcast called The Memory Cheats.

For more information, interview requests, or guest blog invitations, please contact Lynne and Michael Thomas at [email protected].