Editors Lynne & Michael Thomas Kickstarting Year Eight of Uncanny Magazine

Uncanny Magazine Issue 40 cover by Galen Dara

Uncanny Magazine’s Hugo-winning editors Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas today launched a Kickstarter for Year Eight of their – also multi-Hugo Award-winning — professional online sff magazine: Uncanny Magazine Year 8: Fly to the Future, Space Unicorns!

Each issue contains new and classic speculative fiction, fiction podcasts, poetry, essays, art, and interviews. Uncanny Magazine is raising funds via Kickstarter to cover some of its operational and production costs for the eighth year, with an initial goal of $18,700, plus added stretch goals of three original covers and adding additional flash fiction stories. The Kickstarter will launch July 28, 2021, and run through August 26, 2021.

On day one they’ve raised over $10,000 of their initial $18,700 goal.

Uncanny features passionate SF/F fiction and poetry, gorgeous prose, and provocative nonfiction, with a deep investment in our diverse SF/F culture,” says Lynne. “We publish intricate, experimental stories and poems with verve and vision, from writers from every conceivable background. With the hard work of the best staff and contributors in the world, Uncanny Magazine has delivered everything as promised (or is in the middle of delivery) with our Years One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven Kickstarters. This year, the magazine has been recognized as a Hugo Award finalist, four stories have been recognized as Hugo Award finalists, four stories have been recognized as Nebula Award finalists, and two stories plus the editors-in-chief have been recognized as World Fantasy Award finalists. We are deeply honored and grateful.”

Michael adds, “We couldn’t have done all of this without the amazing support of our Kickstarter community, who we call the Space Unicorn Ranger Corps after our logo mascot. This is also their magazine; their support makes it possible for us to make all of this amazing content available for free on our website. We still feel Uncanny‘s mission is important, especially in these times. And hopefully, we will meet the stretch goals and be able to offer additional flash fiction stories this year.”

For Year Eight, Uncanny has solicited original short fiction from Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award-winning and nominated authors and bestselling authors including: Maurice Broaddus, Rae Carson, John Chu, C.L. Clark, S.B. Divya, A.T. Greenblatt, Carlos Hernandez, Steven Graham Jones, Fonda Lee, Maureen McHugh, C.L. Polk, Kelly Robson, and John Wiswell. There will also be numerous slots for unsolicited submissions.

Uncanny Magazine Year Eight plans to showcase original essays by Keidra Chaney, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Gay Haldeman, Jim C. Hines, Jeannette Ng, Greg Pak, and Rebecca Romney, plus poetry by Linda D. Addison, Tenille K Campbell, Millie Ho, Ewen Ma, Brandon O’Brien, Terese Mason Pierre, and Dominik Parisien.

And if they get the support, after they hit the initial target here’s what comes next:

Year Eight Stretch Goals

  • $20,700 – Original cover art from Galen Dara 
  •  $22,700 – Original cover art from Kirbi Fagan 
  •  $24,700 – Original cover art from Paul Lewin 
  •  $27,700 – Pay our submissions editors a modest stipend 
  •  $31,700 – A Flash Fiction story added to each issue! 

Uncanny Magazine issues are published as eBooks (MOBI, PDF, EPUB) bimonthly on the first Tuesday of that month through all of the major online eBook stores. Each issue contains 5-6 new short stories, a reprinted story, 4 poems, 4 nonfiction essays, and 2 interviews, at minimum.

Material from half an issue is posted for free on Uncanny’s website (built by Clockpunk Studios) once per month, appearing on the second Tuesday of every month (uncannymagazine.com). Uncanny also produces a monthly podcast with a story, poem, and original interview. Subscribers and backers will receive the entire double issue a month before online readers.