Uncanny Magazine’s Hugo-winning editors Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas today launched a Kickstarter for Year Seven of their – also multi-Hugo Award-winning — professional online sff magazine: Uncanny Magazine Year 7: Space Unicorns Shine On Together!

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 seventh year, with an initial goal of $18,700, plus added stretch goals of raising contributor and staff pay rates. The Kickstarter will launch August 6, 2020, and run through September 4, 2020.

On day one they’ve raised $12,566 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. 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 Year One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six Kickstarters. This year, the magazine has been recognized as a Hugo winner and Locus Award finalist, and three stories plus the editors-in-chief have been recognized as Hugo Award finalists,” Lynne says.

“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 an additional novella this year,” Michael adds.

For Year Seven, Uncanny has solicited original short fiction from Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award-winning and nominated authors and bestselling authors including: Aliette de Bodard, Martha Wells, Catherynne M. Valente, Fran Wilde, Tochi Onyebuchi, Sarah Pinsker, Shveta Thakrar, Carrie Vaughn, P. Djèlí Clark, Sam J. Miller, Ellen Kushner, Tananarive Due, Elizabeth Hand, and Caroline M. Yoachim. There will also be numerous slots for unsolicited submissions.

Uncanny Magazine Year Seven plans to showcase original essays by Marieke Nijkamp, Jay Edidin, Alice Wong, Katherine Cross, Troy L. Wiggins, Nisi Shawl, and Sarah Kuhn, plus poetry by Neil Gaiman, Brandon O’Brien, L.X. Beckett, Valerie Valdes, Theodora Goss, Jane Yolen, and Peter Tacy.

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

Year Seven Stretch Goals:

•  $20,700 – Original cover art from Galen Dara 
•  $22,700 – Original cover art from Nilah Magruder 
•  $24,700 – Original cover art from Alexa Sharpe 
•  $26,700 – Pay our submissions editors a modest stipend 
•  $28,700 – Increase Essay Pay Rate to $100 per essay 
•  $34,700 – Purchase & Publish 1 Novella Per Year at (up to 30,000 words) $.10 per word 

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.