Tag Archives: Lynne M. Thomas

Uncanny at Dawn

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Uncanny 1 cover COMPThe first issue of Uncanny Magazine will be available tomorrow, November 4. With an assist from the summer’s Kickstarter appeal, Hugo Award-winning Publishers/Editors-in-Chief Lynne M. Thomas (Chicks Dig Time Lords, Apex Magazine) and Michael Damian Thomas (Queers Dig Time Lords, Glitter & Mayhem) have launched a new online science fiction and fantasy magazine featuring new and classic stories, plus poetry, provocative nonfiction, and a monthly podcast.

All of Uncanny Magazine’s content can be purchased in eBook versions on the day of release.

Half of the issue’s free online content will be posted November 4, and half on December 2.

Fans can follow Uncanny Magazine on Twitter  and Facebook .

Issue 1 Table of Contents:

Cover by Galen Dara

Editorial
The Uncanny Valley – Editorial by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas

New Fiction
Maria Dahvana Headley – “If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White”
Ken Liu – “Presence”
Max Gladstone – “Late Nights at the Cape and Cane”
Amelia Beamer – “Celia and the Conservation of Entropy”
Kat Howard – “Migration”
Christopher Barzak – “The Boy Who Grew Up”

Classic Fiction
Jay Lake – “Her Fingers Like Whips, Her Eyes Like Razors”

Nonfiction
Sarah Kuhn – “Mars (and Moon and Mercury and Jupiter and Venus) Attacks!”
Worldcon Roundtable featuring Emma England, Michael Lee, Helen Montgomery, Steven H Silver, and Pablo Vazquez
Tansy Rayner Roberts -“Does Sex Make Science Fiction ‘Soft’?”
Christopher J Garcia – “The Short List – The Ten Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Shorts on the Web”

Poetry
Neil Gaiman – “Kissing song”
Amal El-Mohtar – “The New Ways”
Sonya Taaffe – “The Whalemaid, Singing”

Interviews
Maria Dahvana Headley, Interviewed by Deborah Stanish
Beth Meacham on Jay Lake, Interviewed by Lynne M. Thomas
Christopher Barzak, Interviewed by Deborah Stanish

Podcast
Episode 1: Editors’ Introduction, Maria Dahvana Headley’s “If You Were a Tiger, I’d Have to Wear White” and Amal El-Mohtar’s poem “The New Ways” (both read by Amal), and an interview with Maria conducted by Deborah Stanish.

Episode 2: Editors’ Introduction, Amelia Beamer reading her story “Celia and the Conservation of Entropy,” Sonya Taaffe’s poem “The Whalemaid, Singing” (as read by Amal El-Mohtar), and an interview with Amelia conducted by Deborah Stanish.

Uncanny Beginnings

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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 logo

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.

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The Fourth Book of Apex

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Book of Apex 4 coverJust out is The Book of Apex: Volume 4 of Apex Magazine, collecting the original fiction from Hugo-winning editor Lynne M. Thomas’s first fifteen issues at the helm of Apex Magazine, a reign that included two Hugo Award nominations for Best Semiprozine.

Authors like Ken Liu, Genevieve Valentine, Catherynne M. Valente, Lavie Tidhar, and Alethea Kontis are represented among the volume’s 33 science fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories – altogether, 140,000 words, 368 pages of award-nominated short fiction.

The entire run of Apex Magazine through issue 44 is available in the The Book of Apex anthology series. Volume 3 features the stories published during Catherynne M. Valente’s time as editor-in-chief. Volumes 1 and 2 features the stories published during Jason Sizemore’s time as editor-in-chief.

Volume 4’s table of contents follows the jump.

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Apex Editors Stepping Down

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Editor-in-Chief Lynne M. Thomas will leave Apex Magazine after the December 2013 issue.

“I’m in need of break, after which I’m looking forward to exploring new opportunities and projects,” she wrote.

She added that Managing Editor Michael Damian Thomas is also leaving. “As many of you know, Michael and are a team. Nothing would have been possible without him.”

Apex Magazine has twice been nominated for the Best Semiprozine Hugo under the Thomases’ editorship.

[Via SF Site News.]

Glitter & Mayhem Launches at Worldcon

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glitter SMALLApex Publications will launch Glitter & Mayhem, an anthology dedicated to Roller Derby, nightclubs, glam aliens, (literal) party monsters, drugs, sex, glitter, and debauchery, at a skating party during LoneStarCon 3.

The 120,000 word, 346-page anthology originated as an idea on Twitter and with was funded through Kickstarter, with fans chipping in nearly $16,000 for a chance to read the stories promised by Seanan McGuire, Alan DeNiro, Amal El-Mohtar, Daryl Gregory, Damien Walters Grintalis, Maria Dahvana Headley, Kat Howard, Jennifer Pelland, Tim Pratt, Cat Rambo, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Diana Rowland, Sofia Samatar, David J. Schwartz, and William Shunn.

The edition is introduced by Amber Benson and contains 19 original short stories and a novella by Seanan McGuire set in her InCryptid universe.

The official book launch takes place Saturday, August 31 at the San Antonio Rollercade from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. Meet and skate with Glitter & Mayhem’s editors John Klima, Lynne M. Thomas, & Michael Damian Thomas, cover artist Galen Dara, and authors Rachel Swirsky, Maurice Broaddus, Cat Rambo, Daryl Gregory, and Vylar Kaftan. Admission is $11. (Regular skate rental included.)

Copies of Glitter & Mayhem are available at Larry Smith Books in the Worldcon Dealers’ Room.

The full press release follows the jump.

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Bujold Donates Papers To NIU

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Lois McMaster Bujold

Lois McMaster Bujold

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at NIU Libraries has recorded another coup, attracting a donation from Lois McMaster Bujold of her early draft manuscripts, final drafts, proofs, submission copies, foreign editions of books and more.

Lynne M. Thomas, curator of Rare Books and Special Collections told NIU Today —

“This is the most significant acquisition of science fiction and fantasy manuscripts we have made thus far, in terms of critical and award recognition and name recognition,” Thomas said. “Lois’s papers are a key addition to our collections of late 20th century science fiction and fantasy writing, as her work has directly or indirectly influenced a large number of the writers already held in our collections.”

Bujold’s initial gift includes papers for titles such as Cetaganda, Women at War (an anthology co-edited with Roland Green) and Falling Free, the 1988 Nebula Award winner.  Ultimately, NIU expects to receive all of Bujold’s manuscripts.

“The most unique items are certainly my early handwritten first drafts, in pencil on notebook paper,” said Bujold, describing some of the work included in her donation. “I suppose the earliest manuscripts are of the most sentimental value to me, as I was learning to become a writer by doing.”

Thomas spent eight years corresponding with Bujold and working to obtain the collection for NIU Libraries.

Apex Magazine Mediates a Conrunning Crisis

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The furor over harassment and policies against it provoked by events at this year’s Readercon also opened the floodgates for pros to express a general resentment about their treatment at many other fan-run conventions. It’s made for depressing reading.

Would-be peacemakers Lynne Thomas and Steven H Silver have each written an article for the current Apex Magazine hoping that open communication, and educating writers and conrunners about each other’s roles in convention programming, will help improve the atmosphere.

In “The 21st Century SF/F Professional at Conventions” Lynne Thomas tells what she expects as a pro participating in convention programs, and what cons should expect of her.

This is a symbiotic relationship between two groups of volunteers. We need each other to make a great convention. And that is the goal, right?

All her points are good, especially this often-overlooked fact of life:

4. Recognize that I, too, am paying to be at this convention.  Unless I’m one of the Guests of Honor, I’m spending money to be here: on travel, lodging, food, and registration if I’m not eligible to have it reimbursed or comped. Writers and editors are often freelancers. When I’m attending conventions, here’s what I’m not doing: billable writing or editing to earn money. Nor am I doing any of the following: relaxing, spending time with my family, or performing upkeep on my house and yard. Travel, logistics, and being away from home take their toll.

Steven H Silver explains the pressures that program organizers work under in his piece  “Behind the Convention Curtain: Programming”:

Earlier, I mentioned that programming invites scrutiny at a time when it is in major flux. Sometime shortly before the convention, always later than programming participants, webmasters, social media, publications, and members want, the Programming Team will send out a preliminary schedule. The key to remember is that these schedules are preliminary. When I began running Programming, if a panelist was disappointed with their schedule or had a conflict, they would call, write, or e-mail me and I could work to fix it. Now, the disappointed panelist is just as likely to post their issues on Facebook, Twitter, or a blog, often without first letting Programming know there is an issue. Because this is a very busy time for the Programming team, the team is unlikely to stumble across the online complaint. It is also probably the worst way to handle the situation because merely mentioning it online doesn’t provide an opportunity for Programming to fix the problem and essentially calls them incompetent in a public forum.

I agree that everyone should make Steven’s suggested plan their default setting, however, to be perfectly frank there are situations every year where corrective action would never be taken without the encouragement of a public kick in the ass. I don’t know how a writer is supposed to guess in advance which kind of crew they’re dealing with if they have no previous experience, so if they tell the program organizers there’s a problem and ask them to fix it by some specific point in time, I would think  it’s fair to say something online if the problem hasn’t been addressed by then.

Saberhagen Papers Go to NIU

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Fred Saberhagen

The first installment of the papers of Chicago-born SF author Fred Saberhagen has arrived at the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.

Saberhagen, who passed away in 2007, lived for last thirty years in New Mexico. He published 60 novels and numerous short stories, most of them belonging to one of his well-known sf and fantasy series, the most famous of which is the Berserker series about sentient beings’ war against ruthless machines determined to destroy all life.

The Saberhagen papers are a gift to the university from the author’s widow, Joan Spicci Saberhagen. “I’m quite pleased knowing Fred’s papers will be valued and well cared for at NIU,” Joan Spicci Saberhagen said, noting that many of her husband’s works were set in the Chicago area. She spent more than a year communicating with University Libraries staff before selecting NIU for the donation. “The campus visit sealed the deal,” she said. “The archival staff impressed me with their professionalism, congeniality and knowledge of the science fiction field. You have a treasure in Lynne Thomas.”

Lynne M. Thomas is curator of Rare Books and Special Collections for NIU Libraries, and an sf celebrity in her own right, having won a Hugo at Renovation for Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It which she co-edited with Tara O’Shea.

Thomas calls Saberhagen’s papers the “crown jewel” of the library’s science fiction and fantasy collection. That’s quite a compliment, for the collection already includes the papers of more than 50 other genre authors.

Those authors include Alma Alexander, Eleanor Arnason, Robert Asprin, Kage Baker, Elizabeth Bear, Donald J. Bingle, Alex Bledsoe, Tobias Buckell, Richard Chwedyk, Pamela Dean, Lori Devoti, L. Timmel Duchamp, Carol Emshwiller, Philip Jose Farmer, Eric Flint, Merrie Haskell, Jim C. Hines, Douglas Hulick, John Klima, Mary Robinette Kowal, E.E. Knight, Ted Kosmatka and Naomi Kritzer, Catherine Lundoff, Elise Matthesen, Kelly McCullough, Jack McDevitt, Sarah Monette, Lyda Morehouse, Jaime Lee Moyer, Pat Murphy, Sean Michael Murphy, Nnedi Okorafor, Rebecca Ore, Jody Lynn Nye, Tamora Pierce, Tim Pratt, Cherie Priest, Sarah Prineas, Cat Rambo, Mark Rich and Margaret Ronald, Heather Shaw, Nisi Shawl, Will Shetterly, Sharon Shinn, the esteemed Steven H Silver, Kristine Smith, Bud Sparhawk, Jennifer Stevenson, Caroline Stevermer, Catherynne Valente, David Weber and Patricia Wrede.

The library’s Rare Books and Special Collections department also holds the 20th World Science Fiction Convention Collection of correspondence related to the 1962 WorldCon.

Lynne M. Thomas with Saberhagen papers.

[Based on a press release.]

Squeeing with the Best of Them

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Star-powered SF Squeecast launches June 30. Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M. Thomas, and Catherynne M. Valente will use their new monthly podcast to bring attention to SF works “that make them happy” — both new discoveries and old favorites. Besides the group book discussion there will be an irreverent question and answer segment and the occasional topical discussion.

The contributors are some of the field’s most popular rising writers. Elizabeth Bear has won two Hugos and a Theodore Sturgeon Award (The Jenny Casey Trilogy, The Jacob’s Ladder Trilogy). Paul Cornell is a Hugo-nominated New York Times Bestselling television, comic book, and prose writer. Senan McGuire is a Campbell Award-winner, Hugo-nominated New York Times Bestselling author and musician Seanan McGuire (October Daye series, Feed as Mira Grant). Lynne M. Thomas is a Hugo-nominated editor and curator Lynne M. Thomas (Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas). Catherynne M. Valente is a Hugo-nominated, Tiptree and Andre Norton Award-winning New York Times Bestselling author (Palimpsest, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making).