Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas are launching a Kickstarter for Year Nine of their five-time Hugo Award-winning professional online Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine: Uncanny Magazine.

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 ninth year, with an initial goal of $20,000, plus added stretch goals of three original covers and a special double-sized issue 50. The Kickstarter launched today, July 21, and runs through August 22: “Uncanny Magazine, Year 9: To Fifty … and Beyond!”

“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 Years One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eight Kickstarters. This year, the magazine has been recognized as a Hugo Award finalist, six stories have been recognized as Hugo Award finalists, five stories have been recognized as Nebula Award finalists (with one winning), and two stories plus the editors-in-chief have been recognized as World Fantasy Award finalists. We are deeply honored and grateful,” nine-time Hugo Award-winner Lynne M. Thomas 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 create a double-sized milestone 50th issue,” six-time Hugo Award-winner Michael Damian Thomas adds.

For the special double-sized milestone 50th issue, 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, Christopher Caldwell, P. Djèlí Clark, A.T. Greenblatt, Mary Robinette Kowal, Ken Liu, Sarah Pinsker, Catherynne M. Valente, Fran Wilde, John Wiswell, Caroline M. Yoachim, and E. Lily Yu. (There will also be numerous slots for unsolicited submissions in the other 5 issues.) For the special double-sized milestone 50th issue, Uncanny has also solicited original essays by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Sam J. Miller, Annalee Newitz, Diana M. Pho, Elsa Sjunneson, Arley Sorg, and Michi Trota, and solicited poetry by Betsy Aoki, Elizabeth Bear, Neil Gaiman, Theodora Goss, Brandon O’Brien, Terese Mason Pierre, Abu Bakr Sadiq, Sonya Taaffe, and Ali Trotta.

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.

[Based on a press release.]