Speculative Fiction 2014: Announcement and Call for Submissions!

The first volume of Speculative Fiction, released in 2012, collected 52 pieces from authors, bloggers, and critics. The second volume, Speculative Fiction 2013, collects 53 pieces and will be released in April 2014 (details coming soon). All profits from the sales of Speculative Fiction will be donated to Room to Read. Each edition is published by Jurassic London, a small press run by Jared Shurin.

The 2013 edition contains an afterword written by us, which explains what we will be looking for as the conversation surrounding sf/f continues throughout 2014. As we edit, we will follow those stated guidelines:

• We will continue the work of previous editors in finding symmetry between long term, ongoing debates and original discussions spurred by new developments in genre culture, both in creative content and fan response.
• We will embrace the rich diversity of voices both from within SF fandom and beyond, with the recognition that important genre conversations are happening outside standard literary SF community culture and its platforms.
• We will do our best to strive for parity in gender, sexuality, race, and nationality in recognition that as a fandom, SF is stronger when it includes the perspectives that may lie outside U.S. and U.K. cultural narratives. 

With our goals in mind, we’re happy to announce that we’re open for submissions! Send us the best reviews, commentaries, and other non-fiction works using this form.

What we’re looking for in 2014:

• We’re looking for non-fiction reviews, essays, and criticism (“works”) with speculative fiction at their core. This can include science fiction, fantasy, horror, and topics that fall under or align with those topics.
• We welcome works about all forms of media, including but not limited to: books; film; television; all forms of games from tabletop to games next-gen consoles; and comics and manga.
• The work must have a publication date between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014.
• Anyone is eligible for inclusion: authors, fans, bloggers, critics who blog, bloggers who are authors, etc.), and all identifications are welcome, from full legal names to fannish pseudonyms.
• Everyone is welcome to submit any link they find interesting even if they are not the author.
• There is no limit on nominations. If you see five relevant posts, we’ll take them! If you see 50, we’ll take those, too.
• We’re aiming for pieces between 800 – 1500 words, but longer pieces are absolutely welcome.  Payment is $0.01 a word (up to $10) for non-exclusive reprint rights.
• Submitted works can be from anywhere in the world, although we do need an English translation for consideration.
• SPECIAL NOTE: we are very interested in receiving commentary on speculative fiction from the young adult community, media fandom (mainstream film/television), academia, and nonwestern fandoms, such as anime/manga, as well as content on a wide array of platforms, including tumblr and other nontraditional writing spaces.