The SF/F “Homophobia” Anthology Needs a Name
You might recall that I threw out some ideas about a possible anthology of SF/F stories which deal with homophobia. That anthology is now very much a reality, with JoSelle Vanderhooft at the helm, along with the aid of Charles Tan, Fabio Fernandes, Madeline Ashby (who is working on a queer military SF anthology), and myself. The theme of the anthology is roughly the the same as I had originally intended it, with some understandable changes to include more “non-traditional” groups and to add complexity to the thematic concept. The last stage before we start commissioning work from authors (and before we open submissions to the public, etc.) is to come up with a name for the anthology. That’s where you come in. We want your suggestions for a title. Use the comments below to toss out some names; we’ll take your suggestions seriously and see if we can find a fit. To help you with your name suggestions, here are the tentative guidelines for the anthology: [ANTHOLOGY NAME] seeks to explore , through Science fiction, fantasy and horror, the political, social, and spiritual difficulties lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and asexual [LGBTQA] people experience in worlds that are designed to exclude them. While stories featuring protagonists who experience homophobia/transphobia are welcome, we are most interested in stories that explore how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and asexual people navigate societies, cultures, religions, and political movements that are either geared towards heterosexuality (for example: courtship, marriage, reproduction), that aren’t built with much thought to their needs and experiences, or that are open to LGBTQA people, but imperfectly so. These societies can range from alternate history to high fantasy, utopias to dystopias, religious societies to far-off planets. In other words, we are open to science fiction, horror, fantasy, and all permutations and combinations thereof. As Shaun Duke wrote, in the blog post where this project was conceived, “Homophobia plays a role in a variety of situations beyond the most obvious, and I would like to see stories that play with these more subtle boundaries.” We are especially interested in receiving stories by and about people in the LGBTQA community who are often overlooked in all forms of media, including bisexuals, transgender people, genderqueer people, asexuals, and LGBTQA people of color, who live in non-Western societies, or who live with disabilities. We are not interested in the following: * Stories that exoticize, misrepresent, or demonize LGBTQ people, people of color, people with disabilities, or any culture or religion. (look up “cultural appropriation” for an idea of what we mean here). * Anti-gay, anti-asexual, or anti-transgender clichés (such as the lesbian who really enjoy heterosexual sex when she meets the right man, the asexual person who just doesn’t know what she’s missing, or the transgender person who is “just confused,”). This should, of course, go without saying. However, we are not adverse to stories that carefully satirize these or other stereotypes. * Stories with villains whose sole motivation for being bad is a mental illness or “being crazy.” And on that front, dismissing societies or organizations that make life difficult on LGBTQ people as wholly evil. While there are, indeed, some very evil groups and political structures out there that harm LGBTQA people, things are not usually that simple. * Poetry * Fan fiction (stories featuring characters that are not owned by the author) Please send a query describing your story to [email address that we’ll all have access to]. If your query is accepted, you will be asked to send your story. Please send your story in standard manuscript format [insert a link to an example of this]. Submission Period: Dec. 15, 2011 – Feb. 30, 2012. Word Count: 3,000 – 8,000 words (though shorter stories may be considered). **PLEASE query with your story idea first to save both you and the editor time. Payment: (TBD)
Giveaway Winner: 2011 Nebula Awards Showcase
The giveaway has ended and we have a winner: R. S. Hunter Congrats to you, sir! Your regular programming shall resume in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
Lethe Press Special: Time Well Bent for $2.99!
If you follow me on Twitter, then you might already know about this deal. But for those of you who don’t, this will be fantastic news! Steve Berman (editor at Lethe Press) and I recently had a discussion about the apparent lack of ebook discounts for users of Barnes and Noble Nooks (on Twitter, of course). Kindle users frequently get free books, huge discounts from publishers, and so on, but such things seem more rare for Nook users. The Nook does give away an ebook every Friday (usually a major title), but I rarely hear anything about other free books, discounts, and so forth, except from indie authors who are already selling their books at $7 or $8 lower than the major publishers. What does this have to do with this post? Well, Mr. Berman gave me the option to select a Lethe Press title to discount for users of Nooks (and other devices which use ePub rather than the Kindle format). It wasn’t an easy decision, because Lethe Press publishes some fantastic SF/F, but I narrowed it down eventually. For an undisclosed time, Time Well Bent, an anthology of queer alternate history stories, will be available for $2.99 when you enter QV52A (the discount code) in your cart. I’ve already purchased my copy; you should too! But even more importantly, please spread the word! It’s pretty damn awesome that Mr. Berman is listening to a lowly little fan like me, and I’d love to see Lethe Press benefit from this wonderful gesture. Here’s some more info about the anthology: We have always been here. For as long as there’s been such a thing as sex, alternate sexual identities have been a fact of life. So why have we been so nearly invisible in recorded history and historical fiction? Now editor Connie Wilkins, a Lambda Literary Award finalist, has assembled fourteen stories that span the centuries—from ancient times to the Renaissance to the modern era—and explore alternate versions of our past. Their queer protagonists, who bend history in ways dramatic enough to change the world and subtle enough to touch hearts and minds, rescue our past from invisibility, and affirm our place and importance throughout all of history, past, present, and future. You should also check out Lethe Press’ other science fiction and fantasy titles, including Steve Berman’s wonderful Vintage, which is along the lines of Christopher Barzak’s One For Sorrow. Now go get Time Well Bent!
What Science Fiction or Fantasy Are You Enjoying/Looking Forward To?
We’re running a new question on The Skiffy and Fanty Show blog about a few of the new SF/F shows coming to the small screen (along with a handful that just started a month or so ago). Pop on over and let us know which SF/F shows you’re looking forward to or currently enjoying. We’d love your input! Heck, you can even tell us why you won’t be watching some of the new shows. There are a few we’re not going to watch either… Anywho!
Young Writers Online is a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers!
The title says it all. My writing website, Young Writers Online, has been included in Writer’s Digest‘s list of best websites for writers for 2011! This is phenomenal news for me, my staff, and the members of YWO. YWO has been around since 2007. In the last four years, we’ve done some amazing things: Published a magazine (Survival By Storytelling) Created the Young Writers Award (and awarded it — $250 last year) The YWO Writing Olympics (year two is happening in a few weeks) Hosted numerous writing contests Most importantly: managed a wonderful community for young writers (constructive criticism included!) Much more has been done in the past, and much more is yet to occur. The years are being very kind to YWO. So congrats to all the members of the site who made YWO a great place to be, to my staff, and, I suppose, to me for managing the place (though I don’t feel as though I do terribly much). P.S.: I went to the store and bought the issue in which YWO is listed. See below (after the fold): The # is largely irrelevant, since the list is divided into sections/types rather than a countdown list. We’re in the Online Writing Communities section alongside places like Critique Circle, Absolute Write, Critters Workshop, and NaNoWriMo! Needless to say, I’m super happy!
Dark Jenny Giveaway Winner
The winner is…drum roll please! Carraka Congrats, Carr! You’ll receive a PM from me shortly! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go do this thing they call “homework.”