I’m honored to announce that I’m once again nominated for the World Fantasy Award (the “special award” for professionals working in the fantasy field). Thanks to all who thought I was deserving of this honor, and congratulations to all the other nominees. [World Fantasy Award nominees]
Next week, I’m off to Pittsburgh to teach at the Alpha SF/F/H Workshop for Young Writers, and then I’ll be attending Confluence, the Pittsburgh-area science fiction convention next weekend (July 27-29).
Also, on Tuesday, July 24, Kij Johnson, Catherynne M. Valente, Tamora Pierce, and I will be doing a reading at the Greensburg Barnes & Noble at 7PM.
For those of you attending Confluence, here’s my schedule of events during the convention:
Fri 5:00 pm | Oak
Are You a Member Here?
The question is whether we, as a group of readers (bunch of geeks, tribe of SF/F/H fans) and writers have gotten too exclusive–with tropes, words and shorthand universes–and if there is new stuff being written that would be accessible to Joe and Jill Common-Person. Would they have as much fun reading “A Game of Thrones” or “We Can Remember if for You Wholesale” as watching it?
Panelists: Steve Ramey, Lawrence Connolly, John Joseph Adams, Sarah Goslee
Fri 10:00 pm | Consuite
Kaffeeklatsch
An informal group discussion over coffee. Note: You typically must sign up for Kaffeeklatsches in advance, and I believe that is the case at Confluence as well.
Participants: Jonathan Maberry, John Joseph Adams
Sat 10:00 am | Main Lobby
Autographing
Participants: John Joseph Adams, James Daniel Ross
Sat 4:00 pm | Oak
Editors: What Do They Really Want?
Good question–here are a few, what do they have to say?
Participants: John Joseph Adams, Jeff Young, Eric Beebe, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Sara Goslee
Sat 6:00 pm | Oak
Can’t we Just Get Along?
Stories, books, songs. With so many creative things to do, it’s only natural that sometimes we work together to create something beyond the scope and abilities of just one person. What are the good things and bad things about collaboration? Can compromise actually lead to a better result? Lyrics and music, Editors and writers ,the perils and perks of working together. Whether it be authors with authors, authors with songwriters, songwriters with songwriters, good results will always speak for themselves.
Participants: Jonah Knight, Rand Bellavia, John Joseph Adams, Christopher J Pisano
Sat 9:00 pm | Sycamore
Reading: The Living Dead 2
Short readings from the anthology The Living Dead 2, by several of the authors.
Participants: John Joseph Adams, Gary Braunbeck, Jonathan Maberry, David Barr Kirtley, Jamie Lackey
Nightmare will be temporarily closed to submissions from July 15 to September 15. This is due to the following factors:
All those factors combined make it sensible for us to close to submissions for a time so I can focus on other editorial tasks, though of course #1 is the big one. But don’t despair! Take advantage of this time to polish up your stories to the best of your ability and have them ready to go when we re-open in September. Looking forward to seeing what you all come up with on the flip-side.
I’ve just launched the promotional site for my new anthology OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE, which you can find here: www.
Here’s the table of contents and cover copy for Epic.
Cover Copy
There is a sickness in the land. Prophets tell of the fall of empires, the rise of champions. Great beasts stir in vaults beneath the hills, beneath the waves. Armies mass. Gods walk. The world will be torn asunder.
Epic fantasy is storytelling at its biggest and best. From the creation myths and quest sagas of ancient times to the mega-popular fantasy novels of today, these are the stories that express our greatest hopes and fears, that create worlds so rich we long to return to them again and again, and that inspire us with their timeless values of courage and friendship in the face of ultimate evil—tales that transport us to the most ancient realms, and show us the most noble sacrifices, the most astonishing wonders.
Now acclaimed editor John Joseph Adams (Wastelands, The Living Dead) brings you the best tales set in the most popular settings of today’s leading authors of epic fantasy. Return again to lands you’ve loved, or visit magical new worlds. Victory against the coming darkness is never certain, but one thing’s for sure—your adventure will be epic.
Table of Contents
Cover (by John Coulthart)
Now that Nightmare is fully-funded, we’re looking to the future, and that means opening to fiction submissions. (We’re currently planning to open on June 15; watch this space, or our Twitter stream @nightmaremag for details.) As such, we’re looking to fill out our editorial team, and that means finding some volunteer slush readers.
If you’re not familiar with the term, “slush” is what people in the publishing industry call unsolicited submissions–that is, stories that writers send in without an explicit invitation. Most magazines have an open submissions policy–as Nightmare will–which means that anyone in the world can send in a story for us to consider, and all those stories are collectively referred to as slush.
It’s too early to say how many submissions Nightmare will receive every month, but at Lightspeed, we receive around 700 monthly, so we need a team of dedicated readers to make recommendations to the editor. That means reading and evaluating submissions, and either recommending the editor read the story himself or recommending that he reject it. There’s a bit more to it than that, which we would discuss if you’re interested in applying for the position, but that’s the gist.
And why would anyone want to do such a thing? Well, reading slush is one of the best things a writer can do to improve his or her writing because it really helps you read as an editor (and by reading lots of stories that don’t work, you can’t help but learn lots of lessons). Also, if you’re interested in working in the editing field, it’s almost always where you start, so it’s good experience.
Before you apply, some details to consider:
If you’re interested in applying to be a slush reader for Nightmare, please email me at johnjosephadams+nightmare@gmail.com. In your email, please provide the following information:
Well, that about does it. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
From the official website of the Horror Writers Association:
The Horror Writers Association is proud to announce prolific anthologist John Joseph Adams as the Editor Guest of Honor for the World Horror Convention (WHC) 2013. In 2013 the HWA is hosting WHC as part of the Bram Stoker Awards™ Weekend in New Orleans from 13-16 June. […]
HWA President Rocky Wood said, “John Joseph Adams is the type of anthology editor readers love – they know each of his books will be filled with well written, interesting tales to captivate them during their precious reading hours. We are very pleased that John has accepted our invitation to be World Horror Convention Guest of Honor, where he is likely to find 300 horror writers, all eager to impress him with their wares!”
Adams joins previously announced Guest of Honor Ramsey Campbell and Toastmaster Jeff Strand on the Guest list.
Obviously I’m thrilled and grateful to be selected for such an honor, and the timing couldn’t be better with Nightmare scheduled to launch in October. I’ve never been to a World Horror or to New Orleans, so it should be quite a trip!
In related news, it just so happens that I have a story in inventory by my co-GOH Ramsey Campbell, scheduled for issue #2 of Nightmare!
As of 9:24am Pacific Time yesterday, the Nightmare Magazine Kickstarter is funded! Due to the $245 pledge by sf author and all around great guy John Scalzi, we’ve now reached 100% funding. So a big thanks to John, and to the rest of you who pledged. (Also a special thanks to Arachne Jericho, who obviously had the same thought as John, but was about two seconds too late to be the one that put us over the top.) A big thanks too, to our largest donor, George Peyton, who purchased a lifetime subscription to Nightmare and to Creeping Hemlock’s entire list of books.
Although we’ve reached our goal, there’s still time–11 more days–to pre-order an issue or a subscription, or to get one of our limited edition chapbooks (which will only be available to people who pledge via the Kickstarter).
For more information about Nightmare, you can visit www.nightmare-magazine.com or follow us on Twitter @nightmaremag.
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Note to writers: We’ll be opening to submissions soon. Stay tuned for updates.
Here’s the preliminary cover for one of my forthcoming anthologies, THE MAD SCIENTIST’S GUIDE TO WORLD DOMINATION (Tor, January 2013). The art is by the fantastic Ben Templesmith.
From Victor Frankenstein to Lex Luthor, from Dr. Moreau to Dr. Doom, readers have long been fascinated by megalomaniacal plans for world domination and the madmen who come up with them. Typically, we see these villains through the eyes of superheroes (or other good guys) as they attempt to put an end to their evil ways. This anthology, however, will explore the world of mad scientists and evil geniuses–from their own point of view.
Evil geniuses are always so keen on telling captured heroes all their fiendish plans. Isn’t it about time someone gave them a platform such as this one to reach the masses with their messages of hope death and prosperity destruction?
Featuring stories by: Carrie Vaughn, Alan Dean Foster, Daniel H. Wilson, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., L. A. Banks, Austin Grossman, Marjorie M. Liu, Ben Winters, David Farland, Mary Robinette Kowal, Harry Turtledove, Seanan McGuire, David D. Levine, Genevieve Valentine, Naomi Novik, Jeffrey Ford, Grady Hendrix, Theodora Goss, Jeremiah Tolbert, Heather Lindsley, and Laird Barron, plus a new 40,000 word novella from Diana Gabaldon! Also featuring an introduction by legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont.
This year’s World Fantasy Award nomination period is still open. The 2011World Fantasy Awards will be presented in Toronto, Ontario during the World Fantasy Convention (November 1-4). Deadline for nominating is May 31.
Anyone who has a supporting or full membership from the 2011 World Fantasy Convention, or the upcoming 2012 World Fantasy Convention may nominate works. If you didn’t attend World Fantasy last year, and you don’t plan to attend this year, you can still nominate by purchasing a supporting membership.
Already registered? Go and nominate your favorite works! Here’s a link to the PDF of the nomination ballot. (Note: You may email your ballot to the award administrator, Rodger Turner, to the email address listed on the ballot.)
Here’s a list of works published in Fantasy Magazine in 2011 that are eligible for the World Fantasy Award this year. (Note that the World Fantasy categories are slightly different than the Nebulas and Hugos in regard to word counts: World Fantasy considers a Novella to be 10,000-40,000 words and Short Story to be 10,000 words or less, whereas the Nebulas and Hugos divide those categories differently, and have a third category [Novelette] in between.)
Short Fiction (under 10,000 words)
March 2011
April 2011
May 2011
June 2011
July 2011
August 2011
September 2011
October 2011
November 2011
December 2011
Additionally, I published one story in Lightspeed in 2011 that I feel could be interpreted as fantasy, or at least is close enough to be considered for the award:
November 2011
And, finally, as usual, I am also eligible for:
Special Award, Professional