Penumbra has long been a dream of mine.
When I started submitting my own short fiction as a woefully ill-prepared college student, this wasn't something I would ever have thought possible. Who could have known back in those days where that newfangled computer stuff was going to take us? And then, about six years ago when I realized that short fiction wasn't something I could write but was darn tootin' good at editing, the jobs in speculative fiction editing seemed so out of reach. In my mind's eye I had an image of spec fic editors being bearded, venerable men wearing ascots and smoking pipes, flipping through a stack of submissions and applying a red-inked stamp that said REJECTED without even reading a word of each story.
Go on--admit it. You have a similar version of that image in your head.
So when we started Musa, I was fairly insistent on going big or going home. Opening a pro-rate paying e-magazine was a huge risk. Let's be honest here: a fledgling press has no business starting out at the top with a periodical. A smart publisher would have started much smaller...maybe two cents a word. That doesn't sound like a huge difference; heck, what's three cents? When you start looking at three or four thousand word stories, those three cents add up fast.
But for my vision for Penumbra, I knew that pro-rates would lead to two very important things. First off, authors of extremely high caliber would consider submitting to us. Second off, if we did everything right, we'd gain credibility with the writers' guilds--particularly SFWA.
I figured it would take a while to take off submissions-wise. I was disabused of that notion immediately. We posted our first submissions call at Duotrope and Ralan's to start out. When I opened my email the next day, I had over fifty submissions.
Welcome to the big leagues, kid.
From that point on, it was like Christmas every day. Every day, I woke up to wonderful, amazing stories. There's something inherently satisfying about putting together an issue of a magazine. You get to play with the stories, the layout--determining the best flow so the reader can derive the greatest enjoyment. In some ways, it's like a literary blackjack table. Will I stand? Will the bank hit me? Will I go bust? Or, will I get a natural blackjack and rake it all in?
Gods, I love my job.
Penumbra Vol. I, Iss 1 is now available for sale at an online store near you--including ours. You can order your copy here. Oh, and there's some other things that are really cool. You can write and leave your review of Issue 1 on the same page. Or drop me a line. Either way, I want to hear what you have to say.
Our featured Rising Talent of the month is Anatoly Belilovsky. You can read his story "A Literary Offense" and his essay about writing the story for free on the Penumbra website. Each month we'll feature a different new author from the slushpile for that issue of Penumbra.
And finally, there's the art contest. I can't determine a kid's fingerpainted place mats from a legitimate Picasso, so thankfully the art is adjudicated by Kelly Shorten, the art director. Every month, we'll put the best entries into Penumbra and you, the reader, can vote for your favorite. That way, you'll see more work from that artist, because the winners will be commissioned to do more art for Penumbra.
Musa Publishing and Penumbra are dedicated to creating a fun, engaging speculative fiction eMag every month. I am extremely proud to present to you our inaugural issue.
Friday, 30 September 2011
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
What is Spec Fic?
What is Spec Fic?
Believe it or not, the question I most often get from spec fic writers is, “What exactly is spec fic?” Someone sends me a manuscript, I accept it, and then a few weeks later they write me and say, in a cyber-whisper, “By the way, I was just wondering…” or “You know, a friend at work asked me the other day …” or “I’m really embarrassed to even ask this question …”
Don’t be embarrassed. Most of us grew up thinking in terms of two related genres—science-fiction and fantasy. I say related, but maybe what I mean is “inexplicably in the same section of the bookstore.” Fantasy and sci-fi tended to get lumped together, even though they were very different. Orson Scott Card once wrote that science fiction has rivets and fantasy has trees. That’s a fun over-simplification, and there’s some truth to it. Really though, most people who read traditional sci-fi fans steer clear of traditional fantasy, and vice versa. The thing that bound the two genres together—at least in the minds of booksellers—was that both were fantastical.
The question in recent years has become, what do you do with books about fantastical subjects that don’t qualify as either sci-fi or as fantasy? For example, there was a disastrous attempt several decades ago to market George Orwell’s 1984 as science fiction. It might have some science fiction elements, but it’s definitely not the sort of thing most traditional sci-fi fans recognize as sci-fi. It is dystopian fiction, similar to Orwell’s other masterpiece Animal Farm, and Robert Hugh Benson’s Lord of the World.
And what about the works of Charles Williams? Difficult to classify. Tarot cards that come to life; Platonic forms that roam the earth; Hell as a plane of existence that co-exists alongside our own. Sometimes you find Williams in the fantasy section, but that’s too easy. His books are not genre fiction; they are meaty and philosophical and full of deep theological themes.
So, what do we do with all these other books that don’t fit traditional definitions of fantasy (wizards, elves, and dragons) or science fiction (robots, machines, and space ships)? The solution has been an umbrella term: speculative fiction, or spec fic for short. Spec fic encompasses fantasy and sci-fi, but it also includes horror, dystopian and utopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, alternate histories, supernatural tales, even superhero fiction … basically, anything that speculates on the apparently improbable or seemingly impossible.
The term “spec fic” isn’t an attempt to rename the old fantasy/sci-fi section. It is, rather, a way to gather all the loose clusters of related genres under one convenient term. And you’ll find all of the above-named genres published at Musa under the Urania imprint (with the exception of horror, which is handled by Thalia, our paranormal line).
So don’t be embarrassed if you don’t know what spec fic is. Writers still tend to think of themselves as working in a particular genre, and those genres still hold. It’s simply a more expansive, more inclusive term.
Believe it or not, the question I most often get from spec fic writers is, “What exactly is spec fic?” Someone sends me a manuscript, I accept it, and then a few weeks later they write me and say, in a cyber-whisper, “By the way, I was just wondering…” or “You know, a friend at work asked me the other day …” or “I’m really embarrassed to even ask this question …”
Don’t be embarrassed. Most of us grew up thinking in terms of two related genres—science-fiction and fantasy. I say related, but maybe what I mean is “inexplicably in the same section of the bookstore.” Fantasy and sci-fi tended to get lumped together, even though they were very different. Orson Scott Card once wrote that science fiction has rivets and fantasy has trees. That’s a fun over-simplification, and there’s some truth to it. Really though, most people who read traditional sci-fi fans steer clear of traditional fantasy, and vice versa. The thing that bound the two genres together—at least in the minds of booksellers—was that both were fantastical.
The question in recent years has become, what do you do with books about fantastical subjects that don’t qualify as either sci-fi or as fantasy? For example, there was a disastrous attempt several decades ago to market George Orwell’s 1984 as science fiction. It might have some science fiction elements, but it’s definitely not the sort of thing most traditional sci-fi fans recognize as sci-fi. It is dystopian fiction, similar to Orwell’s other masterpiece Animal Farm, and Robert Hugh Benson’s Lord of the World.
And what about the works of Charles Williams? Difficult to classify. Tarot cards that come to life; Platonic forms that roam the earth; Hell as a plane of existence that co-exists alongside our own. Sometimes you find Williams in the fantasy section, but that’s too easy. His books are not genre fiction; they are meaty and philosophical and full of deep theological themes.
So, what do we do with all these other books that don’t fit traditional definitions of fantasy (wizards, elves, and dragons) or science fiction (robots, machines, and space ships)? The solution has been an umbrella term: speculative fiction, or spec fic for short. Spec fic encompasses fantasy and sci-fi, but it also includes horror, dystopian and utopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, alternate histories, supernatural tales, even superhero fiction … basically, anything that speculates on the apparently improbable or seemingly impossible.
The term “spec fic” isn’t an attempt to rename the old fantasy/sci-fi section. It is, rather, a way to gather all the loose clusters of related genres under one convenient term. And you’ll find all of the above-named genres published at Musa under the Urania imprint (with the exception of horror, which is handled by Thalia, our paranormal line).
So don’t be embarrassed if you don’t know what spec fic is. Writers still tend to think of themselves as working in a particular genre, and those genres still hold. It’s simply a more expansive, more inclusive term.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Penumbra Issue 2 Line Up Announced
Moving right along in our periodical fervor, we are very proud to announce the selection of authors and stories for our death-themed November issue.
Why a death theme in November? Well, out of sympathy for the Thanksgiving turkey, of course! But this death theme isn't just your run of the mill death theme. Death in these stories follows a different path. The young, the old, the sick, the healthy--and sometimes death itself isn't the problem; what happens after death is. Or how death comes. Or even if it comes.
At any rate, we loved these stories to...pieces. (Thought I was going to say 'death' didn't you?) These fine tales from five amazing authors will be released on November 1, 2011 in Volume I Issue 2 of Penumbra.
Congratulations, authors!
Inappropriate Gifts bu DeAnna Knippling
Voices by Mario Milosevic
Cocklebur by Nathaniel Lee
Field Trip by J.C. Koch
Sand From A Broken Hourglass by Scott Overton
Why a death theme in November? Well, out of sympathy for the Thanksgiving turkey, of course! But this death theme isn't just your run of the mill death theme. Death in these stories follows a different path. The young, the old, the sick, the healthy--and sometimes death itself isn't the problem; what happens after death is. Or how death comes. Or even if it comes.
At any rate, we loved these stories to...pieces. (Thought I was going to say 'death' didn't you?) These fine tales from five amazing authors will be released on November 1, 2011 in Volume I Issue 2 of Penumbra.
Congratulations, authors!
Inappropriate Gifts bu DeAnna Knippling
Voices by Mario Milosevic
Cocklebur by Nathaniel Lee
Field Trip by J.C. Koch
Sand From A Broken Hourglass by Scott Overton
Welcome to Penumbra, by Issue 1 AuthorTom Brennan
It's always exciting to see something new and interesting - the latest book/story from your favorite author, a long-awaited film, practically anything on HBO.
But it's especially exciting if you're an aspiring author and a new publication appears on the horizon. I don't mean as a fresh market opportunity but as a sign and a symbol: a sign that there are enthusiastic people willing to put their heads over the parapet and produce something they love; a symbol of rude good health in the world of fiction generally and SpecFic in particular. In my opinion, there's one thing we need above almost all - optimism.
Welcome, Penumbra.
Editor's Note: Tom Brennan's dark vision of the future is the first story in the first issue in the first volume of Penumbra. "Butterfly" caught my attention in the middle of a long day in the slushpile because I thought his imagery was so evocative and gritty and just downright...well...horrific.
Tom Brennan is a British writer who lives by the sea in Liverpool, UK with a sadly diminishing number of elderly cats. When not writing, he works as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher, taking 911 calls 24/7 from the public, which is interesting and stressful but always surprising. He loves all kinds of fiction, from Phil Dick to Stanislaw Lem, Conan Doyle to Frantzen, Tim Powers to Dashiell Hammett, and most points inbetween. He likes running and cycling and finding gluten-free food, especially cakes.
But it's especially exciting if you're an aspiring author and a new publication appears on the horizon. I don't mean as a fresh market opportunity but as a sign and a symbol: a sign that there are enthusiastic people willing to put their heads over the parapet and produce something they love; a symbol of rude good health in the world of fiction generally and SpecFic in particular. In my opinion, there's one thing we need above almost all - optimism.
Welcome, Penumbra.
Editor's Note: Tom Brennan's dark vision of the future is the first story in the first issue in the first volume of Penumbra. "Butterfly" caught my attention in the middle of a long day in the slushpile because I thought his imagery was so evocative and gritty and just downright...well...horrific.
Tom Brennan is a British writer who lives by the sea in Liverpool, UK with a sadly diminishing number of elderly cats. When not writing, he works as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher, taking 911 calls 24/7 from the public, which is interesting and stressful but always surprising. He loves all kinds of fiction, from Phil Dick to Stanislaw Lem, Conan Doyle to Frantzen, Tim Powers to Dashiell Hammett, and most points inbetween. He likes running and cycling and finding gluten-free food, especially cakes.
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Penumbra Inaugural Issue Available For Pre-Order Now!
Penumbra's first issue is now available for pre-order! If you go to our main website, you can go ahead and place your order for our inaugural issue.
We're very excited about Penumbra, and with the extraordinary and amazing stories we're offering for our readers. We hope that our readers are as excited as we are.
Penumbra's inaugural issue is a collection of speculative fiction stories that encompass the arts--the arts we love and revere. Some of these stories deal with the arts we're familiar with. Some create arts we haven't thought of. And some resurrect arts buried in the depths of the past. And yet, all of these offerings celebrate the creative process, which makes them a fitting theme to launch Penumbra.
When memory becomes art, a downloadable commodity, what happens to the artists?
--Butterfly by Tom Brennan
When an artist's greatest painting suddenly disappears, who--or what--is responsible?
--Vivid Rendering by David G. Blake
When a man chucks away his old life to become a painter in Venice, he purchases a tapestry with a woman so perfectly depicted that the image haunts him--in more ways than one.
--The Turin Effect by Larry Ivkovich
When a songwriter creates lyrics about his perfect woman, his song takes a surprising detour.
--Inked Upon Thee by Courtney Crites
When a temple worked is sent to retrieve a mythical artifact, he completes his mission--and the mission completes him.
--The Square that Hides a Thousand Stories by Daniel Ausema
So run and pre-order your copy of Penumbra today!
We're very excited about Penumbra, and with the extraordinary and amazing stories we're offering for our readers. We hope that our readers are as excited as we are.
When memory becomes art, a downloadable commodity, what happens to the artists?
--Butterfly by Tom Brennan
When an artist's greatest painting suddenly disappears, who--or what--is responsible?
--Vivid Rendering by David G. Blake
When a man chucks away his old life to become a painter in Venice, he purchases a tapestry with a woman so perfectly depicted that the image haunts him--in more ways than one.
--The Turin Effect by Larry Ivkovich
When a songwriter creates lyrics about his perfect woman, his song takes a surprising detour.
--Inked Upon Thee by Courtney Crites
When a temple worked is sent to retrieve a mythical artifact, he completes his mission--and the mission completes him.
--The Square that Hides a Thousand Stories by Daniel Ausema
So run and pre-order your copy of Penumbra today!
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Progress Ongoing
This week, I acquired something at Penumbra that I never really thought I'd have--an assistant. Yep. You read that right. I, who can whip through stories at an astonishing rate of speed, needed a reader and assistant to help me keep our response times at the optimum level.
This, of course, is extremely helpful, particularly since her tastes in literature are pretty much the same as my own. Being a writer myself has made me very particular about response times. If you're rejected at Penumbra, it will be within a couple of weeks. If two weeks go by and you haven't heard from us, that means your story is still under consideration and has moved to a higher level of evaluation.
Yeah. Me.
At any rate, the quality of submissions we're getting at Penumbra right now has gobsmacked me beyond belief. Which makes some thing easier--like putting together a high quality selection of fiction for the e-mag--and some things a lot harder--like rejecting a story because I just don't have room for it, or because it doesn't quite fit in. Those stories, the ones we really hate to reject, are usually accompanied by an invitation to submit to Musa, our parent company, who is publishing short stories as standalone e-books. Musa is experimenting with this practice, hoping to develop a wider range of options for oustanding writers of short fiction.
Oh--one other thing I should tell you. The second and third issues of Penumbra will be finalized within the week. If you have a submission still out for those issues and haven't heard from me, you will in the next few days. Good luck!
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