Uncanny Magazine
Uncanny Magazine is an American science fiction and fantasy online magazine, edited and published by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, based in Urbana, Illinois.[2] Its mascot is a space unicorn.[3]
Cover of issue 10, May 2016 | |
Editor | Lynne M. Thomas |
---|---|
Editor | Michael Damian Thomas |
Categories | science fiction and fantasy |
Frequency | Bimonthly |
Founder | Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas |
Year founded | 2014 |
First issue | November 4, 2014[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Website | uncannymagazine |
The editors-in-chief, who originally edited Apex Magazine from 2012-2013, chose the name of the magazine because they say it "has a wonderful pulp feel," and like how the name evokes the unexpected.[4] They created the magazine "in the spirit of pulp sci-fi mags popular in the 1960s and '70s."[2]
Uncanny has been published bimonthly, beginning in November 2014, after receiving initial funding through Kickstarter.[5][6] It continues to fund itself through crowdfunding as well as subscriptions, which numbered 4,000 in 2017.[7][2]
The magazine publishes original works by authors such as Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Catherynne M. Valente, Charlie Jane Anders, Seanan McGuire, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Alex Bledsoe, Kameron Hurley and Ken Liu, and published early stories by Alyssa Wong and Brooke Bolander.[8][2] Each issue includes new short stories, one reprint, new poems, non-fiction essays, and a pair of interviews.[7] The magazine pays its authors and artists.[7] It also produces a podcast where some of the magazine's content is read aloud.[9] They have a staff of 10 editors and receive between 1,000 and 2,000 submissions every month.[2]
In 2018, they published a disability-themed issue called Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction with content exclusively from disabled creators.[10] This was a continuation of the Destroy series originally from Lightspeed Magazine; in it, the authors and illustrators envisioned "a truly accessible future is one that features rather than erases the disabled mind and body."[10] The issue won an Aurora Award for Best Related Work in 2019.[11][12]
Awards and recognition
In 2017, Uncanny won the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine, and one of its published stories, "Folding Beijing" by Hao Jingfang translated by Ken Liu, won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette.[13] It has won the Hugo Award for best Semiprozine every year from 2016 through 2020.
- 2015 William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review – "Does Sex Make Science Fiction 'Soft’?", (Uncanny Magazine #1), Tansy Rayner Roberts[14]
- 2016 Gold Spectrum Award - Editorial Category – "Traveling to a Distant" Day by Tran Nguyen (Uncanny Magazine #4 Cover)[15]
- 2016 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine – Uncanny Magazine[13]
- 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novelette – "Folding Beijing" by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu (Uncanny Magazine #2)[13]
- 2016 Chesley Awards - Best Cover Illustration: Magazine – "Traveling to a Distant Day" by Tran Nguyen (Uncanny Magazine #4 Cover)[16]
- 2016 Parsec Awards - Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast– The Uncanny Magazine Podcast[17]
- 2017 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine – Uncanny Magazine[18]
- 2018 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine – Uncanny Magazine,[19]
- 2019 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine - Uncanny Magazine[20]
- 2019 Aurora Awards- Best Related Work– Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction[11]
- 2019 British Fantasy Awards- Best Magazine/Periodical– Uncanny Magazine[21]
- 2019 World Fantasy Awards- Best Short Fiction– “Like a River Loves the Sky” by Emma Törzs (Uncanny Magazine #21)[22]
- 2020 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine - Uncanny Magazine [23]
- 2020 Ignyte Awards- Best in Creative Nonfiction– “Black Horror Rising” by Tananarive Due[24]
Staff
Current Staff
- Lynne M. Thomas, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
- Michael Damian Thomas, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
- Chimedum Ohaegbu, Managing Editor/Poetry Editor
- Elsa Sjunneson, Nonfiction Editor
- Erika Ensign, Podcast Producer
- Steven Schapansky, Podcast Producer
- Joy Piedmont, Podcast Reader
- Matt Peters, Podcast Reader
- Caroline M. Yoachim, Interviewer
- Naomi Day, Assistant Editor
Former staff
- Angel Cruz - Assistant Editor
- Michi Trota - Managing/Nonfiction Editor
- Stephanie Malia Morris - Podcast Reader
- Mimi Mondal - Poetry/Reprint Editor
- Julia Rios - Poetry/Reprint Editor
- Amal El-Mohtar - Podcast Reader
- C. S. E. Cooney - Podcast Reader
- Deborah Stanish - Interviewer
- Shana DuBois - Interviewer
References
- Studios, Clockpunk. "Uncanny Magazine Issue One". Uncanny Magazine.
- Mitchell, Tim (2021-02-08). "Sci-fi-focused Uncanny Magazine takes up residence in Urbana". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- Thomas, Lynne M.; Thomas, Michael Damian (2016-07-28). "A Space Unicorn Tale: The REAL Story Behind the Creation of Uncanny Magazine". Tor.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- Thomas, Lynne M.; Thomas, Michael Damian (2014-08-27). "Why We're Creating Uncanny, a Real Magazine with a Fake History (and a Space Unicorn)". Tor.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- "Uncanny Magazine Year One". Kickstarter.
- Mandelo, Lee (November 11, 2014). "Short Fiction Spotlight: Uncanny Magazine #1". Tor.com.
- Liptak, Andrew (2020-08-06). "Uncanny Magazine Launches Kickstarter For Year Seven". Tor.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- Studios, Clockpunk. "Authors Archive". Uncanny Magazine.
- "Podcasts Archives". Uncanny Magazine. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- Holder, Matthew (2020). "Imagining Accessibility: Theorizing Disability in Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction". Disability Studies Quarterly. 40 (3). ISSN 2159-8371. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- "2019 Aurora Awards Winners". Locus Online – The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Field. 2019-10-20. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- "Fight On, Space Unicorns: Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction – Chuck Wendig: Terribleminds". Chuck Wendig. 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- "2016 Hugo Awards Announced". August 21, 2016.
- "2015 Ditmar and Other Australian Awards". April 6, 2015.
- http://fleskpublications.com/blog/2016/02/29/spectrum-23-awards-nominations/
- "2016 Chesley Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- "2016 Parsec Awards Winners – Parsec Awards". www.parsecawards.com.
- "2017 Hugo Awards".
- "2018 Hugo Awards".
- "2019 Hugo Awards".
- "British Fantasy Awards 2019". The British Fantasy Society. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- "World Fantasy Awards℠ 2019, World Fantasy Convention". World Fantasy Convention. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- "2020 Hugo Awards".
- "The IGNYTE Awards". FIYAHCON 2020. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2021-02-08.