The Thomases are on a busman’s holiday, but this should be short and sweet. In an undisclosed home in the woods, it’s a gorgeous summer morning. Birdsong and insects provide a score to a lush green morning after a rainfall. Caitlin is watching us work after spending a day playing with animals and friends.
All is good in the world.
This is the last issue of Uncanny Magazine Year 5. As promised way back during the Uncanny Magazine Year 4/Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction Kickstarter, this is the Disabled People Destroy Fantasy Special Issue. It is positively fabulous. We can’t wait for you to read the pieces guest edited by Katharine Duckett (fiction), Nicolette Barischoff (essays), and Lisa M. Bradley (poetry).
The gorgeous reprint cover is Menagerie by Julie Dillon. The original commissioned cover was unfortunately not completed in time for our retailer deadlines. We plan to use it as a cover for a later Year 6 issue. Thank you to the commissioned artist for working so hard in an attempt to make the deadline, and to Julie Dillon for providing this cover at the very last second.
As for the Thomases and regular staff, we are in the middle of the Uncanny Magazine Year 6: Raise the Roof, Raise the Rates Kickstarter. As of writing this in THE PAST, the Kickstarter has already funded Uncanny Magazine Year 6, three original covers, raising the pay rates for essays, and raising the pay rates for poetry. Hopefully, we will achieve even more amazing stretch goals. You, THE FUTURE SPACE UNICORNS, already know! Thank you so much, Space Unicorns, for making yet another year happen for Uncanny. This is your magazine. We only exist because of your generosity.
We have wonderful news! Uncanny Magazine won its fourth Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine (Publishers/Editors-in-Chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, Managing Editor Michi Trota, Podcast Producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky, Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue Editors-in-Chief Elsa Sjunneson-Henry and Dominik Parisien)! We are deeply honored by this Hugo Award. It was a stellar group of finalists. We are especially excited because this Hugo Award includes the landmark Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction Special Issue.
A magazine is the work of numerous people, so we want to thank our 2018 regular staff of Michi Trota, Mimi Mondal, Erika Ensign, Steven Schapansky, Stephanie Malia Morris, Chimedum Ohaegbu, and Caroline M. Yoachim; our Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction guest editors-in-chief Elsa Sjunneson-Henry and Dominik Parisien and guest editors Nicolette Barischoff, S. Qiouyi Lu, and Judith Tarr; all of our submissions editors; and, of course, our ombudsman and world’s greatest daughter, Caitlin. Thank you to every single member of the Space Unicorn Ranger Corps and all of the Hugo voters. We couldn’t do this without the support of this community.
Once again, congratulations to the three Uncanny Magazine stories which were finalists for the Hugo Awards: “The Thing About Ghost Stories” by Naomi Kritzer for Best Novelette, “The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society” by T. Kingfisher for Best Short Story, and “The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat” by Brooke Bolander for Best Short Story
Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas didn’t win the Best Editor–Short Form Hugo Award. A bittersweet congratulations to the winner, the late and legendary Gardner Dozois.
Congratulations to all the Hugo Awards winners and finalists. What an absolutely amazing night, ballot, and community to be part of!
More excellent award news, Space Unicorns!
The World Fantasy Award Finalists have been announced! Once again, Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas are Finalists for the Special Award–Non-Professional World Fantasy Award for Uncanny Magazine! Also, “Like a River Loves the Sky” by Emma Törzs is a Finalist for the Best Short Story World Fantasy Award! We are thrilled and honored! Congratulations to Emma and all of the finalists!
The World Fantasy Awards will be presented at the World Fantasy Convention in Los Angeles from October 31-November 3.
Even more fabulous award news, Space Unicorns! Uncanny Magazine is a finalist for a 2019 British Fantasy Award in the Best Magazine/Periodical category! It is a fantastic group of finalists. Congratulations to everybody!
The winners will be announced October 20, 2019, at FantasyCon in Glasgow, Scotland. Tickets and further information can be found on fantasycon.org.
Fabulous news, Space Unicorns! “The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat” by Brooke Bolander and “The Hydraulic Emperor” by Arkady Martine are 2019 WSFA Small Press Award Finalists! Congratulations to Brooke, Arkady, and all of the finalists!
From the WSFA website:
The award honors the efforts of small press publishers in providing a critical venue for short fiction in the area of speculative fiction. The award showcases the best original short fiction published by small presses in the previous year (2018). An unusual feature of the selection process is that all voting is done with the identity of the author (and publisher) hidden so that the final choice is based solely on the quality of the story. The winner is chosen by the members of the Washington Science Fiction Association (wsfa.org) and will be presented at their annual convention, Capclave (capclave.org), held this year on October 18-20, 2019 at the Rockville Hilton, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD.
Stupendous news, Space Unicorns! The forthcoming Best of Uncanny (edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas) from Subterranean Press received a coveted STARRED REVIEW from Publishers Weekly!
“Hugo-winning editors Thomas and Thomas have assembled some of the most well known, internationally respected, and utterly evocative pieces from Uncanny’s five-year history into this substantial and impressive collection. With a wealth of diverse voices, topics, and themes, these pieces attest to the limitless creativity of Uncanny’s writers…”
Read the entire review here!
You can pre-order this GIGANTIC BOOK from Subterranean Press or from most places that sell books!
As always, we are deeply grateful for your support of Uncanny Magazine. Shine on, Space Unicorns!
© 2019 Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas
