Industry News

Writer T. Jackson King, 76, died December 3, 2024 in Santa Fe NM.

Thomas Jackson King, Jr. was born May 24, 1948 in Houston TX. He was a journalist, activist, and archaeologist.

Debut novel Retread Shop appeared in 1988. His Vigilante series began with Star Vigilante (2012) and continued with Nebula Vigilante (2013), Galactic Vigilante (2013), and Anarchate Vigilante (2014). The Aliens series includes Earth vs. Aliens (2014), Humans vs. ...Read More

The Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS) has announced the finalists for the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Best Classic Fiction.

• Orion Shall Rise, Poul Anderson (Timescape)
• “As Easy as A.B.C.”, Rudyard Kipling (London Magazine 1912)
• “The Trees”, Rush (Hemispheres)
• Singularity Sky, Charles Stoss (Ace)

Six other works were also considered: “Death and the Senator”, a 1961 short story by Arthur C. Clarke; That Hideous Strength, a 1945 ...Read More

Author, editor, and critic Barry N. Malzberg, 85, died December 19, 2024 in Saddle River NJ.

Barry Nathaniel Malzberg was born July 24, 1939 in New York. He attended Syracuse University, graduating in 1960, and returned later to study writing in graduate school. He left the program to work as an agent for the Scott Meredith Literary Agency as well as a freelance writer. He married Joyce Zelnick in 1964; ...Read More

Rachel Winterbottom has joined Penguin Random House UK imprint Transworld as sci-fi and fantasy publishing director. Winterbottom is scheduled to start working in the newly created role in March 2025, reporting temporarily to managing director Kimberly Young. Winterbottom has worked as an editor for Gollancz as well as HarperVoyager UK. Young said,

Rachel brings with her a magical combination of a deep passion for the SFF genre and a genuine ...Read More

The New York Public Library (NYPL), the Brooklyn Public Library, the Queens Public Library, and others have released their annual lists of most-borrowed books. The 2024 announcement features a list of books tabulating check outs for the combined boroughs.

On the “Citywide” list, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Knopf) was the most checked out book for the combined boroughs of New York for 2024. Third place was ...Read More

Thomas Jackson King, Jr., (24 May 1948–3 December 2024) was an archeologist, an activist, a prolific writer of science-fiction, horror, and urban fantasy, and an award-winning journalist. He wrote articles for The SFWA Bulletin and SFWA Handbook, and served as the SFWA Election Committee Chair. 

King was a well-traveled archeologist who started his writing career as an anti-war journalist, publishing the first English-language underground newspaper in Japan, and organizing protests against the US War in Vietnam in Japan, Tennessee, and Washington, DC. A lifelong sci-fi reader, and compelled by a need to write the stories in his head, he began to write fiction at 38, with his first novel, Retread Shop, published at age 40. He went on to write dozens of adventure novels, contemporary fantasies, and short stories across science-fiction, fantasy, and horror, focused on explorations of culture, adaptation, archetypes, and individual choice, many from his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1996, King was the chair of the Philip K. Dick Award jury. He continued to write until the last weeks of his life.

King was the creator and moderator for Shoptalk, a group of new and established science-fiction and fantasy authors that shared their contracts and royalty statements in the early to mid-nineties. Of Shoptalk, past SFWA President Michael Capobianco says, “As a newly published writer, Shoptalk was instrumental to my education in the business of writing. To see other writers’ actual contracts and royalty statements was a revelation, and T. Jackson King was the perfect moderator to keep things on an even keel.”

Writer Kevin J. Anderson recollects, “Early in my career Tom King was a great friend and information resource. He published his first novel, Retread Shop, the same year I published mine, and we learned a lot of the business together and shared what we learned. He was indefatigable at conventions promoting his novel. He always believed in his work, but with the vagaries of the publishing world, he dropped out of sight for quite a while. I was very happy to receive a surprise email from him a decade ago to let me know he was back and happily (and successfully) publishing his own work as an indie author. Tom never stopped writing. Even with a recent spate of health issues, he was determined to get his next novel out in early 2025. Alas, we’ll never get to read it now.”

T. Jackson King lived 76 years.

The post In Memoriam: T. Jackson King appeared first on SFWA.

Author John Marsden, 74, died December 18, 2024 in Australia. He wrote more than 40 books in various genres and was best known for his Tomorrow series of young-adult SF novels.

Marsden was born September 27, 1950 in Melbourne, Australia. He moved to Sydney with his family at age ten and later attended Sydney University for a time before dropping out. He worked various jobs before becoming an English teacher, ...Read More

The Bookseller has created a list of their top 30 UK and Ireland editors of 2024, using available data from Circana Bookscan and factoring in other achievements like literary prizes. The rankings feature several editors and works of genre interest, including:

• Natasha Bardon (HarperCollins/HarperVoyager, acquisitions include Yellowface by R.F. Kuang)
• Romilly Morgan (Brazen, acquisitions include The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood)
• Michal Shavit (PRH/Jonathan

...Read More

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) announced the recipients of its 2024 scholarships and diversity grants.

Amanda Helms, Somto Ihezue, Elis Montgomery, A.W. Prihandita, Ayida Shonibar, Tehnuka, and Ash Vale are winners of the $500 Diversity Grants, given to “underrepresented, diverse people who have an interest in the horror writing genre, including, but not limited to writers, editors, reviewers, and library workers.”

Catherine Yu won the $2,500 Horror Writers Association Scholarship. ...Read More

by Aaron H. Arm

Editor’s note: This piece is part of a rolling series, Writing from History, in which creators share professional insights related to the work of using historical elements in fictional prose.

There’s an adage that people like to bring up when discussing current events: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”* It’s a fair assessment, actually. Everything is confined to the context of its time, after all, and no two events are identical, no matter how thematically similar they may feel. And yet, we often do feel common themes transpire across the ages. So the distinction holds true: We shouldn’t expect history to repeat itself exactly, though we can look at past trends to inform the future.

But we are writers, not historians. Novelists and poets are hardly constrained to the rigidity of the real world, and as such, how we include or draw upon history is entirely our prerogative. Could you choose to retell a historical event so as to repeat it exactly? Could you, like history itself, instead create a facsimile of the event—to “rhyme” with it? Or could you take a more subtle approach, merely referencing events so that they are echoes of history for discerning readers? As with any writing-related question about what you “could” do, the answer is “yes.” The more important question is how that inclusion of real-world history serves the story.

Repeat

In terms of repeating historical events in writing, can a work of speculative fiction genuinely do so without becoming a veritable history book? Even placing parallel events in a different setting can change their context enough to feel divergent. On the other hand, some writers might opt to visit the past through time travel, supernatural visions, or a narrative structure that traverses time. Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred arguably repeats history by throwing its protagonist 100 years into the past, then skipping across time from there to weave a poignant narrative about generational trauma and the lasting damage of slavery in America. In this way, history is repeated so that it can be directly experienced and, therefore, more cogently linked to the present.

Rhyme

Once a writer begins to frame history differently, however, they’ve entered “rhyming” territory. To me, this is more in line with alternative history or allegory, which might recontextualize events while still maintaining the essential mood or zeitgeist of a given setting. But to what end? The reimagining might simply be an end unto itself—it’s fun to ask what could have been or paint an entire city in a different color, proverbially or literally. Just as often, though, these alternative portrayals of history hit upon an overarching idea or deliver a message.

As Jeremy Zentner discussed in The Many Alt-Histories of WW2, Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle offers an alt-history perspective of a world in which Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany won World War II. This provides a clear and dramatic conflict for the oppressed characters—or anyone sympathetic to their plight—but it also explores the competing roles of power, prejudice, and free will in a way that might not be as effective in a traditional setting. As the story continues and hints at competing timelines, it also raises the question of what is authentic or true in a world people have taken for granted.

Historical allegories follow a similar recipe of reimagining real-world events, but just by virtue of being an allegory, the setting tends to look altogether different. If alt-history is a rhyme, then allegory is an off-rhyme. Take George Orwell’s Animal Farm, for instance. The ingredients of the Russian Revolution are all there: We have Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky in pig form, the farmer Mr. Jones as soon-to-be-overthrown Tsar Nicholas II, and a whole cast of animals to serve as varying sections of the proletariat (the sheep are, unsurprisingly, sheep). But transforming the historical figures and setting doesn’t just make them more fanciful; it satirizes the history and delivers a scathing critique of political power and autocracy.

Echo

How might writers echo history if writers repeat history by retelling it and rhyme with history by repackaging it? Echoes, I posit, are allusions that do not comprise the plot itself but simply supplement it along the way. Virtually any story, regardless of genre, can sprinkle in historical allusions to connect with readers’ prior knowledge and add layers of meaning. But in speculative fiction, where writers want readers to get lost in another world, it can be especially effective to include these brief reminders that we—and our worlds—are ultimately products of our history.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons contains multiple echoes of history (and literature and philosophy and mythos) to great effect. One character even fights in a simulated Battle of Agincourt as a matter of character and plot development. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins features its titular plot device as an echo of Roman gladiatorial combat, combined with the lived trauma of the Vietnam War, as expressed by her father. Dune by Frank Herbert is peppered with historical allusions throughout, as family lineage and multi-generational schemes are integral to the story—let alone the overtly Muslim- and Arab-coded Fremen people. Each of these examples, however, is confined to the story’s context and its world, with the historical echo serving more as a literary device than a whole message.

History at Your Discretion

Please note that the above categories are not prescriptive but a convenient way to see how some authors leverage history to enrich their writing. There is no hard-and-fast rule for how you incorporate it yourself or whether you do it at all. Nevertheless, we are all children of history. If you subscribe to the idea that all writing is at least somewhat autobiographical, as I do, then our history will inform our writing in some fashion. It is simply how we wish to include or reference it that matters.

* The attribution to this quote is—perhaps appropriately—lost to time. It is often attributed to Mark Twain, but it would be painfully ironic to repeat hearsay as truth in a blog post concerning history and historicity.

Aaron H. Arm is a speculative fiction writer from central New York. His first novel, The Artifice of Eternity, was published in 2023 by Cosmic Egg Books. He was also published in Dragon Soul Press’s Reign of Fire anthology. In addition to writing, Aaron has edited several novels, memoirs, and anthologies.

Aaron has professional experience in technical writing, communications, copywriting, editing, and teaching. He holds an MA in adolescent education from Ithaca College, where he also received a BA in English literature.

The post History in Speculative Fiction: Repeat, Rhyme, or Echo? appeared first on SFWA.

Liz Pelletier, publisher of Entangled Publishing, is Publishers Weekly’s 2024 Person of the Year.

Entangled Publishing—which includes genre imprints Red Tower, Entangled Teen, and Amara—had a breakout year in 2023 with the publication of bestseller Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Other notable titles include Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer and the Crave series by Tracy Wolff.

Pelletier founded Entangled in 2010 “to bridge the gap in the ...Read More

Hannah Onoguwe is the winner of the 2024 Working Class Writers Grant for her work “Eyes of the Igbadai”.

The $1,000 grant is presented annually by the Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) to “speculative fiction writers who are working class, blue-collar, financially disadvantaged, or homeless, who have been historically underrepresented in speculative fiction due to financial barriers which make it hard to access the writing world.”

Other authors shortlisted for this ...Read More

The Historical Novel Society (HNS) has issued a call for proposals for their 2025 conference (HNS25), open December 15, 2024 to January 15, 2025.

This year, the conference theme is ‘‘A Celebration of Historical Fiction in its Many Forms,’’ and HNS25 program chair Christopher M. Cevasco “welcomes proposals of panels, talks, and readings with a focus on historical fantasy, alternate history, time travel, steampunk, and historical horror, among other forms ...Read More

MILESTONES

CLIO EVANS is now repre­sented by Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency Ltd.

AWARDS

HAYAO MIYAZAKI is this year’s recipient of the Forry Award for lifetime achievement in the SF field, presented by The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. Miyazaki is the founder of Studio Ghibli and an Academy Award-winning filmmaker. The award, named for Forrest J Ack­erman, has been given annually since 1966.

BOOKS SOLD

SEANAN MCGUIRE, writing ...Read More

The 50th World Fantasy Convention was held as a hybrid event October 17-20, 2024, with the in-person portion held at the Sheraton Niagara Falls and Niagara Falls Convention Center in Niagara Falls NY. Guests of honor were Scott H. Andrews, Galen Dara, and Heather Graham, with toastmaster Michael Swanwick. P. Djèlí Clark was a special guest, and Life Achievement Awards winners were Ginjer Buchanan and Jo Fletcher. The theme was ...Read More

Author Trent Zelazny, 48, died on November 28, 2024 of acute liver failure.

The son of SF writer Roger Zelazny, he began publishing short SF in 1999, and went on to produce over 30 stories, with some collected in The Day the Leash Gave Way and Other Stories (2009). He also edited anthology Mirages: Tales from Authors of the Macabre (2012) and co-edited Shadows & Reflections: A Roger Zelazny Tribute ...Read More

The Speculative Literature Foundation (SLF) has announced an open call for “original artwork combining fantasy and science fiction themes to be featured as its 2024 Illustration of the Year.”

The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2025. The winner, to be announced in February 2025, will receive $750, and the winning artwork will be featured on the SLF website and social media “and used as a visual element of SLF’s ...Read More

Welcome to the December edition of the SFWA Market Report.

Please note: Inclusion of any venue in this report does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA. Those markets included on this list pay at least $0.08/word USD in at least one category of fiction. This compilation is not exhaustive of all publication opportunities that pay our recommended minimum professional rate. Additionally, SFWA adheres to our DEI Policy when making selections for this report. We strongly encourage writers to closely review all contracts and consult our resources on best contract practices.

New Markets

Future States of Stars

Markets Currently Open for Submissions

Analog Science Fiction & Fact
Asimov’s Science Fiction
Baffling Magazine (Recently Opened)
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Clarkesworld Magazine
Crepuscular Magazine
Escape Pod
Factor Four Magazine
Flame Tree Fiction Newsletter
Frivolous Comma (Recently Opened)
Infinite Worlds
Issues in Earth Science
Latin American Shared Stories
Nature: Futures
Our Dust Earth
Planet Black Joy
Reckoning
Samovar
Shatter the Sun: Queer Tales of Untold Adventure
Silent Nightmares Anthology: Stories to be Told on the Longest Night of the Year (Recently Opened)
Small Wonders
The Cosmic Background
The Deadlands
Uncharted Magazine
Utopia Science Fiction

Markets Recently Closed for Submissions

AE Presents: Unréal (Permanent)
Apex Magazine
Aphrodite (Permanent)
Augur
Book XI
Fever Dreams (Permanent)
khoréo magazine (khoreo)
Loki (Permanent)
Never Whistle At Night Anthology Series (Permanent)
Out There (Permanent)
PodCastle
Stop Copaganda (Permanent)
Tales & Feathers
The Daily Tomorrow
The Orange & Bee

Upcoming Market Changes

100-Foot Crow‘s Submission Window begins soon.
Apex Monthly Flash Fiction Contest‘s Submission Window begins and ends soon.
Apex Monthly Flash Fiction Contest‘s Submission Window begins soon.
Baffling Magazine‘s Submission window ends soon.
Book XI‘s “Things” theme begins soon.
Future States of Stars‘s Submission Window ends soon.
Latin American Shared Stories permanently closes soon.
Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast‘s Submission Window begins soon.
Mysterion‘s Submission Window begins soon.
Our Dust Earth‘s Submission window ends soon.
Planet Black Joy‘s Submission Window ends soon.
Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved and Insane: Nostalgic Terrors‘s Submission Window begins and ends soon.
Silent Nightmares Anthology: Stories to be Told on the Longest Night of the Year‘s Submission Window ends soon.
The Deadlands‘s Submission Window ends soon.

The SFWA Market Report is compiled by David Steffen, editor of Diabolical Plots and The Long List Anthology series, and administrator and co-founder of the Submission Grinder.  You can support Diabolical Plots and the Submission Grinder on PayPal or Patreon or by buying books or merch.

The post SFWA Market Report For December appeared first on SFWA.

Now available to download:

Vector 296 SFF and Justice

Vector 296,SFF & Justice, is guest edited by Stewart Hotston. Arriving November 2022. Featuring Stewart Hotston’s guest editorial on SF and justice, reviews by Arike Oke, Geoff Ryman, Phil Nicholls, Andy Sawyer, and Maureen Kincaid Speller from The BSFA Review, an interview plus article from Gautum Bhatia, interview plus book excerpt from Roman Krznaric, Yudhanjaya Wijeratne interviewed, BSFA Diversity Officer Ali Baker interviewed, Jo Lindsay Walton on art and artificial intelligence, Áron Domokos on the representation of the Roma in Hungarian SFF, Charne Lavery, Laura Pereira, Bwalya Chibwe, Nedine Moonsamy, Chinelo Onwaulu, and Naomi Terry on the use of Africanfuturist SF in rethinking how we value and care for nature, Guangzhao Lyu reporting on this year’s Science Fiction Research Association’s Futures from the Margins conference in Oslo, and a tribute to Maureen Kincaid Speller.

The New York Times published lists of the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2024 and the Best Horror of 2024, compiled by critics Amal El-Mohtar and Gabino Iglesias respectively.

El-Mohtar’s top ten picks are:

• The Book of Love, Kelly Link (Random House)
• Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)
• In Universes, Emet North (HarperCollins)
• The Melancholy of Untold History, Minsoo Kang (Morrow)
• The Practice, the Horizon, and the

...Read More