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Publishers

Musing on Endings – Boogieman In Lavender

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                                         “All Good Things…” By Jeff Baker For this month, a brief rumination on the state of the Queer Speculative Fiction short-story. Word has reached us that the upcoming edition of Lethe Press’ fine “Wilde Stories” will be the last. Likewise, “Heiresses of Russ,” the edition reviewed in this column June 12, 2017 will be its last. This is sad news for followers of short fiction, for while there have been and will be Queer-themed short stories published in online, independent … Read more

Out of the Past: LGBTQ Science Fiction and Fantasy 2000-2010

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2000-2010

The dawn of the 21st century brought massive changes to the publishing industry, fueled in part by a surge in epublishing. More efficient and portable e-readers enabled readers to access an increasing number of ebook publications, fueling ebook sales. Larger print publishers, many of which were unprepared for the shift, responded by consolidating or closing their doors. There were additional impacts to brick-and-mortar stores as well as to print distribution of books and magazines. Many authors responded to these changes by releasing their own books in a variety of formats, sometimes by starting their own small and medium-sized presses. Alongside … Read more

LGBTQ Science Fiction and Fantasy in the 1990s

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The 1990s saw a huge increase in the positive portrayals of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ) characters in all parts of the genre: literature, anime, manga, comics, even some television and movie characters. Character-driven fantasy and science fiction became more popular, as did game-driven fiction and fandom. Different kinds of science fiction, fantasy and horror became a global phenomenon via the Internet. Cyberpunk-influenced science fiction with out queer characters, urban fantasies with LGBTQ characters, queer horror and television, movies and comics which celebrated queer subtext, all became more visible to mainstream audiences. One change in this decade was … Read more

Out of the Past – LGBTQ Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror in the 1980s

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The Northern Girl

The 1970s, famed as an era of free love, political protests and hallucinogen-fueled utopias, gave way to the era of punk and New Wave, AIDS, and the politics of Reagan and Thatcher in the more conservative 1980s. And science fiction, fantasy and horror followed suit, with hard-edged military science fiction, dystopian visions, anti-hero sword and sorcery, vampires and of course, cyberpunk. None of these, on the face of it, seemed any more LGBT-friendly than the sfnal works of the previous decade, yet the number of portrayals of LGBT characters over the course of the decade more than quadrupled. This was … Read more

Kris Jacen from MLR Press Joins Us For an Interview

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Kris Jacen

We are excited to have the executive editor for MLR Press, Kris Jacen, with us for an interview about the new collection Storming Love: Meteor Strike, a five book series by five different authors, including some QSF folks. Kris will also answer our questions about what MLR is looking for in submissions, and what they might be planning in the near future. Join us on the QSF FB discussion group. Angel and I will moderate the interview, and will open it for questions near the end. https://www.facebook.com/groups/qsfdiscussions/

Publisher Interview: Mischief Corner Books

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MCB

OK, we have an event for today’s discussion – we’re interviewing the folks from Mischief Corner Books, a publishing company that also puts out the fabulous MCB Quarterly. We’ll have Angel Martinez​ and Freddy MacKay​ for sure, and some of the other folks may stop in. Full Disclosure – I’m now a part of the group as well. This will be a casual chat – I’ll be asking questions, but feel free to throw yours in as well. You can see their website at http://www.mischiefcornerbooks.com Come join the chat

Discussion: What to Expect for Your First Book

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First Book

Today’s topic comes from QSFer Beth Brock: What should new authors expect from their first few books? Emotionally, who their first readers will be, and expectations from their editors. It’s a great question. I just got through my first two stand-alone releases. And while they were not, technically speaking, full-blown books (they were novellas), most of the same things apply. I learned a lot this first time around. I learned that some publishers have a more thorough editing process than others. I learned that a large part of the marketing process falls on the author’s shoulders, especially when you’re working … Read more

Article: Why Do We Need More Science Fiction By LGBT Writers?

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Last year, Lightspeed Magazine had a special issue in which “Women Destroy Science Fiction” (and horror, and fantasy.) Now, Lightspeed is following up with “Queers Destroy Science Fiction.” And today’s the last day to support the Kickstarter. But why should you care about getting more LGBT SF? The editors of the issue explain. See the full article here

Article: How To Get Started (And Get Ahead) In Science Fiction Self-Publishing

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My podcast co-host S.A.Collins just shared this, and it’s a good read for authors. Pay close attention to the comments after the article, some good discussion going on. How To Get Started (And Get Ahead) In Science Fiction Self-Publishing To self-publish or not to self-publish… That is the question more and more aspiring authors are asking themselves these days. And with good reason—self-publishing has come a long way in the decade since it really hit the market and many of the blatant scams of the past have been outed by an increasingly well-informed author community. With the popularity of ebooks … Read more

Article: Queer Cogs

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** I should preface this article by saying that I am self-published and have never submitted to Tor. Yet I continue to direct fellow authors and readers to this article because it both highlights the LGBTQ inclusiveness of Steampunk AND is hosted by the aforementioned large publisher. That fact alone sends one of steampunk’s primary messages: there’s hope for humanity. -Vance ** Queer Cogs: Steampunk, Gender Identity, and Sexuality Lisa Hager Given that speculative fiction questions our most basic assumptions about life, from what is the nature of consciousness to our knowledge of history, it also regularly challenges our accepted … Read more