TL,DR: Editorial upgrade and introduction to RECOMPOSE.
I feel like I should act more professional about this.
Like I shouldn’t be running around in circles, giggling my ass off and pointing
at myself in mirrors, saying “You. You’re awesome.” However, I have, in my
grand wisdom and all consuming exuberance, decided that acting professional
about it can hold off for a week or two.
Because I’m officially a fucking editor now. Been paid
and everything. Achievement has been unlocked and leveling up has occurred. I
think I’m supposed to get a new sword or something, too.
It isn’t just about being an editor, even though being
approached by a respected colleague who expressed an honest belief in my
capabilities is cool as a trillion cucumbers dancing the cha-cha. The part that
gets my engine revving is the opportunity to take part in shaping a project
that is both super nifty and (I think) fills an unmet need.
With that in mind, please sit a spell and I’ll tell you a
bit about Recompose. The gist is that
we want to present speculative fiction with a literary bent that still grabs
you by the tender bits and squeezes. While I don't want to0 speak for co-editors Leslie Anderson and Steven Saus, I look for work where the
thought and artistry are clear, where there is no doubt that every word was
placed with both intent and integrity and where meaning is nested like Matroyshka
dolls and each look opens up a new layer. At the same time, the heart needs to
be there. Those words need to bleed. That meaning needs to cut deep and leave
scars. I’m not really interested in something blandly intellectual or
chaotically emotional, but balanced between the two. It doesn’t hurt to have a
huge, slavering beast of some sort in there either.
Our first issue (available for free viewing here) gives a
solid sense of where we want to head with this. If this TOC doesn’t get your
brain-maw watering, then I don’t know what will:
How To Give A Dog A Name Without Owning It - Nisi Shawl
The All Night Clinic - Charlee Jacob
Safe Empathy - Ken Liu
Strange Horses by Edwin Muir - Alasdair Stuart
A Boy's Guide to Neoteny - Lucy A. Snyder
Tiger Lily Madness - Cat Rambo
We Killed the Morale Officer on Sweetest Day - Matt Betts
The Right of It - Seanan McGuire
*side note: We have a Kickstarter campaign to fund the first few issues. Issue 1 has been fully funded, but for each $550, we will be
able to guarantee another issue in advance. Check out the magazine. If you like
it, drop a few bucks in our cup. I’m looking forward to some exciting times
with this.*
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