| Author |
Message |
    
Jonathan
| | Posted on Monday, June 06, 2005 - 05:04 pm: | |
Hi all,
It was a long time coming, but agreements have finally been reached for me to co-edit SCIENCE FICTION: BEST OF 2005 and FANTASY: BEST OF 2005 with Karen Haber, which is pretty exciting. We've also agreed that I will edit solo SCIENCE FICTION: BEST OF 2006 and FANTASY: BEST OF 2006, which I'm pretty excited about.
As you all know, we work on ridiculous deadlines, so recommendations etc etc would be very welcome. I'd particularly love to see galleys or whatever of small press anthologies as early as possible. This going to be a crazy year. |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Monday, June 06, 2005 - 05:04 pm: | |
June 2005
I co-edit the SCIENCE FICTION: BEST OF and FANTASY: BEST OF anthology series with Karen Haber for Simon & Schuster/ibooks. The latest volumes were published in January 2005, and we are currently reading for the 2006 volumes, which will include all material published in the year 2005.
We are looking for stories from all branches of science fiction and fantasy: from space opera to the slipstream, fairy tales to infernokrusher, or anything else that might qualify. If in doubt, send it. This is a reprint anthology so we are only reading material published in or about to be published during the year 2005.
We work on a very tight deadline, and need to see work as early as possible. With that in mind, the submission deadline is 15 October 2005. Anything sent after this deadline will reach us too late. If a magazine, anthology, or collection you're in or you edit is coming out by December 31st 2005 you can send galleys or manuscripts so that we can judge the stories in time. No email submissions. I strongly suggest that authors check with their publishers that they are sending review copies out to me, as we don't have the resources to follow-up publishers to get material.
When sending material please put YEAR'S BEST on the envelope.
Jonathan Strahan
9 Merton Way
Morley WA 6062
Australia
While we do not accept email submissions, we are happy to receive recommendations or information on publications via email. The contact address is jstrahan (at) iinet (dot) net (dot) au.
** All correspondence should be direct to Jonathan Strahan.
*** We do not want to receive manuscripts from authors of stories from venues that it's likely we already receive regularly (like Interzone, The Third Alternative, Asimov's, Analog, F&SF, etc). And please do not send a SASE.
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Ellen Datlow
| | Posted on Monday, June 06, 2005 - 07:01 pm: | |
Congratulations and happy reading! |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Monday, June 06, 2005 - 08:01 pm: | |
whimper |
Ellen Datlow
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2005 - 07:55 am: | |
:-) |
William Atheling III
| | Posted on Thursday, December 22, 2005 - 03:15 pm: | |
Mr. Strahan,
When will you release the Table of Contents for SCIENCE FICTION: THE BEST OF 2005 and FANTASY: THE BEST OF 2005? I see over at Alastair Reynold's website that his novelette "Zima Blue" will be in the first one...
Tom Dean, a.k.a. "William Atheling III"
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Jonathan
| | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 01:17 am: | |
Sorry for not responding earlier. Herewith:
SCIENCE FICTION: BEST OF 2005
1. Triceratops Summer, Michael Swanwick
2. Little Faces, Vonda N. McIntyre
3. The Second Coming of Charles Darwin, James Morrow
4. Is There Life After Rehab?, Pat Cadigan
5. Zima Blue, Alastair Reynolds
6. The Fulcrum, Gwyneth Jones
7. The Blemmye’s Dilemma, Bruce Sterling
8. They Will Raise You in a Box, Wil McCarthy
9. Finished, Robert Reed
10. The King of Where-I-Go, Howard Waldrop
11. The Calorie Man, Paolo Bacigalupi
12. The Fate of Mice, Susan Palwick
13. I Robot, Cory Doctorow
14. The Little Goddess, Ian McDonald
FANTASY: BEST OF 2005
1. Two Hearts, Peter S. Beagle
2. Snowball’s Chance, Charles Stross
3. A Knot of Toads, Jane Yolen
4. Boatman’s Holiday, Jeffrey Ford
5. Ikiryoh, Liz Williams
6. CommComm, George Saunders
7. The Language of Moths, Christopher Barzak
8. Anyway, M Rickert
9. The Emperor of Gondwanaland, Paul Di Filippo
10. The Pirate’s True Love, Seana Graham
11. Intelligent Design, Ellen Klages
12. Pip and the Fairies, Theodora Goss
13. Grace Notes, Megan Lindholm
14. Leviathan, Simon Brown
15. The Denial, Bruce Sterling
16. The Farmer’s Cat, Jeff VanderMeer
17. Magic for Beginners, Kelly Link
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Gordon Van Gelder
| | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 05:05 am: | |
Jonathan---
Thanks for posting the lists.
If you'd chosen to use Geoff Ryman's "Last Ten Years in the Life of Hero Kai," which volume would you have put it in? I think I'd have termed it fantasy myself (but of course I must hasten to add that one of my favorite things about F&SF is that I don't have to make such decisions). |
Ellen Datlow
| | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 08:35 am: | |
Thanks Jonathan. |
William Atheling III
| | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 10:33 am: | |
Thanks, Jonathan.
I guess I need to start reading a whole bunch from the first one; the Swanwick is the only one I've read at this time.
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Jonathan
| | Posted on Sunday, January 01, 2006 - 01:31 am: | |
Gordon - I think I would have put the Ruman in the fantasy volume. I love the story and think it's easily one of the best ten or twelve stories I read all year. |
Ellen Datlow
| | Posted on Sunday, January 01, 2006 - 09:36 am: | |
I've only read or recall reading about half the fantasy stories. Fyi, I'm taking "Boatman's Holiday" for the horror half of YBFH#19. |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Sunday, January 01, 2006 - 05:28 pm: | |
Ellen - I can see why you would, though personally it strikes me as more of a fantasy/dark fantasy kind of story. When I read it I was struck by some of the imagery Jeff used, but like say Shea's Nifft the Lean stories, I didn't feel that much of a sense of horror or dread when reading. Still, a great choice for YBFH anyhow. |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 03:14 pm: | |
Ibooks Inc, the publishers of SCIENCE FICTION: BEST OF 2005 and FANTASY: BEST OF 2005, and coincidentally the reprint edition of my BEST SHORT NOVELS: 2004 have filed for bankruptcy. It's my understanding that they'll be out of business by the end of the day.
It's too early to say exactly what implications this will have for the books I'm editing for them, but I'm in discussions with a few people and am optimistic we can come up with a good solution.
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Ellen Datlow
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 03:42 pm: | |
Good luck, Jonathan. |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 03:44 pm: | |
Thanks for the good wishes. In the short term, I think I'll need it. I'm actually pretty confident that the books will end up in better hands when this settles down, but it might be less than wonderful in the short term. |
brainshades
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 07:20 pm: | |
Jonathan -
Terribly sorry to hear the news... what a bummer; I thought Ibooks was doing a relatively decent job of bringing stuff back into print, plus doing your anthologies. I finally found a copy of the BEST SHORT NOVELS: 2004, but it was retitled as NINE NOVELLAS OF DISTINCTION or somesuch... I almost didn't see it on the shelf.
Are the BEST OF 2005 books going to be released at all? |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 - 07:36 pm: | |
Hey brainshades - Thanks for the kind words. They're appreciated. Are the books going to be released? Probably. Almost definitely, but after that I don't know. We're looking into it, and I'll announce something the second I can. |
Gordon Van Gelder
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 10:28 am: | |
Thanks for posting the news, Jonathan.
I was around when Bluejay Books went under in 1986 and it was something of a mess. I hear that BPVM is filing for a straight bankruptcy (which Bluejay never did). Does this mean that they'll sell off the rights to all the books that are in print? |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2006 - 04:20 pm: | |
This is where I lose any chance of looking like a suave type who knows what's going on, and begin to look like the industry newbie that I actually am. I don't know. The whole thing is a mess. Some people seem to have reversion clauses, some don't. Some peole are at real risk of having to repay advances to the bankruptcy folk, and some aren't. I'm guessing a percentage of the books under contract will simply disappear forever.
In personal terms, yesterday I thought there was a good chance the two completed year's bests would come out in a few months. I'd now place the odds at less than 50/50, which is pretty disappointing. |
Ben Payne
| | Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 01:13 am: | |
Crap, Jonathan, sorry to hear that. it's always sad when the business side of things intrudes... I prefer to forget about all that stuff
Hope it works out for you, anyway.
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Gordon Van Gelder
| | Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 05:21 am: | |
Jonathan---
Good luck. Times like this are when an agent really earns their commission. |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 07:28 am: | |
Ben: Thanks for the words of encouragement. They're appreciated.
Gordon: Had there been an agent involved, he would indeed. Sadly, though, the ibooks volumes were unagented. sigh. |
Tim Pratt
| | Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 02:28 pm: | |
Oh, Jonathan, I'm so sorry to hear that. I was excited about those books. I hope it does work out. |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 04:40 pm: | |
Thanks Tim. The way things look right now, the 2005 books are lost. I don't think there's any way to get them out. If there is, it will be something of a minor miracle. |
ben peek
| | Posted on Friday, February 24, 2006 - 07:49 pm: | |
that's a shame, jonathan. it sucks to have work lost. |
Ellen Datlow
| | Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 11:36 am: | |
I'm so sorry Jonathan. That really does suck big time. |
AT
| | Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 12:56 pm: | |
Hoping for a "minor miracle", Jonathan, but not expecting it. Very upsetting news. Bankruptcies are so destructive. |
Trent Jamieson
| | Posted on Saturday, February 25, 2006 - 06:04 pm: | |
Jonathan, that's awful. I've loved the previous editions. |
Jonathan
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 07:27 pm: | |
Hi all
Well, I am editing two year's bests this year, both to appear from Locus Press, and both to be edited solo. The books and their contents are:
SCIENCE FICTION: THE VERY BEST OF 2005
1. Triceratops Summer, Michael Swanwick
2. Little Faces, Vonda N. McIntyre
3. The Second Coming of Charles Darwin, James Morrow
4. Is There Life After Rehab?, Pat Cadigan
5. Understanding Space and Time, Alastair Reynolds
6. The Fulcrum, Gwyneth Jones
7. The Blemmye's Dilemma, Bruce Sterling
8. They Will Raise You in a Box, Wil McCarthy
9. Finished, Robert Reed
10. The King of Where-I-Go, Howard Waldrop
11. The Calorie Man, Paolo Bacigalupi
12. The Fate of Mice, Susan Palwick
13. I Robot, Cory Doctorow
14. The Little Goddess, Ian McDonald
FANTASY: THE VERY BEST OF 2005
1. Two Hearts, Peter S. Beagle
2. Snowball's Chance, Charles Stross
3. Sunbird, Neil Gaiman
4. A Knot of Toads, Jane Yolen
5. Boatman's Holiday, Jeffrey Ford
6. The Language of Moths, Christopher Barzak
7. Anyway, M Rickert
8. The Emperor of Gondwanaland, Paul Di Filippo
9. The Pirate's True Love, Seana Graham
10. Intelligent Design, Ellen Klages
11. Pip and the Fairies, Theodora Goss
12. Leviathan, Simon Brown
13. The Denial, Bruce Sterling
14. The Farmer's Cat, Jeff VanderMeer
15. There's a Hole in the City, Richard Bowes
16. Magic for Beginners, Kelly Link
I'd like to thank ALL of the contributors for their patience and their generosity in allowing their stories to appear in the two books. |
Ellen Datlow
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 08:41 pm: | |
Congratulations Jonathan. |
AT
| | Posted on Saturday, April 01, 2006 - 03:11 pm: | |
Hooray |
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