An Announcement about the next issue of Electric Velocipede

Yes, that's Announcement with a capital 'A,' so pay attention. As I prepared to mail issue 14 this past month, I came to the realization that issue 15 needed to be at the printer by the end of June in order to have it ready for Worldcon in early August. That meant I should have already edited the issue and put it in the hands of the authors for revisions.

It was not going to be feasible for me to meet this schedule. On top of that, I will not officially be at the Worldcon in Denver, so there was no burning reason to ensure that the issue be ready and available.

I could rush the issue, I could get it ready in time. But that would put a lot of undue stress on me and the contributors. I'd rather take the time and put out a product that I'm happy with; that's how I've done every issue so far.

So I've decided to publish a double issue. Issues 15 and 16 will be combined into one super-sized 150-page issue. Subscribers will receive the same content as if the issues were published separately, but the double issue will count as two issues. This super-sized double issue will be available closer to the World Fantasy convention this fall.

Here is the table of contents:

Cover
Thom Davidsohn

Fiction
Novelettes
Corey Brown - "Child of Scorn"
Claude Lalumière - "Destroyer of Worlds"
Darren Speegle - "Strains of the Lost Oktober"

Short Stories
Olivia Ambrogio - "Trades"
Jayme Lynn Blaschke - "A Plague of Banjos"
Terry Bramlett - "Sallie's Price"
Sheila Crosby - "Unreal Estate"
Aliette De Bodard - "The Dragon's Tears"
Catherine Dybeic Holm - "Detours"
Bob Howe - "Season of the Long Now"
Alex Dally MacFarlane - "Two Coins"
Michael Neal Morris - "Partita for continuo"
Michelle Muenzler - "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"
Timothy Mulcahy - "The Tree Reader"
Patrick O'Leary - "The Oldest Man on Earth"
Erin Pringle - "The Floating Order"
Alistair Rennie - "A Doom of My Own"
Patricia Russo - "Sitting Round the Stewpot"
William Shunn - "Timesink"
Leslie Claire Walker - "The Devil Wears Combat Boots"
Jonathan Wood - "Notes on the Dissection of an Imaginary Beetle"

Poems
Catherine Edmunds - "Installation"
David C. Kopaska-Merkel - "Cher Amazon"
Shira Lipkin - "Wool and Silk and Wood"
Rachel V. Olivier - "Homemade Rosewater"
Rachel V. Olivier - "The Story"
Terrie Lee Relf - "on realizing death is a man"
J.C. Runolfson - "Now You See her"
Rena Sherwood - "The Electric Viola Player Wore Black"
Rachel Swirsky - "Remembering the World"

Nonfiction
Penelope O'Shea - "Sampling the Aspic"
Blindfold Taste Test with TKTK

So there will be two physical issues this year as I've done for the past seven years, but there will be three issues' worth of content this year.

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But When Will I Get the New Issue?
Current mood: electric

My plan is to send out copies of issue 14 this weekend, June 7. I will be sending contributor copies about a week or so after that. I have a few freelance projects that didn't wrap up as quickly as I expected.

The delay for contributors is so that I can send copies and payment together. However, I am willing to send copies in advance of payment if someone really wants to see the issue.

I hope to have some news (don't worry, good news) about future issues in the next week or so.

Currently listening : Let Live and Let Ghosts By Jukebox the Ghost Release date: 2008-04-22

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It’s Sale Time at Electric Velocipede
Current mood: rejuvenated

I ran a few specials during Wiscon that I didn't push perhaps as hard as I could have. So, I've decided to offer those specials on the website. If you go to the sales page on the newly designed website, you'll see a few specials I'm running right now.

The first special is the new issue plus any back issue or chapbook that's in print for $10 ($12.50 in Canada and $15 everywhere else). That's a savings of $2.

The second special is the new issue plus any four back issues or chapbooks that's in print for $20 ($25 in Canada and $30 everywhere else). That's a savings of $7; that's like getting the new issue for free!

When you place the order, just write in the comments box which issue/chapbook(s) you're interested in.

Currently listening : Calling the World By Rooney Release date: 2007-07-17

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Sneak Preview
Current mood: sleepy
Category: Art and Photography

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Appoggiatura
Current mood: adventurous

Part of the fun of putting together Logorrhea.. was seeing what the authors did with the words. While I have no favorites (that's like picking your favorite child!) Jeff VanderMeer's "Appoggiatura" was something else altogether. Not only did Jeff have his own word to write about (appoggiatura) he incorporated all the other words that the other contributors had written about.

At one time, Jeff had mentioned the idea of recording each section as a podcast. And I also thought it would be great to incorporate the rest of the contributors and come full circle. The contributors are going to post the section of Jeff's story that features the word they wrote about. In addition, they'll talk a little bit about why they chose their word. See below for links. Jason Erik Lundberg graciously provided his time and talents to record the podcasts for us, and they sound great.

Even if you can't make it to the sites to read about the creative process the contributors went through, you should listen to the podcasts. They are well worth your time.

Links to the Podcasts & Text of Jeff VanderMeer's "Appoggiatura":

Currently listening : Calling the World By Rooney Release date: 17 July, 2007

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The Fix Reviews Electric Velocipede

The Fix, an excellent review magazine from the UK, has gone online. They've recently reviewed the past two issues of Electric Velocipede. From the review of issue 12:

Electric Velocipede (No. 12, Spring 2007) is a very well put together little magazine. It is straightforwardly but comfortably designed, there's nothing in the way of internal art, but the presentation and sensible typography mean that the plain pages of text are easily navigated and contribute to a pleasurable physical experience. The quality of the writing helps, too. There's a scattering of names that will be familiar to those who read short fiction magazines, like Boston, Caselberg, and Tidhar, and as that list suggests, Electric Velocipede tends towards the softer edges of sf, the slipstreamish, and the literary. There are sfnal and fantasy tropes used here, but there's the confidence to twist them and test them to their breaking point and beyond.

Electric Velocipede is an eccentric zine edited by John Klima with work ranging from literary fantasy to slipstream science fiction to the quirky and comical. A host of mostly unknown authors find a home in its pages in issue 13, but several pieces of fiction read as if crafted by pros thirty years past their prime. That's a good thing.

Currently listening : All the Best By Paul McCartney Release date: 25 October, 1990

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World Fantasy Award

This won't be a con write up, but just a quick post to note that I did not win the World Fantasy award. However, I did learn something cool.

For those who don't know, members of the previous year's and the current year's World Fantasy receive a nomination ballot. The top two vote getters automatically are placed on the ballot, with the judges picking the remaining three to make five nominees for each category.

Electric Velocipede made the popular vote, which is totally awesome! It's particularly important to note this when two of the judges this year were good friends of mine (Jeremy Lassen and Gavin Grant). So it's clear that I didn't make the ballot through the machinations of my two friends, but through my own merit.

Thanks guys! Maybe next year?

Currently reading : Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity By David Allen Release date: 31 December, 2002

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Year’s Best Honorable Mentions

Here is the complete list of what's made Honorable Mention (and in one case, was reprinted in a year's best) from what I published last year:

Issue Ten

• "A Walking of Crows" by Tim Akers (Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 20)
• "The Way He Does It" by Jeffrey Ford (Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 20, Locus 2006, Year's Best Science Fiction 24, nominated for the World Fantasy Award)
• "The Navel of the Universe" by Andra Oosterman (Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 20)
• "Il Duca di Cesena" by Alistair Rennie (Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 20)

• "Bar Golem" by Sonya Taaffe (Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 20)
• "Milk and Apples" by Catherynne M. Valente (Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 20)
• "Moon Does Run" by Edd Vick (reprinted in Year's Best SF 12)
• "Tiger, Tiger" by Liz Williams (Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 20)

Currently reading : Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity By David Allen Release date: 31 December, 2002

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Pre-Order Issue 13 Now!

I've just sent off issue 13 to my proofreaders. Here is the table of contents for that issue:

Cover
Stephen Wilson (My Elves Are Different)

Fiction
Novelettes
Corey Brown - Obituary for a Living Man
Claude Lalumière - Hochelaga and Sons

Short Stories
Jennifer Rachel Baumer - Until the Wind Changes
Marie Brennan - Selection
Richard Howard - The Dogrog Phenomenon
Philip J. Lees - Sand
Rachel Swirsky - How the World Became Quiet: A Post-Human Creation Myth
Damien G. Walter - Momentum

Poetry
KJ Bishop - The Crone Meets Her Son
Jon Hansen - Under the Garden in Dreams
Mikal Trimm - The Paper Trail
Marly Youmans - When Demons Ruled,
Marly Youmans - Why the People Disliked Art, Circa 2005

Nonfiction
Blindfold Taste Test with Kage Baker
Sampling the Aspic

I don't have any content for the issue online yet, but I have added it to the shopping page for pre-ordering. It's all coming together now!

Currently reading : Sir Thursday (The Keys To The Kingdom, Book 4) By Garth Nix Release date: 01 January, 2007

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Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror
Current mood: tired

I've heard from various sources that at least the following stories from the past year received Honorable Mentions in the 20th Annual Edition of the Year's Best Fantasy & Horror:

From Issue 10:
"A Walking of Crows" by Tim Akers
"The Way He Does It" by Jeffrey Ford
"The Navel of the Universe" by Andre Oosterman

From Issue 11:
"Bar Golem" by Sonya Taaffe
"Milk and Apples" by Catherynne M. Valente
"Tiger, Tiger" by Liz Williams

I'm hoping to take a look at the book myself soon, so I'll let you know if there's any changes!

Currently reading : 13 Bullets By David Wellington Release date: 22 May, 2007

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