Uncanny Magazine

Uncanny Magazine
Cover of issue 10, May 2016
EditorLynne M. Thomas
EditorMichael Damian Thomas
Categoriesscience fiction and fantasy
FrequencyBimonthly
FounderLynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas
Founded2014
First issueNovember 4, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-11-04)[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Websiteuncannymagazine.com

Uncanny Magazine is an American science fiction and fantasy online magazine, edited and published by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, based in Urbana, Illinois.[2] Its mascot is a space unicorn.[3]

The editors-in-chief, who originally edited Apex Magazine from 2012–2013, chose the name of the magazine because they say it "has a wonderful pulp feel", and like how the name evokes the unexpected.[4] They created the magazine "in the spirit of pulp sci-fi mags popular in the 1960s and '70s."[2]

Uncanny has been published bimonthly, beginning in November 2014, after receiving initial funding through Kickstarter.[5] It continues to fund itself through crowdfunding as well as subscriptions, which numbered 4,000 in 2017.[6][2]

The magazine publishes original works by authors such as Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Catherynne M. Valente, Charlie Jane Anders, Seanan McGuire, Mary Robinette Kowal, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Alex Bledsoe, Nalo Hopkinson, Jane Yolen, Naomi Novik, N. K. Jemisin, G. Willow Wilson, Carmen Maria Machado, Amal El-Mohtar, Ursula Vernon, Kameron Hurley and Ken Liu, and published early stories by Alyssa Wong and Brooke Bolander.[7][2] Each issue includes new short stories, one reprint, new poems, non-fiction essays, and a pair of interviews.[6] The magazine pays its authors and artists.[6] It also produces a podcast where some of the magazine's content is read aloud.[8] They have a staff of 10 editors and receive between 1,000 and 2,000 submissions every month.[2]

In 2018, they published a disability-themed issue called Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction with content exclusively from disabled creators.[9] This was a continuation of the Destroy series originally from Lightspeed magazine; in it, the authors and illustrators envisioned "a truly accessible future is one that features rather than erases the disabled mind and body".[9] The issue won an Aurora Award for Best Related Work in 2019.[10][11]

Awards and recognition

In 2017, Uncanny won the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine, and one of its published stories, "Folding Beijing" by Hao Jingfang translated by Ken Liu, won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette.[12] It since went on to win the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine every year from 2017 through 2020, 2022, and 2023.

Magazine awards

Award Category Year Nominee Result Ref
Hugo Award Hugo–Best Semiprozine 2016 Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, Erika Ensign, Steven Schapansky Won [13][12]
2017 Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, Julia Rios, Erika Ensign, and Steven Schapansky Won [14][15]
2018 Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, Julia Rios, Erika Ensign, and Steven Schapansky Won [16][17]
2019 Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, Erika Ensign, Steven Schapansky, Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, and Dominik Parisien Won [18][19]
2020 Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, Chimedum Ohaegbu, Erika Ensign, Steven Schapansky Won [20][21]
2021 Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, Chimedum Ohaegbu, Elsa Sjunneson, Erika Ensign, Steven Schapansky Nominated [22][23]
2022 Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Chimedum Ohaegbu, Elsa Sjunneson, Erika Ensign, Steven Schapansky Won [24][25]
Hugo–Best Professional Editor, Short Form 2017 Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas Nominated [14][15]
2018 Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas Won [16][17][26]
2019 Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas Nominated [18][19]
2020 Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas Nominated [20][21]
British Fantasy Award BFA–

Magazine/Periodical

2017 Uncanny Nominated [27][28]
2019 Uncanny (Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, Erika Ensign, Steven Schapansky, Elsa Sjunneson and Dominik Parisien) Won [29][30]
Aurora Awards Aurora–Best Related Work 2019 Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction (Elsa Sjunneson and Dominik Parisien) Won [31][10]
Parsec Awards Parsec–Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast 2016 The Uncanny Magazine Podcast (Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Erika Ensign, Amal El-Mohtar, C. S. E. Cooney, Deborah Stanish, and Steven Schapansky) Won [32]

Art awards

  • 2016 Gold Spectrum Award – Editorial Category – "Traveling to a Distant" Day by Tran Nguyen (Uncanny Magazine #4 Cover)[33]
  • 2016 Chesley Awards – Best Cover Illustration: Magazine – "Traveling to a Distant Day" by Tran Nguyen (Uncanny Magazine #4 Cover)[34]
  • 2017 Chesley Awards – Best Cover Illustration: Magazine – "Bubbles and Blast Off" by Galen Dara (Uncanny Magazine #10)[35]

Content awards

Staff

Current staff

Julia Rios and Michi Trota accepting the Hugo Award for best semiprozine at Worldcon in Helsinki 2017.
  • Lynne M. Thomas – Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
  • Michael Damian Thomas – Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
  • Monte Lin – Managing Editor/Poetry Editor
  • Meg Elison – Nonfiction Editor
  • Erika Ensign – Podcast Producer
  • Steven Schapansky – Podcast Producer
  • Matt Peters – Podcast Reader
  • Caroline M. Yoachim – Interviewer
  • Naomi Day – Assistant Editor

Former staff

  • Elsa Sjunneson – Nonfiction Editor
  • Joy Piedmont – Podcast Reader
  • Angel Cruz – Assistant Editor
  • Michi Trota – Managing/Nonfiction Editor
  • Stephanie Malia Morris – Podcast Reader
  • Mimi Mondal – Poetry/Reprint Editor
  • Julia Rios – Poetry/Reprint Editor
  • Amal El-Mohtar – Podcast Reader
  • C. S. E. Cooney – Podcast Reader
  • Deborah Stanish – Interviewer
  • Shana DuBois – Interviewer

References

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  2. ^ a b c d e Mitchell, Tim (February 8, 2021). "Sci-fi-focused Uncanny Magazine takes up residence in Urbana". The News-Gazette. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  3. ^ Thomas, Lynne M.; Thomas, Michael Damian (July 28, 2016). "A Space Unicorn Tale: The REAL Story Behind the Creation of Uncanny Magazine". Tor.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  4. ^ Thomas, Lynne M.; Thomas, Michael Damian (August 27, 2014). "Why We're Creating Uncanny, a Real Magazine with a Fake History (and a Space Unicorn)". Tor.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
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