Apex Magazine: Issue 55

By Lynne M. Thomas

Apex Magazine is a monthly science fiction, fantasy, and horror magazine featuring original, mind-bending short fiction from many of the top pros of the field. New issues are released the first Tuesday of every month.

Table of Contents
Fiction
What You've Been Missing by Maria Dahvana Headley
Haruspicy and Other Amatory Divinations
Before and After by Ken Liu
Our Daughters by Sandra McDonald
All That Fairy Tale Crap

Poetry
Turning the Leaves by Amal El-Mohtar

Nonfiction
Another World Waits: Towards an Anti-Oppressive SFF by Daniel José Older
Interview with Maria Dahvana Headley
Words from the Publisher by Jason Sizemore
Blood on Vellum: Notes from the Editor-in-Chief by Lynne M. Thomas

Cover art by Katy Shuttleworth

• Language: English
• Publisher: Apex Book Company
• Release date: Dec 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311059468

Book preview

APEX MAGAZINE

ISSUE 55, DECEMBER 2013

EDITED BY LYNNE M. THOMAS

Smashwords Edition

Copyrights and Acknowledgments

Blood on Vellum: Notes from the Editor–in–Chief Copyright © 2013 by Lynne M. Thomas

What You’ve Been Missing Copyright © 2013 by Maria Dahvana Headley

Haruspicy and Other Amatory Divinations Copyright © 2013 by Kat Howard

Before and After Copyright © 2013 by Ken Liu

Our Daughters Copyright © 2013 by Sandra McDonald

All That Fairy Tale Crap Copyright © 2013 by Rachel Swirsky (Originally published in Glitter & Mayhem Eds. John Klima, Lynne M. Thomas, & Michael Damian Thomas 2013)

Another World Waits: Towards an Anti–Oppressive SFF Copyright © 2013 by Daniel José Older

Interview with Maria Dahvana Headley Copyright © 2013 by Maggie Slater

Words from the Publisher Copyright © 2013 by Jason Sizemore

Turning the Leaves Copyright © 2013 by Amal El–Mohtar

Publisher/Editor — Jason Sizemore

Editor–in–Chief — Lynne M. Thomas

Senior Editor — Gill Ainsworth

Managing Editor — Michael Damian Thomas

Slush Editors — Sigrid Ellis, Deanna Knippling, Kelly Lagor, Eileen Maksym, Jei D. Marcade, Michael Matheson, Fran Wilde, Emily Wagner, Saira Ali

Graphic Designer — Justin Stewart

ISSN: 2157–1406

Apex Publications

PO Box 24323

Lexington, KY 40524

About Our Cover Artist

Katy Shuttleworth spends most of her days bringing cute talking cartoon animals to life as an animator/storyboarder, though you might know her better for her cover art series for the Geek Girl Chronicles. A Southern Californian girl at heart, she currently resides at the opposite end of the country in Boston.

Table of Contents

Editorial

Blood on Vellum: Notes from the Editor–in–Chief

Lynne M. Thomas

Fiction

What You’ve Been Missing

Maria Dahvana Headley

Haruspicy and Other Amatory Divinations

Kat Howard

Before and After

Ken Liu

Our Daughters

Sandra McDonald

All That Fairy Tale Crap

Rachel Swirsky

Nonfiction

Another World Waits: Towards an Anti–Oppressive SFF

Daniel José Older

Interview with Maria Dahvana Headley

Maggie Slater

Words from the Publisher

Jason Sizemore

Poetry

Turning the Leaves

Amal El–Mohtar

Blood on Vellum: Notes from the Editor–in–Chief

Welcome to Issue 55 of Apex Magazine.

We’re closing out the year with a great selection of stories. In this issue, we open with What You’ve Been Missing, a rumination on hippocamps by Maria Dahvana Headley. Kat Howard brings us Haruspicy and Other Amatory Divinations, a new way of searching for love. Ken Liu’s flash piece Before and After explores suburban fantasy via stream–of–consciousness. Sandra McDonald’s Our Daughters interrogates an alternate universe. Our classic this month is from the inimitable Rachel Swirsky. All that Fairy Tale Crap was the closing story in Glitter & Mayhem. I guarantee that you will never look at Cinderella the same way again.

Our nonfiction includes Daniel José Older’s Another World Waits: Towards an Anti–Oppressive SFF, a clarion call for embracing all kinds of stories and writers, and an interview with Maria Dahvana Headley by Maggie Slater.

Our gorgeous cover is by artist Katy Shuttleworth, specially commissioned for this issue. (You may recognize her style from the covers of my co–edited books Chicks Dig Time Lords, Whedonistas, and Chicks Dig Comics books.)

This is a bittersweet editorial for me, as this is my last issue as Editor–in–Chief of Apex Magazine. I have been so very pleased with the high quality of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and art that we’ve showcased over the past 26 issues from a diverse group of voices within the genre. Thank you to all of our writers, from award–winning veterans to writers making a first sale, for submitting to Apex Magazine and for giving me the opportunity to share your work. It has truly been a privilege to work with all of you. I’m also grateful to the Hugo Award voters, who have nominated us for the Best Semiprozine Hugo award two years running. Your recognition of our work means a great deal to us. I am most grateful for all of our amazing readers. You have proven that there is a global audience for diverse, experimental SF/F.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who contributed to Apex Magazine’s production over the past couple of years, from Catherynne M. Valente for thinking of me as her successor, to Jason Sizemore, our publisher, who has been so supportive of the magazine, to each and every one of our submissions editors, copyeditors, proofreaders, layout and ebook formatters, and our publicity folks. A magazine is a labor of love, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your time, effort, and love of the genre with me, and with our readers.

Finally, I need to thank my co–conspirator, husband, and partner in crime, Michael Damian Thomas, who is also stepping down as Apex Magazine’s Managing Editor. My love, your contribution to this magazine has been above and beyond the call of duty. I could not have done this without your support, logistics, and good taste. I deeply appreciate the team that we have become as we have continued to work together, and I look forward to our next adventure together.

While we’re taking a much needed break for several months (which will include major surgery for our daughter), plans are already in the works for future projects together and separately, so rest assured that this is not the end of my (or Michael’s) editorial careers. I hope that you will keep an eye out, and support us in future endeavors. We very much look forward to seeing you again.

In the meantime, it is a distinct pleasure to hand the reigns of Apex Magazine over to Sigrid Ellis beginning with the January issue. Sigrid is a good friend and past collaborator on other projects. I very much look forward