Fantasy Magazine, Issue 90 (April 2023): Fantasy Magazine, #90

By Arley Sorg and Christie Yant

FANTASY MAGAZINE is a digital magazine focusing exclusively on the fantasy genre. In its pages, you will find all types of fantasy-dark fantasy, contemporary urban tales, surrealism, magical realism, science fantasy, high fantasy, folktales, and anything and everything in between. FANTASY is entertainment for the intelligent genre reader-we publish stories of the fantastic that make us think, and tell us what it is to be human. 

 

In this issue's short fiction, we have "Children of Earth" by K.A. Wiggins, and "Nairuko" by Dennis Mugaa; flash fiction "Trading With Monsters" by Miguel O. Mitchell, and Keech Ballard's "The UFO's New Clothes"; in poetry, "The Frumious Jubjub" by C.H. Lindsay and "Sleeping With the Fishes" by Shreejita Majumder. Plus essay "What Language Do You Think In: On Being Lost in Translation" by Linghun author Ai Jiang.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adamant Press
• Release date: Apr 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215687758

Book preview

Fantasy MagazineFantasy Magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Issue 90, April 2023

FROM THE EDITORS

Editorial: April 2023

Arley Sorg and Christie Yant

FICTION

Trading With Monsters

Miguel O. Mitchell

Children of Earth

K.A. Wiggins

The UFO's New Clothes

Keech Ballard

Nairuko

Dennis Mugaa

POETRY

The Frumious Jubjub

C. H. Lindsay

Sleeping With the Fishes

Shreejita Majumder

NONFICTION

What Language Do You Think In?: On Being Lost in Translation

Ai Jiang

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHTS

Author Spotlight: K.A. Wiggins

Author Spotlight: Dennis Mugaa

MISCELLANY

Coming Attractions: May 2023

Support Us on Patreon, or How to Become a Dragonrider or Space Wizard

Subscriptions and Ebooks

Stay Connected

About the Fantasy Team

© 2023 Fantasy Magazine

Cover by Kevin Carden / Adobe Stock Image

www.fantasy-magazine.com

Published by Adamant Press

From the Editors

Editorial: April 2023

Arley Sorg and Christie Yant | 705 words

AS: Our friend Scott Andrews over at digital magazine Beneath Ceaseless Skies has this really startling quote in this year’s Locus Magazine Summary: Only 0.7% of the readership supports the zine financially. I remember him being concerned that BCS wouldn’t be able to raise enough funds to keep the mag a pro-rate paying mag, the last time SFWA raised the bar for what they considered professional-rate payment. Each magazine has their own financial model, but I think for most, magazines depend on readers to survive.

CY: When I have a chance to talk to people about this part of the field there is always someone who’s surprised that we’re dependent on subscriptions. This is why we frequently see subscription drives and annual Kickstarters–some of us may sell advertising, but it’s not nearly enough to cover the costs of publishing, even with an all-volunteer staff!

AS: I have a column over at The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and my latest entry is about the lifespan of magazines. I used the idea of landing on a Hugo ballot going back to 2000—so, over two decades—as a metric, and did some research to see how many of those mags are still around. The number of notable, beloved magazines that have closed is higher than you think, and includes such as Daily Science Fiction, Future SF Digest, and Fireside.

CY: When you and I first talked about working together we were still lamenting the loss of Shimmer! We’ve both seen the sausage being made for a long time now—you at Locus, and me at Lightspeed—so we knew what we were up against. New markets open and close every year, and readers have to be selective in where they spend their money. No one can be expected to subscribe to everything. And like most in our field, we make our content free to read online–we just make people wait for it! Our subscribers get it all at once at the beginning of the month.

AS: This is a very volatile industry, and so much about it is harder than people think. But the joys include discovering authors; and seeing folks Tweet about their acceptances is both fulfilling and inspiring. It’s a strange, unique ecology, where authors and editors and publishers coexist to create something wonderful. And then the reader picks it up, and they add their own perspectives and context to the pieces they read, ultimately building worlds and narratives in their imagination that are as amazing as they are individual. This stuff is actually pretty magical.

CY: Very few of us go into this thinking we’re going to make money at it. We do it because we love genre literature, and the short form in particular, and want to see more of it in the world. For some it remains a very expensive hobby—Fred Coppersmith has published Kaleidotrope out of his own pocket for more than a decade, which is a testament to his love and dedication to the readers and writers in this field.

AS: Whether Fantasy or somewhere else, I encourage you to support the life of your favorite venues, which in turn helps authors by making sure they have places that will showcase their work. Vote in awards, such as the Locus Poll & Survey, signal boost or tell friends about pieces that really worked for you, and if you can, subscribe, or purchase issues.

• • • •

In this issue’s short fiction, we have Children of Earth by K.A. Wiggins, and Nairuko by Dennis Mugaa; flash fiction Trading With Monsters by Miguel O. Mitchell, and Keech Ballard’s The UFO’s New Clothes; in poetry, The Frumious Jubjub by C.H. Lindsay and Sleeping With the Fishes by Shreejita Majumder. Plus essay What Language Do You Think In: On Being Lost in Translation by Linghun author Ai Jiang. Enjoy!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Arley Sorg is a 2021 and a 2022 World Fantasy Award Finalist as well as a 2022 Locus Award Finalist for his work as co-Editor-in-Chief at Fantasy Magazine. Arley is a 2022 recipient of SFWA’s Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award. He is also a finalist for two 2022 Ignyte Awards: for his work as a critic as well as for his creative nonfiction. Arley is a senior editor at Locus Magazine, associate editor at both Lightspeed & Nightmare, and a columnist for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. He takes on multiple roles, including slush reader, movie reviewer, and book reviewer, and conducts interviews for multiple venues, including Clarkesworld Magazine and his own site: arleysorg.com. He has taught classes, run workshops, and been a guest for Clarion West, the Odyssey Writing Workshop, Cascade Writers, Augur Magazine, and more. Arley grew up in England, Hawaii, and