The official part first. I am reading for The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 3. It will be published in March 2009 by Night Shade Books and cover science fiction and fantasy short fiction published during the 2008 calendar year. I have to deliver the book to the publisher in the first week of November, so I need to have received any materials (PDFs, galleys, final books or magazines) no later than 1 October 2008, and earlier if possible. I will be sending out a general notice shortly, but if you write or publish short fiction I’d love to hear from you. I generally don’t like email submissions or reading on screen, but if it’s going to be unreasonably expensive to send me something, or if the deadline’s close, please drop me a line and we’ll work something out.
And now the fun part. I am a terribly ill-disciplined person. When faced with deadlines, or mounds and mounds of reading, I tend to develop a fascination with some awfully long television series that ran for 20-something seasons, and is only just now out on DVD. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it does mean that I sometimes struggle to stay focussed when reading for the year’s best. To overcome that I’ve teamed up with the good folk at Not if You Were the Last Short Story on Earth. If you’re not familiar with the project, last year four intrepid readers (Alex, Alisa, Ben, and Tansy) attempted to read every short story published in the genre and to comment on those that they thought had merit. It was a crazy project, and one that I think changed their views on the field quite a bit. Anyway, they’ve decided to do it again, and this year will also act as readers for The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year: Volume 3. What does this actually mean? Well, the LSOE Gang will read away as they did this year, and kindly have offered to let me have access to their behind-the-scenes comments and recommendations, which should help point me towards more stuff that I might miss. We’ll also discuss what we’re reading from time-to-time through the year, which means I’m going to have to stay focussed and up to date, or I’m going to look a right twit. Kind of like having a study partner at Uni. It should be fun, and I’m very grateful to Alex, Alisa, Ben, and Tansy for offering to be involved.
Oh, and we’re hoping to put together a ‘year’s best’ / LSSOE kind of panel for Swancon, which we’re all attending. More on that closer to the time.
Hi Jonathan
Just checking to make sure you get ASIM on a regular basis? The Last Short Story crew all do, just wanted to confirm :)
Hey Tehani – I certainly do. ASIM have been terrific about sending me everything in a really timely manner – Best, J
Ha! You know those last Short Story folks are crazy, right? I mean, who wouldn’t be a bit bent round the edges after reading nearly 3000 stories EACH!!!
Somebody who’s just started his sixth year doing it?
Yeah, but they were actually paying for the stuff, and not having a big fat volume appear in libraries and shops afterwards. ;)
3000 stories is ok, Cat, it is the 2000 not too good bit that is the problem. :-)
I think the reading is enough to make you bent-around-the-edges crazy :) But I do agree, paying for it makes a difference, and having another reason for doing it (like a book) does too.
And if 1,000 of the 3,000 stories were really *worth* reading, I think we’d all be quite happy.
If you aren’t so fast with the reading, crazy is quite likely, perhaps, or the low end is too low. :)
I suppose there is ‘good’ and ‘not actually bad’ meanings for that worth reading, too, especially if.
Paying for ‘My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding’ or ‘The North Dakota Bridge Club’s journal of duckwatching horror’ doesn’t appeal too much (or to too many people at all), so if you can help them out with that bit, that would be cool. To help with the ‘I’m crazy AND I paid for it’ thing. Also good if it leaves you a bit more time for Really Good Anthologies et. al..
What intrigues me is the lower end, and what might be lurking there as far as quality of story, genre, and availability goes.
Some of which they have pointed out already, as has Rich Horton, and yourself with anthology lists or other mentions, so pretty useful. Especially if they can keep it up.
Something you could consider if you end up with a nice spreadsheet next year, is either selling it, or using it promotionally like the cool lists Bill Congreve has of all the oz stories. Whether on a book website, or as ‘secret bonus download info password included’. That is absolutely because I’d personally like to see a big, classified list to go back and look at later, certainly. An advantage Dozois has is the length of his intros, but his Amazon essay says he writes stuff down in a notebook! So pretty much useless to anyone else. Could be a point of difference – the Strahan and LSS 2007 Fiction Guide. Or something like that, anyway.
Reading every magazine/collection with a fair SF or even Weird Tales would certainly not be painful at your costs, as opposed to every more obscure issue costing the same as say, ordering The New Space Opera from the book depository.