Okay, I read the submissions guideline for Strange Horizons, and I get the feeling they want something like literary science fiction, fantasy, or speculative-fiction. No horror, yet they have a section for horror plots they see all the time (is it just me or does that not make sense?). I always thought speculative-fiction included science fiction, fantasy and wasn't a genre of its own. What does speculative-fiction mean here? Also, what is literary science fiction? I thought literary books were the sorts of things I read in English class. Steinbeck, Shakesphere, the Bronte sisters . . . Can someone help?
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Strange Horizons has lots of stories archived on their site. Just go read a bunch of them and get a feel for what they publish.
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I've already read some. I think it is the terminology that is confusing me.
In the end terminology doesn't matter. They could make up any term they wanted to describe what they'd like to see, and it wouldn't change the feel of the magazine or make their editors buy different stuff.
But to try and answer your initial questions, speculative fiction generally covers SF and fantasy, and lately horror and even mystery have been added under the umbrella term. It all depends on who you ask. Literary is a little more difficult to define--it's more of a style preference, I think. Maybe someone else can give you a better definition.
thanks. I did. They have some good stuff.
thanks! Yeah, you are probably right. Literary is a style? How odd. I don't know what my style is. Well, my english teachers all like it. They are times when I think they liked how I wrote it better than what I wrote.
They probably have a listing for "horror plots we've seen too much" because some people just aren't good with directions and will submit a story, even if a mag says they don't accept that genre.
And people wonder why the slush piles are so deep....
And people wonder why the slush piles are so deep....
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Literary Speculative Fiction is my bread and butter. Literally. I went to the store today and I bought bread and butter (and sherry - lots of sherry) with money I earned writing exactly stuff under this definition
I like Strange Horizons. I also think you probably did read literary sci-fi in high school, because you probably read the original "Frankenstein".
Science-fiction, fantasy, and horror are all speculative fiction. I've never seen anyone throw mysery in, but urban fantasy like Jim Butcher is definitely speculative fiction, as is fantasy romance about werewolves like cathy clamp's book is spec fic, too. We needed a new term to cover such authors because elements of sci-fi and fantasy have spread like some kind of virus (or magic mushroom spores, if you prefer fantasy) all over the bookstore.
Different people will give you different answers to what this term means, like anything so subjective. However, for my money, the definition of literary is "ordinary people doing ordinary things". That's a quote from someone whom I've forgotten, but it's a good definition. Even with literary speculative fiction, there's a way to do it ordinary. (You have a couple of kids growing up on a space station. You focus on the mundane aspects of their life and eventual love affair in the shadow of a war, instead of the rocketship battles with aliens and zero-g sex scenes.)
Anyway, different people will give you different answers. that's just mine.
I like Strange Horizons. I also think you probably did read literary sci-fi in high school, because you probably read the original "Frankenstein".
Science-fiction, fantasy, and horror are all speculative fiction. I've never seen anyone throw mysery in, but urban fantasy like Jim Butcher is definitely speculative fiction, as is fantasy romance about werewolves like cathy clamp's book is spec fic, too. We needed a new term to cover such authors because elements of sci-fi and fantasy have spread like some kind of virus (or magic mushroom spores, if you prefer fantasy) all over the bookstore.
Different people will give you different answers to what this term means, like anything so subjective. However, for my money, the definition of literary is "ordinary people doing ordinary things". That's a quote from someone whom I've forgotten, but it's a good definition. Even with literary speculative fiction, there's a way to do it ordinary. (You have a couple of kids growing up on a space station. You focus on the mundane aspects of their life and eventual love affair in the shadow of a war, instead of the rocketship battles with aliens and zero-g sex scenes.)
Anyway, different people will give you different answers. that's just mine.
Yep, that is probably true. But it's like asking to be rejected.
That is good!!! I wanna make some money writing. It would be so much fun, if I could make a living writing.
Hehe, you metioned two of my fav writers: Jim Butcher and Cathy Clamp.
I never read Frankenstein, but I did read Frank Kafka's Metamorphosis. Does that count? And The Handmaiden's Tale? It always made the school summer reading list and I read it because that was the only sci-fi title on it.
Thanks! I will remember that. I think I have read a science fiction story like that, but I can't remember the title or writer now.
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I do hesitate to treat the term like a binary label, though.
"Literary" is a continuum. Imagine on one end, pure literary-ness that's probably not very read-able, and on the other end raw entertainment.
It's not really either/or.
John Scalzi's "Ghost Brigades" was lots of fun, and definitely not very high on the literary scale, but it wasn't like it didn't have some excellent "literary-esque" stuff in it.
Anyway, just saying it's easy to come up with definitions, but literary is not binary.
One of the reasons I like "Speculative Fiction" as a term is how much ground it covers. It's so inclusive that one doesn't end up cutting anything out.
"Literary" is a continuum. Imagine on one end, pure literary-ness that's probably not very read-able, and on the other end raw entertainment.
It's not really either/or.
John Scalzi's "Ghost Brigades" was lots of fun, and definitely not very high on the literary scale, but it wasn't like it didn't have some excellent "literary-esque" stuff in it.
Anyway, just saying it's easy to come up with definitions, but literary is not binary.
One of the reasons I like "Speculative Fiction" as a term is how much ground it covers. It's so inclusive that one doesn't end up cutting anything out.
thanks evaine!
i guess you are right! it covers more than i thought it would.
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