(Esta convocatoria también está disponible en español.)

Strange Horizons is now accepting fiction submissions for our Mexico Special issue! The issue will be published at the end of November 2020, and Libia Brenda (that's me!) will be the guest editor for the fiction selection.

We are open for submissions from now until Aug 31 2020. Don't wait till the end to send your work in!

This issue will focus on speculative fiction by Indigenous people in Mexico, Mexican people, and people of Mexican origin. This includes people living in Mexico, in the borderlands/la frontera and Rio Grande Valley, and in diaspora, as well as displaced and undocumented peoples making home in these places. We welcome work from people who live at the intersections of multiple cultures and identities, including people born in Mexico living in other countries. We especially welcome work by writers who are Black, Indigenous, trans, queer, in disability community, and of marginalized genders and sexualities.

Genre: speculative fiction broadly defined, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, surrealism, weird, interstitial, etc. There is no theme; though we welcome those that are, stories do not have to be about or set in Mexico.

Word limit: 4,000 words. No lower limit, shorter pieces are preferred.

Languages:

  • If you're sending untranslated original text in Spanish or English, you are not required to include a translation.
  • If you are already collaborating with a translator, you are welcome to include the translation. If you are not, we will arrange a translator.
  • If you're sending text in an Indigenous language, please include a Spanish or English translation.
  • Translations should be included in the same document as the original text.
  • Translations do not count toward the word count limit, only the original text.
  • Please contact us at mexico@strangehorizons.com if you have questions or need help!

Format: Please send only RTF, DOC, or DOCX files. Please keep formatting as simple as possible. We strongly prefer Times New Roman 12 point, double spaced. Include your name, pseudonym if any, email address, and word count on the first page of your manuscript. You can get the word count from your word processor or an online tool like https://www.charactercountonline.com.

Multiple submissions: Only one story at a time, but you can send another one if you receive a response before the submission window closes—another reason to send work before August 31!

Simultaneous submissions: No.

Reprints: Yes. Please indicate clearly in your cover letter if a story is a reprint, and where and in which languages it was previously published.

Pay rate: Authors will be paid 0.10 USD per word for original fiction and $100 flat rate for reprints. Translators will be paid 0.08 USD per word in the source text. There is no entry fee.

Deadline: 31 August 2020.

No email submissions. Please submit stories using the submission form linked below.

Submit here! All stories should be submitted using this form. Please include any translations of a single story in the same document when submitting.

Cover letter: In your cover letter, please briefly mention where you're from or where your roots are, so we have some idea of your relationship with the region that this special issue is focused on.

If you have any questions at all, please email mexico@strangehorizons.com!



Libia Brenda es editora, escritora y traductora. Ha participado en varios proyectos independientes, la mayoría relacionados con la ciencia ficción, la literatura fantástica y especulativa (se considera una nerd, básicamente). Escribe ficción especulativa y ha publicado varios cuentos en distintas revistas y antologías; su trabajo ha sido traducido al italiano y al inglés. Es una de las cofundadoras del Cúmulo de Tesla @Cumulodetesla, un colectivo multidisciplinario que promueve el diálogo entre arte y ciencia, con un especial énfasis en la ciencia ficción; y de la Mexicona: imaginación y futuro, una serie de conversaciones sobre el futuro y los géneros especulativos en el mundo de habla hispana, desde México y otros planetas. En 2018 formó parte de la Mexicanx Initiative, una iniciativa liderada por John Picacio. Es la primera mujer mexicana obtener una nominación a un Premio Hugo, por la edición de la antología A Larger Reality/Una realidad más amplia, adjunta al proyecto derivado de aquella iniciativa. A raíz de eso, se emocionó tanto que editó un proyecto híbrido y bilingüe de ciencia ficción: Una realidad más amplia 2.0. Un universo en el que no nos extinguimos, una antología que es también un videojuego (tipo MUD) y puede descargarse, jugarse y leerse, gratis, acá: http://alargerreality.mx/2019/

Libia Brenda is an editor, writer and translator. She has been involved in many independent projects, most of which are about sci-fi, speculative, and fantastic literature (she considers herself very nerdy). She writes speculative fiction short stories and has been published in online and print magazines, as well as various anthologies. Her work has been translated from Spanish to English and Italian. She is one of the the co-founders of the Cúmulo de Tesla collective, a multidisciplinary working group that promotes the dialogue between the arts and sciences, with a special focus on science fiction; and Mexicona: Imagination and Future, a series of conversations about the future and speculative literature in the Spanish language from Mexico and other planets. In 2018, she was part of The Mexicanx Initiative, an endeavour led by John Picacio. She became the first Mexican woman to be nominated for a Hugo Award, for the anthology A Larger Reality/Una realidad más amplia attached to a project about said initiative. After that, she was so excited that she edited a hybrid and bilingual sci-fi project: A Larger Reality 2.0, an anthology that is also a videogame (MUD style) and can be download and played, for free, here: http://alargerreality.mx/2019/
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