Thoughts On SCIFICTION
As a number of my friends aren't as "tuned in" to the speculative fiction scene as I am, I figure I should note the fact that the SciFi Channel's online publishing arm, SCIFICTION, is closing down. From their site:As SCIFI.COM gears up to expand with exciting new ventures utilizing the newest technology, it will discontinue SCI FICTION, the online publishing division of of the site, at the end of 2005.
In almost six years of groundbreaking online publishing, SCI FICTION and its editor, Ellen Datlow, had an unparalleled record of critical success, earning 10 major awards, including three Hugo Awards, four Nebula Awards and a World Fantasy Award.
We wish Ellen the best and look forward to seeing her future work.
Now, most people might say, "So what? It's the SciFi Channel. They produce crap, except for Battlestar Galactica, right?"
Wrong. SCIFICTION has, since opening, become one of the primier venues for new short stories. Ellen Datlow has won seven World Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Hugo (not to mention multiple Hugo nominations for Best Professional Editor). They have also historically paid the best rates in the market. "Professional rate" according to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) is five cents per word. SCIFICTION paid four times that. ...and just take a look at their archive. We're not talking about small names here: Nancy Kress, Ursula Le Guin, Elizabeth Hand, Gavin Grant, Gene Wolfe, Pat Cadigan, and Octavia Butler, just to name a few. ...and that's not even counting the "classic" reprints that they've run, including Zelazny, Del Ray, Delany, Vinge, Davidson, and Blish (again, just to name a few).
How did they pull this off, precisely? Well, it was basically a big tax write-off, as near as anyone can tell. They bought these stories, put them up for free, and made zero money off of them. They paid quadruple the professional rate, hired one of the best editors out there. To a large media company, it was a drop in the bucket, and in return, they got warm fuzzies from the writers.
Why'd they stop? No one's entirely sure. My bet is that the fallout from the sale of SciFi to Vivendi finally filtered down to SCIFICTION, and the budget was cut by some executive who couldn't see the rationale. Either way, it means that the two-ton gorilla of speculative fiction markets is going the way of the dodo. Go. Read their archive. It won't be there for too much longer, and there are some amazing pieces in there.
In almost six years of groundbreaking online publishing, SCI FICTION and its editor, Ellen Datlow, had an unparalleled record of critical success, earning 10 major awards, including three Hugo Awards, four Nebula Awards and a World Fantasy Award.
We wish Ellen the best and look forward to seeing her future work.
Now, most people might say, "So what? It's the SciFi Channel. They produce crap, except for Battlestar Galactica, right?"
Wrong. SCIFICTION has, since opening, become one of the primier venues for new short stories. Ellen Datlow has won seven World Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Hugo (not to mention multiple Hugo nominations for Best Professional Editor). They have also historically paid the best rates in the market. "Professional rate" according to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) is five cents per word. SCIFICTION paid four times that. ...and just take a look at their archive. We're not talking about small names here: Nancy Kress, Ursula Le Guin, Elizabeth Hand, Gavin Grant, Gene Wolfe, Pat Cadigan, and Octavia Butler, just to name a few. ...and that's not even counting the "classic" reprints that they've run, including Zelazny, Del Ray, Delany, Vinge, Davidson, and Blish (again, just to name a few).
How did they pull this off, precisely? Well, it was basically a big tax write-off, as near as anyone can tell. They bought these stories, put them up for free, and made zero money off of them. They paid quadruple the professional rate, hired one of the best editors out there. To a large media company, it was a drop in the bucket, and in return, they got warm fuzzies from the writers.
Why'd they stop? No one's entirely sure. My bet is that the fallout from the sale of SciFi to Vivendi finally filtered down to SCIFICTION, and the budget was cut by some executive who couldn't see the rationale. Either way, it means that the two-ton gorilla of speculative fiction markets is going the way of the dodo. Go. Read their archive. It won't be there for too much longer, and there are some amazing pieces in there.