Outlaw Bodies review copies

The Outlaw Bodies speculative fiction anthology is now complete, and will be available to purchase in paperback and e-book in November. In the meantime, if you are a reviewer, a book blogger, or someone else with an audience you'd like to share this news with, we can provide e-book review copies in all common formats.

Details: Lori Selke & Djibril al-Ayad (eds.), Outlaw Bodies. Futurefire.net Publishing, 2012. Pp. 167. ISBN 978-0-9573975-0-7. £8.00/$13.00.

Cover blurb: "In this anthology, you will find artists, mothers, and academics; bodies constructed of flesh and of bone, of paper and metal and plastic. Bodies formed of bouncing, buzzing electrons, waves and particles of light. Bodies grown and bodies sewn, glued, folded and sutured. And all of them standing in defiance of the rules and regulations designed to bind them." (from Lori's introduction)

If you might be interested in taking a look at this book—and hopefully writing a review of it—we can provide Kindle (mobi), EPUB or PDF copies. (Print won't be available for a few weeks, and we'll have a limited budget for review copies.) If there's any other information we can provide you with, or if you're interested in an interview or feature of some kind, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Interview: Jungle Jim magazine

1. What was the inspiration for setting up Jungle Jim and what is the ethos/agenda of the magazine?
   I think both of us (Hannes and Jenna) were at a stage when we were working on things that were dependent on outside factors – people, money, circumstance etc. It was becoming frustrating and we dreamt of having a creative project which we could run on our own terms – something we felt was important, but also not too serious (Little did we know…). One day it just reached a crisis point – we were sharing an office at the time – and we decided to start a magazine. Hannes has a background in independent publishing, but I had absolutely none – so we were guided by very little other than what we thought we could achieve, and for which we felt there was a need. Looking around, there were very few print magazines offering the magical combination of storytelling and images I remembered from childhood. We wanted the adult version – something different, shocking, ‘out there’ – and where I could sometimes get away with publishing my own writing! At the same time, I was becoming more and more interested in pulp writing, the ethos of that time – where writing was accessible, imaginative, visual, dramatic, narrative-driven and relatively ego-less (for better or worse). Of course, it’s easy to idealise that time, but we felt there was also a lot to learn – especially in a country where reading is not the entertainment of choice. We became fascinated with the idea of western pop-genre ‘clashing’ with Africa, of the new truths and exciting ideas this could reveal – and potentially the sacred cows we might upset. So we launched the magazine with this ethos: “Jungle Jim is a bi-monthly illustrated print publication, aiming to showcase narrative- and concept-driven African stories. Taking from the pulp tradition, we publish short and serialised fiction that entertains and engrosses in all dramatic genres, accessible to all, but with a high quality of writing. We seek to publish stories that explore the collision between the visceral daring of pulp and the reality of living in Africa.” And our motto is: “African tales of the uncanny and the unexpected.”

New Issue 2012.24

“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
--Anaïs Nin

Issue 2012.24

• ‘Je me souviens’, Su J. Sokol (illustrated by Soussherpa)
• ‘Secrets of the Sea’, Jennifer Marie Brissett (illustrated by Creative Commons photographs)
• ‘The Harpy’, Laura Heron (illustrated by Rebecca Whitaker)
• ‘Safecracker, Safe’, J.C. Hsyu (illustrated by Christina Cartwright)
• ‘Arrow’, Barry King (illustrated by Cécile Matthey)
• ‘Courtship in the Country of Machine-Gods’, Benjanun Sriduangkaew (illustrated by Tais Teng)

Download e-book version: PDF | EPUB | Mobi

We See a Different Frontier CFS: extended deadline

As announced three months ago, we are seeking submissions for a colonialism-themed anthology of new stories told from the perspective of those with experience of colonization or postcolonial cultures, titled We See a Different Frontier, to be guest edited by Fabio Fernandes and published by The Future Fire. (See the original Call for Submissions for all rules and pay scale.)

The call for submissions was due to close one week from today. We have received many excellent submissions in this time, but we would like to give more authors who have not yet had a chance to write a story on this theme, particularly authors with underrepresented perspectives (including those whose first language may not be English) the opportunity to do so. Rather than offer this extension of the submissions deadline only to a few authors who have already asked for it, we are keeping the reading period for this anthology open for a few weeks longer, until October 31st 2012.

All stories that are currently held for further consideration will remain in our shortlist until this new closing date, at which point we will make our final decision about the contents of the anthology.