I wonder what the children of today would say, if we asked them. Would they prefer to hear about a couple of greedy stepsisters having their eyes pecked out for their lying and greedy ways, or a handful of housewives inciting a catfight? Would they rather imagine twelve dancing princesses, or an overdressed toddler in a tiara? Would they see these stories for their true meanings, or would they escalate the ridiculousness to new heights? If they discovered that in some iterations, the frog prince was dashed against the wall by the silly young princess, would this lead to spates of animal cruelty?
I have a feeling that today’s children would be even less shocked than their nineteenth century counterparts. And in an entertainment industry sorely lacking a moral compass, I believe the “original” fairy stories should definitely be reintroduced into the nursery room . . . whichever “original” you choose.
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a goddess, a force of nature, and a mess. She’s known for screwing up the alphabet, scolding vampire hunters, turning garden gnomes into mad scientists, and making sense out of fairy tales. Alethea is the co-author of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter Companion and penned the AlphaOops series of picture books. She has done multiple collaborations with Eisner-winning artist J.K. Lee, including The Wonderland Alphabet and the illustrated Twitter serial “Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome.” Her debut YA fairy tale novel, Enchanted, will be published by HMH (Harcourt Books) in 2012.
Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea now lives in Northern Virginia with her Fairy Godfamily. She makes the best baklava youve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie.
Editor’s Desk: Forwards and Backwards
Neil Clarke
Since my heart attack last summer, I’ve been trying to come up with something that would show my appreciation for all the support I received from our readers. One obvious option is to continue to build upon and strengthen what we’ve created here at Clarkesworld. Last month, I mentioned our intention to include a fourth original story in each issue after we pick up our next five hundred subscribers. Behind the scenes, there was another project brewing: a reprints department. This has been on my “to-do” list for some time and last month, I asked Gardner Dozois to join us as our first reprints editor.
While an introduction probably isn’t necessary, there may be some readers that are not familiar with his work. Gardner was the editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction for almost twenty years, and also edits an award-winning annual anthology series. The Year’s Best Science Fiction, has won the Locus Award for Best Anthology sixteen times, more than any other anthology series in history, and the title is now celebrating its twenty-ninth year. Gardner has won the Hugo Award for Best Editor fifteen times, won the Locus Award thirty-five times, including an unprecedented sixteen times in a row as Best Editor, and has won the Sidewise Award and two Nebula Awards for his own short fiction. In 2011, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
Starting in April, each issue will feature two reprints selected by Gardner. That means five stories per issue (and in the podcast) with hopes of a sixth on the horizon. I hope you enjoy this latest addition to our magazine. It feels great to be able to do this.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) recently announced the 2012 nominees for the Nebula Award and Clarkesworld stories received more nominations than ever before:
Best Novella Nominee
“Fade to White” by Catherynne M. Valente
Best Short Story Nominees
“Robot” by Helena Bell
“Immersion” by Aliette de Bodard
“Fragmentation, or Ten Thousand Goodbyes” by Tom Crosshill
I can’t begin to describe just how happy it makes me to see four stories from Clarkesworld on this year’s ballot and it is made even sweeter when I look at this in the context of all of the health difficulties I had last year.
Congratulations to our (and all the other) nominees! For a complete list of nominees, please visit sfwa.org.
Speaking of awards, if you are nominating in this year’s Hugo Awards, you have until March 10th. I’m still receiving questions from readers about this, so yes, Clarkesworld is eligible for Best Semiprozine and I’m eligible for Best Editor, short form. If you are considering voting for us, or already have, thank you for your support. It means a lot, no matter what way the final ballot turns out. Thank you.
Until next month . . .
About the Author
Neil Clarke is the editor of Clarkesworld Magazine, owner of Wyrm Publishing and a 2012 Hugo Nominee for Best Editor (short form). He currently lives in NJ with his wife and two children.
Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 78 Page 8