Terra Nova: An Anthology of Contemporary Spanish Science Fiction
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With this data in hand, logically the great majority of authors must combine their writing with another, principal economic activity. Some work in journalism, teaching, or even the translation of genre works, which has reached a high level of professionalism due to the reading public's growing demand for quality —and which, paradoxically, means relatively low readership for works in the original English, although this has been changing lately.
The publishing sector itself is split into about thirty specialized houses and an equal number that publish genre books with relative frequency. Small- and medium-sized publishers like Alamut/Bibliópolis, Gigamesh, La Factoría de Ideas, Valdemar, and Sportula compete with large editorial groups that periodically become interested in the genre: R.B.A, Planeta (its genre imprints Minotauro and Timun Mas), Random House Mondadori, Ediciones B of Grupo Z, and Alianza, among others. And we should not forget amateur presses and self-publishing, which accounts for fully 15 percent of the total.
3. Fandom
The main association that brings together Spanish fans is the Spanish Association of Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror [AEFCFT is its Spanish acronym], with the aim of promoting the genres. It was founded in the early 1990s, and each year it organizes an annual convention, HispaCon, which is held in a different city each year, and presents the Ignotus prizes, which are awarded to the best genre works in different categories. It also publishes anthologies and other books.
In addition to AEFCFT, a variety groups, conventions, and clubs meet all around the country. In recent years, two events have stood out for attracting both a large public and international authors who generate a lot of media coverage. The Semana Negra de Gijón is a literary-entertainment event originally dedicated to the género negro [noir] but which has grown to encompass other genres, such as historical novels and speculative fiction. Its guest authors have included George R.R. Martin, Christopher Priest, Lois McMaster Bujold, Robert Sheckley, Joe Haldeman, and many others. The Celsius 232 Festival (a tribute to Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451, which is 232 when converted into Celsius) began in 2012 and specializes in fantasy and science fiction. It has featured international authors such as George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, Steven Erikson, Robert J. Sawyer and Jon Courtenay Grimwood.
Specialized magazines and fanzines played a fundamental role in the development of the genre. The legendary Nueva Dimensión has already been mentioned, and it was the most long-lived, from 1968 to 1983, with 148 issues. Others were: Anticipación, in 1967, with seven issues; Géminis, from 1967 to 1968, with 13 issues; Kandama, from 1980 to 1984, with eight issues; Tránsito, from 1982 to 1993, with 18 issues; BEM, from 1990 to 2000, with 75 issues; Gigamesh, from 1991 to 2007, with 44 issues; Cyber Fantasy, from 1992 to 1994, with six issues; Solaris, from 1999 to 2005, with 27 issues; 2001, from 2001 to 2002, with seven issues; Galaxia, from 2003 to 2005, with 17 issues; and too many more to name. In addition, the US magazine Asimov’s has had four authorized incarnations: 1979 to 1981, 1986 to 1987, 2002, and 2003 to 2005, for a total of 52 issues. The Artifex anthologies deserve special mention, published from 1999 to 2009 with four “epochs” and 21 volumes with an emphasis on both speculative and literary quality.
At the start of the 21st century, as many as four publications had commercial distribution —not really professional publications because in practice it was unusual to pay authors for the contents— and at present no paper magazine actively prints fiction, although there is one dedicated to movies, Scifi World, and some online fanzines easily found through listings on websites like AEFCFT’s. But as far as websites, blogs, and forums about the genre go, Spain is equal to any other western country both in number and in content.
4. Prizes
The most important awards conferred by general voting rather than by a jury are the AEFCFT’s Ignotus, which recognize the best works published in the previous year, very much like the Hugo awards. Until 2012, only members of AEFCFT and HispaCon attendees could vote, but fortunately, as of this year, anyone interested can sign up for voting. Among its 14 categores, two are of special interest to the English-speaking fan: Best Foreign Novel and Best Foreign Short Story, and the winners can be found at The Locus Index to SF Awards, among other places.
The most important award for its monetary prize is the International Minotauro Prize for Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, offered by Minotauro Publishing, now part of the international Planeta publishing group. Initiated in 1993, it only accepts novels originally written in Spanish and now awards €10,000 to the winner, although this sum was €18,000 during its early years. Another noteworthy award, with a prize of about €600, is the Domingo Santos; it is convened by HispaCon organizers and bears the name of the most outstanding pioneer in Spanish science fiction. From 1992 to 2011 it was given to short stories, and starting in 2012 to novellas.
But the most influential prizes in the genre in Spain are presented by two Spanish universities. The UPC of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya is, without a doubt, the one that enjoys the greatest international fame because it accepts science fiction novellas originally written in English, French, Spanish, and Catalan. Since 1991, it has awarded €6,000 to the winner as well as two second-prizes: for the runner-up and for the best work presented by a member of university itself. Brian W. Aldiss called it “the most important science fiction prize in Europe.” In its twenty convocations (it became biannual in 2010), it has awarded works that have also gained international prestige, such as “Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge” by Mike Resnick, which also won the Hugo, Nebula, and Ignotus prizes in 1995; by international authors as diverse as Michael Bishop, Gregory Benford, Robert J. Sawyer, Kristine K. Rush or Jerry Oltion. To encourage participation, the rules for the prizes for the year 2012 are included in this book, which will be similar to the ones for 2014.
The second most important prize is the Alberto Magno, presented by the Science Faculty of the University of the Basque Country. Initiated in 1989 (and therefore the oldest active award in Spain), its first prize is €3,500, with €1,500 each for the second place story and the best work presented by a member of the university. This prize shows a clear bias toward the scientific world. It accepts unpublished novellas written in Spanish and Basque.
In addition, other noteworthy prizes include the Tristana de Novela Fantástica awarded by the municipality of Santander with a €4,000 prize, the Manuel de Pedrolo for a novella in Catalan with a €3,000 prize, the Fantastic Short Story University Contest with two prizes of €1,400 for stories in Spanish and Basque, and the Avalon of the Asturias Science Fiction Association with a prize of €600 —and scores of others, each with their own prizes and rules.
5. Spanish Science Fiction in the World
Despite efforts to export Spanish science fiction —usually undertaken by individuals— few works have crossed national borders and even fewer have enjoyed translation into other languages. Of course, some Spanish publishers have managed a limited distribution in South American countries, and a handful of titles have been republished there locally. Some writers like Juan Miguel Aguilera have published novels in France and Italy with considerable success. And a few successes can even be found in the English-language market.
The story “The Day We Went through the Transition” by Ricard de la Casa and Pedro Jorge Romero, published in the landmark Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain, was a finalist for the Sidewise Award in 2004. The scientific thriller Zigzag by the Spanish-Cuban writer José Carlos Somoza was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Jr. Award in 2008. One of the quintessential Spanish classics, El anacronópete [He Who Flies Against Time], written in 1887 by Enrique Gaspar, was translated in 2012; it describes a time machine eight years before H.G. Wells used one in his popular novel. In addition, from time to time, some short stories have been published in US magazines. These include “The First Day of Eternity” by Domingo Santos in the January-February issue of Analog, and stories in online media like World SF.
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Without a doubt, the most outstanding current example is the Victorian trilogy by Félix J. Palma. Publication rights to his first novel, El mapa del tiempo, have been sold in twenty countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, and Holland. During its first week of sales it made The New York Times best-seller list and was a finalist for several awards around the world, including Japan’s Seiun. The second novel, El mapa del cielo, looks likely to repeat its international success, and the third and final book in the trilogy is anxiously awaited.
Another notable novel (mostly because it was written by an important mainstream Spanish novelist, Rosa Montero, rather than for its intrinsic virtues) that has been translated into English is Lágrimas de lluvia [Tears in the Rain] published in 2011, a tribute to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick and its movie adaptation, Blade Runner, by Ridley Scott.
Terra Nova is one more attempt to help English-language readers get to know the quality of science fiction currently being written in Spain and Latin America. The anthology has relied on a team of professionals devoted to the idea of maximizing the quality of contemporary commercially viable science fiction. They include the coordinator, English-to-Spanish and Spanish-to-English translators, artist, publisher and international promoter —in addition to the writers, of course. The first edition in Spanish was published simultaneously in Spain in December 2012 and in Argentina in early 2013, and enjoyed great success in both sales and critical acclaim measured in terms of the small press. This English-language edition includes only the five short stories originally written in Spanish, plus a novella by a new rising star that is unique to this edition. A second volume is being finished and should be published at the end of 2013.
As I said at the beginning of this article, science fiction from Spain is outstanding and of interest to readers in English or any other language on the planet. We can find stories with great speculative and literary quality, varied themes, writers of international repute, and a variety of classics: a stellar group of works and authors waiting for the chance to show their worth and be enjoyed in the rest of the world. I sincerely hope that the grain of sand represented by Terra Nova serves this noble goal. The answer, naturally, will depend on the reception by you, the readers. Thank you in advance for being part of this adventure.
Mariano Villarreal
literfan@yahoo.es
@literfan
UPC AWARD SCIENCE FICTION 2012
As of this year, the Science Fiction Award will be presented every two years
Rules
1. The competition is open to authors of unpublished science-fiction stories.
2. The stories must be written in Catalan, Spanish, English or French. They must be approximately 70 to 115 pages in length (150,000 to 240,000 characters), typewritten and double-spaced. Two copies must be submitted and manuscripts will not be returned.
3. The author must sign his/her story with a pseudonym and enclose a sealed envelope containing the following details:
Full name, personal identification number (identity card or similar), full address, contact telephone or fax and e-mail address.
The title of the work and the pseudonym of the author must appear on the outside of this envelope. Members of the UPC community must also state “UPC Member” on the outside of the envelope.
4. Manuscripts must be sent to:
Consell Social de la UPC
Edifici Til·lers
Jordi Girona 31 - 08034 Barcelona (Spain)
Tel. +34 93 401 63 43 - Fax +34 93 401 77 66
consell.social@upc.edu
The envelope should be clearly marked:
2012 UPC Science Fiction Award
5. The final date for the submission of manuscripts for the 2012 edition is 13 January 2012. The decision of the jury, which will be final, will be made public before the end of 2012.
6. The jury will be made up of members of the UPC’s teaching and research staff and people from outside the UPC who are involved in science fiction.
7. The jury will award a first prize of e 6000 and if it sees fit a special mention of €e 1500. A further mention of €e 1500 may also be awarded for the best story submitted by a member of the UPC.
8. The competition may be declared vacant.
9. By entering the competition, the author guarantees that his/her work is original and that he/she is the sole author, with full indemnity for the UPC in case of breach of this guarantee. The author will be responsible for registering the work in the Intellectual Property Register and for the consequences arising from not doing so.
10. By entering the competition, winning authors authorise the dissemination of their work. The winners of the first prize and special mentions undertake to transfer to the UPC the commercial rights of the first edition of their work in Catalan and Spanish and decline any monetary remuneration arising from the first edition of the work, excluding the amount of the award. They specifically relinquish the rights of transformation of the work, including translation into Spanish and/or Catalan, if necessary. The authors undertake to sign the documents required to formalise the timely transfer of the commercial rights.
11. The winning story will be published by the UPC if there is an agreement with a publishing house.
12. Participation in the UPC Science Fiction Award 2012 implies the acceptance of these rules.
For further information, go to www.upc.edu/sciencefiction
Coordinator and editor
Mariano Villarreal, born in Spain in 1967, manages the website Literatura Fantástica (http://literfan.cyberdark.net), specialized in information and reviews of new speculative fiction in Spain
Cover art
Ángel Benito Gastañaga, born in Spain in 1962, is an artist, painter, illustrator, and graphic and interior designer. His personal webpage is http://angelbenito.com/
Spanish-English translation
Sue Burke was born in Milwaukee in 1955 and now lives in Madrid. She has published thirty short stories in English, one in Spanish, and her first novel is forthcoming. Her personal website is http://www.sue.burke.name
Lawrence Schimel, born in New York in 1971, writes in both English and Spanish and has published over 100 books as an author or anthologist in a variety of genres and for all ages. Among other prizes, he has won the Rhysling Award, the Lambda Literary Award (twice), and the Spectrum Award. He lives in Madrid, where he works as a Spanish>English translator.
International promotion
Elías P. Combarro, born in Spain in 1975, publishes Sense of Wonder (http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot.es/), a bilingual blog dedicated to science fiction literature
More information
http://novaficcion.wordpress.com/
novaficcion@gmail.com
SPORTULA
All books have and eBook Edition. Those ones marked with (*) have a paperback edition also.
11. (*) El adepto de la Reina. Rodolfo Martínez
12. (*) El carpintero y la lluvia. Rodolfo Martínez
13. El sueño del Rey Rojo. Rodolfo Martínez
14. Laberintos y tigres. Rodolfo Martínez
15. Territorio de pesadumbre. Rodolfo Martínez
16. (*) Cabos sueltos. Rodolfo Martínez
17. Desde la tierra más allá del bosque. Rodolfo Martínez
18. Horizonte de sucesos. Rodolfo Martínez
19. (*) El abismo en el espejo. Rodolfo Martínez
10. La Ciudad, tres momentos. Rodolfo Martínez
11. Embrión. Rodolfo Martínez
12. (*) El jardín de la memoria. Rodolfo Martínez
13. Amistad. Rodolfo Martínez
14. (*) La ciencia ficción de Isaac Asimov. Rodolfo Martínez
15. La sabiduría de los muertos. Rodolfo Martínez
16. Ferozmente subjetivo. Rodolfo Martínez
17. (*) Vintage ’62: Marilyn y otros monstruos. Varios autores. Selección de Alejandro Castroguer
18. Occidente. Chema Mansilla<
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19. The Queen’s Adept. Rodolfo Martínez
20. (*) Akasa-Puspa, de Aguilera y Redal. Varios autores. Coordinado por Rodolfo Martínez
21. Sondela. Rodolfo Martínez
22. El adepto y la Memoria. Rodolfo Martínez
23. Bestiario microscópico. Sofía Rhei
24. La sonrisa del gato. Rodolfo Martínez
25. (*) Este incómodo ropaje (Los sicarios del Cielo). Rodolfo Martínez
26. (*) Jormungand. Rodolfo Martínez
27. Más allá de «Lágrimas de luz». Rafael Marín, Mariela González
28. Roy Córdal, detective. Rodolfo Martínez