Apr 13, 2017 | news
Here are the stories we bought in March, along with some statistics on race and ethnicity
by Brian J. White
We were open to flash fiction submissions (stories of 1,000 words or less) last month. We received 567 stories and accepted 17, an acceptance rate just a hair under 3 percent. The stories run the gamut of genres, with an especially healthy dose of fairy tales.
This was also our first submissions period in which we asked submitters to take a quick, anonymous, 100% voluntary survey in which we asked people’s race and ethnicity. This is part of our effort in the wake of our #BlackSpecFic report to get a better understanding of who is submitting to Fireside, so we can continue working on our mission of inclusivity.
Of the 567 submitters, 488 people responded to the survey, or 86 percent. While this is not a scientific survey and we cannot verify the responses, we’re very happy that so many people participated as we feel it gives us a solid look at the submissions pool for the period.
There were only a few jackass responses, including “I am uncomfortable with this- I see all humanity as one race, with genetic differentials that aid in adapting to environmental conditions” and “Officially old” and “Human”.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Here are the results of the survey in a graphic. (People could select multiple options, and they could also fill in a text box under other:
And in plain text:
- Black: 37 (7.6%)
- Hispanic/Latinx: 30 (6.1%)
- Asian/Pacific Islander: 33 (6.8%)
- First Peoples/Native American/Native Canadian 14 (2.9%)
- White: 389 (79.7%)
- Other: 37 (7.6%)
If you’re interested in digging in deeper, the full spreadsheet of responses can be found here.
This is just one data point. We’ll be collecting the same information on all of our submissions periods for the forseeable future, and we’ll continue to post the results.
(Speaking of which, we’re opening to submissions for short stories of 1,000-4,000 words on Sunday for one week!)
Without further ado, here’s what we bought last month:
Queen Aster, Who Dances, by Tina Connolly
Tina Connolly is the author of the Ironskin trilogy from Tor, and the Seriously Wicked series from Tor Teen. Her novels have been finalists for the Nebula and the Norton. Her first collection, On the Eyeball Floor and Other Stories, is available from Fairwood Press. She is one of the co-hosts of Escape Pod, narrates for Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Podcastle, and runs the Parsec-winning flash fiction podcast Toasted Cake. Find her at tinaconnolly.com.
We Who Stay Behind, by Karl Dandenell
Karl Dandenell is a first-generation Swedish American, survivor of Viable Paradise XVI, and active member of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He lives on an island near San Francisco with his family and 2 cat overlords. He is fond of strong tea and single-malt scotch. When not sitting in project meetings, he reads a lot of speculative fiction, and serves as a First Reader for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
Junebug's Magical Magnificent Mercurial Barbershop, by Malon Edwards
Malon Edwards was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, but now lives in the Greater Toronto Area, where he was lured by his beautiful Canadian wife. Many of his short stories are set in an alternate Chicago and feature people of color. Malon also serves as Managing Director and Grants Administrator for the Speculative Literature Foundation, which provides a number of grants for writers of speculative literature.
H&D Plumbing, by Courtney Floyd
Courtney Floyd spent the first twenty-four years of her life living on the borders of the underworld, where she learned to write in between tarantula turf wars and apocalyptic dust storms. She now lives in Oregon with her husband, her hellhound, and an ancient cat whose skeleton she plans to articulate when it passes on to that great big paper bag in the sky. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s working on her Ph.D. dissertation or teaching college freshmen how to write argumentative essays. Find her at synonymsandsuch.com or follow her on Twitter: @cannfloyd.
Friendly Emily, by Kevin Hearne
Kevin Hearne is the NYT bestselling author of the Iron Druid Chronicles. He lives in Colorado with his wife, son, and doggies. He hugs trees, rocks out to heavy metal, and will happily geek out over comic books with you. He also thinks tacos are a pretty nifty idea.
If We Live to Be Giants, by Allison Mulder
Allison Mulder grew up in various small Midwestern towns and a sizable swath of the internet. She writes fantasy, science fiction, and–often by accident–horror. Her fiction has appeared in Crossed Genres, InterGalactic Medicine Show, and Escape Pod. With patience, sensitive equipment, and ample provisions, you can sometimes glimpse Allison at allisonmulder.wordpress.com. Or, track her far more easily on Twitter at @AMulderWrites, where she broadcasts any significant life happenings, gushes over her current fictional obsessions, and uses far too many X-Files gifs.
Whale of Tikpiti'i, by Tariro Ndoro
Tariro Ndoro obtained her Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Rhodes University in 2016. Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Kotaz, Oxford Poetry and New Contrast; and her fiction has been featured in AFREADA. Tariro currently lives in Harare, where she’s trying to validate the copious amount of time she spends reading by writing something every now and then. She can be stalked at tarirondoro.wordpress.com.
How to Sync Your Spouse, by Russell Nichols
Russell Nichols is a spec-fic writer and endangered journalist from Richmond, CA. His story about a black vampire on trial in Boston was included in the Best of Apex Magazine: Volume 1. Find his work in Terraform, Fiyah Lit Mag, Nightmare Magazine’s POC Destroy Horror special issue and other anthologies. He left the States in 2011 to wander the world, living out of a backpack with his wife. Look for him at russellnichols.com.
Our Secrets, In Keys, by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Suyi Davies Okungbowa writes crime and speculative fiction from Lagos, Nigeria. His fiction has been published in Lightspeed, Mothership Zeta, The Dark, Omenana, Lights Out: Resurrection (anthology) and A World of Horror (forthcoming anthology), amongst other places. He is a charter member of the African Speculative Fiction Society. When he’s not writing, Suyi works in visual communications. In-between, he plays piano, guitar, FIFA, and searches for spaces to fit new bookshelves. He lives on the web at suyidavies.com and tweets at @IAmSuyiDavies.
Banshee, by Cherrelle Shelton
Cherrelle Shelton grew up in New Jersey where she currently resides with her husband and three children. She has a Master’s degree in Public Health and works in Environmental Health. She is the author of several children’s books as well as a young adult novel, Dreamers. Find her at www.ItsReallyRelle.com.
Breathe, by R.D. Sullivan
R. D. Sullivan lives in Northern California with her family and two very bad dogs, where she runs a subcontracting business. Beyond fiction, she likes to spend her time performing stand-up and producing short films. R.D.’s grandmother would like you that all of R.D.’s talent comes from her.
A Silhouette Against Armageddon, by John Wiswell
John (@wiswell) lives where New York keeps all its trees. He’s previously appeared at Fireside with ‘Bones at the Door,’ and he has a new Horror story coming soon to Pseudopod. He intends to donate his body to medical science, which will make romantic apocalypses harder on him.
Until the Day We Go Home, by Caroline M. Yoachim
Caroline M. Yoachim lives in Seattle and loves cold cloudy weather. She is the author of dozens of short stories, appearing in Fantasy & Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, and Lightspeed, among other places. Her debut short story collection, Seven Wonders of a Once and Future World & Other Stories, came out with Fairwood Press in August 2016. For more about Caroline, check out her website at http://carolineyoachim.com.
© 2017 Brian J. White
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