FUSING HORIZONS
DARK
FICTION FOR IMAGINATIVE READERS
Welcome to a new magazine! Please use this web-page
as a guide to both purchase and submit to the publication.
However, take a moment to read my brief statement of intent
below.
What kind of material will
I present?
I'm interested in memorable
fiction, the kind of tale from which the bones of a plot might be removed
and passed around a camp-fire, and yet which gains something - hell,
maybe a great deal - from a conscientious reading. It's hard to define
precisely what I'm after, so perhaps a list of prototypical examples
of my favourite type of story will help. If you like any or all of the
following, then FUSING HORIZONS is a production
for you.
'The Scar' - Ramsey
Campbell*
'The Cast' - Nicholas Royle
'Man From The South' - Roald Dahl
'The Distributor' - Richard Matheson
'Replacements' - Lisa Tuttle
'Open the Box' - Andrew Humphrey
'Running Down' - M John Harrison
'The Release' - Andrew Hook
'Cleopatra Brimstone' - Elizabeth Hand
'In The Pineal Colony' - Glen Dennis
'Two Bottles of Relish' - Lord Dunsany
'The Black Cat' - Edgar Allan Poe
'Your Tiny Hand is Frozen' - Robert Aickman
There: a random baker's dozen,
by no means comprehensive, and unlucky for some! I've also a penchant
for fiction with a philosophical concern, though nothing that gets in
the way of a fine chill...
(To writers: admittedly some of these tales are longer than
my upper word limit. Nevertheless it's the mood and impact I'm alluding
to. *Indeed read as much of Ramsey Campbell's short fiction as possible
- his combination of conciseness and power is precisely my 'bag'. Pay
particular attention to tales such as 'Call First' and 'Calling Card'
- between you and me, something this brief and effective has every chance
of getting in the mag...)
The magazine
At such an early stage, in
order to keep production costs manageable, to pay contributors, and
to make the sale-price affordable, I'm concentrating on quantity and
quality of fiction rather than glossy covers and professional trickery.
I intend to make each issue around 80 A5 pages
long, with no adverts, with a colour cover, all for £2-65 a copy! There will be four editions each
year, one for every varying season as it were, and an annual subscription
will cost just £9-99 - cheaper than a
takeaway and beer, what, and far more substantial!
Contributors
All writers selected for inclusion
in FUSING HORIZONS will be paid on publication £10 a story, at least until the magazine
is up and running, after which I might be able to afford more generosity!
Guidelines
Stories between 500-5000 words are welcome. Please send only one
at a time and include a stamped self-addressed envelope, otherwise I can't reply; or preferably make sure that the manuscript is disposable
and include an email address for a quicker reply. Overseas submissions
should be accompanied only by an email address for reply. No reprints or
email submissions. No responsibility can be accepted for loss or damage
to unsolicited material, howsoever caused.
Please adhere stringently to my
checklist:
- Include SAE (or email address)
- Include brief cover-letter
- Include word count
- Double-space text
- Use largish clear font
- Indicate whether your story is
available in electronic form (essential really, since I don't have time
to type it out)
- Please send only what you regard as your
best work, since what with my response time of around eight weeks (I am but
ONE dedicated editor), you're likely to have just one shot at each issue
Fusing Atoms
Another little feature of
the magazine will be a single-page supplement called FUSING ATOMS. This will consist of a collection of
mini-tales - under 150 words - which encourage
authors to be concise and effective. Here's an example:
To survive in that country at that time and in that
war, you needed eyes in the back of your head.
Gyorgi stood from behind his shield of rubble...to stare at the bullet
speeding his way.
Now he had. Well, one at any rate.
Sorry, no reward for these
babies, other than of course having your name in print, developing your
literary reputation... Submissions for this section MAY be sent by email.
Order it!
Send a cheque made payable to Gary Fry at Fusing Horizons,
19, Ruffield Side, Delph Hill, Wyke, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD12
8DP, United Kingdom. Postage FREE.
For single copies: £2-65
For annual subscriptions (four copies): £9-99
US surface, single copy: $5.65
US surface, annual subscriptions (four copies): $21.95
(Please make cheques payable in dollars.)
Rest of the world: please enquire; negotiable
Please note: the first issue is
scheduled for December, 2003.
For any enquiries, email
Gary Fry at:
g.fry@blueyonder.co.uk
or check out my official website:
Gary
Fry