CY: One of the things we’ve been committed to at Fantasy Magazine is encouraging different kinds of storytelling. Sometimes that means experimental structures like Anne E.G. Nydam’s “Some Assembly Required” in this issue: a story told through text and images–and then more text describing the images to make it accessible to our readers who use text-to-speech technology (which was kind of like writing the story twice!) More often it has meant delving into unfamiliar cultural canons, and even recognizing that the literary structures we’re accustomed to aren’t universal norms.
AS: Fiction – the art of telling inventive stories to each other—is a global phenomenon. We don’t own it in the global “West”, we don’t own it in the US, it isn’t governed exclusively by the English language. Fiction has existed for a long time. And, all over the world, people weave the fantastic into their narratives.
CY: Case in point: Worldcon is in China this year, which underscores your point that this genre belongs to everyone. It’s easy to forget that there’s a whole world out there when what’s comfortable is so accessible. It takes some effort to seek out the unfamiliar, and we don’t always remember to do so until someone reminds us.
AS: I’m really glad that we’ve been able to showcase a range of voices and perspectives from around the world. This issue is certainly no exception. Many of the amazing works submitted have struck a chord, even if we only have a budget for a few of them. Personally, I believe our lives are improved by this variety, by being able to engage with stories by and about people from beyond our own direct social circles.
CY: Absolutely. The magic of the medium is that it’s the closest we can get to finding out what it’s like to live a different life and to see the world–real or imagined–through someone else’s eyes. We’re so grateful to our writers for giving us these glimpses into their imaginations and the experiences that shape them.
AS: We at Fantasy Magazine are not the only ones consistently showcasing work from around the world. With the careful work of a number of venues, such as khōréō, Strange Horizons and their sibling publication Samovar, Anathema, Apparition Lit to name a few, plus newer publications like Tasavvur Nama, and wonderful anthologies like Meteotopia, Africa Risen, Unlimited Futures, Disruption, and others, Anglophone readers everywhere and readers in the global “West” have even more access to so many amazing stories. Friends, this truly is the platinum age of genre.
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In this issue’s short fiction, Anya Ow’s “God of the River” wades into family legends and survival, and “The Body Fate” by Avi Burton explores role, identity, and expectation; in flash fiction, Anne E.G. Nydam pieces together a new kind of narrative in “Some Assembly Required,” and “It’s What’s Inside That Counts” by Warren Benedetto delivers a slice of hard truth; for poetry, we have “1960s With a Glass Harp” by Gospel Chinedu and “Legacy” by Anjali Patel. Plus an interview with Mark H. Harris about nonfiction book The Black Guy Dies First, co-authored with Robin R. Means Coleman. Enjoy!