Andromeda Spaceways sent an acceptance on October 31st, a perfect Halloween trick-or-treat… treat!
(I imagine reaching into Andromeda Spaceway’s hollowed-out plastic pumpkin–sitting in the kitchen of the flight cabin, no doubt–and picking up a shiny ‘YAY!’
-which I thought at first didn’t make sense because I wasn’t sure if people in Australia celebrate Halloween, but… it looks some do!)
To be fair, it was probably November 1st in Australia by then, but my digital clock, time zones away, was still reflecting the ghoulish nighttime of All Hallows’ Eve.
Andromeda Spaceways prides itself as “Australia’s Pulpiest SF Magazine.” It’s a semi-pro zine, whose selection process involves reading blind/anonymized, meaning that names and contact info are removed before the first and second readers vet the slush pile–and the editors select pieces without knowing who writes the piece (only to find out after the selection process– I imagine it’s like pushing the button on The Voice, turning around with the rotating chair, and, jaw agape, thinking, “Oh, that’s who it is!”)
I received some wonderful comments from the slush readers in the acceptance email and, as it’s my first piece accepted by ASIM (Andromeda Spaceways was formerly Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine (hence the ‘I’ in ASIM)), I’m excited to see it published in print.
ASIM received submissions and have published stories by Hugo and Nebula winners, such as Ken Liu, Rachel Swirsky, and Jim C. Hines.
Print and e-copies available of the magazine here.
Also, another writer’s journey to publication in ASIM (from 2014), which I thought was enlightening.
Now I just have to–
–buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Background photos by Jeremy Thomas and Rodion Kutsaev
D.A. Xiaolin Spires 