Editor's Desk:
Secret Project!
I’ve been working on a secret project. Time to tell.
Clarkesworld has always tried to cast a wide net in its search for stories. In recent years, thanks to the amazing efforts of Ken Liu and John Chu, we accomplished a long-desired goal of acquiring stories in translation. In April, I was presented with an opportunity to take our work in this area to the next level.
I am pleased to announce that Clarkesworld has entered into an agreement with Storycom International Culture Communication Co., Ltd. to showcase a short story originally published in Chinese in every issue. Each month, an all-star team of professionals intricately familiar with Chinese short fiction will be recommending stories for this special feature and I’ll select which ones get translated and published in each issue. This team includes:
As it stands, our goal is to launch this new endeavor without giving up any of the existing fiction slots, including the extra story our Patreon supporters recently unlocked. To cover the additional cost of this content, we’re going to need your support. Later this month, I intend to launch a Kickstarter campaign to cover the costs of the inaugural year: three stories in the first six months—our ramp-up period—and six stories in the following six months.
A project like this is perfect for Kickstarter. No one has tried to make translation a regular element of a genre magazine before, and that’s something I hope will be exciting to readers both domestic and international. My previous Kickstarter project—funding Upgraded, which goes on sale later this month—was very educational and provided me with the experience and confidence I’ll need to succeed with this campaign. I feel rather strongly that Kickstarter should only be used to launch new initiatives and projects, so during that first year, we’ll be focused on increasing our subscriber base to continue the program indefinitely.
I’d love to hear your initial thoughts. Obviously I’m excited about this opportunity. I hope that you are, too.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neil Clarke is the editor of Clarkesworld Magazine and Forever Magazine; owner of Wyrm Publishing; and a eight-time Hugo Award Nominee for Best Editor (short form). His anthologies include Upgraded, Galactic Empires, More Human Than Human, Touchable Unreality, The Final Frontier, Not One of Us, The Eagle has Landed, and the Best Science Fiction of the Years series. His most recent anthology, The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 5, was published in October by Night Shade Books. He currently lives in NJ with his wife and two sons.
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Sidsel Pedersen wrote on September 1st, 2014 at 3:24 pm:
That sounds like an awesome idea and yeah definitely a good kickstarter idea.
Rochita Loenen-Ruiz wrote on September 1st, 2014 at 4:30 pm:
Fantastic news, Neil.
lewis wrote on January 23rd, 2015 at 5:45 am:
"I’ll select which ones get translated.."
Where will you get the translators? What qualifications do they need? Will they be paid?
Neil Clarke wrote on January 23rd, 2015 at 8:45 am:
That was arranged in advance with Storycom. Yes, they are paid.