New Maps: Deindustrial Fiction

[ecosophia]

Regular readers of my blog will be familiar with my longtime interest in deindustrial fiction -- that is to say, fiction set in the kind of future we're actually going to get, in which declining resources, crumbling infrastructure, and the accelerating failure of the grand myth of perpetual progress take the place of the shoddy Tomorrowland kitsch that provides so many minds these days with their prefab thoughts. There aren't many venues that will publish stories of that kind -- it's long been a source of wry amusement to me that so many of those cultural venues that like to strut around claiming to be antinomian and transgressive are the first to run like rabbits back into the conventional wisdom the moment anybody proposes something that actually contradicts the conformist beliefs of our time. 

Joel Caris' fine quarterly Into the Ruins offered a venue for deindustrial SF for several years, but Joel has decided to go in new directions now. Fortunately, other hands are ready to pick up the work. 

Thus I'm pleased to announce the impending birth of a new quarterly magazine, New Maps, which will publish stories of deindustrial science fiction.  You can find its website here. Editor Nathanael Bonnell is eagerly seeking stories -- you can read his submissions requirements here -- and is also looking for cover art for the upcoming issues. This is a real opportunity for aspiring authors and artists -- and of course for anyone who likes to read science fiction rather than spaceship-themed fairy tales. Check it out. 

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I'm looking forward to this new attempt, although I confess I cancelled my subscription to Into the Ruins after a few issues; it frankly seemed that most of the stories were exactly the kind of post-Apocolypse type stuff that you can get anywhere ("We don't even know who lives more than 20 miles away etc.) I'll happily give this new venture a try though. Thanks for the tip off.

[ecosophia]

Have you considered trying to write something closer to the kind of deindustrial fiction you'd like to see? That's the best way to make sure it shows up!

[(Anonymous)]

I think Into the Ruins featured some pretty good tales of long voyages and well-developed cultures and trading networks, maybe more so in some of its later issues (I'm thinking of some of Jeanne Labonte's stories, and one called "Sea Jackals of Dubai" whose author I don't recall off the top of my head). But of course it's all down to what kind of submissions come in.

If you do feel like a writer, I'd definitely love to see some fiction of the type you're talking about. The more different visions, the better. The way of dissensus, as our host has said.

—Nathanael Bonnell

[walt_f]

The first time I set out to write a deindustrial story, for the second After Oil competition, I wrote down a list of all the elements and qualities I thought were already becoming over-used after having read all the accessible entires for the first one. Lack of physical action or humor, too many Solemn Exposition Ceremonies, characters oddly obsessed with the past instead of worrying about their own lives and problems, name-dropping of present day sustainable-lifestyle trends ("Delia paused by the composting toilets near the rabbit hutches, on her way to coppice the permaculture rocket stove..."), and so forth. Then I tried to deliberately avoid, reverse, or riff on each one of them. The resulting story was rather well received, so yeah, JMG's advice is sound. Write what you want to read, and others will want to read it too.

"Too small a world" (not knowing who lives 20 miles away, for instance) was indeed on that list. That can be hard to avoid in a short story format. A Sherlock Holmes short story can be set in London without including a street by street description of the place, but an unfamiliar world of comparable realism is harder to convey. I set my story in an isolated new planned settlement, but with clear spatial and political connections to its surroundings (that didn't significantly figure in the plot itself). That itself would become a tiresome device in fairly short order if over-used, which underscores how world-building remains a challenge for deindustrial short-story authors.

[(Anonymous)]

I don’t even know the people 20 miles away, even in only-half-collapsed 2020! 😄

—Lady Cutekitten

[(Anonymous)]

I'm looking forward to this, i have written a few deindustrial stories myself and had the intention to try and get one of them unto Into the Ruins but to late sadly. Thanks for sharing this John, this is some great news amongst the chaos of 2020

[ecosophia]

I'll look forward to reading your stories in New Maps!

[(Anonymous)]

After reading a bit of the Old Solar system site, I'm wondering how this new publication feels about 'wokeness'. I am the sort that is not woke enough for the 'true' woke, but to right-wingers I seem woke. My story idea isn't intentionally political but I can see reflections of current politics in parts of the plan, and it might not be to the taste of those who mind that stuff.

[ecosophia]

You'll want to drop a note to the publisher and ask. Myself, I'd like to see plenty of political diversity in the stories, but it's not my magazine!

[(Anonymous)]

Hello there—editor here...

In general I'd say I'm in favor of a broad variety of different political opinions being expressed in the stories in New Maps. I'm not out to publish things that are deliberately and uselessly inflammatory, but beyond that, I can work with a lot of different viewpoints; I have friends and family across the spectrum from far-woke protest frequent-fliers to those sick of identity politics and other liberal tics, and plenty not served well by that spectrum at all. Which is to say, iconoclasts welcome.

New Maps

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks JMG - was hoping for someone pick up the mantle after Caris bailed out. He did publish one of mine, but now I get to try anew!

Oilman2

Re: New Maps

[ecosophia]

I'll look forward to seeing more of your work!

[(Anonymous)]

Is $.0025 really the going per word rate for stories these days? Or is this a getting off the ground and running rate?

On account of at that rate a writer better sell 40 10,000 word stories a week just to beat working retail! No wonder there's not much short fiction published.

I'm a musician: I know how big the government's cut of freelancers income is.

BoysMom

[ecosophia]

It's a typical getting off the ground rate. Short fiction these days pays very poorly, however, because the market's so small -- and not just for deindustrial SF. It's quite rare for any but the celebrity writers to make more than $100 on a short story.

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks.

BoysMom

[(Anonymous)]

You’ll have a publishing credit, though.

—Lady Cutekitten

[ecosophia]

It's also a chance to get feedback and work through the early stages of developing a personal style and vision.

Supporting the Deindustrial Ecosystem

[sothismedias]

I got my subscription a few weeks ago!

One of the other great things and reasons to support a publication like this -through getting a subscription, giving a subscription to a friend, writing letters to the editor, sending in your stories, etc.- is the way it can help add to and build a healthy ecosystem of publications and publishers with a focus in this genre. Having the publishers is of course also healthy for the writers, and is food for the imagination of the readers. I wish New Maps a great success.

I hope to see some of the people from Ecosophia over in its pages -in the letters and in the stories. I'd like to add that the letters to the editor section is a great way to practice exchanging comments with people in a resilient and low-tech way.

Justin Patrick Moore

Re: Supporting the Deindustrial Ecosystem

[(Anonymous)]

And I got your postcard—I hope you got mine!

Thanks for those words. One of the big reasons I wanted to take this up was exactly because I thought there was a great community coming together in the pages of Into the Ruins, and I wanted it to keep flourishing, both in letters and in publishing opportunities. Some of the folks from Ecosophia and ItR (including some I know from both places) have already made their way to New Maps, and I'm excited to see them.