James Gunn’s Ad Astra is “an online resource for authors, scholars, and anyone interested in speculative fiction to share their ideas on how the genre has developed into its current forms, what’s happening in speculative fiction right now, and what might happen next.”
Published by the University of Kansas’ Center for the Study of Science Fiction, Ad Astra “will expand the CSSF resources to reach a wider audience, which in turn will improve the breadth of the conversation and inspire new creators and explorations of the genre.” The publication “offers venues for creative short fiction and poetry. We will feature reviews of existing works and scholarly articles about the critical and philosophical considerations of speculative literature, as well as the scientific issues raised in these works. We will provide ways for people to join in critiques of fiction, contribute to the academic understanding of the genre, and share these ideas with people outside of the fan community.”
And now, Isaac Bell—who is the editor of the premiere issue—has issued a call for submissions to the issue under the theme “Communication and Information”. Bell writes “We are looking for submissions that express the idea of gathering knowledge and sharing it with others as a central element of the story or article. Telling stories, and understanding what is being shared, are what defines us as human. We want to invite the speculative fiction community to examine this topic, either in fiction, poetry, or scholarly articles. Speculative fiction allows us to look at the world through different lenses, and we are excited to see your vision of how we share our ideas with each other.”
Deadline for submissions is 31 March 2012. Payment is $50 for short stories and $20 for poems. Full guidelines for short fiction and poetry, scholarly articles, and reviews, are available on this page.