It gives us great gratification to announce that the December 2009 issue of Ideomancer is live!

Our last issue of 2009 tosses out a shout-out to folktales told against the cold with a lineup of more traditional fantasy fiction and poetry. If our folktales are a little more modern, well, that's par for the course.

C.S.E. Cooney's "Oak Park Eris" dips into the everyday problems of a middle-aged witch -- in the suburbs of Chicago; Mari Ness reimagines an old fairytale with "Rumpled Skin"; and Autumn Canter narrates the impact of magic on one woman, one family, and one mid-20th century town.

Our poets this month -- Megan Arkenberg, Michael Meyerhofer, Jennifer Jerome, and Marcie Lynn Tentchoff -- all tackle traditional fairytale material with a modern sensibility: reimagining, recasting, and reconsidering those oldest winter stories.

---

We're also taking a bit of a winter break and will be closed to submissions until March 1, 2010, due to some hefty (and pleasant!) overstock of stories and poems. We'll have some shiny new stuff to roll out for 2010, including a new web design, new features, and some really funky fiction and poetry, so do not adjust your sets. We'll also have occasional updates on this community through the winter break.

Have a great holiday, a great New Year, and a lovely, fanciful winter!

If you think you have something on submission to Ideomancer and have not heard back from us, please contact us, because we don't know about it.

A little while back, Rachel Swirsky, editor of audio fantasy weekly Podcastle, contacted us looking for an Ideomancer story to run as part of some (awesome!) small press solidary she's doing. We all went through the archives, and the result, gregvaneekhout "Change", is up at Podcastle this week.

Congrats to Greg, and enjoy the story!

matociquala (9:11:52 PM): Leah, can't I just do a shadowbox in lieu of a written report?
matociquala (9:12:01 PM): (I used to love doing shadowboxes)
cristalia (9:12:08 PM): I will accept a diorama.
matociquala (9:12:12 PM): woot!
tanaise (9:12:26 PM): You will need to give an oral presentation as well.
tanaise (9:13:05 PM): In the form of multiple LJ voice posts.
tanaise (9:14:05 PM): And...[next post]...the extensive use of metaphors of--
cristalia (9:14:33 PM): You will need to end it with "...and if you want to know what happens, you'll just have to read the book!"


Ideomancer Speculative Fiction: still on the leading edge of online multimedia publishing. ;)

We're read up to the 22nd of October. If you submitted before the 22nd of October and have not heard from us, please query.

That was the closing bell.

Ideomancer will re-open to submissions in MARCH of 2010. It is a long closure, but we have a big inventory, and it does none of us any good for us to buy stories we would have to sit on for months.

The good news is that Ideomancer currently has a number of wonderful stories and poems in inventory, because our submitting writers are just that good.

The bad news is that because of this, we are closing to submissions from November 1, 2009 to March 1, 2010.

So get your subs in by the end of the month, or hold them until spring!

Ideomancer has now responded to all stories submitted up to September 23, 2009. If you haven't heard on a submission that was sent before then, please toss us a query at query (at) ideomancer (dot) com!

The mighty folks at Ideomancer want to let the world know that we now have swag. Awesome swag even.

Due to the heroic efforts of the mighty moi, we have our very own super nifty keen tee shirt shop.

Rather than just stand on the corner and rattle our tin cup to fund quality fiction and poetry, we are offering cool tee shirts, sweatshirts and tote bags to help us pay for stories and poems. A percentage of the purchase price goes straight into the fund that pays for the work we publish.

The holidays are coming. If you have the means to buy gifts this year, I suggest you check out our tee shirts and tote bags for those hip and happening folks on your list.

Everyone needs a tote bag. The future is far. People will need snacks.

Go check it out. Don't let all those hours I spent learning photoshop go to waste!

Ideomancer is pleased to announce that we have accepted the following submissions from our June-July reading period.

The Gone-By Quilt --  Autumn Canter -- 3100 words
Future Perfect -- LaShawn M. Wanak -- 3500 words
Oak Park Eris -- C.S.E. Cooney -- 3300 words
The Day the Sidewalks Melted -- Nicole LeBoeuf-Little -- 550 words

We're currently in the midst of our September-October reading period, so keep those cards and letters awesome poems and* short stories coming.

---

*Ooops. Apparently we're closed to poetry currently. My bad!

---

Also, all slush from prior to 3 September 2009 should have been responded to. If you sent a submission prior to 3 September 2009 and you have not heard back on it, please query!

It's September First, which means that we get to bring you a thrilling new issue of Ideomancer, devoted to exploring... the afterlife. Which is, of course, the natural follow up to last quarter's "death" issue.


This month's Table Of Contents includes:
    
Fiction:
"I Don't Exist Without You" by Erica Satifka
"Exit Wounds" by Stacy Sinclair
"Miles Blows His Last" by Jason L. Corner

Poetry:
"String Theory" by Rachel Swirsky
"How to Build an Open-Source Deity" by Ian Creasey
"The Dead King of Midnight" by David Kopaska-Merkel
"Erasing the Universe's Chalkboard" by Danny Adams

...as well as the usual book reviews.

Come on by and visit. It's good. I promise.

---

Also, we're open to slush again. Ahem.

Oh, and incidentally, Ideomancer has now responded to all stories submitted up to July 21, 2009. If you haven't heard on a submission that was sent before then, please toss us a query at query (at) ideomancer (dot) com.

I'm looking forward to announcing the June-July acceptances sometime next week!

It's officially the first of August, and we are, as usual, closed to submissions for the month while we stick together the next issue. We'll reopen on September 1st, which is also when the next issue will go live.

See you then!

It comes to our attention that this week, Escape Pod is featuring Samantha Henderson's "The Legend of St. Ignatz", which originally appeared in the January 2004 issue of Ideomancer. Congrats to Sam!

We are completely pumped to announce that the June Ideomancer is live!

Our June issue is -- although we tried to dodge it -- an exploration of love and death.

Our first story this month, Ward Crockett's "It Kills Birds," looks at the double ties between love and death: when love can kill you, and when one person's dying inside can quietly kill a relationship. Jacqueline West's "The Wedding Gift" inverts that, discussing when love—rightly or wrongly—survives death, while Swapna Kishore's "Home on the Ganges" deftly discusses mourning and blame, and when it is time to let go of both.

Our poets this month are Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Larry Hammer, and Sonya Taaffe, with their respective poems, "Grace in the Desert," "At Death's Door," and "Lamellae (Hipponion and Cambridge)", all three of which discuss the curious intersection between loving and dying.

Enjoy!

---

Also, since it's now June 1st, Ideomancer has reopened to submissions, and we're looking forward to seeing your best!

Ideomancer is officially, irrevocably, and completely caught up to all slush ever. If you have not had a reply from us, please drop us a query at query (at) ideomancer (dot) com, for the submission was likely lost.

Also, I am pleased to announce the results of the hiring we did in late April and early May; Claire Humphrey and Alena McNamara have joined the Ideo staff as Junior Editors!

We're also saddened to announce the departure of one of our staff, although for bigger and better things: Sean Melican, Junior Editor and reviewer for lo these many years, has moved on to a gig with Bookpage. We wish him all the best of luck!

Finally, our next issue is put together, and will be going live on June 1st.

And that's the news!

Hi, everyone!

Happy May Day! We are, as usual, closed to submissions for the month while we stick together the June issue. We'll reopen on June 1st, the date of the issue.

See you then!

Hi, everyone!

Ideomancer has now responded to all stories submitted up to April 9, 2009. If you haven't heard on a submission that was sent before then, please toss us a query at query (at) ideomancer (dot) com.

Also, just a reminder: our spring reading period closes in a week!

Thanks!

Wanted!

Ideomancer is looking for two new junior editors for fiction only. Slush wrangler wannabes should be VERY familiar with our magazine and know the styles of fiction we publish. Our guidelines state: Ideomancer publishes speculative fiction and poetry that explores the edges of ideas; stories that subvert, refute and push the limits. We want unique pieces from authors willing to explore non-traditional narratives and take chances with tone, structure and execution, balance ideas and character, emotion and ruthlessness. We also have an eye for more traditional tales told with excellence.

We are especially interested in non-traditional formats, hyperfiction, and work that explores the boundaries not just of its situation but of the internet-as-page.

In addition to reading slush weekly (usually fewer than eight stories per week), you may be asked to work with a writer to help polish his/her work. Editors also help out with publicity and funding initiatives.

The position will require a 30-day commitment during an open reading period, at the end of which either of us (you or us) can opt out if we don't feel we're a good fit.

Please contact us via publisher (at) ideomancer (dot) com if you are interested in giving us a try. Tell us why you are interested in slushing for us in particular, and remember that our current editors' work is not eligible for publication in Ideomancer, nor is this a paying position.

Applications will be accepted from April 16-30. Thanks for considering us, and we look forward to hearing from you!

Hi, everyone!

Submission fronts continue heavy over here, but I can tell you this: Ideomancer has now responded to all stories submitted up to March 24/09. If you haven't heard on a submission that was sent before then, please toss us a query at query (at) ideomancer (dot) com.

Thanks!