January has been a quieter month for us, other than the release of Issue 148! On the book side, we’re celebrating the recent release of Breath of Life by LH Moore and the release just yesterday of ChloroPhilia by Cristina Jurado. We’re looking forward to an exciting February, with the return of Snap Judgment, our 2024 Reader’s Choice Awards, and more.
January is purportedly a time of renewed perspective and hope, but for much of the world it has already been a year of loss, grief, and fear. Our hearts go out to anyone suffering, including those in California, Palestine, and Ukraine. We believe that speculative fiction and community can help save the world, and we thank you for sharing a bit of your time with Apex.
Issue 148
Issue 148 of Apex Magazine released on January 7th. Original fiction by Lindz McLeod, Wil Magness, Allison Thai, and Monte Lin, flash fiction by Colton Kokoa Neves and Abigail Kemske, essays by Zin E. Rocklyn and Rob Cameron, reprints from Russell Nichols and Amal Singh, plus our regular Words for Thought column from A.C. Wise.
Our cover art this month is by Vibhav Singh, titled “Odyssey Ruins”.
Recommend an Apex story to others for the chance to win an Apex hoodie or $25 gift card!
We are collecting our readers’ favorite stories for our annual Apex Community Recommended Reads. All readers who send in a recommendation will be entered into a draw for the chance to win an Apex hoodie (US only) or $25 Apex gift voucher!
To submit, please include the title and author of the story, a short text about why you loved it (one sentence to a short paragraph) and however you’d like to be credited. Anonymous reader is also fine.
Here are last year’s Recommended Reads for inspiration and good reading: https://www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-magazine/post/apex-community-recommended-reads-2023
Stories must have been published by Apex in 2024. You can find the complete list here: https://www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-magazine/post/apex-magazine-2024-award-eligibility-post
- Only one submission per person.
- Send your recommendation to Marissa (marissa.vu@apexbookcompany.com) by Feb 20, 2025.
February 7th! Snap Judgment Episode 12 with special guest Sloane Leong
Every quarter, industry professionals Lesley Conner, Rebecca E Treasure, and a special guest offer live feedback on the first pages of anonymous submissions, which are read aloud by our brilliant host and narrator, Aly Grauer. We are pleased to announce that our special guest editor for this event is Sloane Leong!
After delays due to illness, we are delighted to announce the rescheduled date for our 12th Snap Judgment. Snap Judgment will livestream Friday February 7th at 1pm ET/10am PT. The original submissions will be used, and we all thank our audience for your patience and understanding.
See you then!
2024 Apex Magazine Annual Report
Our managing editor Rebecca E. Treasure pulled together a pile of data, including demographics and submissions statistics, for a report on Apex‘s authors, team members, publications, and more.
We made a number of changes in 2024, including it being the first year of Editor in Chief Lesley Conner’s solo leadership, changing our reading system from a one-reader system to a two-reader system, and running a Kickstarter with a different approach.
In 2025, our goal is to improve our accessibility and diversity, especially in regards to voices from the global south.
You can check it out here: https://www.apexbookcompany.com/a/blog/apex-magazine/post/apex-magazine-2024-annual-report.
Out NOW: ChloroPhilia by Cristina Jurado
Kirmen is different from the other inhabitants of the Cloister, whose walls protect them all from the endless storm ravaging Earth. As a result of the Doctor’s cruel experiments, his physical form is gradually evolving into something better fit for survival in the world outside.
Kirmen worries about becoming a pariah, an outcast among the other denizens of the domes. But his desire for affection and acceptance, and his humanity, fade away as the Doctor’s treatments progress. What will happen when the metamorphosis is complete? What will be left of Kirmen and the group of survivors that he knows and loves?
In English for the first time (translated by Sue Burke), ChloroPhilia, an Ignotus Award-nominated novella by Cristina Jurado, is a strange coming-of-age story while addressing life after an environmental disaster, collective madness, and sacrifices made for the greater good.
Unpublished Authors Call for Apex Flash Contest
Our March submissions window (March 7-31) will be open to unpublished authors only. We will use the same criteria as we did for our unpublished authors last autumn. There will be two winners, with one appearing on our Patreon in April, and the other in May. Both will appear in Issue 150 of Apex Magazine, which will feature unpublished authors. The theme will be determined by Patrons at the end of February, and will be announced publicly March 7th.
As for regular submissions, our hard-working first reading team is reading as fast as we can. Until we finish reading all of 2024’s submissions, we won’t have a specific date for re-opening. We’re working hard to get through all the stories shared with us, return those we won’t be keeping, and make final decisions. We thank you for your patience!
New Releases from Apex Book Company!
Orders are open for Breath of Life by author and poet LH Moore!
Breath of Life is a collection of the works of author and poet LH Moore, whose history- and Afrofuturism-inspired speculative short fiction, poetry, and essays move between and blur the genres from horror to science fiction to fantasy. With themes of family and identity, rooted solidly in history and imagining the unknown—both here on Earth and beyond—Breath of Life is an exploration of the unexpected.
Writer, poet and historian LH Moore’s Afrofuturism- and history-inspired speculative fiction and poetry have been in numerous publications and anthologies, such as all three groundbreaking Dark Dreams anthologies of Black horror writers; Bram Stoker Award Finalist anthology Sycorax’s Daughters; Black Magic Women; Chiral Mad 4 and 5, SLAY, Conjuring Worlds, StokerCon 2019, Humans Are the Problem anthologies; and Fireside, Apex, and FIYAH magazines.
Not even death is an escape from the… ISLAND OF THE DEAD.
World Horror Grand Master Brian Keene returns to zombies in this relentless sword and sorcery horror epic!
Einar, an enslaved barbarian, plots his escape from a war galley transporting troops and a mysterious weapon to far enemy shores. But when an apocalyptic storm at sea leaves Einar and his fellow captives shipwrecked on a strange, uncharted island, friend and foe alike must band together against a ravenous, steadily growing horde of the undead… and even worse dangers.
Apex Flash Fiction
The Flash Fiction Contest for January 7-31—themed Hope/Sacrifice—will close on January 31. The theme for February 7-31 will be announced and will open to the public on February 7th for flash fiction submissions. Themes are chosen by Patrons at the end of the month and announced to Patrons on the 1st of each month. Submissions will be open to the public on the 7th of each month. Submissions close on the last day of the month at midnight (US Central Time).
Good news! The flash fiction contest will continue to run and be open to submissions monthly throughout 2025. Issues will now include 3 flash pieces instead of 2! In March 2025 the flash contest will be open to Unpublished Authors Only for our Unpublished Authors issue later next year. There will be two winners in March.
The winner will be paid $0.08/word or $10, whichever is more. The winning story will appear on our Patreon as an exclusive and will be included in a forthcoming issue of Apex Magazine.
Discord Happenings
As always, we have a fun community on our Discord, offering critique swaps, co-writing opportunities, and general community support for writers. (Rejectomancy, anyone?) We recently added opt-in private channels for LGBTQ+, BIPOC, ESL/International, and neurodivergent communities! Join us by subscribing or backing the Patreon.
Patreon Exclusives
On our Patreon, we have an exciting lineup of exclusives for our Patrons from the Authors of Issue 148. We’ll have our usual interviews, critique opportunities, and some story insights. Keep an eye on our Patreon!
Not a Patron? Join us for as little as $3/month to get access to these exclusives and the magazine in your inbox!
To add the Apex Events Calendar to your google calendar, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/4c74rext
To submit anonymous feedback to Apex Magazine‘s editorial team, please visit this link: https://forms.gle/7B9TcFxB5V3zTS5o7
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