On Spec
Encyclopedia
On Spec is a digest-sized, perfect-bound, Canadian
quarterly magazine
publishing stories and poetry in science fiction
, fantasy
, and allied genres broadly grouped under the "speculative ficton" umbrella. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, On Spec was founded in 1989 by a small group of Edmonton writers who joined together to form The Copper Pig Writers Society. At the time, there was no paying market for English speculative fiction in Canada (though paying markets in French did exist.) On Spec is Canada's longest-running, and according to author Robert J. Sawyer
, arguably most successful English-language magazine in the field.
Much more like a traditional small literary magazine than the mass-market-styled American science fiction digests like Analog and Asimov's, On Spec was founded to address the frustration English-speaking Canadian SF writers faced having to "Americanize" their stories for the existing US markets.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
quarterly magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
publishing stories and poetry in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, and allied genres broadly grouped under the "speculative ficton" umbrella. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, On Spec was founded in 1989 by a small group of Edmonton writers who joined together to form The Copper Pig Writers Society. At the time, there was no paying market for English speculative fiction in Canada (though paying markets in French did exist.) On Spec is Canada's longest-running, and according to author Robert J. Sawyer
Robert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 20 novels published, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, Nature, and many anthologies. Sawyer has won over forty awards for his fiction, including the Nebula Award ,...
, arguably most successful English-language magazine in the field.
Much more like a traditional small literary magazine than the mass-market-styled American science fiction digests like Analog and Asimov's, On Spec was founded to address the frustration English-speaking Canadian SF writers faced having to "Americanize" their stories for the existing US markets.
See also
- Science fiction magazineScience fiction magazineA science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard copy periodical format or on the Internet....
- Fantasy fiction magazine
- Horror fiction magazineHorror fiction magazineA horror fiction magazine is a magazine that publishes primarily horror fiction with the main purpose of scaring or frightening the reader. Horror magazines can be in print, on the internet, or both.-Defunct magazines:*The Arkham Collector...
- List of Canadian magazines
- Neo-opsis Science Fiction MagazineNeo-opsis Science Fiction MagazineNeo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine is a digest sized, perfect bound, Canadian magazine publishing science fiction and fantasy stories, science and opinion articles, SF news and reviews. The first issue of Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine was published October 2003...