Following the stepping down earlier of long-time Strange Horizons fiction editors Karen Meisner and Susan Marie Groppi, Strange Horizons are looking for a new fiction editor to join their team. Current fiction editor Jed Hartman remains in the position and is joined by Brit Mandelo. They are in need of one more fiction editor.
Note that while the 2 current fiction editors are both American, Strange Horizons does have an international staff, with the editor-in-chief being from the UK, the reviews editor from Israel, and they have a diverse team of reviewers.
Here are the position details.
Fiction Editor
Strange Horizons is looking for fiction editors! These are editor positions, not first-reader positions; the new editors will be part of the team that decides what fiction Strange Horizons publishes, among other responsibilities.
We’re looking for people who love short fiction, who are passionate about speculative literature, and who believe that there are a wide range of voices in our field that deserve to be heard. Prior editorial experience is nice, but not a requirement.
Like all of our staff positions at SH, these are volunteer positions with no salary attached. Also, staff members cannot submit fiction, poetry, or art to Strange Horizons. Staff members may submit nonfiction, but are not paid for it. If you currently have material under consideration with us, you may still apply; if you end up joining the staff, you can withdraw any submissions at that time.
If you’re interested in applying, the first step is to write us an application letter.
The letter is a chance for us to get to know you—tell us about yourself, why you’d like to join the team at Strange Horizons, and what you love about science fiction and fantasy stories. How would you describe your personality and your work habits? What kind of time can you make available for this job?
And what do you like to read? We’re most interested in hearing about what kinds of short speculative fiction you like, and why. Who are your favorite authors, and what are the stories that changed your life or that you couldn’t stop thinking about? Of the stories we’ve published here at Strange Horizons, which are some of your favorites, and what do you love about them? (Please mention three to five of them.)
Note: most of the applications we’ve received so far don’t answer the questions in that previous paragraph. In your application letter, please address those questions. In particular, be sure to answer the one about SH stories, and be sure to mention more than one SH story that you’ve liked.
Finally, is there anything else we should know about you that might help us decide that you’re the editor we’re looking for?
Your letter should ideally be somewhere between 600 and 2000 words long. But that’s not a strict rule; really, it should be long enough to tell us about yourself, in enough detail to address the above questions.
If we think you sound like a potentially good match, there will be further rounds of screening and interviewing.
Send your application letter (in the body of an email, not as an attachment) to fiction@strangehorizons.com, with the following subject line:
CANDIDATE: Your Name
(except with your name in place of “Your Name”, obviously.)
Editorial Responsibilities
- Reading and commenting on 15-30 incoming submissions per week.
- Participating in regular editorial meetings by phone or Skype.
- Working as part of a team to make decisions about which stories to publish.
- Communicating in a friendly and professional manner with authors during the publication process.
- Sending rejection notes for stories that we don’t publish.
- Helping to supervise a team of first readers.
Job Requirements
- Proficiency with written English.
- Regular and reliable Internet access. (All story submissions are electronic.)
- Comfort with reading stories online and communicating with co-editors and authors via email.
- Ability to work and make decisions collaboratively.
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