Century Magazine

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Jacek Yerka, cover artist for the second issue of Century, won the World Fantasy for Best Artist, presented on October 29, 1995, at the World Fantasy Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.

Century Logo

The Magazine of Speculative Fiction for Adventurous Readers

Welcome to the Century Web Page!

Century is a bimonthly magazine, publishing stories that combine science fiction, magic realism, fantasy, surrealism, and mainstream elements. It's not an electronic web-zine, but an actual handsome magazine available by subscription or at bookstores around the country. Century measures 6 by 9 inches, has about 144 pages, and is printed on acid-free recycled paper. The binding is flat (like a book) and it has a full-color cover.

Publisher (and Maintainer of this Web Page): Meg Hamel (century@supranet.com or m.hamel2@genie.geis.com)
Editor: Robert K. J. Killheffer (robkill@aol.com)
Assistant Editor: Jenna Felice

Rob's editorial from the first issue sums up the philosophy behind Century. If you're not sure what "speculative fiction" means, or if you can describe yourself as someone who "doesn't read science fiction or fantasy," this short editorial will be particularly helpful.

Even though Century's first issue was published in 1995, the magazine was included in the summations of 1994 science fiction and fantasy publishing in both The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighth Annual Collection and The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twelfth Annual Collection. Read the excerpts.

"The stories are top-notch; in its first three issues Century has published more and better genre-bridging and expanding material than any other magazine within recent memory. If we had to pick one magazine that best reflects our vision of the state of the art, Century would be it."
-- Kent Brewster, Speculations --

"I'm hooked on Century. Am delighted to report this fact. Would happily stand on street corners, giving out samples....Damned good magazine. Read this sucker, and soon."
-- Mark Rich, Tangent --

"[Century is] delightful . . . packing more insight and provocation and style than I can recall in any single issue of any other magazine I've read in the past few years."
-- Paul Levinson, Tangent --

"Century's celebration of literary values is to be applauded, and its editors' experimental eclecticism will be closely watched by those who love good writing."
-- James Patrick Kelly, The New York Review of Science Fiction --

"Deliberately blurs genre boundaries and expectations . . . a taste for literary complexity . . . the issue succeeds very well."
-- Mark R. Kelly, Locus --

"[These stories] could well have appeared in the best of the established SF magazines."
-- Fred Lerner, Wilson Library Bulletin --

"This new magazine of the fantastic is very impressive indeed, filled with high quality fiction . . . exceptional stories."
-- Don D'Ammassa, Science Fiction Chronicle --

"Highly recommended."
-- Howard V. Hendrix, Tangent --

Current Issue:
Click on the title of a story to read a short excerpt, or click on an author's name to find out more about that writer.

Cover of Century 4

Century 4
"Blue Rain" by Karen Jordan Allen
"The Spade of Reason" by Jim Cowan
"The Uselessness of Senses" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson
"The Bride" by Jack Cady
"Discovering Water" by Karawynn Long
"Klein Time" by Kathleen Ann Goonan
"Second Sight" by Francis J. Matozzo
"Mad Wind" by Marc Laidlaw
Cover: "Father Sun" Copyright © 1992 by Mark Wagner

Would you like to receive e-mail when the web page is updated to feature Century 5? Send a simple e-mail message ("New Issue Update" or something similar as the subject would be enough) to Meg at century@supranet.com.

Click on the buttons below to read more about Century!

Look at Century 4

Look at Century 3

Look at Century 2

Look at Century 1

More Information About the Authors and Artists

Read the First Issue's Editorial

Guidelines for Submitting Stories

How to find Century in your area, and a list of distributors.

SUBSCRIBE!

NOW ACCEPTING CREDIT CARD ORDERS!

Thank you to everyone who has subscribed to Century after finding this web page! We didn't expect to see so many orders off the web!

This web page gives you some idea of what Century is like. Go ahead and order a sample issue, enjoy the stories, and decide to make Century part of your regular reading.

We don't yet have true online form capabilities--the checkboxes below don't actually do anything yet. In the meantime, send a check made out to "Century" (please, U.S. funds only) along with your name, address, and the issue number that you'd like (or which issue to start your subscription with).

Send to:

Or, use your MasterCard or Visa to order by e-mail, phone, or fax.

century@supranet.com

GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS are available! We'll send a nice card to the recipient with the first issue. To send a gift subscription, tell us how you'd like the card signed and which issue to start with. Don't forget to include the giftee's address!

Other web sites to look at:

Publishers:

Tor Books: As one of the leading publishers of science fiction and fantasy, Tor produces many of the most interesting books in the field each year. Take a look at their web page, which includes sample chapters for downloading.
Del Rey: Del Rey is another fine publisher who has developed an extensive on-line marketing program for their books. Their Internet newsletter has a lot of up-to-date information on new releases and the publishing industry.
Warner Aspect: Aspect is the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Warner Books, and is publishing notable work. The web page is just a small part of Time-Warner's online information.
Bantam Doubleday Dell: Bantam Spectra is celebrating their tenth year publishing this fine line of science fiction.
The New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA): NESFA has a publishing group that develops some very good books, including Teresa Nielsen Hayden's Hugo-nominated Making Book. Their home page includes a link to their updated publishing catalog.
Broken Mirrors Press: Broken Mirrors has published several interesting novels and story collections, as well as one of our favorite fiction magazines, Crank!. You'll find stories by some Century authors here, such as Carol Emshwiller, Michael Kandel, and Jonathan Lethem.
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction: This is one of the leading fiction magazines in the field, consistently publishing good stories by the genre's best writers. This web page is maintained by the Electronic Newsstand, which represents a number of other magazines.
TransVersions: A Canadian magazine of short stories, poetry, and artwork containing speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
Speculations: If you write science fiction and fantasy, you might want to subscribe to Speculations, a newsletter that specializes in listing market information about science fiction, fantasy, and horror publishers. Each issue has columns about writing and the publishing business, specifically geared towards these particular genres.
Science Fiction Weekly: Here's a new web page set up like a magazine. Movies, books, other media, and news reports (such as Hugo winners) will be covered in brief reviews. They say they'll eventually publish short fiction online, too.
Terra Incognita: A new magazine "dedicated to Earth-based stories and articles about science, sociology, and technology in the future," preparing to launch in February 1996.

Century Authors

Avram Davidson: Avram Davidson has written dozens of wonderful stories and novels in a career spanning several decades. Check out this detailed bibliography of his work. (Read an excerpt from "The Metaphysical Force" or see his entry in "More About the Authors".)
Jim Cowan: Jim's story "Alderley Edge" was his first print appearance, but he's had several stories published on the web. He became the first author to publish two stories in Century with "The Spade of Reason." Find out more here. (Read an excerpt from "Alderley Edge", "The Spade of Reason", or see his entry in "More About the Authors".)
Nicola Griffith: Nicola is the author of Ammonite, a Del Rey book that won both the Tiptree and Lambda award. Her excellent second novel, Slow River, is available, too. Nicola's novella "Season of Change" will appear in Century soon.
Jonathan Lethem: Century author Jonathan Lethem hosts "Head Space," a weekly interview show on HotWired, one of the Internet's most popular sites. Every Tuesday night at 9 pm Eastern (6 pm Pacific) you can join the interview by posing your own questions to guests from fields of science fiction writing, publishing, and cyberspace. (Read an excerpt from "Light and the Sufferer" or see his entry in "More About the Authors".)
Karawynn Long: Karawynn Long is one of the strong new voices writing science fiction short stories. Her home page includes a list of her recent published stories, including "Of Silence and Slow Time" in Full Spectrum 5. (Read an excerpt from "Discovering Water" or see her entry in "More About the Authors".)
Don Webb: Don's column "Letters to the Fringe" is available on the web. (Read an excerpt from "Mary the Tatmaster" or see his entry in "More About the Authors".)

Other Good Resources

WisCon 20: The WisCon science fiction convention specializes in examining feminism and gender issues in science fiction and fantasy writing. Next year will be the 20th year of the convention. Ursula K. Le Guin will be the guest of honor, and all honored guests from previous years have been invited back to celebrate the event. WisCon is held in Madison, Wisconsin, over Memorial Day Weekend. The current list of attending luminaries includes Eleanor Arnason, Catherine Asaro, Brian Atteberry, Freddie Baer, Marleen Barr, Martha Bartter, Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, Lois McMaster Bujold, Suzy McKee Charnas, Flynn Connolly, Beverly DeWeese, Suzette Haden Elgin, M.J. Engh, Kelley Eskridge, Karen Joy Fowler, Jim Frenkel, Greer Ilene Gilman, Joan Gordon, Nicola Griffith, David Hartwell, Veronica Hollinger, Steven Vincent Johnson, Gwyneth Jones, Helene Klodawsky (who is working on a video about feminist SF and will be filming at WisCon), Ellen Kushner, Kelly Link, Rosaleen Love, Laurie Marks, Katherine MacLean, R. A. McAvoy, Margaret McBride, Elizabeth Moon, Judith Moffett, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, Susan Palwick, Trina Robbins, eluki bes shahar, Pamela Sargent, Delia Sherman, Stu Shiffman, Nancy Springer, Susanna Sturgis, Sue Thomas, Joan D. Vinge, Elisabeth Vonarburg, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.
Science Fiction Links: Here's a comprehensive list of lots of science fiction sites on the web.
Science Fiction Resource Guide and Speculative Fiction Clearing House: Both sites are excellent directories to many web resources. Lots of information about writers, publishers, awards, movies, television, and more -- be sure to browse here.
Out Of This World: Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy: An online exhibition sponsored by the National Library of Canada "to celebrate and define the rich heritage of Canadian science fiction and speculative fiction within a historical and international context."
Guide to Feminist Science Fiction: Look at this directory of feminist writings in the genre, maintained at the University of Illinois--Chicago.
Internet Book Information Center: A good starting point for general information about books on the web.
Directory of the Hugo and Nebula Awards: The AwardWeb site is a comprehensive listing of the winners of the two major awards in science fiction and fantasy publishing. Other award histories are also maintained here.
The James Tiptree, Jr. Award: The Tiptree Award is given annually to works of science fiction or fantasy that most effectively and provocatively explore gender issues. In 1996 the award presentation returns to the WisCon science fiction convention, where the Tiptree was founded in 1991.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and the Horror Writers of America pages.: These membership organizations provide support services for genre writers--help with contract negotiations, advice on publishing, and general camaraderie.
Writing Resource Center: John Hewitt maintains a large list of sites of interest to writers, including publishers, software, home pages dedicated to authors, and other good resources for writers.
John Labovitz's E-zine List: Lots of links to electronic magazines and other online fiction.
Calendar of Author Signings: Elizabeth Willey keeps an updated schedule of planned appearances and signings by science fiction and fantasy writers.
Madison Bookstore Guide: The places to shop when you come to Madison, Wisconsin (where Century is published).
The Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream page: I recommend New York Super Fudge Chunk while you read Century 1, Chunky Monkey for Century 2, Cherry Garcia is perfect for Century 3...
Godiva Chocolatiers: The next time you have twenty or thirty bucks to spare, pop over to this page and order a box of four chocolates.
Dilbert, Calvin and Hobbes, Animaniacs, and cartoons by P.S. Mueller: Because we cannot live by prose alone.

Updated January 6, 1996
Netscape recommended!

Thanks for taking a look at the Century page! Check out the story excerpts, and browse through the Authors' Page for lots of good reading suggestions. I'd really like know what you think about this page, so please drop me a note with your comments and suggestions. Is it readable? Did you find a typo? Too many/too few pictures? Ideas for links to other pages? If you have a web page, add a link to this one!

If you've got an account with the GEnie service, there's a huge number of science fiction, fantasy, and horror professionals and enthusiasts online. Come by the Century topic in SFRT4, for discussions on writing, publishing, and lots of miscellaneous ideas that strike someone's fancy.

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Send Meg Hamel some e-mail.