Though it may be nothing but the result of an evolutionary die roll determining the number of fingers we have, ten is a number imbued with meaning. That the launch of our tenth issue comes so quickly on the heels of our second anniversary truly cements the realization that AE has become a thing unto itself.
Our goal from the very beginning has been to provide a new, accessible voice in the realm of professional science fiction publishing for Canadian writers. More than anything else, we are proud of the Canadian authors we have helped bootstrap themselves to successful careers without having to pander to foreign markets.
In 2011, Matthew Moore was honoured with a Prix Aurora nomination for his incredible story “Touch The Sky, They Say” which first appeared in AE. In the same year, both “Orange” by Susan Forrest and “Disquieting Postcards I Have Recently Received from My Future Self” by Mark A. Rayner were recognized as notable stories by the StorySouth Million Writers Award. The following year, “Last Words” by Chester Burton Brown made the MWA notable list.
In the past year, our authors have pushed the envelope even further, showing that Canadian authors are at the very bleeding edge of the genre, blazing new paths and forging the tools of the next literary generation. Take a look at these stories published in AE in 2012 and eligible for the Prix Aurora:
- The Mugger’s Hymn
- The Fade
- The Pack
- Tough Crowd
- Thirteen Generations
- The Boy’s Club
- Michel “The Meteor” McLure
- The Shock
- Manhunt
- The Widow
- Like Any Other Star
- Letting Go of an Electric Blue Soda
And remember also that AE itself is eligible in the “Best Related Work” category. The Aurora awards are meant to honour Canada’s contribution to science fiction and we hope you agree that AE is on the very front lines of that fight.
—D.F. McCourt
and the rest of the AE Editorial Board