We took the Anathema: Spec from the Margins blog off the site back in April, so this year I’m putting up the 2019 award eligible content for the mag here.
The new issue just dropped Tuesday (you can read Issue 9 here) and with our Year 3 run done, we’re both looking back at the past year and thinking about the upcoming 2020 schedule.
2019 was a pretty good year, all things considered: A successful Year 4 IndieGoGo. First year of raised pay rates. First year of running poetry. We got to run two original covers out of our three. And seeing more subs come in across all categories meant less scrambling to put out issues in a timely fashion. :)
And what did we publish this year? We ran 21 pieces of original content: 13 stories, 6 poems, and 2 pieces of non-fiction, totalling just over 63,000 words.
Anathema itself isn’t eligible for any awards that we’re aware of (we don’t publish enough issues annually). But all of our original content absolutely is! :D
Anathema, Issue 7 (April 2019)
“Fajar” by kiDChan
(Cover Art)
“Moses” by L. D. Lewis
(Short Story, 4,475 Words)
“Raices (Roots)” by Joe Ponce
(Short Story, 5,950 Words)
“Planting Season” by Jessica Jo Howoritz
(Poem)
“Birds of a Feather” by Eboni J. Dunbar
(Novelette, 7,200 Words)
“Things to do When You Believe You Have Been Cursed: A Checklist” by Maya Chhabra
(Poem)
“Inheritance” by Qurat Dar
(Short Story, 3,525 Words)
“The Secret Tara” by Tara Sidhoo Fraser
(Non-Fiction, 2,375 Words)
Anathema, Issue 8 (August 2019)
“Still Water” by Ian Muneshwar
(Short Fiction, 6,000 Words)
“A House With a Home” by Jon Mayo
(Short Fiction, 4,050 Words)
“Pendant” by Joyce Chng
(Poem)
“Soul Sisters” by Brandann R. Hill-Mann
(Short Story, 3,375 Words)
“Seventeen Days” by A.Z. Louise
(Poem)
“A Patch of Night” by S. J. Fujimoto
(Short Story, 1,925 Words)
“A Half-Formed Thing” by Adefolami Ademola
(Non-Fiction, 2,350 Words)
Anathema, Issue 9 (December 2019)
“Girls in Cars” by Grace P. Fong
(Cover Art)
“Men in Cars” by Lisa M. Bradley
(Short Story, 5,175 Words)
“Fossilized” by Jessica Yang
(Short Story, 2,950 Words)
“Ophelia” by Sydney Richardson
(Poem)
“Fission” by Nicole Tan
(Short Story, 3,100 Words)
“I Tire of This Skin” by Lowry Poletti
(Short Story, 6,400 Words)
“Tapah Lullaby” by May Chong
(Poem)
“St. Agnes” by Andalah Ali
(Short Story, 2,950 Words)
Need to catch up on our 2019 output? Follow the links above. Already read it and think it’s worth nominating for an award? What a coincidence, so we do we! :D
In all seriousness though, if you love what we’ve published, absolutely nominate the work that spoke to you for awards. Or talk to people about the stories, poems, essays, and art that struck a chord with you. Letting people know we exist and that we’re out here producing content helps us keep bringing you more exceptional, heartfelt, hilarious, terrifying, quiet, bombastic, slice-of-life, and cathartic work from marginalized creators. Because as a fairly small mag, Anathema survives on word of mouth, donations, and the ebooks and subscriptions we sell. (The latter two are available through our Store.)
In the end, the mag doesn’t exist without our content creators, readers, and fans. We just get to be the platform, and to share the wonders that keep coming our way. You all keep this going.
And we’re delighted you keep coming back to be part of this year after year. Thank you for being there, and we’ll have more for you to love in 2020! :)
Michael Matheson | A Dark and Terrible Beauty 