OnSpec - Issue 76 - Spring 2009.pdf

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SPRING 2009
#76 vol 21 no 1
www.onspec.ca
$6.95
Jack Skillingstead
Tony Pi
J. Brian Clarke
Khria Deefholts
Matthew Jordan Schmidt
E. E. Moxam
Michael Penny
guest editorial
by Robert Runte
cover art
by Heather Bruton
on
spec
Publisher:
Managing Editor:
Art Directors:
Poetry Editor:
Production Editor:
Fiction Editors:
Publisher’s Assistant:
Proofreader
s:
New Media:
Cover Artist:
spring 2009, vol. 21 no. 1 #76
The Copper Pig Writers’ Society
Diane L. Walton
Lyn X & Diane L. Walton
Barry Hammond
Lyn X
Robin S. Carson
Barb Galler-Smith Ann Marston
Susan MacGregor Diane L. Walton
Jennifer Laface
Isaac Calon
R Cat Communications (rcatcommunications.com)
Heather Bruton
On Spec is published quarterly through the volunteer efforts of The Copper Pig
Writers’ Society, a registered non-profit society. Annual subscriptions are $24.00 in
Canada for individuals, and $35.00 for institutions (price includes GST). GST# 123625295.
Full subscription rates are on page 2 of every issue, and our website, at: www.onspec.ca
Send all mail (letters, submissions, subscription requests or queries, art samples, advertising
rate card, etc.) to
On Spec,
P.O. Box 4727, Edmonton, AB T6E 5G6. Phone (780) 413-0215,
Fax (780) 413-1538. Email: onspec@onspec.ca. Please note: we do NOT read unsolicited
emailed fiction, non-fiction or poetry submissions. Artwork and non-fiction pieces are
commissioned only. See our website for contributors’ guidelines, payment schedule and
ordering information: www.onspec.ca
Copyright belongs to the author or artist by-lined, and no portion of this magazine may
be reproduced without consent from the individual author or artist.
On Spec
is a licencee
of Access Copyright.
Publication and promotion of this issue have been made possible by financial assistance
from Alberta Community Development, Arts Development Branch through The Alberta
Foundation for the Arts; The Department of Canadian Heritage; The Canada Council
for the Arts; the Edmonton Arts Council (City of Edmonton); and Alberta Advanced
Education and Career Development. Our special thanks goes out to Clear Lake Ltd. and
Jena Snyder for 16 years of dedication and support.
On Spec
is a member of Magazines Canada, and is also distributed in Canada by
Magazines Canada. Printed in Edmonton, Canada, by Capital Colour Press. Postage paid
at Edmonton AB, Canada.
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ISSN 0843-476X
© 2009 On Spec
fiction
Einstein's Theory ........................ Jack Skillingstead ............................. 5
Come-From-Aways ....................... Tony Pi ............................................ 13
Hell Ain't What it Used to Be .... J. Brian Clarke ................................ 32
The Lost Girls ............................. Khria Deefholts...............................54
Last Man ...................................... Matthew Jordan Schmidt ...............74
An Elephant in the Room .......... E.E. Moxam.....................................96
poetry
Agreement: Between Wave and Particle
Michael Penny................................31
Bill of Sale.................................... Michael Penny................................73
nonfiction
Guest Editorial: Hard Economic Times
Robert Runte.................................... 3
Feature Author Interview: J. Brian Clarke
Roberta Laurie .............................. 49
Feature Artist Interview: Heather Bruton
Lyn X .............................................. 86
About our contributors ..................................................................... 110
cover
Goldfinches © Heather Bruton
www.onspec.ca
On Spec
Nominated!
We’re thrilled to announce that
On Spec
has been nominated
for an
Aurora Award:
“Best Work in English (Other)” Category,
for “SF or Fantasy activity, in English, by a Canadian, in 2008”.
Others who made the shortlist include
The Gaslight Grimoire,
Tesseracts Twelve, Neo-opsis Magazine,
and
Through The Window:
A Journey To The Borderlands Of Faerie.
The voting period is
from March 1st to July 15th, and all WorldCon members are
encouraged to vote (for
On Spec,
of course). All kidding (and
clichés) aside, just being nominated really
is
an honour.
Congratulations to all of us! For more info or to
register to vote, visit www.prix-aurora-awards.ca
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2
on
spec
spring 2009
Hard Economic Times
Robert Runte, Guest Editor
Layoffs. Fear of massive layoffs.
It's the fear, more than the reality, that's driving the current recession,
at least in Canada. And it's that fear that has allowed corporations to
extort massive government bailouts. It is worth noting in the midst of the
current crisis that nobody is considering bailing out the arts, even though
the arts employ substantially more workers than the auto sector. (And they
are more rewarding, self-fulfilling jobs at that, in a renewable, non-polluting
industry.) Apparently, if you don't have executives whose salaries need to
be capped at $500,000 a year, you don't have an industry worth noticing.
Hard economic times do not bode well for publishing. Already hammered
by competition for the consumer's free time and disposable income from
gaming, video, Internet, etc., the threat of imminent unemployment may
give potential buyers pause, and so take sales figures below critical mass.
The hardcore SF reader (i.e.,
On Spec
subscriber) will probably continue to
budget for books regardless, because we view books as a necessity, not a
luxury. But the question is: can the industry sustain itself without the impulse
purchases of the casual reader browsing the bookshelves at airports, drug-
stores, etc., that currently comprise the majority of sales?
Of course SF publishing has been in sharp decline for decades. SF
sales may have remained solid, but the genre itself has contracted so that
it is now comprised primarily of TV, movie, and gaming novelizations, or
the predictable offerings of a few repetitious series. New voices and original
visions are increasingly rare, as the major publishers attempt to focus on
best sellers and safe, marketable products.
Publishers have been driven to this preoccupation with multi-million copy
sales by market forces: to compete in a global economy, the major publishers
have sought to increase market share by buying up the competition; but as
independent publishers have been gobbled up by larger national concerns—
Guest Editorial: Robert Runte 3

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