Share the Joy

[Кал]

Първият ни пробив с роман идва от неочаквана посока...

Dear Kalin,

We are glad to inform you that after a long delay in the decision-making-process, we are receiving the grant from the European Union to publish Mina, Magic and the Whitebeaker.

We will contact you soon to agree upon the details and finalize the letter of intention into a contract.

Best wishes from Hungary,
Eva

[Кал]

Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, personal rejection of "In the Beginning Was the Subway":

Hi Lyubomir. Thanks for your submission. We enjoyed it but it didn’t completely work for us. As requested here is some unedited feedback from our first readers; it is not meant as diplomatic critique, it is only written to help the editors as they consider the story:

-- This is the story of Vladimir, whose third-grade teacher returns as ectoplasm and helps guide his musings about life. She gifts him with a solarium – an isolation booth that helps him connect with the basics of what electromagnetisms enabled humans and even Earth itself to survive. Vladimir comes up with the idea of making an abandoned section of subway into such a solarium so more people can participate. But it's much more than this summary, because ideas spill out of many paragraphs -- like pearls from an overly productive oyster.

I have been reading SF for half a century. Because I am classically trained as a professor, I often find that I appreciate a more highly literary SF than might more typical readers. If that sounds arrogant, so be it. I have read enough SF short fiction – and palled around with some of the best SF writers of my generation -- to recognize genius when I see it. I don’t know if it will happen, but this should be a Nebula finalist. It really is that good.

-- An artfully written story in a literary style. The translation is good (in terms of English prose - I cannot judge accuracy of the author's intent). The concept is interesting, although the wish fulfillment level of wonderfullness of the technology felt immature. I found the vagueness regarding the supporting character Valentina annoying. However at the end, the story seems to stop, with an imagined/hoped-for future rather than a conclusion.

__ This is really very well written, but the beginning goes on far longer than necessary describing describing ennui and mediocrity, and put me off the story.

-- The story is partly intriguing, but partly it floats along in a way that seems aimless and we have no attachment to the character so that we care what happens to him, and he has no goals that we could root for him achieving.

(That first impression ... wow.)

[Люба]

Spoiler

Горното не е за мащабите на този форум. Малоразмерен е за него.
Трябва да се публикува някъде и да се прати като прессъобщение с представяне (поредно) на книгата, напомняне за нея и автора. Особено на арогантния професор последната забележка! Браво!

[Radiant Dragon]

Spoiler

(That first impression ... wow.)

Wow indeed.

Чета, чета, като си мърморя "Пука ми че си голям професор!" и изведнъж последните две изречения.

Ах, колко лесно правя морални лупинги тия дни...

[Mokidi]

Да споделя радостта: A Pilgrimage to Memories Tattooed намери дом в Samovar!! По разказа сме работили, на български, аз и Кал, на английски - аз и Деси Сивилова, и на двамата огромните ми благодарности!

Dear Elena Pavlova,

Thank you so much for letting us see you story "A Pilgrimage to Memories Tattooed", and many apologies for the ridiculously long wait for a response. We love the story, and would very much like to accept it for publication in Samovar, if it's still available?
***

Sincerely,

-- Sarah

Editors, Samovar
[email protected]
Submission guidelines: http://samovar.strangehorizons.com/submit