Editor Interview: Triangulation Anthology Series

SF/F/H lit & poetry

I'm a big fan of Clarkesworld and Analog. I'm a hard sf gal at heart. I greatly respect Clarkesworld's grind on the submission front. I used to slush for them. I know Analog, Asimov's and F&SF are going through a rough patch. I hope it resolves and they rise like phoenixes.
Also a big fan of Little Blue Marble and Reckoning, two environmental justice focused publications that give content generously online or through their newsletters.
The Daily Tomorrow is a new publication I'm watching eagerly. It's scratching the itch left by the loss of Daily Science Fiction, but rather than flash pieces, they serialize a short story into daily bites each week.

There are too many established writers I like to list. One of my favorite things is discovering an author I've never read before.

We publish an annual anthology with a unique theme every year. What sets this publication apart is that we have been publishing consistently for 23 years! We have a rotating Editor position that is taken over by a new person every couple of years.

Two elements that lead to a quick rejection are not following the theme or not having a speculative element. Don't be afraid to go out on a limb with regard to stretching the theme, as it will likely help your chances. If we have 20 submissions that have similar ideas, we're only going to take the best one of those.

One that follows the guidelines, is on-theme, and shows me a story I never would have dreamed up myself, with emotional resonance.

Not following the theme or guidelines. Read the guidelines!!!
The "Bad Romance" theme is not, in fact a "Romance" theme.

The most compelling aspects of a cover letter are usually if the author has experience (professional or just life experience) that informs the story. If that's the case, please do include it.
Previous publishing credentials matter least. The story has to stand by itself.

I read until I can tell that the piece won't work for me. Usually that's at least a few pages. Then I jump to the end, just in case it redeems itself. I may give a rewrite request to a story with a good ending and bad beginning. I've never given one the other way around.

We're reading anonymously, but pieces will be tagged as reprints or own-voices, if the submitter indicates either. There are limited reprint slots, so in a way these pieces are a separate queue. Being identified as own-voices helps me understand my own limits in understanding a piece.

After I finish my 40-hour-a-week dayjob, I'll log into Submittable and scan down to the oldest submission flagged by my slush-readers to be second round. I'll read it and think about it. If it doesn't appeal, I'll send a rejection. If it does, I'll make a note, adding it to my pile of maybes. Then I'll repeat that process until my spouse announces dinner is ready.
After dinner, if there's nothing else I have to do that evening, I'll come back to the editing desk. As I go, I keep a document with the likely story slots numbered, and I shuffle titles around. It's not just if the story is one I like, it also has to fit with the others in the anthology, creating a varied but cohesive whole, like a mix tape.

We usually edit lightly. We don't accept pieces that would need such heavy editing that it would destroy the soul of the piece.

Yes.

We run a kickstarter every year, and we funnel whatever proceeds don't go to the authors back into the project for next year.

Social Media (FB, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Bluesky), Parsec Monthly Newsletter, word-of-mouth and bookmarks/ cards at conventions