Editor Interview: Incensepunk Magazine

Real-world religion scifi

Walter M Miller, Dan Simmons, Nnedi Okorafor, Gene Wolfe

Unlike many presses that publish stories that deal with faith, we are interested in any real-world religion, not just Christianity (for example).

We're not looking for apologetics or evangelism - we want stories that grapple with unanswered questions that religion may have to address in the future.

Characters that struggle with their faith, science that challenges (but isn't at odds with) religious precepts, and an action-driven plot with dynamic prose

Many miss our interest in real-world religion and submit made-up faiths. We're interested in seeing how existing faiths have to adapt in the future, or in how they can shape the future.

We do ask that cover letters mention what about the story makes it incensepunk. This helps us see your vision for the story and how it aligns with our interests. Previous publications are not considered.

Depends on the story. If it becomes clear that it's not what we are looking for (such as fictional religions), or if the prose does not interest us, we may reject off of that basis without reading the whole story. Also being significantly outside our word count may result in rejection without reading.

All our published stories are read by at least two of our editors. Sometimes one editor really enjoys a story, but it isn't right for the other.

After opening a story, I'll skim it for religious and sci-fi references and to get a quick sense of the voice. From there, I'll mark some brief notes on whether it fits our criteria. For those that pass, I'll do a full read through and add more detailed notes about what I like and don't like, as well as a rating out of 5. Our other editor does the same, and then we discuss between us what we'd like to pursue among those that both of us rated highly.

For most stories, we provide only minor copy edits for style and personal preference. Authors are given the opportunity to review edits.

We have not, yet, but if we see the right match of story and award we would definitely be open to doing so!