In January, Weirdfictionreview.com launched a special feature for the site: 101 Weird Writers, a series of essays that would profile individual authors and their stories in The Weird, placing them in the context of both the authors’ various oeuvres and weird literature overall. The goal in this was, and still is, to introduce readers to writers familiar and obscure alike, to present them in a way that would spur interest and discussion.
When I came aboard for work on this site, my first duty was in fact curating the 101 Weird Writers feature, and it’s a duty I still hold in addition to my duties as Managing Editor. This means getting to work with contributors like Jim Rockhill, Larry Nolen, and Gio Clairval. These are all intelligent, insightful writers and scholars who have taken time and energy from their other pressing commitments to provide thoughtful introductions to great writers and stories. I’ve learned a lot myself just working with our contributors on their various essays. Just recently I read over some wonderful entries written by Lisa Hannett and Brendan Connell on Margaret Irwin and Luigi Ugolini, respectively, and I hope to post those to the site soon.
Our contributors are fantastic, talented people who have already done a lot and will continue to contribute wherever they can going forward; immense thanks are more than due for them. Here’s the thing: there’s a lot more to do yet for the feature, and the contributors we already have can only do so much with the time and energy they do have available for us, which they often do their best to separate from their duties and obligations elsewhere. Simply put, we need more fantastic, talented contributors to help out.
That, dear readers, is where you can come in.
We are looking for readers and writers who can join in on the 101 Weird Writers feature. There are a lot of writers still up for grabs for contributors, including such luminaries as James Tiptree, Jr., Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Poppy Z. Brite, Octavia Butler, Ramsey Campbell, Tanith Lee, and Michael Shea, among others. Our standards are high, yet flexible. We desire essays that are erudite, yet accessible, showcasing strong intellectual rigor and affection for the source material. We want contributors that are well-read and capable of deep analysis and interpretation. Above all, we want people who are interested in and understand weird literature.
If you’re interested in being a possible contributor, email us on our Contact page and introduce yourself. Tell us what you’ve done, what you want to do, and why you’re interested in joining up. Once I receive your introduction, I’ll contact you so you can show us a bit of your writing, a sample of what you can do as a scholar of weird literature. Your writing sample should be between 600 and 1000 words, and it doesn’t have to be a complete article or essay; it can be an excerpt from a larger work, so long as it gives us a strong impression of your skills. We will be selective in choosing possible contributors, but so long as you are familiar with the traits exhibited by prior entries in the feature and show similar traits in your writing, you’ll have a good chance of being brought aboard and going from there.
Should you be brought aboard as a contributor for 101 Weird Writers, you will become a vital part of one of the key features of Weirdfictionreview.com, reaching thousands of readers like yourselves every week. You will have the chance to provide important insights on some of your favorite writers and stories, and therefore you can lay the groundwork for future conversations in a variety of mediums. And, should you write essays of sterling quality, this could be the first opportunity of many to follow, to write further material for this site and for other publications elsewhere.
Months ago, I took advantage of an opportunity to become curator of 101 Weird Writers, and it led to my becoming the Managing Editor of Weirdfictionreview.com, which has in turn led to a wealth of knowledge and experience. I hope many of you decide to take advantage of this opportunity now open to you, and I look forward to seeing what you can do.