Future Writers Science Fiction Anthology Project 2015-11-09
Foreword by Diane L. Walton, Managing Editor, On Spec Magazine
We have always told stories. Our ancestors kept the fears of the dark at bay by spinning tales of
bravery around the campfires. When the audience became bored with the same old “I went on
a hunt and got a big scary lion” tales, some enterprising fellow decided to sweeten the pot by
throwing in a wrestling match with a god or demon, or a whole pantheon of gods. Of course he
came out the victor. And why not a quest, too? People like quests, especially if there’s a prize or
a princess, or a dragon involved. The audience was hungry for a good story, and there were as
many stories as there were storytellers.
Our storytelling has changed a lot since those dark and scary nights with our ancestors by the
campfire. It’s become infinitely more diverse and more sophisticated, but all in all, the story is
still the key. You, the author, still face the same challenge as your ancestor. You want to engage
the audience—you want to make them need to know what happens next.
Why do we read Science Fiction? This genre, perhaps more than others, asks the question,
What if…? and it isn’t afraid to venture beyond the limits of our own “here” and “now”. What if
we could travel to other galaxies? What if everyone had their own personal robot? What if we
could actually talk to aliens? What if we could travel in time?
Most adult fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy can probably tell you the very first book in the
genre that got them hooked. I was thirteen in Grade 8, when I found a book at the library with a
little rocket ship on the spine. That’s how you could tell the SciFi books—rocket ships were the
identifiers. It was by some fellow named Andre Norton (later to be revealed to be a nice little
old lady named Alice, by the way), and it took place somewhere in the stars. In fact the title,
The Stars Are Ours, may have been what drew me in. I read that one, and went in search of
others by this remarkable lady. What a joy to find that she had written many books about
creatures from other worlds, cats with telepathic powers, time travellers, and even girls who
were heroes of their own books! Other authors followed Miss Norton, and I discovered the
thrill of reading Bradbury, Blish, Asimov, Cherryh, Silverberg, McCaffrey, and so many others.
When I got involved in the world of science fiction conventions, I even got to see some of my
idols in person.
Fast forward to a day in my future when I joined a group of fellow writers to start what has
become English Canada’s longest-running magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy. We knew
Canadian writers were producing awesome stories, and they needed a place to publish them.
That was more than twenty-five years ago, and a lot of emerging writers have found their
voices in our little magazine. I’m especially proud of our two “Youth” issues, which featured
new fiction by young and un-tested Canadian authors. One of those unknowns grew up to be
Cory Doctorow. You should Google him. Another one of our discoveries is now known as
Edmonton’s Nicole Luiken, author of more than thirty books for young readers. Nicole, by the
way, was fifteen when her first book was published. (Don’t ever see your age as an
impediment.)
Young writers and readers such as you are the reason we do this. And I look forward to reading
the What if? stories that our next generation of Canadian science fiction and fantasy authors
will be writing.