Homosapien Press
| Zine Publisher | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Homosapien Press |
| Contact: | Julie "Stew" Bozza |
| Type: | |
| Fandoms: | multimedia |
| Status: | defunct |
| Other: | |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Homosapien Press was based in Australia, and operated from 1988 to 2004.
Zines
- Samurai Errant: Buckaroo Banzai anthology featuring gen, het and slash; 5 issues, 1988-1996.
- Homosapien: multi-media slash anthology; 7 issues, 1991-2004.
- Espresso multi-media multi-relationships anthology; 3 issues, 1996-2000.
- Pure Maple Syrup: Due South slash anthology; 9 issues, 1996-1999.
- The Deal/Juliet is Bleeding: Due South novelisation; 1 issue, 1997.
- Westering Boundaries: Western multi-relationships anthology; 1 issue, 2000.
- Horatio Hornblower & the Prix d'Amor: Horatio Hornblower slash anthology; 1 issue, 2002.
Submission Guidelines
From 2000, from an unknown source, likely from a print zine:
Contributions ~ I am happy to consider any kind of contribution — not only stories, but also poetry, illustrations, original fiction, etc — in fact, anything that your muse prompts you to create. If I use the term story in these guidelines, I am using it in the widest possible sense — most creations tell some kind of story — although this also reflects the fact that the bulk of contributions I've received (so far, at least) have been short stories.
Length ~ I am happy to consider contributions of any length — though, if the piece is very short, I want it to contain something of substance — and if the piece is very long, it must have something going for it (other than length) to justify it taking up a lot of the content of an anthology zine or a whole novel-length zine of its own.
Format ~ I will accept contributions for consideration in any format, whether that's on floppy disc (PC or Mac), atached to an e-mail message, typed on paper, handwriten on paper that your dog's chewed, etc. My first preference is for an electronic document, though — so that I can work on your story, your whole story and nothing but your story and so that I don't have to do a lot of typing. I can read and convert electronic documents in most formats. My second preference is for a cleanly typed or printed paper copy, so that I can scan it into a document.
Content and Topics ~ I wil consider contributions with all kinds of content — as long as I feel that thecharacterisation, details and style of the story seem to be a reasonable and consistent interpretation of the original universe. Your interpretations of the original universe and its possibilities don't have to accord with my interpretations, but they do need to seem reasonable to me and consistent within the story. I have no problems in accepting stories that include rape or death or elves or alternate universes or crossover universes, etc.
Reprints ~ I wlil not accept stories that have already appeared elsewhere, either in other zines or on the internet. ( I know I have made exceptions in the past, but following feedback I've goten stricter.) Readers generaly pay money for my zines, and I feel they're entitled to new material in return.
Editing
House Style ~ The spelling and punctuation of a piece will be changed as necessary to meet house style — unless an inconsistency is necessary within the piece, or unless the author feels more strongly about an issue than I do. The Press Is based in Australia; therefore I follow the spelling and grammar conventions of Australian English, unless I reach agreement with the author to do otherwise.
Idiom ~ To me, the ideal is that a story follows the idiom of the original universe. However, I accept that if the author and/or editor aren't natives of that universe, some divergence from the idiom will almost inevitably occur and natives might feel offended, purists might feel annoyed. We'll do our best, but I don't promise perfection.
Canon ~ Similarly, my ideal is that a story folows the canon of the original universe — unless the author is deliberately writing an alternate universe piece. I think we should endeavour to know what al the rules of the universe are, though I think we are then free to decide to break them. I enjoy both strictly canonical fan fiction (if there can, by definition, even be such a thing) and fan fiction that asks Yes, but what if...?
Story Content ~ Beyond the above, I will put time and effort into editing the content of your story, and working on it with you. In doing this, I am not trying to make it into my story, and I am not trying to make your work conform with my interpretations of the universe. My aim is to try to help you tell your story in the best and clearest way, and to ensure (as far as possible) that any creative decisions you make are conscious ones. All editorial suggestions I make regarding content are just that — suggestions — and are completely negotiable. If you don't like what I suggest, just say so, and nine times out often I wil happily revert to your original material or agree to your alternative.
Tough Decisions ~ However, there wil be times when I draw the line on any of the above issues. My practice is that it's your decision what goes into your story, and it's my decision what goes into my zine. I here may be situations where I am not prepared to publish your piece without X, Y, or Z changes -- and if you are not prepared to make those changes, then I respect your right not to, and of course you are then free to take the piece elsewhere. In these situations I always aim for an amicable agreement to disagree.
Distribution of Your Work Post-Publication ~ My strong preference is that if your story appears in my zines, then it won't appear anywhere else (at least, not beyond your immediate circle of friends). Again, readers generally pay money for my zines, and I feel they're entitled to new and and exclusive material in return. My zines remain available in the long term (though of course sales drop off eventualy) and I don't make the contents available in any other way.
However, the reality is that authors are often keen to post their stories to the internet as well as publish them in zines. If this applies to you, then I suggest we at least try to reach a compromise — such as, you can distribute your story however you like, as long as you wait for two years after publication in my zine. While (of course) you can do anything you like with your own work, and I can't stop you (and won't even try to stop you), I would appreciate at least knowing about your intentions beforehand. (And my strong preference remains as staled. [happy face emoticon])
Confidentiality ~ I respect the confidentiality of readers and contributors, and wil not share information about your identity or other personal details with anyone else unless I know you are OK with that. However, if you have particular concerns or requirements about maintaining confidentiality, it's probably best to raise them with me so that we can both be clear on the situation. With this issue, it's better to be safe than sorry, and I've found that 'safe assumptions' are rare!