July is going to be a huge month for Apex!
We lead into July with the launch of our merchandise store on June 28th. We'll have Apex face masks, stickers, writing journals, and most importantly, coffee mugs. Even more, there will be cover art prints available of the beautiful artwork from Apex's history.
Kicking things off in July is the release of Issue 124 on July 6th. We have amazing stories and essays by E. Catherine Tobler, Nicole J. LeBoeuf, Kingsley Okpii, Kelly Sandoval, R. Gatwood, Beth Dawkins and more. Our first story on the website will be "Eilam Is Forever," by Beth Dawkins.
Also in July, our special issue: Indigenous Futurists will be closing for submissions. July 15th is the last day for indigenous writers from across the globe to submit their story to guest editor Allison Mills.
On Wednesday, July 14, at 1pm EDT (5pm UTC), we'll be hosting a kaffeeklatsch on our Discord with editors Jason Sizemore and Lesley Conner. Pull up a snuggly blanket, brew your favorite coffee, tea, or something stronger, and hang out for a bit!
Then, later in the month, we'll have an AMA with Jennifer Pelland, author of Machine, our Patreon backers book of the month: "Machine follows Celia's maladjustment to being downloaded to a bioandroid body and divorced by her wife. A science fiction novel that explores trends in society and technology."
Jennifer Pelland is the author of the novel Machine as well as several dozen short stories, many of which were collected in Unwelcome Bodies. Her stories "Captive Girl" and "Ghosts of New York" were both nominated for the Nebula Award. She's currently on an extended break from writing, but will return to it once her knees tell her it's time to stop belly dancing. She lives outside Boston with her spouse and the two cats they adopted from Mississippi during the long 2020 lockdown.
The AMA will be July 24 at 2pm EDT (6 pm UTC) on the Apex Discord for backers. Jennifer will be there to answer your questions about writing, reading, and anything else on your mind!
Then, on July 25 at 2pm EDT (6pm UTC), we’ll be hosting a new event called Snap Judgment, where backers can submit the first 250 words of their short story or novel for Jason, Lesley, and a special guest to critique live. Our panelists will talk about where they'd reject the piece and why— or if they'd keep reading! Stay tuned for details about submissions!
Speaking of the Apex Discord community, we’re also launching a contest to design a new suite of emojis for our server! Look out for our upcoming announcement for all the details. The winner will receive an Apex Magazine subscription, a virtual Apex Books $20 gift card, and a 15oz Apex Magazine mug. You’ll also receive an invitation to our exclusive discord server (if you’re not a member already), and your winning designs will be featured on our Apex community discord! Entries must be received by July 10 and the winners will be announced on the 14th.
Finally, on July 19th, Apex is launching a Kickstarter! Jason and Lesley have been working hard behind the scenes to line up amazing swag and super cool benefits. Help Apex continue to publish fiction that is strange, shocking, beautiful, and surreal.
And as always, we'll have the microfiction contest at the end of the month after backers vote on the theme for August. This month's contest is open until June 30th. There are always exciting potatoes, er, happenings on the Discord as well!
That's July for Apex! Stay tuned for more exciting events next month!
To add the Apex Events Calendar to your google calendar, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/4c74rext.
