For this month's Behind the Zines interview, I'm happy and excited to be talking to Joyce Chng, an amazing writer who is also the articles editor at Strange Horizons.
_0.jpg)
More about Joyce Chng:
Born in Singapore but a global citizen, Joyce Chng writes mainly science fiction and YA. They like steampunk and tales of transformation/transfiguration. Their fiction has appeared in Crossed Genres, The Apex Book of World SF II, We See A Different Frontier, Cranky Ladies of History, and Accessing The Future. They can be found at A Wolf’s Tale (awolfstale.wordpress.com) and at @jolantru on Twitter.
Joyce Chng's pronouns are she/her or they/their.
More about Strange Horizons:
Strange Horizons is a weekly magazine of and about speculative fiction. We publish fiction, poetry, reviews, essays, interviews, roundtable discussions, and art.
Our definition of speculative fiction includes science fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream, and all other flavors of fantastika. Work published in Strange Horizons has been shortlisted for or won Hugo, Nebula, Rhysling, Theodore Sturgeon, James Tiptree Jr., and World Fantasy Awards.
***
Q. Tell us a bit about yourself. What’s your background,
where did you grow up, and what do you do outside the world of speculative fiction?
I am Joyce Chng/Ch’ng. I was born in and am currently based
in Singapore. I am second/third-generation Chinese. Outside the world of
speculative fiction, I am a parent and an ex-teacher. I am a History major
(specifically late medieval) – you can say I am a medievalist.
Q. If you think back on your life, what was the first
thing that got you hooked on the speculative fiction genre? Was it a book or a
movie, or something else?
I think it would be a confluence of many things. First,
children’s books with shapeshifting and fairies, then Star Blazers (Spaceship
Yamato) my gateway to military science fiction and space opera… and Pern.
Q. You are one of the people behind Strange Horizons, a
zine I write for, and one of the oldest and I would argue most interesting
speculative fiction zines around. Can you talk a bit about Strange Horizons,
and how you got involved at SH, and what you see as Strange Horizons mission,
or what sets it apart in the field of spec fic?
Strange Horizons is one of the speculative fiction zines
that is doing what no other zines have promised to do this, and I say this
because I am biased: spec fic has always been diverse and international,
focusing not only just North American (United States of America) but many other
centres of speculative fiction around the world. That is one of Strange
Horizons’ mission: spec fic is global.
How I got involved? Around 2016, Vanessa Phin (Ness) asked
me if I would like to join as an articles editor. The zine was then helmed by
Niall Harrison. We set up a tele-conference and talked. Then here I am.
Q. What does your work involve behind the zines? How does
a usual “workday” for you at the zine look like?
As we are volunteers, time is indeed very precious and we do
have other things in life. There is no “workday”, just a couple of hours we
allocate. So, a “workweek” would look like – for me – 48 hours (2 or 3 hours).
My role as articles editor is to solicit and commission
nonfiction pieces from writers. We do have a slush pile for pitches and
submissions. Besides soliciting and commissioning, I edit (copy and
development), give feedback to writers, and then when the final drafts are
OKed, uploaded them on the SH portal (thanks for Wordpress skills!).
Q. What are some things you have learned since you started
at Strange Horizons, and what are some of the most enjoyable things vs.
the hardest things about your work?
Editing is hard. Managing people is hard. Managing myself is
hard. Publishing is hard. But I also have learned that working with like-minded
people in a diverse anarchist setting is amazing. That I actually enjoy
“working” as a nonfiction editor and that speculative nonfiction/creative
writing is such an underrated but much needed genre. We need more critical
analyses of our field and we definitely need more from marginalised and non-US
regions.
Hardest thing(s): I hate to reject people. There are many
pitches and submissions that are good which we have to say no to. It’s not the
quality we are against, but sometimes, yes, they just don’t fit and normally
the calendar has already been filled up with submissions we have accepted
prior. As I have said, publishing is hard. Another “hardest thing”: dealing
with difficult writers. We all have different personalities and characters,
different backgrounds and belief systems. Sometimes, they just clash.
Q. The world of speculative fiction zines and speculative
fiction writing has undoubtedly changed over time. What are some trends you pay
attention to, whether they are good or bad?
I am not sure if I pay attention to trends. But there are
now more daring approaches and focuses which I like. Solarpunk, for example.
Also zines inspired by and found on all the ‘punks. Not sure if they are good
or bad though. It is only bad if it’s just a buzzword or the zine is a product
because the creators have believed striking the iron where it is hot. The
hardest part is to persist on the values they have based their zines on and
promised to deliver.
Trends come and go. They seem to ebb away, until they
surface once more (if the pendulum swings the other way).
Q. You’re based in Singapore and the main focus of the
speculative fiction world seems to still be North America when it comes to
cons, events, zines, and so on. What are your thoughts on that phenomenon and
what it means for speculative fiction – what and who gets published, what and
who wins awards and gets attention? And do you have any thoughts on how this
situation can be improved?
My thoughts? The focus on North America (specifically,
again, the United States of America) is a double-edged sword. The US of A has
always presented itself as a beacon for speculative fiction and writers from
places where they don’t even give any consideration for speculative fiction
will try to get published in America. What it ultimately means for speculative
fiction… SFF might end up becoming parochial, advocating narratives and beliefs
the dominant culture wants to read/watch.
I am often leery about tokenisation and even though I am
happy for the BIPOC and nonwhite folk who get awards and recognition, I am
afraid that they are held up as tokens by the dominant white cis-gendered
Americans: see, we are not racists! Walking the talk is hard, but this is just
the bare minimum, the lowest bar.
Tokenisation has the unfortunate effect of splitting the
community apart, another “us versus them” thing I hope will go but not in my
lifetime. I am not sure how the situation can be improved without a total sea
change/complete overhaul of publishing itself. As long as the dominant white
(racist) voices have power, the dynamics will still be unfair and unequal. I am
not sure who will have the courage to tackle the privilege(s) head-on.
Q. How has your involvement behind the scenes affected
your view of the business of genre fiction publishing, compared to your
perspective before? Have you gained any insights you didn’t previously have?
Genre fiction publishing is hard. Genre fiction publishing
has unequal and unfair power dynamics. However, we have talent. BIPOC and
marginalised people have talent. I see them in the pitches and submissions.
Q. If people want to support Strange Horizons, what can
they do?
They can support Strange Horizons in the annual fund-drive: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/strangehorizons2019/strange-horizons-2024.
Or become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/strangehorizons
The staff are all volunteers. But we want to pay our
artists, writers and columnists!
Q. For writers and readers out there who might be thinking
about getting involved with a zine in any capacity, what would you say to them?
Do you have any advice, and/or warnings?
Most zines are volunteer-run, so be mindful of your own
expectations and theirs. Go in with an open mind but draw your boundaries, know
your strengths (what you are able to/capable of) and your weaknesses. Don’t be
afraid to seek help or assistance (if your zine has a Slack, discuss and talk
it out).
Q. You’re also a wonderful writer of speculative fiction.
How did you get started as a writer? Is it something you always did or wanted
to do, or something that you came to later in life?
Thank you! J
How I got started? I started writing fiction in my teens,
pretty much inspired by the stuff I read (McCaffrey). I always wanted to be a writer,
even though I was told not to because “writing doesn’t earn you money”. I
dabbled in short stories and got things published in uni Pride zines. Also,
fanzines.
I stopped for a short while after I got married and started
work. I only started writing for real around the late 2000s and I debuted when
I was 35. In between, I taught as an adjunct teacher and this went on for quite
some time.
Q. Speaking as a writer, what do you have on the go right
now, and what’s up next for you as a writer?
I am working on a couple of contracted work (games-related),
a pitch for a collaboration with an illustrator, and dipping into an Orlando
Furioso- inspired story I have wanted to write for a long time. Because
it’s Singapore, I am planning on school visits for Fire Heart, my
YA fantasy (Scholastic Asia) and Oyster Girl, a
picture book supported by the Heritage Board.
***
- Find
out more about Joyce Chng and her work at https://awolfstale.wordpress.com/
- Read Strange Horizons
- Support
Strange Horizons current Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/strangehorizons2019/strange-horizons-2024
***
In this interview series, I talk to people working behind the scenes at various speculative fiction publications. My goal is to highlight the work that goes into keeping these publications alive, and to share insights from the people doing that work. Each interview is available exclusively on my Patreon for one week, and is then posted here at Maria's Reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment