Nick Mamatas steps down as Clarkesworld Slush Editor
And you can hear the gasp from wannabe writers from miles around. He got a new gig at Viz Media, which is excellent (I’m a huge fan of Viz’s films…well, the films they bring over) and exciting news. I bet a lot of short story writers will have mixed feelings about this whole move. Nick’s hard sell attitude, banning and complex criticism of every single piece of slush has warrented him a combination of praise and outrage. It has also made getting published in Clarkesworld a milestone in itself.
Congratulations, Nick!
I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad, as he was never overly mean to me… Or maybe I just didn’t pick up on it.
Well, some writers just don’t like criticism.
I am happy for Mamatas–it sounds like a great opportunity, the sort you don’t pass up. And I am saddened for Clarkesworld since he is the dynamic personality that defines the magazine for me (yeah, I know there are two guys behind picking what stories to print, and they both choose some great stuff, but for whatever reason, Mamatas is the “face” that always sticks out to me). It’ll be interesting to see how the flavor of Clarkesworld’s non-requested stories changes.
And whoever takes the new editor position, I can’t blame them if they decide to cut the “personal response to everyone” policy. I have no idea how the heck Nick kept up with it as is.
Yeah, and it will be interesting to see if whoever replaces him can keep up the persona that I think the magazine needs- one of raising the bar of standards. Sure, he could be a crazy prick sometimes, but it made Clarkesworld seem like a challenge to be published in.
Agreed. Clarkesworld sets an extremely high standard so that even if a story doesn’t work for me, I can still see the excellence in the writing and understand the choice. And it has always been fun and insightful to read his blog and connect the things he is saying to my own submission responses. Now that connection will disappear, although I am sure his blog will remain entertaining (hard not to with that strong a personality).