''Tales of the Unanticipated'', known as ''TOTU'', is a semiprozine that was founded under the auspices of the Minnesota Science Fiction Society (known as Mn-STF or Minn-STF), and has since become independent. Like contemporaries such as ''Crank! '' and ''Century'', ''Tales of the Unanticipated'' strove from its inception to showcase fiction, poetry and articles that are ostensibly speculative fiction.

History

The first issue of ''Tales of the Unanticipated'' was launched in August 1986. Over the years, notable authors who contributed fiction, articles and/or poetry have included

Kate Wilhelm Kate Wilhelm (June 8, 1928 – March 8, 2018) was an American author. She wrote novels and stories in the science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres, including the Hugo Award–winning ''Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang''. Wilhelm established ...

Eleanor Arnason Eleanor Atwood Arnason (born December 28, 1942) is an American author American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is pa ...

Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of " To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind t ...

Bruce Bethke Bruce Bethke (born 1955) is an American author best known for his 1983 short story ''Cyberpunk'' which led to the widespread use of the term, including for the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction. His novel, ''Headcrash'', won the Philip K. Di ...

, John Sladek,

Stephen Dedman Stephen Dedman (born 1959) is an Australian author of dark fantasy and science fiction stories and novels. Biography Dedman's short stories have appeared in ''Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'', '' Year's Best SF'', and ''The Best Australian Sc ...

, and Neil Gaiman. Writers who had their first published short stories premiere in ''TOTU'' include Peg Kerr,

Jason Sanford Jason Sanford is an American science fiction author best known for his short story writing. His fiction has been published in '' Interzone, Asimov's Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Year's Best SF 14'', ''InterGalactic Medicine S ...

, Kij Johnson,

Carolyn Ives Gilman Carolyn Ives Gilman (born 1954) is an American historian and author of science fiction and fantasy. She has been nominated for the Nebula Award three times, and the Hugo Award twice. Her short fiction has been published in a number of magazine ...

, and others who had important early appearances of their work in the magazine include Lyda Morehouse.Encyclopedia of Science Fiction article
/ref> The short story "Koan" was eventually made into the short film '' The Gnostic'' starring

Francesco Quinn Francesco Daniele Quinn (March 22, 1963 – August 5, 2011) was an Italian-born American actor. The first son of Oscar-winner Anthony Quinn and Iolanda Addolori (Anthony Quinn's second wife), Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role ...

. ''TOTU'' has published interviews with top speculative fiction authors, such as Gaiman, Knight, Wilhelm, Sladek, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro,

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are '' Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, '' The Mote in God's E ...

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Rober ...

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...

, and

George Alec Effinger George Alec Effinger (January 10, 1947 – April 27, 2002) was an American science fiction author, born in Cleveland, Ohio. Writing career Effinger was a part of the Clarion class of 1970 and had three stories in the first Clarion anthology ...

and

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

. The editors pay notice to many authors of speculative fiction who are not always marketed as “genre writers,” interviewing

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and e ...

Jonathan Carroll Jonathan Samuel Carroll (born January 26, 1949) is an American fiction writer primarily known for novels that may be labelled magic realism, slipstream or contemporary fantasy. He has lived in Austria since 1974. Life and work Carroll was b ...

, and

Karen Joy Fowler Karen Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation. She is best known as the author of the best-selling novel ''The Jan ...

Operations

''TOTU'' is an anomaly in the speculative fiction magazine market in that traditionally nearly all magazines have submissions, particularly the unsolicited submissions in what is known as the

slush pile In publishing, a slush pile is a set of unsolicited query letters or manuscripts that have either been directly sent to a publisher by an author, or which have been delivered via a literary agent representing the author who may or may not be f ...

, screened by lower-level readers and editors first. As of 2009, all submissions to ''TOTU'' have been read and evaluated by editor-in-chief Eric Heideman before being passed on to other editors or readers for evaluation.

References

External links

''Tales of the Unanticipated'' homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tales Of The Unanticipated Science fiction magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1986 Independent magazines Magazines published in Minnesota Mass media in Minneapolis–Saint Paul

History

Operations

See also

References

External links