''Paradox: The Magazine of Historical and Speculative Fiction'' (also known as ''Paradox Magazine'' or simply ''Paradox'') was a

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evalu ...

featuring original

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ...

in all of its forms up to

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) fact ...

length. This includes mainstream historical fiction as well as other

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

fiction with historical themes. For example, works of alternate history, historical whodunnits,

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthu ...

, period

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction ** Korean horror, Korean horror fiction *Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing on ...

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Weste ...

and retold

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

regularly appear in its pages. The magazine also features original

historical poetry Historical poetry is a subgenre of poetry that has its roots in history. Its aim is to delineate events of the past by incorporating elements of artful composition and poetic diction. It seems that many of these events are limited to the phenomen ...

, reviews of

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

s and

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

, and interviews with notable historical novelists.

History and profile

''Paradox'' was initially published quarterly, from April 2003 through January 2004. It was then switched to a semiannual release schedule. Although ''Paradox'' is a print magazine, the editor experimented with publishing a bonus

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...

issue in January 2004. On May 12, 2009, with the release of the thirteenth issue, the editor announced that ''Paradox'' would be ceasing publication as a print magazine; future book anthologies through Paradox Publications are planned, and the possibility exists that the magazine might return in an online format. One distinctive aesthetic feature of the magazine is its use of historical artwork. In addition to using newly commissioned art for a story's accompanying illustration, stories are frequently illustrated by being matched with appropriate paintings or photographs by artists past. Vintage photographic portraits and U.S. Civil War and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

photographs have been so employed in ''Paradox'' as have paintings by such artists as Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema,

George Bellows George Wesley Bellows (August 12 or August 19, 1882 – January 8, 1925) was an American realist painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. He became, according to the Columbus Museum of Art, "the most acclaimed Americ ...

William Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female ...

, Chǒng Sǒn,

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravin ...

Rudolf Ernst Rudolf Ernst (14 February 1854, Vienna – 1932, Fontenay-aux-Roses) was an Austro-French painter, printmaker and ceramics painter who is best known for his orientalist motifs. He exhibited in Paris under the name "Rodolphe Ernst". Life He ...

M. C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for most of his life neglected in th ...

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ra ...

John William Godward John William Godward (9 August 1861 – 13 December 1922) was an English painter from the end of the Neo-Classicist era. He was a protégé of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, but his style of painting fell out of favour with the rise of modern a ...

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

, David Roberts,

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the l ...

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

George Frederick Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817, in London – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolism (arts), Symbolist movement. He said "I paint ideas, not things." Watts became famous in his lifetime for hi ...

, and Wu Guxiang, among many others. Two stories published in 2006 in ''Paradox'' were among the seven short-form finalists for the 2006

Sidewise Award for Alternate History The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year. Overview The awards take their name from the 1934 short story " Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in ...

—"O, Pioneer" by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff and "The Meteor of the War" by Andrew Tisbert. One story published in 2008 was recommended for a Nebula Award: "Tucker Teaches the Clockies to Copulate" by David Erik Nelson. "The Wizard of Macatawa" by Tom Doyle, published in ''Paradox'' issue 11 (Autumn 2007), was the winner of the 2008

WSFA Small Press Award The WSFA Small Press Award was inaugurated by the Washington Science Fiction Association in 2007. The award is open to works of imaginative literature (e.g. science fiction, fantasy, horror) published in English for the first time in the previous c ...

.SF Awards Watch
Retrieved October 19, 2008.

Editor

Christopher M. Cevasco, editor/publisher, 2003 to present

Published authors

''Paradox'' published fiction and poetry by both new authors and established professionals. Noted contributors have included: * Cherith Baldry * Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff * Marie Brennan *

Brenda Clough Brenda W. Clough (also credited as B.W. Clough) (pronounced ''Cluff'')/nowiklinknowiki>/nowiki> *"The Indecorous Rescue of Clarinda Merwin", ''Aboriginal SF'', Mar/Apr 1989 *"Provisional Solution", ''Carmen Miranda's Ghost is Haunting Space Statio ...

* Jeff Crook *

Paul Finch Paul Finch is an English author and scriptwriter. He began his writing career on the British television programme ''The Bill''. His early scripts were for children's animation. He has written over 300 short stories which have appeared in magazine ...

Charles Coleman Finlay Charles Coleman Finlay (born July 1, 1964 in New York City, NY) is an American science fiction and fantasy author and editor. He grew up in Marysville, Ohio and attended Ohio State University. His first story, ''Footnotes'', was published in 2 ...

Eugie Foster Eugie Foster (December 30, 1971 – September 27, 2014) was an American short story writer, columnist, and editor. Her stories were published in a number of magazines and book anthologies, including ''Fantasy Magazine'', ''Realms of Fantasy'', '' ...

* Sarah Hoyt *

Sarah Monette Sarah Elizabeth Monette (born November 25, 1974) is an American novelist and short story author, writing mostly in the genres of fantasy and horror. Under the name Katherine Addison, she published the fantasy novel ''The Goblin Emperor'', which re ...

* Richard Mueller *

Darrell Schweitzer Darrell Charles Schweitzer (born August 27, 1952) is an American writer, editor, and critic in the field of speculative fiction. Much of his focus has been on dark fantasy and horror, although he does also work in science fiction and fantasy. ...

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

* Adam Stemple * Sonya Taaffe *