On Spec[1] is a digest-sized, perfect-bound, Canadian quarterly magazine publishing stories and poetry in science fiction, fantasy, and allied genres broadly grouped under the "speculative fiction" umbrella.

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On Spec
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OnSpec Magazine Winter 2006
Categoriesscience fiction, fantasy
FrequencyQuarterly
PublisherDiane Walton, Managing Editor
Founded1989
CountryCanada
Based inEdmonton, Alberta
Websiteonspecmag.wpcomstaging.com
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History and profile

Based in Edmonton, Alberta,[2] On Spec was founded in 1989 by a small group of Edmonton writers who joined together to form The Copper Pig Writers Society.[3] At the time, there was no paying market for English speculative fiction in Canada (though paying markets in French did exist). On Spec is Canada's longest-running, and according to author Robert J. Sawyer, most successful, English-language magazine in the field.[4]

Much more like a traditional small literary magazine than the mass-market-styled American science fiction digests such as Analog and Asimov's, On Spec was founded to address the frustration that English-speaking Canadian SF writers faced having to "Americanize" their stories for the existing US markets.[5]

Awards

  • 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, Aurora Award Best Work in English: Other.
  • 2020, 2021 Aurora Award Best Related Work.

See also

References

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