Interview with Juliana Rew, Publisher and Editor of Third Flatiron Anthologies

Steph P. Bianchini March 1, 2018 4 Comments

I am thrilled to have Juliana Rew here this month to present Third Flatiron Anthologies, one of which is going to be published on 10 March. Juli was so kind to answer a few questions for us.

1. Who is Juliana Rew? Talk a little bit about you.

In the olden days, I trained as an editor with the Geological Society of America, where I learned bookmaking and scientific editing. This led to a career in technical writing and software engineering at the
National Center for Atmospheric Research. I’m a native Coloradan, so I have the advantage of living in the most beautiful place in the world.

2. Which particular brand of fiction do you publish in your anthologies- if any in particular?

We do speculative fiction short stories, calling ourselves “Third Flatiron Anthologies“. We publish approximately quarterly and like to suggest themes that we think readers (and writers) might find interesting or timely. We lean toward
scifi and fantasy. I’m not particularly fond of zombies, but I agree that a bit of horror’s a good thing (keeps us honest). I also like to include a bit of flash humor, which doesn’t have to be aimed at the current theme.

3. Why / how did you decide to start Third Flatiron?

I noticed the rise of e-publishing in the late 2000s and thought I’d give it a try. Smashwords, in particular, was extremely useful in getting us up and running in the ebook field. I had a small fund to get started with, and registered with Ralan and Duotrope as a paying market. We were also lucky enough to gain Affiliate Membership with
SFWA, thanks to references from authors. David Felts at SFReader.com helped a lot by sharing his experiences as a publisher. After two years, and a lot of demand from authors, we started doing print editions of the anthologies. So, bookmaking skills came in handy after all. My daughter, Keely, who lives in Scotland, does all of our cover art, so I’m proud that we have a cohesive “look.” Her husband Andrew has a degree in multimedia, and produces all of our podcasts. Now that we’ve been around six years, we’re starting to get some notice. For example, we won Honorable Mention from the Washington Science Fiction Writers Assn last year and did well in the Preditors and Editors Reader Poll. We’re still far from making a profit, however, and are constantly asking for subscribers on Patreon.

4. You’re a writer, too. Tell us something about your own work.

I do like to write, and am currently shopping a scifi novel (space opera) and working on a follow-on. I’ve had a number of novellas and short stories published too. I’m kind of my own worst critic, though. Because I read so much, I tend to discount ideas I’ve seen before or science that I know isn’t within the realm of the possible. But sometimes I realize that I can add a new twist, or I’ve got a good story that needs telling. My recent YA collection, “The Adventures of Mountain Ma’am” is a paranormal fantasy about a post-Civil war orphan who grows up fighting to protect the mountain environment of Colorado.

5. Which qualities /characteristics you are after in the pieces you accept for publication?

We like stories that have something to share with us as human beings, so characters are important. We also like anthropological stories, whether set here on earth or out among the stars. Spoiler: I am a sucker for anything set in the Napoleonic era.

6. Which ones among the pieces you have published would you recommend to people?

Oh, that’s wa-ay too hard. We just published our “Third Flatiron Best of 2017”, which narrows it downa little bit. Everything in our “Third Flatiron’s Best of 2015” is also excellent. Excellent, I tell you! Both ebooks are available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

7. Anything else you would like to say?

We’re about to go to press with the Spring 2018 anthology, with the theme “Monstrosities” about things that are just too big or obnoxious. It’s available for pre-order (launching March 10) from Amazon. Also, this week I’m working with a student at the local university who’ll be the “voice talent” for a story read for our podcast. Hopefully, it’ll be a good experience.

Find more about Juliana and her work here.

[Disclaimer: I am one of the authors published by Juliana in Monstrosities -under my usual fiction byline- and this gave me the opportunity to interview her, after having read and loved her anthologies for years. How lucky am I?]