-
on October 27, 2010
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
Posted project update #18We're live
Post CommentDear backers (and curious browsers who've stumbled across this post),
When you last heard from us, we'd hit a bump in the road on our way to becoming a new professional market for Canadian science fiction. But we didn't let it stop us. Today, we're proud to announce that AE is launching online. We can't put it better than the opening of the Letter from the Editors for issue 1:
It’s been a long and bumpy journey, with weather harsh and roadmaps faulty, but here we are. This is existence and it is sublime. This is AE – The Canadian Science Fiction Review. This is the new professional market for the fantastic, the prophetic, the speculative and the strange. This is a grand experiment in more ways than one. And this is all for you. Come on in.
The "you" in that paragraph is includes anyone intrigued enough to stop by our site, but especially all of you who showed your support from the very beginning. Our heartfelt thanks go out to you. We couldn't have done it without you.
AE is entering an exciting new phase and we hope to keep growing with the continued support of our community. Please join us at http://aescifi.ca to see what the future holds for our young publication.
-
on May 25, 2010
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
commented on a project updatelobstercowboy: Thanks for stopping by! If you haven't found it already, please consider signing up for our mailing list or following our Twitter account if you want to keep up with what's going on with AE. You can find both via our Web site: http://aescifi.ca/
-
on May 24, 2010
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
commented on a project updateAnthony: Sorry to hear that. It's actually Amazon who handled the refunds that way but we're still sorry that you got charged unnecessarily. We have brought it to Kickstarter's attention and hopefully they can improve on the process in the future.
-
on May 20, 2010
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
commented on a project updateThe project shows as "successful" because people *pledged* enough money to meet our goal before our funding deadline. The problem was that one major backer failed to make good on his pledge, and we didn't actually collect enough funds to realize our project. So, we decided to roll back all the transactions, although the status on our project page doesn't reflect this. It's probably controlled by some automated thing that's part of the Kickstarter site, so it's unclear whether it ever updates after the project deadline. (In a perfect world, the pledges made when time ran out would be exactly what the project collected, minus fees.) So, to be clear: Once the refunds have gone through (if they haven't already), we will not have collected any money from our backers. We won't be able to fulfill the rewards you signed up for. For all intents and purposes, this project did not meet its funding goal. But there's a crucial distinction between AE and our Kickstarter project. This project is over, but AE lives on. This was always just Phase One of our plan. We just have to adjust Phase Two and onward, now. Hope this answered your question.
-
on May 20, 2010
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
commented on a project updateThanks guys. Our backers are the best, and one bad apple can't spoil this bushel. Please focus on the quoted section in the middle up there. That reflects how we feel about AE, our Kickstarter project, and everyone who's been involved (except for that one guy). This bump in the road aside, we're going to keep working on AE. Do drop your e-address into our mailing list if you're not already following us some other way. You'll be hearing from us again.
-
on May 19, 2010
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
Posted project update #17Hold Everything
This is a difficult update to write.
If you were following our project closely in the past couple weeks, you’re probably aware that more than half of our funding came in the form of a massive eleventh hour pledge from a benevolent stranger. We celebrated, and you celebrated with us.
But after the clock wound down, the pledge collection process kicked into gear. And that crucial pledge didn’t clear. We have contacted the backer, as has Kickstarter, politely and with thanks. No response was forthcoming to our inquiry. And as more information has become available, we have been forced to accept that this pledge is not going to come through.
We’ve been in touch with Yancey Strickler from Kickstarter. Our project is not the only one that has been affected by this backer. Kickstarter has given us the choice of refunding all the pledges to our project, or moving ahead with the money that we did collect.
It was a tough, tough call. We know we could do something great with the nearly $5,000 you have entrusted us with. We could make a stellar issue of AE, even if it was somewhat scaled back from our original vision, and maybe have something left over to keep us going for another issue or two. But that wasn’t what you signed up for, and now that we can’t fulfill our original promises, we don’t want to hold onto your money a second longer than we have to. So we’ve asked Kickstarter to refund everyone’s donations, as if we had never gotten that fateful pledge. The refunds have already been initiated and will take a day or two to go through.
Like a political candidate on election night, we had two speeches prepared. Here's the one we had hoped not to have to use.
--
Okay. Wow. The last two months have been a whirlwind. Our Kickstarter project didn’t reach its funding goal but, nonetheless, we feel you’ve given us a mandate. And despite the disappointment, we wouldn’t trade the past sixty days for anything. It has been quite a ride and we’re already looking forward to the months ahead. Before we put the chairs up on the tables and turn out the lights here, we have a few things to say:
First, we are so appreciative of your support, whether you pledged or helped us spread the word or participated in AE Micro. We are humbled by your generosity and buoyed by the new connections we’ve made as a result of this project.
Second, and most importantly, we want you to know that this is not the end for AE. We remain committed to our mission to become a new professional market for Canadian science fiction. Bringing you AE Micro has served only to whet our appetite. But we have learned a lot in the past two months, and we are going to take some time to absorb it, to reflect on the experience and refine our plans.
So what’s next for Team AE? We still have a few loose ends to tie up for AE Micro, notably the print edition and the balance of the story critiques. We also have a surprise in store that we hope to unveil soon. And over the next few months you’ll see us start to build a solid foundation for what AE will become.
Of all the outcomes of this process, the one we treasure most is the community we’ve begun to build around our efforts. We hope that you will continue to follow our progress. We will remain active on Twitter and Facebook throughout the next months, and we will also be expanding the scope and functionality of our Web site. We would like to invite you to sign up for our mailing list to stay informed about AE news. Before you know it, you’ll be placing your order for AE #1. You don’t want to miss that. We promise not to spam you and we will never share your email with anyone for any reason.
So, until soon, dear Readers, sci fi fans, AEmazing Aester Egg AErolites,
— Duff, Adam and HelenFor all the ups and downs, we still stand behind this wholeheartedly. For a couple days there, we were the editors of a brand new science fiction magazine, and it was awesome. We’re even more determined than ever to make that happen for real.
We’re sure there are going to be some questions. Please don’t hesitate to ask them. Though we officially opened up for submissions only a few days ago, we’ve already received a few stories for AE. If you were considering sending us your work: We would still love to see it, but we understand completely if you’d rather wait until you hear more about our future plans.
To those who have already submitted: As stated in our submission guidelines, we are open to simultaneous submissions, so please don’t feel that we have an exclusive hold on your story if you want to submit it elsewhere. And if you want to withdraw your story until we know what the next step is, we won’t hold it against you.
We also want to make it clear that Kickstarter has been incredibly helpful and supportive as we dealt with this awful situation. If this is your first experience with the site, please don’t let any of this put you off from supporting worthy projects in the future.
Thanks again to each and every one of you for all that you have done to help get us off the ground, and accept our apologies for the inconvenience of this false start. We’re still going make this happen, and we hope that you’ll be there with us when we do.
Sincerely,
— The editors of AE
Post Comment -
on May 16, 2010
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
Posted project update #16AE is OPEN
How quickly things can change. It has been two months since we launched this Kickstarter project, and nearly a year since AE was first conceived. That time has passed in a flash.
But that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about how, as the clock on AE funding ticked down, it looked like we weren’t going to make it, despite the boundless generosity of our backers. We’re talking about last-second comebacks and Act V, Scene V game-changers.
There are many people who need to be thanked, plans that need to be laid out and inexorable machineries that need to be kicked into gear. But all that is for tomorrow. Tonight we just want to tell you that, as of right now, AE – The Canadian Science Fiction Review is open for submissions.
3 of 4View Previous Comments
Post Comment -
-
on May 16, 2010Funded!
The new face of Canadian Science Fiction by AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
Propel the next generation of Canadian SF talent to the heights they deserve. We have the passion, the know-how and, with your help, the wherewithal.
Funding Unsuccessful (03/07/2011) -
on May 10, 2010
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
Posted project update #15AE Micro Web and PDF editions
Post CommentToday, we’re proud to unveil the web and PDF editions of AE Micro. We’ve talked before about how pleased we are with the winning stories, and we’re excited to be able to bring them to you in this package.
Keeping with the theme, of course, AE Micro is itself quite small and as such doesn’t bear a long introduction. We would like to encourage you to download and print-out the PDF edition. It is a fun exercise in papercraft and the end product is, frankly, adorable. Download the PDF.
Alternatively, you can enjoy AE Micro in its entirety online. Read the Web edition.
Also, the winning Canadian story and the winning International story are now available as audio files:
”Denial of Service Attack” by J.J. DeBenedictis (as read by Duff McCourt)
“She Whispers” by Gabriel Schlesinger (as read by Helen Michaud)Thanks again to all the entrants and to all of our readers.
(And incidentally, Duff’s “Denial of Service Attack” reading is also available in video.)
-
on May 4, 2010
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
commented on a projectJamie, you absolutely don't need to be a citizen, but watch out for tax issues. If you have anyone you can consult about the tax liability ahead of time, do. (Good advice for anyone considering a Kickstarter project!)
AE - The Canadian Science Fiction Review
Montréal, Canada
AE is an international conspiracy consisting of D.F. McCourt, Adam Lonero and Helen Michaud. With your help, we're going to change the face of Canadian science fiction.
While Kickstarter has refunded my money it appears to have done so by creating a new credit transaction rather than cancelling the original debit transaction. My bank counts that as two overseas surcharges, so I'm still $30 poorer than before. This is bullshit. I'd have preferred you to have the money rather than Visa Inc. (NYSE: V). You should have a word with the Kickstarters, so that they can get it right next time they do a refund.
Anthony: Sorry to hear that. It's actually Amazon who handled the refunds that way but we're still sorry that you got charged unnecessarily. We have brought it to Kickstarter's attention and hopefully they can improve on the process in the future.
Wow, that's very sad and frustrating news. Looking forward to hearing about phase 2... and hoping it's more successful.