About this project
$10,171
290
Our mission is to produce a funny, irreverent anthology of humorous science fiction and fantasy short stories every year, featuring a recurring cast of amazing headliners and the best funny up-and-comers we can find.
The 2017 volume will include stories by award-winning authors such as Esther Friesner, Mike Resnick, Jack Campbell, Jim C. Hines and Ken Liu. Their stories are already in hand. Others who have agreed to contribute to this volume include Laura Resnick, Jody Lynn Nye, and Gini Koch.
Each UFO volume features offbeat and unique stories unlike any other anthology series.
If you haven't yet read any UFO books, check out these sample stories:
* Read a sample story from UFO1 by Jake Kerr written in the form of a Twitter feed
* Listen to Ken Liu's UFO2 story "The MSG Golem" at PodCastle.
* Listen to Jim C. Hines' UFO2 story "Stranger vs the Malevolent Malignancy" at PodCastle
Stories that originally appeared in the UFO series have been republished on some of the world's top SF/F podcasts, including StarShipSofa, PodCastle, Escape Pod, Cast of Wonders, Far-Fetched Fables, and others.
"If I Could Give This Time Machine Zero Stars, I Would" by James Wesley Rogers (from volume 5) was selected to be included in a Year's Best Military and Adventure SF volume this year. Other stories have been reprinted in various anthologies, and made the year's top recommended reading lists.
You can expect a varied and fun assortment of genres and subjects in this anthology.
We believe that any crowd-funded anthology should provide an opportunity for newer authors to be included. A large portion of the stories we publish each year are accepted via our open submission window. We'll be reading submissions this April (see guidelines), offering all authors a chance to to have their work appear alongside stories by established pros.
* As of 2015, the UFO series is a qualifying market for membership in the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
* We have raised our rates to $0.10 per word, among the highest rates in the field of pro genre markets.
* Our contract terms are reasonable. We ask only 90 days' exclusivity and the ability to keep the book in print afterward.
* Fast responses. We reply to most submissions in under a week.
* We use the CW Submissions system (designed by Neil Clarke of Clarkesworld) for an even smoother author experience and the ability to track one's status in the queue.
We need the funding in order to produce the best book we can. Our contributors, artists, cover designers, and copy editors are all paid a fair wage. Everyone except the editor and associate editors get paid. If this project is funded, we'll be able to buy more stories, commission more illustrations, and spend more money on promotion and advertising. Please help us continue producing high-quality books and enjoy a variety of cool backer rewards!
The Rewards
The #1 reward we can offer is the copy of UFO6-- the book you're helping to create! But we also have many other books available now, and we'd like to make the rewards as customizable as possible. To that end, here's the complete list of books available (in both e-book and print) for you to select, mix and match. For all multiple-book reward levels you can choose from the following twelve titles:
1) Unidentified Funny Objects
2) Unidentified Funny Objects 2
3) Unidentified Funny Objects 3
4) Unidentified Funny Objects 4
5) Unidentified Funny Objects 5
6) Unidentified Funny Objects 6
7) Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories by Alex Shvartsman
8) H. G. Wells, Secret Agent by Alex Shvartsman
9) Funny Science Fiction
10) Funny Fantasy
11) Funny Horror
12) Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic
The Unidentified Funny Objects series is just like the latest book we're looking to fund, collecting outrageous and silly short stories.
Its three companion volumes, Funny Science Fiction, Funny Fantasy and the recently published Funny Horror are themed volumes of similar stories that have appeared in other venues first. All reprinted stories are from the most recent decade, as one of our goals is to help you, the reader, discover exciting genre authors writing funny fiction today.
Coffee is the world's only collection of genre short stories -- humorous or otherwise -- that focuses on this divine beverage.
Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma collects 40 short stories by Alex Shvartsman, editor and head punster at UFO Publishing. H. G. Wells, Secret Agent is his steampunk humor novella about the misadventures of titular H. G. Wells who is a Victorian-era James Bond protecting England and the world against aliens, time travelers. and interdimensional threats.
Please note that for EVERY paperback you get as a backer reward you will also receive the DRM-free e-book files of that title in EPUB, MOBI and PDF formats.
Also be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page for the list of bonus books for backers who pledge $100+
E-books (in PDF, MOBI and EPUB formats):
$5 - CONSPIRACY THEORIST - One previously-published UFO e-book of your choice.
$10 UFO HUNTER: UFO6 e-book.
$15: AREA 51 CUSTODIAN: UFO6 e-book + 1 more e-book
$20: UFO ABDUCTEE: UFO6 e-book + 3 more e-books
$25: UFO PILOT: UFO6 e-book + 5 more e-books
$30: QUANTUM MECHANIC: All twelve UFO e-books
Paperbacks:
$20: LITTLE GREEN MAN (OR WOMAN): UFO6 paperback
$25: MAD SCIENTIST: UFO6 paperback signed by the editor
$35: ANGRY ENGINEER: UFO6 signed paperback + 1 more paperback
$45: FURIOUS RESEARCHER: UFO6 signed paperback + 2 more paperbacks
$55: APOPLECTIC PROFESSOR: UFO6 signed paperback + 3 more paperbacks
$65: INDIGNANT ACADEMIC: UFO6 signed paperback + 4 more paperbacks
$75: GRUMPY GENIUS: UFO6 signed paperback + 5 more paperbacks
$150: UFO TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: All 12 paperbacks!
UNIQUE/LIMITED REWARDS
$50: INVASION FLEET MARINE: UFO6 signed by the editor as well as UFO2 signed by Esther Friesner, Ken Liu, and Alex Shvartsman
$50: INVASION FLEET MARINE DG: UFO6 signed by the editor as well as UFO5 signed by David Gerrold and Alex Shvartsman
$50 INVASION MARINE PRIVATE: CLAIMED ̶U̶F̶O̶6̶ ̶s̶i̶g̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶d̶i̶t̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶o̶r̶i̶g̶i̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶d̶o̶o̶d̶l̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶a̶m̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶d̶r̶e̶s̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶f̶a̶v̶o̶r̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶S̶F̶/̶F̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶r̶a̶c̶t̶e̶r̶,̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶-̶d̶r̶a̶w̶n̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶E̶s̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶F̶r̶i̶e̶s̶n̶e̶r̶.̶
$50: INVASION FLEET LANCE CORPORAL: UFO6 signed by the editor, plus Ken Liu will translate a text of your choice (up to 50 words) to emoji! (See example here.)
$60: INVASION FLEET CORPORAL: CLAIMED ̶U̶F̶O̶6̶ ̶s̶i̶g̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶d̶i̶t̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶a̶r̶d̶c̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶o̶p̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶R̶e̶s̶n̶i̶c̶k̶'̶s̶ ̶M̶e̶n̶a̶g̶e̶r̶i̶e̶ ̶s̶i̶g̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶s̶o̶n̶a̶l̶i̶z̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶M̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶R̶e̶s̶n̶i̶c̶k̶.̶
$75: INVASION FLEET SERGEANT: Short story critique + signed UFO6 paperback - Editor Alex Shvartsman will critique your short story or a novel excerpt of up to 6,000 words. Critiques will be provided in June - August (after submissions for UFO6 are all read). You will also receive a print copy of UFO6 signed by the editor.
$100 INVASION FLEET LIEUTENANT: CLAIMED ̶S̶h̶o̶r̶t̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶c̶r̶i̶t̶i̶q̶u̶e̶ ̶+̶ ̶s̶i̶g̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶U̶F̶O̶6̶ ̶p̶a̶p̶e̶r̶b̶a̶c̶k̶.̶ ̶J̶o̶d̶y̶ ̶L̶y̶n̶n̶ ̶N̶y̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶c̶r̶i̶t̶i̶q̶u̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶r̶t̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶n̶o̶v̶e̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶c̶e̶r̶p̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶6̶0̶0̶0̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶d̶s̶.̶ ̶Y̶o̶u̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶r̶e̶c̶e̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶n̶t̶ ̶c̶o̶p̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶U̶F̶O̶6̶ ̶s̶i̶g̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶d̶i̶t̶o̶r̶.̶
$200: INVASION FLEET COLONEL: Collector's bundle. All 12 books signed by the editor as well as rare limited edition hardcovers of UFO1 and EXPLAINING CTHULHU TO GRANDMA.
$200: INVASION FLEET ADMIRAL: Tuckerization (aka a short story character named after you) by Alex Shvartsman, and UFO6 signed by the editor.
$250: ALIEN DIPLOMAT: Get tuckerized in Gini Koch's Alien series short story, Laura Resnick's short story or Jody Lynn Nye's short story, and receive a copy of UFO6 signed by the editor.
$500: ALIEN OVERLORD: Become immortalized in the acknowledgments section of UFO6 + receive the collector's bundle described in the INVASION FLEET COLONEL tier.
Many of the stories we publish are illustrated by the very talented Barry Munden. He generously donated some of his original drawings from volume 4, which we're offering as backer rewards. Each ORIGINAL ART tier will include a signed UFO6 as well.
1. CLAIMED ̶I̶l̶l̶u̶s̶t̶r̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶"̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶M̶a̶t̶c̶h̶ ̶G̶a̶m̶e̶"̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶E̶s̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶F̶r̶i̶e̶s̶n̶e̶r̶ ̶ ̶
2. CLAIMED ̶I̶l̶l̶u̶s̶t̶r̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶"̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶M̶o̶n̶k̶e̶y̶ ̶T̶r̶e̶a̶t̶m̶e̶n̶t̶"̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶G̶e̶o̶r̶g̶e̶ ̶R̶.̶ ̶R̶.̶ ̶M̶a̶r̶t̶i̶n̶ ̶ ̶
3. Illustration for "Project Disaster" by Tim Pratt
4. Illustration for "The Worm that Turned" by Jody Lynn Nye
BONUS REWARDS!
Everyone who pledges $100 or more toward this project will also receive ALL of the following digital books:
* Audio book of Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma by Alex Shvartsman, narrated by Tina Connolly
* Humanity 2.0 anthology edited by Alex Shvartsman (Arc Manor/Phoenix Pick)
* Random Musings from the Funny Girl collection by Gini Koch
Risks and challenges
UFO Publishing has a consistent five-year record of delivering quality books. While there are always risks, we will work very hard to exceed expectations.
There is always a chance that any specific headliner who promised us a story won't be able to deliver on time, but there are many other excellent authors willing to participate and we're confident the quality of the book won't suffer.
Thank you for checking out this campaign, and for your kind pledges. We look forward to producing another fine book, thanks to the generous support of backers like you!
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Funding period
- (30 days)