Issue 1 Editorial

Ten years ago, a little film about a bespectacled orphan and a boarding school for magic hit cinemas.  After that, in train stations, cafes, libraries and lounge rooms the world over, books by J.K. Rowling could be found in the hands of children, teens and adults alike.  Already popular before the movie adaptations, Harry Potter had subsequently morphed from literature’s latest boy-wizard to one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time. Of course there was a wealth of speculative young adult (YA) fiction prior to the Potter phenomenon.  But the decade since has seen a particular boom in YA fantasy, science fiction and supernatural horror.  Love it or hate it, the Twilight series of books and movies has made an indelible mark on popular culture, and was no doubt one of the biggest influences on last month’s Red Riding Hood as Sam Franzway argues in his Scape review. Science fiction has been humming along with several offerings such as I Am Number Four, while the Hollywood adaptation of the dystopian world of The Hunger Games is set to be a box-office blockbuster.  Meanwhile, the YA speculative book world has been thriving, as Pam Macintyre demonstrates in her opinion article for Scape. Despite the commerical success of these books and movies, there are only a handful of speculative short-form outlets dedicated to YA.  Some of which, such as the fantastic little zine Shiny out of Twelfth Planet Press in Australia, have in recent years sadly closed.  I remember bemoaning this situation to my husband and friends, until someone got fed up and laid down the challenge to me – ‘why don’t you start your own?’ I snatched up that gauntlet and, a year later, find myself writing the first editorial for Scape. A modest little e-zine, we hope to bring you some of the best new speculative YA stories on the web.  But you wouldn’t be reading this if it weren’t for the members of team Scape, all of whom contribute time and skills on a voluntary basis.  Thanks must therefore go to Rebecca Ing, Emma Osborne, Morgan Dempsey, Erika Holt and Miffy Farquharson.  In terms of the launch, Theresa at Seventh Wolf has done a brilliant job on the new website setup, displaying endless patience, efficiency and know-how while I peppered her with questions via e-mail and Skype. Martin Brennand, our logo designer, also deserves serious praise for his skill and generous assistance – I lost count awhile back on how many iterations of the logo team Scape and I nit-picked our way through. Equally, I have to thank all our contributors for offering up their work to a fledgling outfit.  The information age has opened up a wealth of non-traditional publishing opportunities, but it doesn’t ensure the longevity of such ventures.  It’s therefore a certain risk to get involved with a new publication and I’m humbled that each of our authors and artists had faith in Scape from the start. Without further ado then, here’s Issue 1...