About Us

That’s an Unlikely Story

Once upon a time, there was a joke. Actually, once upon a time, there was a story, and then a joke about the story, which turned into a joke about putting together an anthology or magazine consisting entirely of fiction about bugs. Which was all well and good, until we decided to actually do it. And thus The Journal of Unlikely Entomology was born.

It’s been a couple years now, and our humble bugzine is going strong, having garnered critical acclaim and had stories we’ve published appear in and be shortlisted for various Year’s Best anthologies and awards. It’s been a lot of work, but the work has been rewarding.

Now, The Journal of Unlikely Entomology is molting. Under the umbrella of Unlikely Story, we will be bringing you three unlikely issues a year — one issue of the bugzine, one issue of The Journal of Unlikely Cryptography, and one issue whose theme will vary from year to year. We’d like to welcome one and all to this exciting new stage in the humble bugzine’s life-cycle, beginning with Issue No. 6: The Journal of Unlikely Architecture.

Contact Information

Via email: jue.submissions@gmail.com
For art submissions: unlikely.art@gmail.com

Those Responsible

Editors:

Bernie Mojzes is the author of The Evil Gazebo and a passel of short stories in various anthologies and magazines, including Daily Science Fiction, Dead Souls, Dragon’s Lure, Crossed Genres and the Bad-Ass Faeries Series. Although he has on occasion been accused of committing Public Acts of Music and Philosophy, no charges were ever filed. To register a complaint, please visit www.kappamaki.com.

A.C. Wise is the author of numerous short stories, which have appeared in print and online in publications such as Clarkesworld, Apex, Lightspeed, and The Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 4, among others. She can be found at www.acwise.net and on twitter as @ac_wise.

Art Director:

Linda Saboe is an artist, herbalist and nature-lover. When she is not making colorful messes with paints and clay, she volunteers her time feeding and caring for baby or injured raccoons, skunks, squirrels and other critters. Although she rarely feeds insects, she does like them and encourages them in all their endeavors. She resides in the suburbs of Philadelphia with her husband, Bernie Mojzes and their dog, parrot, and a couple of cats that suddenly appeared and have decided to stay. To see more of Linda’s work, check out her blog at www.croneswood.wordpress.com or visit her website, www.lindasaboe.com.

Proof Reader:

Cynthia Baumann has been a Belly Dancer, Fortune Teller, Cafeteria Worker, Librarian, Sunday School Teacher, Office Manager, and Administrative Assistant to a variety of geeks turning their grammar-challenged documents into something readable enough for a layman to understand. She also sells eco-friendly vegetable-based candles, which she loves because they are the only scented candles she has found that don’t give her an allergy attack. She is currently out of work due to downsizing and procrastinating on her own novel by proofreading fiction that other people have actually completed. (Oh yeah, she’s also working on putting a website together.)

A Note About Our Spiritual Sponsor

Sir Reginald F. Grump, XXIII

At the tender age of eight, Sir Reginald F. Grump XXIII was discovered raiding his mother’s stocking drawer for what he had thought was butterfly netting and was placed immediately into therapy, where he was to remain for years. The bartender at Calin’s Pub contends that this pivotal and traumatic experience was directly responsible for Sir Reginald’s obsession with all things silk, particularly regarding the pervasive eroticisation of spinnerets in his fiction.

As of this writing, Sir Reginald remains an avowed bachelor. His father, Sir Reginald F. Grump XIII, despairs of his son’s prospects, and fears that his own mathematical incompetence in naming his only child, the ninth Reginald in the series, has thrown the entire future of their lineage into doubt. Sir Reginald has chosen to remain abstinent until a solution for this numerical dilemma can be found. Qualified candidates (Ph.D. or equivalent experience required, practical experience in real-time error-correction preferred, red hair highly regarded) may submit their Curriculum Vitae through Sir Reginald’s agent, at the pub.

A Note About Our Financial Sponsors

For the first 2.5 years of this grand adventure, the cost of running this magazine, from paying the artists and authors to software to propaganda, has fallen almost entirely on me (Bernie). Sir Reginald insists that he will cover the tab; unfortunately, as he is entirely fictitious, this hasn’t been terribly helpful. What has been helpful are the donations we’ve received from generous readers. If you’d like to join these brave souls in supporting us, please take a brief detour to our donations page.

That said, we have a new financial backer, joining us as of Issue 7 in November 2013, allowing us to increase pay rates to authors and artists.

Havenco

I would like to take a moment to introduce our newest unlikely backer, Havenco. Organized in the highly unlikely Principality of Sealand, Havenco is launching a line of secure networking products, including VPN and distributed privacy-enhanced online storage solutions, and hosting for privacy-minded people and organizations.