Uncanny Magazine

What Uncanny Magazine does

Uncanny Magazine is a digital-first, bimonthly science fiction and fantasy magazine founded in 2014 by Michael Damian Thomas and Lynne M. Thomas. It publishes speculative fiction, poetry, nonfiction essays, and interviews, with a stated editorial focus on diverse voices. As of mid-2026 the publication is at Issue 71, reflecting more than a decade of continuous bimonthly output. The magazine has accumulated significant genre recognition, including eight Hugo Awards for Best Semiprozine and a British Fantasy Award.

The product surface extends beyond the bimonthly magazine to a monthly podcast (Uncanny Magazine Podcast), eBook distribution across Weightless Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google Play, a free newsletter delivered through EmailOctopus, and a merchandise storefront on Zazzle. A branded community of paying supporters — the "Space Unicorn Ranger Corps" — anchors the funding model. The underlying technology stack is conventional web-publishing infrastructure (newsletter, podcast hosting, multi-retailer eBook delivery) rather than proprietary systems.

The business model combines several small-scale, reader-supported revenue streams. Annual subscriptions are priced at approximately $23.88 via Weightless Books; ongoing community funding runs through Patreon at tiers starting at $2 per month; each publication year is pre-funded via an annual Kickstarter campaign (the Year 13 campaign launched in July 2026); individual eBook sales generate direct retail revenue; tiered advertising on the website and podcast provides an ancillary stream; and merchandise sales on Zazzle add a brand-extension channel. The customer base is a distributed B2C readership of speculative fiction enthusiasts with no enterprise or institutional anchors.

Name

Uncanny Magazine

Legal name

Uncanny Magazine

Website

https://uncannymagazine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Uncanny Magazine is a bimonthly digital science fiction and fantasy magazine publishing short fiction, poetry, essays, and interviews from diverse contributors, distributed via eBook retailers and funded through subscriptions, Patreon, and annual Kickstarter campaigns aimed at speculative fiction readers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Speculative Fiction Magazine

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Science, Technology & Gaming Magazines (MPAJAEAL)

Keywords

• Science fiction magazine
• Speculative fiction publishing
• Fantasy short fiction
• Digital magazine publishing
• Speculative fiction podcast

Headquarters

HQ city

Urbana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions through Weightless Books offering PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats at $23.88/year. Subscribers receive complete issues on release day rather than waiting a month for free online content.
2. Patreon Membership: Monthly patron support starting at $2/month. Patrons at $2+ receive ebook copies of all issues. The 'Space Unicorn Ranger Corps' serves as the magazine's supporter community.
3. Single Issue eBook Sales: Individual issues sold as eBooks through Weightless Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Google Play. Each issue contains 5-6 new short stories, 1 reprinted story, 4 poems, 4 nonfiction essays, and 2 interviews minimum.
4. Advertising: Podcast and website advertising including box ads (300x250) ranging from $125-$200/month depending on placement, banner ads (468x60) at $100/month, and podcast ads (15-30 seconds) at $175 per monthly episode.
5. Crowdfunding (Kickstarter): Annual Kickstarter campaigns to fund each publication year. Year 13 Kickstarter launched July 2026.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Uncanny Magazine is a bimonthly digital-first science fiction and fantasy magazine that publishes original short fiction, poetry, nonfiction essays, and interviews with diverse speculative fiction contributors. Each issue contains 5-6 new short stories, 1 reprinted story, 4 poems, 4 nonfiction essays, and 2 interviews, distributed as eBooks (PDF, EPUB, MOBI) through Weightless Books and major retailers, with a companion monthly podcast.

Product overview

Uncanny Magazine operates as a unified online Science Fiction and Fantasy publication platform consisting of a bimonthly magazine (Uncanny Magazine), a monthly podcast (Uncanny Magazine Podcast), digital eBook distribution through major retailers, a newsletter powered by EmailOctopus, and merchandise via the Uncanny Magazine Store on Zazzle. The magazine publishes speculative fiction, poetry, essays, interviews, and editorial content, with contributors ranging from award-winning authors to emerging talents. Issues are released bimonthly with free online content in two stages and full eBook access for subscribers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Uncanny Magazine (Bimonthly Digital Magazine) A bimonthly online Science Fiction and Fantasy magazine featuring passionate SF/F fiction and poetry, provocative nonfiction, and diverse voices. Each issue contains 5-6 new short stories, 1 reprinted story, 4 poems, 4 nonfiction essays, and 2 interviews, with first half released for free online on the first Tuesday of the month and second half free one month later.
• Uncanny Magazine Podcast A monthly podcast featuring a story, a poem, and an interview, released on the first Tuesday of each month. Produced by Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky, with stories read by Matt Peters and Erika Ensign. The podcast has won the Parsec Award for Best Speculative Fiction Magazine or Anthology Podcast.
• Uncanny Magazine eBooks (Single Issues) Individual issues sold as digital eBooks in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats through Weightless Books, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, and Google Play Books, allowing readers to purchase specific issues on demand.
• Uncanny Magazine Store (Merchandise) Merchandise store powered by Zazzle.com offering t-shirts, mugs, bags, and cover art prints featuring the Space Unicorn Ranger Corps branding and Uncanny Magazine cover artwork.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 Hugo Awards including 8-time Hugo Award winner for Best Semiprozine
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Beneath Ceaseless Skies: Biweekly online fantasy short-fiction magazine focused on secondary-world fantasy; operates a similar professional-rate, subscriber/Patreon-supported model and competes for award recognition in the fantasy short-fiction space.
• Clarkesworld Magazine: Long-running online SF/F short-fiction magazine paying professional rates and competing directly with Uncanny for award votes, top-tier authors, and paying subscribers in the semiprozine category.
• Fantasy Magazine: Online speculative fiction magazine focused on fantasy; runs adjacent issues and shares much of Uncanny's author pool and reader base, often appearing in the same Hugo/Nebula/Locus award categories.
• The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction: The longest-running US SF/F magazine (since 1949); overlaps with Uncanny on short fiction, poetry, and reviews, and competes directly for Hugo/Nebula/World Fantasy attention, though with a longer print-and-digital legacy.
• Nightmare Magazine: Bimonthly online horror/dark-fantasy magazine, sister publication to Lightspeed, sharing the same editor and operating model; competes with Uncanny for horror-adjacent SF/F authors and readers.
• Strange Horizons: Long-established online SF/F magazine publishing fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews on a similar community-supported model; directly comparable in format, mission, and award-eligibility profile.
• Lightspeed Magazine: Monthly online SF/F magazine publishing original short fiction and fantasy; operates on a similar subscription/Patreon-funded model and competes head-to-head for speculative-fiction readers and Hugo/Locus recognition.
• Apex Magazine: Online dark-speculative fiction magazine; Uncanny's editor-in-chief Michael Damian Thomas was formerly its Managing Editor, and it remains a close peer in the semiprozine category with overlapping author communities.

Broad incumbents

• Reactor (formerly Tor.com): Major SF/F publisher's online magazine and review site publishing original short fiction alongside extensive reviews and essays; broader portfolio (under Tor/Macmillan) but overlapping short-fiction output and audience.
• Locus Magazine: Long-running trade magazine covering the SF/F industry with news, reviews, and interviews; broader industry/coverage scope but overlapping award-tracking function and reader base in the SF/F community.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UncannyMagazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/uncannymagazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/uncanny_magazine
• Pinterestpinterest.com/uncannymagazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Uncanny Magazine