Yarrr! Shimmer has a special treasure for you this fine day.

In 2007, Dred Pirate John Joseph Adams, of the MS Fantasy and Science Fiction, commandeered the MS Shimmer for one special issue: the Pirate issue, released November 2007.

In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, a holiday dear to our hearts, we’re making the electronic edition freely available. One day only: Plunder away!

Also, if ye be wonderin’, throughout my journal all the text be converted to proper pirate speak. Even what ye landlubber’s post in the comments below.

Grasping for the Wind has a review of the Shimmer Pirate Issue.

The highlight for me was, of course, this:

The illustrations throughout this issue were very well done. They had detail and connected very well with the stories. The cover was appropriate and appealing, with a simple graphic design that grabbed the eye without shouting too loud. Inside, the layout was excellent, the stories very readable and the binding solid (it had a graphic novel sort of binding). It was held easier in the hand than a mass market paperback, and each story is just the right length to get you through lunch at the office.

Way to go James and Jeremy Owen, to whom we owe all the art.

Avast! James Owen just sent me the final art for the cover of Shimmer’s pirate issue. As a bonus, he’s posted a series of shots on the progression of the cover art from concept sketch to the final product.

Ye sly whiskered dog, ye can pre-order yer copy o’ Shimmer today. What better way to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day?

I’ll tell you what’s better: It’s a double-issue. 136 pages of piratical fiction.

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I also have to say that I loved working with Sean Markey on making this trailer. He created the original music for it. And if you like the art in this, by James A. Owen, wait until you see the rest of the issue. Every story is illustrated.

I be preparing fer International Talk Like a Pirate Day tomorrow. Ye should be prepared to, or I’ll see that yer keelhauled.

The Slush God Speaketh: Shimmer — The Pirate Issue: Table of Contents

At long last, I present the table of contents for Shimmer — The Pirate Issue:

* A Hand for Each by J. Kathleen Cheney
* Captain Blood’s B00ty by Jeremiah Tolbert
* The Blackguard of God by Melinda Selmys
* Come to the Islands by Mikal Trimm
* Interview with the Founder of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster by Jen West
* The Barbary Shore by James L. Cambias
* Pirates by Adeline Thromb Age 8 by Marissa K. Lingen
* The Sweet Realm by Jill Snider Lum
* The Furies by Rajan Khanna
* The Perfect Hook by Justine Graykin
* Hard Times for Bartleby Crow by Grant Stone

This was a lot of fun to put together. I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished product (and the artwork by James Owen!), and to hearing what people think of the stories.

You can read the full update at The Slush God Speaketh: but meanwhile, here’s the short form.

Okay, so I’ve waded through most of the submissions now. I’ve still got 27 in my inbox that I haven’t read yet. Everything else has either been rejected or been set aside for further consideration (or possibly inexplicably lost–possible, but unlikely).

As if any of you writer-types read my blog and not The Slush God’s, but, just in case, here’s what Captain John Joseph Adams says about the slush pooling in the holds of Shimmer’s pirate issue.

Of course, I do have the exciting pirate filter, so you can read his comments in the piratical style to which you’ve become accustomed.

Okay folks, the submission period has now closed, so I figure it’s time for an update for all those concerned. So…while the submission period is closed, I haven’t yet made any final decisions or anything, and it might be a while before I sort through all the submissions. I’ve still got 50 or so waiting to be downloaded, plus a number of others I’ve got in my reading queue already. But never fear — I am the Slush God, after all, so I should be able to get through them quickly enough.

Thanks to everyone who submitted, and good luck to those of you who still have submissions pending.

If you’re working on your pirate story, today is your last day to submit it to Shimmer. Captain John Joseph Adams is all set to turn the canons on any latecomers.

Ahoy, me maties! Cap’n Adams decided that it were a good idear to give ye lot o’ scurvy dogs a wee bit more time to get yer stories in ta him. Bein’ the benevolent cap’n he is, he’s givin’ ye till February 28th ta submit to Shimmer. But not a moment longer, or he’ll keel-haul ya.

Any questions? Arrrr!

Don’t forget that you only have two weeks until the end of Shimmer’s Pirate Issue submission window. Send in your pirate stories by January 31st.

Pirates! The word evokes the high seas, deep space and bootleg software. Be honest, who hasn’t wanted to be a pirate? Think of plunder, booty — Avast!

The MS Shimmer has been captured by the Dred Pirate John Joseph Adams, first-mate of the Fantasy & Science Fiction. For the Summer 2007 issue, our pages will be filled with pirate stories. What better way to celebrate National Talk Like a Pirate Day?

What kind of pirates? All kinds — fantasy, science fiction, contemporary, historical, futuristic, high seas, deep space — if it’s got pirates and it’s speculative fiction, Captain Adams wants it. The usual Shimmer guidelines apply, but with pirates.

Brin’ us yer pirate stories fer Summer 2007, th’ Pirate Issue.

Submission porthole: December 1, 2006-January 31, 2007.

Send submissions to submissions@shimmerzine.com with “Pirate Submission: Title” in the subject line.

Sunil Sebastian took a series of great photos at the Shimmer Pirate Party. Just in case any one has forgotten why we hosted a pirate party, Shimmer is doing a pirate themed issue for our summer 2007 issue, guest-edited by John Joseph Adams. We’re opening to submissions on December 1 and are trying to drum up the interest with writers.

EG

Originally uploaded by GigiG.

There are a number of good photos on Flickr of the Shimmer Pirate Party. Check out this one of Jay Lake getting tattooed by Beth.

While searching for a perfect pirate beverage for World Fantasy, I stumbled upon CocktailDB, which is a beautifully laid out website. Rob and I have lots and lots of liquers in our cabinet from when all the puppeteers left the country. Everyone cleaned out their cabinets and dropped the supplies off with us. So, tonight I plugged in three of the ingredients from our cabinet and the database recommended a Menlo Club Cocktail. It’s very citrusy and not one I think I’ll order again although I imagine that it would be lovely on a hot summer night. I’m sipping it very, very slowly because it’s also quite potent.