AntipodeanSF 'online' exists to let the world know that there is such a thing as Australian (i.e. antipodean) science/speculative-fiction writing. Yet this is not its only purpose.
The name 'Antipodean' also indicates that the magazine is based 'down under' in the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are all out of whack. Indeed, the literal meaning of antipodes, according to Wordweb Dictionary is, "any two places or regions on diametrically opposite sides of the earth".
Those of us who live in Australia are constantly reminded that we are on the opposite side of the planet with respect to the majority of the earth's population. Just look at the way maps and globes are drawn for confirmation of this one. It's no accident that the north pole is always at the top.
Yet 'antipodean' means more than that within the context of this magazine. While Australian writers are indeed encouraged to submit material, the word antipodean also indicates an ideological mirror, such that the antipodean-ness of a story could reside within the story as well as within the author.
All of the material within AntipodeanSF, then, is selected and edited to conform to the broader definition of the word. It aims to seek out and publish short-short (aka 'flash') stories that somehow flip the mind of the reader into another realm — somewhere diametrically opposed to a "normal" point of view.
In a nutshell, AntipodeanSF wants to bring the 'other' briefly, and sometimes horribly, into view (as most good SF does).
AntipodeanSF is devoted to short-short science fiction/speculative fiction/fantasy/horror stories (and occasionally other shorter material), and erratically appears in paper magazine/book form using stories from previous on-line issues. Anthologies are compiled as soon as enough suitable material has been gathered, and made available using an 'on-demand' publishing system.
AntipodeanSF online is archived by the National Library of Australia and you are able to view past issues by visiting the library on the internet. Visit the PANDORA archive section.
Stories by Australian authors in AntiSF are indexed for scholarly access purposes by Austlit <www.austlit.edu.au>. Similarly, all stories by Australian authors are automatically entered for consideration into the yearly Aurealis Awards.
AntipodeanSF intends to remain in publication for a long time to come, and it may be accessed using a "Persistent Uniform Resource Locater" which will never return a dreaded "404 not found" message. PURLs work just like URLs, and AntipodeanSF can be accessed using the following address no matter where on the internet the e-zine really lives:
<http://purl.nla.gov.au/NET/antisf/> (note the trailing / is an important part of this address and MUST be included).
At the moment AntipodeanSF 'really' lives at: <http://www.antisf.com>
Please note that submission of cartoons, quips and very short reviews is also encouraged.
The best way to contact Ion, the editor, is via e-mail: editor@antisf.com