Who is Jason Sizemore?

If you look me up in Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, you’ll find a little black and white etching of me (sans the glasses) next to the following definitions:

1) A nerd and/or geek with a variety of oddball interests. Included in these interests are books, Sherlock (the Benedict Cumberbatch edition), publishing, editing, and pumpkin spice latte (before the hipsters sapped the ‘cool’ out of it).

 

2) A self-involved Hugo and Stoker Award-nominated editor who runs Apex Publications.

 

3) A guy who has trouble pronouncing the common work ‘horror’ and the beautiful name ‘Katerina’.

 

4) An individual who values a nice mix of professionalism and fun.

The list goes on and on, but as an editor, I’ve found it is always best to leave enough mystery in order to keep an audience interested. 

When and how did you become interested in science fiction and horror?

I blame my mom.

When I was a boy…maybe I was 8 or 9 years old…my dad still worked as a coal miner. He worked 70+ hour weeks, meaning that on Friday nights he typically didn’t get home until 10pm. Friday nights turned into “Mother/Son Date Nights.”

When you hear of something like “Mother/Son Date Nights” you might think of a mother and her boy going to Dairy Queen for some ice cream and afterward going home for board games or family movies. But not my mom. She is a big science fiction and horror fan. So our date nights consisted of going to a local hamburger place for burger & fries. Then we would walk to the adjoining and select our movie for the night.

Typical movies we watched included: The Thing (John Carpenter’s version), Friday the 13th, Alien, Aliens, Lifeforce, Halloween, and The Exorcist.

As you might imagine, watching The Exorcist as an eight-year-old is quite a terrifying experience. Multiply that by several magnitudes as I was raised a strict Southern Baptist who feared demonic possession and the end times striking at any moment.

Those Friday nights with my mom hold a special place in my heart. The movies we watched certainly influenced my tastes in entertainment as an adult.

Did you first start writing and then publishing, or was it the other way around?

Neither. I first started editing for various city government publications. Around the same time, through an online game, I became friends with a professional editor. She helped me hone my skills (giving me a semblance of formal training) and encouraged me to write. I had a few stories published, became familiar with the business of publishing, and decided to do a literary genre zine. Thus Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest.

As usual, I reached my destination through lots of lucky happenstance and meeting the right people at the right time.

 Tell us about Apex Publications.

Apex Publications is a small press publisher dedicated to producing exemplary works of science fiction, horror, fantasy and non-fiction. Based out of Lexington, Kentucky, Apex Publications is owned and operated by Jason B. Sizemore (me!).

What is Apex Magazine?

Apex Magazine is an online prose and poetry magazine of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mash-ups of all three. Works full of marrow and passion, stories that are twisted, strange, and beautiful. Creations where secret places and dreams are put on display.

A new issue is posted and placed on sale the first Tuesday of every month. Content can be read for free via the website. Alternatively, annual subscriptions are available and all our issues can be purchased in single issue formats (ePub/mobi/PDF or from the Kindle and nook stores).

How did you choose Apex’s tagline: “Strange. Beautiful. Shocking. Surreal.” Why these words? Why this order?

About a year ago, I held a contest. I asked our readers to come up with one phrase that comes to mind when they think about the types of books we publish. “Strange. Beautiful. Shocking. Surreal.” was the winner. I liked it so much that I asked for permission to use it as our tagline. Permission was granted.

What are some of the latest books you’ve published?

 

Our latest is MAZE by JM McDermott, a weird/dark fantasy novel. Before that was a fun anthology titled GLITTER & MAYHEM edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, and John Klima…a party in a book!

If some of our blog readers would like to submit a manuscript to you for consideration, how should they go about it?

The best way is to catch me at a conference and pitch me. Barring that, you can query me via our email address that can be found on our website.

Thank you so much! Best of luck with all your creative projects!

To find more from Jason Sizemore and Apex Publications:

• Apex Publications official website
• Apex Magazine official website
• Apex Magazine Blog

More interviews from the Accents Blog:

• “I hope readers will see something new in what is commonplace”: An Interview with Lori A. May

• An Interview with T. Crunk by Anthony Blake

• “Writing Always Helps Me Make Sense of Things”: An Interview with Stacia M. Fleegal (part 1)

• An Interview with Elizabeth Beck

• Leigh Anne Hornfeldt Interview: “Funky Alchemy”

Born the son of an unemployed coal miner in a tiny Kentucky Appalachian villa named Big Creek (population 400), Jason fought his way out of the hills to the big city of Lexington. He attended Transylvania University (real school with its own vampire) and received a degree in computer science. Since 2004, he has owned and operated Apex Publications. He is the editor of five anthologies, a Hugo and Stoker Award loser, an occasional writer, and usually can be found wondering the halls of hotel conventions seeking friends and free food.