The Third Alternative
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
horror
Horror fiction magazine
A horror fiction magazine is a magazine that publishes primarily horror fiction with the main purpose of scaring or frightening the reader. Horror magazines can be in print, on the internet, or both.-Defunct magazines:*The Arkham Collector...
magazine edited by Andy Cox. The magazine has won the British Fantasy Award
British Fantasy Award
The British Fantasy Awards are administered annually by the British Fantasy Society and were first awarded in 1971. The membership of the BFS vote to determine recommendations, short-lists and winners of the awards...
for "Best Magazine" while individual stories have won other awards. In addition, numerous stories published in Black Static/The 3rd Alternative have been reprinted in collections of the year's best fiction.
Black Static is published by TTA Press alongside sister publications Crimewave, which takes a similarly idiosyncratic approach to crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
, and the long-running science fiction magazine Interzone
Interzone (magazine)
Interzone is an award-winning British fantasy and science fiction magazine. Published since 1982, Interzone is the eighth longest-running science fiction magazine in history and the longest-running British SF magazine...
.
The 3rd Alternative
Founded in 1994 as The 3rd Alternative, the magazine originally focused on a larger range of dark stories, often publishing science fictionScience fiction magazine
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard copy periodical format or on the Internet....
, fantasy, and slipstream alongside horror. The 3rd Alternative ran for 42 issues before going on a short hiatus in 2005 after the acquisition of Interzone
Interzone (magazine)
Interzone is an award-winning British fantasy and science fiction magazine. Published since 1982, Interzone is the eighth longest-running science fiction magazine in history and the longest-running British SF magazine...
magazine by TTA Press.
Black Static
In 2007 The 3rd Alternative was relaunched. Now focused exclusively on dark horror, the magazine was retitled Black Static. Authors published in Black Static include Nicholas RoyleNicholas Royle
Nicholas Royle is an English novelist.Born in Manchester, Royle has written five novels - Counterparts, Saxophone Dreams, The Matter of the Heart, The Director’s Cut and Antwerp. He also claims to have written more than 100 short stories, which have appeared in a variety of anthologies and...
, Conrad Williams
Conrad Williams
Conrad Williams was a fictional character in UK soap opera Family Affairs, played by Simon Merrells from 2004 until October 2005.-Conrad's Arrival:...
, Christopher Fowler
Christopher Fowler
Christopher Fowler is an English thriller writer. In addition to his numerous horror, satire and crime novels, he has also written a Sherlock Holmes audio drama for BBC 7 entitled The Lady Downstairs...
, Aliette de Bodard
Aliette de Bodard
Aliette de Bodard is a speculative fiction writer. She is of French/Vietnamese descent, born in the USA, and grew up in Paris. French is her mother-tongue, but she writes in English. She is a Software Engineer specialising in Machine Vision....
, Steve Rasnic Tem
Steve Rasnic Tem
Steve Rasnic Tem was born in Jonesville, Virginia, which is in the heart of Appalachia. He went to college at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and also at Virginia Commonwealth University. He got a B.A. in English education. In 1974, he moved to Colorado and studied creative...
, Nina Allan, Matthew Holness, Alexander Glass, Simon Avery, Gary McMahon, Gary Fry, Peter Tennant
Peter Tennant
Peter Tennant is a prolific writer of horror, fantasy and speculative fiction, and award-winning columnist and reviewer for Black Static magazine...
, and Mike O'Driscoll.
Awards
During its 42 issue run, The 3rd Alternative won a number of awards including a British Fantasy AwardBritish Fantasy Award
The British Fantasy Awards are administered annually by the British Fantasy Society and were first awarded in 1971. The membership of the BFS vote to determine recommendations, short-lists and winners of the awards...
for "Best Magazine" and a BFA short story award for "Dancing About Architecture" by Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in the British Isles, America and beyond.-Biography:...
. Since the magazine relaunched as Black Static, the story "My Stone Desire" by Joel Lane
Joel Lane
Joel Lane is a British novelist, short story writer, poet, critic and anthology editor. He has twice received the British Fantasy Award.-Works:...
has won a British Fantasy Award, while other stories have been reprinted in collections such as Best Horror of the Year.