So here’s the secret: I’m not an editor.

There are some very good professional magazines and anthologies being published right now and they print a reliable roster of great writers. There are some excellent editors working in the field as well. In the end, what they publish –what we read– comes down to their taste, style, and the direction they think the industry should be going. And that’s great. That’s exactly what they should be doing. Education and experience and time served in the mines count for a lot; they have all my respect and admiration.

There aren’t enough of them though, and no matter how exquisite their taste it might not be the same as mine. Or yours.

When you filter all the noise out of so many petulant Internet flamewars, what the complaints seem to boil down to most often is “They’re not publishing enough of the stuff I want to see.”

No?  Well, me either.  I figure it’s time to put up or shut up.

The foundations of this project are a small amount of cash and an interest in putting some of the most interesting material I can find out into the world in as accessible and DIY manner as possible. My credentials consist mainly of photographs of terrific editors like Ann Vandermeer, Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link, Cecilia Tan, and Susie Bright that I hook up to jumper cables during thunderstorms.  Maybe lightning will strike.

Orthogonal isn’t a professional effort.  It’s going to quick, it’s going to be dirty, and it’s going to leave ink on your fingers.

That’s the whole point.