You recently took over as editor-in-chief of Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA). What prompted that?
Sannion originally founded Bibliotheca Alexandrina back in 2007 as the publishing arm of Neos Alexandria (NA). We wanted to publish a series of devotional anthologies in honor of the Gods and Goddesses of ancient Alexandria. He left Neos Alexandria a couple of years later (on good terms) and handed over the editorship to Jeremy Baer. Jeremy, too, eventually left NA under good terms (his essays can still be found on the NA site) and he asked me to step in as editor-in-chief of Bibliotheca Alexandrina. I took over in the early summer of 2010, and it's been quite a ride.
What anthologies will Bibliotheca Alexandrina be releasing in the near future?
We have three books set for release before the middle of 2011. Out of Arcadia: A Devotional Anthology in Honor of Pan (edited by Diotima Sophia) will be out in February. Megaloi Theoi: A Devotional Anthology in Honor of The Dioskouroi and Their Family (edited by John Drury) is set for release in April. Finally, Anointed: A Devotional in Honor of the Deities of the Near and Middle East (edited by Tess Dawson) will be out before the Summer Solstice.
What other upcoming projects does Bibliotheca Alexandrina have planned?
We are currently seeking submissions for The Scribing Ibis: An Anthology of Pagan Fiction in Honor of Thoth (more on that below) and an untitled devotional in honor of cynocephalic Deities such as Anubis and Wepwawet.
In February, submissions open for a devotional in honor of Persephone (edited by Melitta Benu).
In March, Star Foster will open submissions for Harnessing Fire: A Devotional Anthology in Honor of Hephaestus.
And in August, K.S. Roy will be editing an anthology in honor of Hermes.
That is really great. I'm thrilled to see such an outpouring of devotional creativity. Speaking of NA, what role does it play within the Hellenistai community?
I suppose NA could be described as a sort of crossroads. We modeled ourselves after the ancient city of Alexandria, which was a melting pot of spiritualities and ethnicities. Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, Arabians, Mesopotamians, heck even Indians (from India) and northern Europeans all rubbed shoulders in Alexandria. NA is open to anyone who honors the Gods of old Alexandria: Hellenic, Kemetic, Roman, you name it.
So, NA is where Hellenistai can come to hang out with and learn from other Hellenistai, but also people from other traditions.
We also consider ourselves an outreach and charitable organization. The anthologies we publish are meant to raise awareness of the Gods and Goddesses; create ties across and between different Pagan paths; and offer publishing opportunities to authors who might not otherwise get them. We also donate a portion of our proceeds to worthy charitable organizations (no one makes a dime off the books; the rest of the money goes back into producing more books).
Where would you like to see this organization go in the next year? What are your current goals?
Within the next year I would like to see NA 1) get our new site fully up and running and 2) get our current list of forthcoming devotionals published.
I would also love, love, love to host a panel or have a booth at PantheaCon, but I have no idea if that will happen.
Last year you started an online magazine called Eternal Haunted Summer. Can you tell me a little bit about this magazine and what inspired it?
Eternal Haunted Summer was born of frustration. All those poems I mentioned above? Yeah. No place to publish them. There are plenty of fantasy magazines and ezines out there, but they don't seem to know what to do with explicitly Pagan work. Magazines like Witches & Pagans and Hex are great, but they only have limited space for fiction and poetry.
Plenty of people write devotional poetry and fiction, and I had heard others complain that there was no place to feature their work (except maybe their own blog), so I launched Eternal Haunted Summer. So far, response has been very positive. I pay a flat rate of $5 U.S. for original pieces. It updates every Solstice and Equinox. I love being able to feature great Pagan writers.
Do you have any other personal projects currently in the works?
In addition to overseeing (from a distance) the various BA anthologies, I am also personally editing The Scribing Ibis: An Anthology of Pagan Fiction in Honor of Thoth. I'm looking for any genre of fiction that features a God or Goddess or hero or practitioner of any Pagan tradition. So, don't send me just a mystery. Send me a mystery featuring a devotee of Hermes; or a story in which Eir makes a surprise visit to a hospital or Anubis shows up at a funeral.
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