Michael Damian Thomas

Michael Damian Thomas
Michael Damian Thomas in 2023
Occupation(s)	Editor, podcaster
Known for	Uncanny Magazine
Spouse	Lynne M. Thomas
Children	Caitlin Thomas

Michael Damian Thomas is an American magazine editor and podcaster. Thomas has won eight Hugo Awards, a British Fantasy Award, and a Parsec Award as co-publisher and co-editor-in-chief of Uncanny Magazine with his wife, Lynne M. Thomas. He has also been active as an advocate for disabled children in Illinois.

Early life

Thomas attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), a public magnet school in Aurora, Illinois, in 1992.^[1] In 2018, IMSA gave him the Alumni Titan Award, recognizing his contributions as "an enthusiastic and energetic champion who has invested significantly in the IMSA community".^[2] He graduated from Parkland College in 1998, and worked on the Parkland literary journal.^[3][4]

Career

Thomas was managing editor at Apex Magazine from 2012 until 2013,^[5] and an associate editor at Mad Norwegian Press.^[6] In 2014, he and Lynne M. Thomas began Uncanny Magazine, as "a home for emotional, strongly written, experimental stories and provocative nonfiction" and poetry.^[7] He is co-host of the podcast of the same name, and has contributed to other podcasts, including the SF Squeecast with Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, and Catherynne M. Valente,^[8] and Down and Safe, a Blake’s 7 podcast with Amal El-Mohtar, Scott Lynch, and L. M. Myles.^[9]

Thomas has been the co-editor of several collections of stories and essays, including Glitter & Mayhem (2013 with John Klima and Lynne M. Thomas),^[10] and Queers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the LGBTQ Fans Who Love It (2014, with Sigrid Ellis), and The Best of Uncanny (2019, with Lynne M. Thomas).^[11][12]

Thomas has taken a particular interest in disability issues. He chaired the City of DeKalb Advisory Commission on Disabilities and the DeKalb County Local Interagency Networking Council, and served on the planning committee of the Aicardi Syndrome Family Conference. In 2017, the Thomases and Mary Robinette Kowal crafted the "SF/F Convention Accessibility Pledge", a list of three basic accessibility requirements for signers' participation in conventions as participants, panelists, or guests.^[13][14] In 2018 and 2019, Uncanny Magazine published the theme issues Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction and Disabled People Destroy Fantasy, exclusively featuring the works of disabled editors and authors.^[15]

Bibliography

• with Sigrid Ellis (editors), Queers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of
  ISBN 978-1935234142
• with John Klima and
  ISBN 978-1937009199
• with
  ISBN 978-0991002627
• with Lynne M. Thomas (editors), The Best of Uncanny (Subterranean Press, 2019).
  ISBN 978-1596069183