Steampunk has reached critical mass. At least, that’s the assumption in the greater SFF community. We’ve gotten to the point where a dozen different newspapers write an article per week explaining the subgenre to the mainstream. TV shows base episodes off the community (some better than others). Stores now have pre-fab Halloween outfits for sky pirates and adventurers.

With steampunk “hitting the mainstream,” the big question nowadays has changed from “What is steampunk?”* to “Where is it going?” To help address this question, Liz Gorinsky has kindly passed the mantle of Tor.com steampunk curator to me this year. Although this is only a week-long theme, I’ve packed it to the brim with contributions from both established and up-and-coming voices in the steampunk community. I’m especially proud of the diverse range of voices worldwide who offer a look at steampunk from various angles—from Eurocentric to multicultural, artsy to lowbrow, politics to fandom, and everything in between. Hopefully, you’ll have as much fun reading this week as I’ve had assembling it.

* For those who have been living in a cave and have no idea what steampunk is, I suggest checking out Tor.com’s previous blogging events: Steampunk Month in 2009 and Steampunk Fortnight in 2010 for some clues.

So hop on board the H.M.S. Stubbington and enjoy the ride!

Here’s a peek at what to expect this coming week:

Articles, interviews and intellectual explorations from myself and by guest bloggers Margaret Killjoy, Lord Bobbins, Andrew Fogel, Captain Donna Ricci, Janus Zarate, Ekaterina Sedia, Kaja Foglio, Lee Ann Farruga, Fabio Fernandes, Simon J. Berman, John Coulthart, Nisi Shawl, Gina Gagliano, Jaymee Goh, Cat Rambo, John R. R. Leavitt, Tyson Ness, Jess Nevins, Mike Perschon, Glenn Freund, and Pablo “Mr. Saturday” Vazquez III.

An added bonus: a tie-in to B&N spotlight reviews, who are highlighting various steampunk titles.

Sweepstakes galore for the hottest steampunk items, gift certificates, and books every day this week.

You can keep track of everything that’s posted by bookmarking the Steampunk Week index. Everything posted will automatically show up there!

If you’re looking for even more steamy goodness, check out these articles on the topic we’ve done earlier this year:

Ay-leen the Peacemaker runs Tor.com Steampunk on Facebook and Twitter, along with the multicultural steampunk blog Beyond Victoriana.