[6][7] Thomas was the head of the rare books and special collections at Northern Illinois University (NIU) from 2004 until 2017.

[8] In her position as an archivist, she was in charge of the personal papers of over 75 science fiction authors such as Lois McMaster Bujold, Jack McDevitt, Fred Saberhagen, Eric Flint, Cherie Priest, Catherynne M. Valente, Patricia Wrede, Sharon Shinn, Ann Leckie, Elizabeth Bear, Tamora Pierce, Terri Windling, and Kage Baker, and the organizational archives of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

"[17] Thomas is very involved in Doctor Who fandom, though she remembers a time when the television show wasn't something most Americans knew about.

The anthology has its roots among Thomas's friends who were visiting together in Chicago and who owned a publishing house, Mad Norwegian Press.

Uncanny Magazine story "Like a River Loves the Sky" by Emma Törzs was the winner of the 2019 World Fantasy Award—Short Fiction.

Other Uncanny Magazine Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award finalist stories include stories by Brooke Bolander, Sam J. Miller, Amal El-Mohtar, Fran Wilde, Sarah Pinsker, Vina Jie-Min Prasad, K.M.