Anyone in Brisbane on January 25 — maybe for the Aurealis Awards, say — might like to consider catching Margo Lanagan at West End book shop Avid Reader at 3pm. Margo’s Tender Morsels was one of my favourite books from 2008, and her short fiction is to die for.
fantasy
melbourne horror con
Just found out about a convention in March in Melbourne featuring a swag (well, four) actors, who’ve appeared in horror movies and TV shows, and for some inexplicable reason, Suicide Girls. I guess for a certain demographic horror and T&A go together. Pity, that. Anyhoo, the Hub horror con reads like one of those Star Trek-style cons where the guests parade through a Q&A panel or two and sign autographs for a fee, and certainly the talent is attractive (Suicide Girls not included, attractive yes, talent… debatable): Robert Englund, Brad Dourif, Jeffrey Combs and Tony Dodd, and a promise of more to come.
Also of interest is the Supernatural con they’re planning for April, with the stars of the TV show Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Incredibly, tickets costing $1400 and $800 have sold out. Are these boys hot or what?
There is also some do related to Twilight, but I think both the book and movie are naff, so I didn’t check that out 🙂
GenConOz
One for the calendar if you’re into gaming, reading or cosplay: GenConOz is booked in for September 18-20, 2009. The first foray of the US franchise to our shores last year was much fun. I was impressed by how widely the con spread its wings: Alan Tudyk’s appearance was a real thrill for us Firefly fans (fanboy me just had to line up for his autograph), I got to revisit my halcyon Dungeons & Dragons days (to the extent I actually bought new dice, sadly as yet unused), and the place was hopping with cool cosplayers and slightly less cool computer geeks (I am one, I think I can get away with that). Laura and Tracy Hickman, Sean Williams, Kyla Ward, Kylie Chan, Marianne de Pierres were among the writers attending, which gives some idea of the breadth of material on offer. It’ll be interesting to see what the organisers cook up this year.
ticonderoga lives!
Ticonderoga is a small press in Western Australia that has done some brilliant stuff in recent years, anthologies and collections mostly. It went on a wee hiatus but now it’s back with an online presence at ticon4.com. You’ll find short fiction and book reviews there; it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Dreaming Again
And in other online news, the HorrorScope has provided a recommended list of the year’s best dark fiction. Good to see so many from Dreaming Again included, and very good to see my story, Smoking, Waiting for the Dawn, among that number. A friend described it as a “melancholy vampire story” – I like that 🙂
Die Jägerin der Finsternis
Die Jägerin der Finsternis
Es macht mich sehr glucklich.
Ahem. My German really is very bad. And I don’t have an umlaut key… But as you might have gathered, a German website devoted to the television show Blood Ties has kindly reviewed the German version of The Darkness Within, and given it four stars out of five on the Blood-o-Meter. We think that’s a good thing 😉 Seeing the word “erotic” without a nicht in front of it certainly is 🙂
Tschus!
Aurealis Awards
The Aurealis Awards’ list of finalists have been announced and it’s very exciting. Some highlights include seeing Sean Williams in four categories and Trent Jamieson in three, and a bunch of stories from Dreaming Again — and the anthology itself — being nominated.
There’s a summary story here and the full details here.
I was a judge on the horror division so can’t say too much, except I feel the finalists’ list, from what I know of the stories involved, is a very strong one. The ceremony on January 24 coincides with the running of the Clarion South writers workshop; having some of the tutors and the Clarion young guns at the ceremony should add some extra energy to the night.
I’m glad I wasn’t on the fantasy novel panel. Trying to decide on a winner when the field includes Two Pearls of Wisdom and Tender Morsels would’ve been way too hard! (Read my review of Tender Morsels and Two Pearls.)
I’d encourage anyone interested in Australian spec fic to attend the awards. There’ll be plenty of writers from around the country there, and no doubt some agents and publishers as well.