Ticonderoga Publications has released the table of contents for The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror Vol 3 (2012), edited by Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene, and I’m stoked to say that my ‘The Last Boat to Eden’, published in the recent Shadows award-winning Surviving the End, has been included.
The ‘best of’ series is a wonderful snapshot of Aussie horror and fantasy. It is due to arrive in July, and is available for pre-order.
The contents are:
I haven’t had time to read the yarns yet — and it would probably be gauche for me to comment on them, given I’m a contributor — but I have to say, Craig Bezant’s Dark Prints Press has done a beautiful job on Surviving the End: an anthology of post-apocalypse stories. Craig’s linked the yarns with his own narrative. It *feels* great and looks great. Aussie small press are certainly rising to the occasion. The anthology is now available in print and e-version — the Jonathan Maberry story is available only in the print edition. (An aside: Mr Maberry is joining Ramsey Campbell and Caitlín R. Kiernan as author guests at next year’s World Horror Convention in that heart of hearts, New Orleans… oooh.)
Here’s the contributor list:
‘Hiatus’ by Michael Bailey
‘The Long Ago’ by Amanda J Spedding
‘The Last Boat to Eden’ by Jason Nahrung
‘Harvest’ by Ashlee Scheuerman
‘Unwanted’ by Martin Livings
‘The Stuff of Stories’ by Kathryn Hore
‘The Failing Flesh’ by Joseph D’Lacey
‘The Wind Through the Fence’ by Jonathan Maberry (print edition only)
With narrative interludes by the ‘Story Keeper’, Craig Bezant
NOT to be outdone is Epilogue, Fablecroft’s anthology of hopeful post-apocalyptic stories which arrived TODAY! Editor Tehani Wessely has presented such a pleasant tactile end to the world with its striking cover and intriguing binary code symbolism.
Its contents:
‘Sleeping Beauty’ by Thoraiya Dyer
‘Time and tide’ by Lyn Battersby
‘A Memory Trapped in Light’ by Joanne Anderton
‘Fireflies’ by Steve Cameron
‘The Fletcher Test’ by Dirk Flinthart
‘Ghosts’ by Stephanie Gunn
‘Sleepers’ by Kaia Landelius
‘Solitary’ by Dave Luckett
‘Cold Comfort’ by David McDonald
‘Mornington Ride’ by Jason Nahrung
‘Only the Books Survive’ by Tansy Rayner Roberts
‘The Last Good Town’ by Elizabeth Tan
Epilogue is being given away at Goodreads until 8 June.
Brimstone Press is showing a pleasing glow of resurgent life after a meltdown earlier this year which saw press releases announcing much pulping of stock. The website carries three available titles, announces an Australian distributor and promises further titles to come.
Another Aussie publisher specialising in the dark side is Dark Prints Press, who has announced a new anthology of supernatural crime stories and has also opened its doors to novellas.
Which is a timely reminder that Twelfth Planet Press is looking for novels — send submissions throughout January.
WA writer Martin Livings has flagged the cover of his forthcoming anthology Living with the Dead and it’s a beauty — just what you want for a 20-year retrospective.
And you can get some insight into the issues surrounding the e-publishing revolution with a collection of essays commissioned by if:book Australia — High Tech Hand Made is free!
And non-writerly but wonderful is the new single from Brissie band Felinedown, playing a New Year’s Eve gig with Tycho Brahe — damn shame to be missing that gig.
Dark Prints Press has released the table of contents for its Surviving the End anthology, to be launched at the Swancon “Doom Con” in Perth at Easter next year — lovely thematic resonance, there! (Marianne de Pierres is a good choice of guest of honour, given her dystopian outings.) The antho sounds nice and tight, with extra interest thanks to the inclusion of Craig’s between-story interludes and the novella.
As well as my yarn, ‘The Last Boat to Eden’, there is:
The end is in sight — bring it on!
Here is the cover of More Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga’s anthology of paranormal romance stories due out in April. The table of contents is here.
And Ticonderoga’s Australian-themed vampire anthology, Dead Red Heart, has had its table of contents announced, and it’s a monster: 32 yarns, more than 130,000 words, due out towards the end of April.
I hope this means both will hit the shelf in time for Swancon, Perth’s annual spec fic convention which this year is also the national science fiction convention.
It’s particularly exciting to have a couple of stories coming out this year after such a long hiatus.
There’s also a story of mine, a cyberpunk one just in contrast to the New Orleans hot-and-sweaty of MSK and cane-and-dust vampire action of DRH, in Fablecroft’s forthcoming After the Rain anthology, also due out in time for Swancon. A special e-edition of ATR is available with proceeds going to the Queensland flood appeal. More than $1200 has been raised so far. Awesome!
For me, after the rain should probably be after the drought, it’s been so long since I’ve written a short story. But last year, after much kicking around and failing to succeed with novel-length manuscripts, my subconscious apparently found a window for some short stuff. Dark Prints Press’s Surviving the End anthology started the ball rolling — that book’s due out in 2012, and I quite like the story of mine in it: a dirty, post-apocalyptic Australian Gulf-country yarn.
I’m back in drought mode, now, but it sure feels affirming to have been able to dredge out some yarns!