The 2007 mugshot (although I'm sporting a leaner look these days)

Swimming in the (proverbial) small pond that I currently inhabit, I’m aware that a whole bunch of people attending Aussiecon4 this week will have no idea who I am and why I’m on panels, kaffeklatches, and all that.

So in a few convenient bullet points, I am:

• Author: A Western Australian dark fiction writer who has had more than sixty short stories published around the world (Australia, USA, and Europe). Some of my stories have been translated into Spanish, Polish, and French.
• Major works: Shards, a dark flash fiction collection illustrated by Andrew J. McKiernan (Brimstone Press, 2009). Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves, a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novella (Damnation Books, 2009). A full length dark fiction collection and a Japanese fantasy novel series are forthcoming.
• Awards-hound: Winner of two Ditmar Awards and nominee of more than twenty other (mostly Australian) awards, including the Ditmars, Aurealis Award, and Australian Shadows Award. I was also nominated for Spain’s Premios Ignotus, and my collection Shards made the preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards.
• Magazine editor: Founder/Managing Editor of HorrorScope, Australia’s Dark Fiction Blog, and previously, Managing Editor of Black: Australian Dark Culture Magazine (a national Australian newsstand magazine) and guest editor of Midnight Echo #2 (with Angela Challis).
• Anthologist: Editor/Co-editor of several anthologies including Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror Volume One, Shadow Box, and Black Box.
• Day job: Magazine editor and journalist.
• Other: Vice President of the Australian Horror Writers Association. Martial arts black belt in Iga-ryu Ninjutsu (where the ‘Jiraiya’ originally came from many years ago) and sword fighting (Sports Chanbara) instructor/champion.

See you at Aussiecon4! Don’t be afraid to say g’day!

Looking over my Aussiecon4 schedule, it strikes me that – once again – I’m paired on panels with some especially notable (and dare I say, famous) authors.

This time, I’ll be a co-panellist with China Mieville, Carrie Vaughn, and Cory Doctorow. As you’ll see from the photo, I’ve had a good run of panels at SF conventions over the years. The photo is me (on the far right) on a panel at Continuum (Melbourne, 2005) with Jenny Blackford, Cameron Rogers, and Neil Gaiman on the far left. Next to Neil but out of shot is Robin Hobb. Suffice to say, with Neil on the panel, the room (and a huge one it was!) was packed and all eyes were on him. Oddly, it takes a lot of pressure off you as a panellist – you say your bit and then throw the discussion back to the person everyone came to see.

I’ve previously shared a panel with Cory Doctorow (back in 2006 at the Brisbane Natcon) and pretty much the who’s who of Aussie horror, of course. To expand the scope wider, I’ve shared anthology tables of contents with giants of the genre (such as Peter Straub and Alan Dean Foster in last year’s Anthology of Dark Wisdom) and I’ve interviewed stars such as Charlaine Harris and Alice Cooper (for Black Magazine and HorrorScope)

So who does this make me? I’m the guy who pops up in all sorts of unlikely places, rubbing shoulders with the famous and powerful. I’m the Forrest Gump of international SF & Horror.  :)

Of course, I’m working on my own level of fame/notoriety, and with a few pending *things* on the horizon, my fingers are crossed for the time when I’ll be more than the proverbial big fish in a small pond. Fascinating times, these!

For the interested, I’ll be having a signing at Aussiecon4, so bring along your copies of Shards, Black Box, Shadow Box, Black Magazine, Midnight Echo #2, or any of the anthologies or magazines in which I’ve been published, and I’d be delighted to shoot the breeze while scribbling words of appreciation.

I’m also lucky enough to have been given a kaffeeklatsch spot, which allows 10 or so people to sit down with me for an hour over a hot beverage and chat. I can provide some useful insights on writing and selling short fiction, editing anthologies, Australian horror, writing a Japanese fantasy series, the Australian Shadows Awards, reviewing, HorrorScope, writing comics, designing book covers and typesetting, the trials of small press (specifically Brimstone Press), my time practicing ninjutsu/Chanbara sword fighting, or pretty much anything else of applicable interest. You can also slip me review copies for HorrorScope, if you like.

See you there!

I was going to post my my Aussiecon4 schedule the other day, but it looks like every author and his/her dog has beaten me to the punch. Anyway, without further ado, here’s my schedule:

Unthinkable! Indescribable!
The writer of fantastical horror faces some very particular challenges. Our panellists discuss defying the prefixes.
Shane Jiraiya Cummings, China Mieville, Carrie Vaughn
Friday 11am. Room 211.

Signing
Trent Jamieson, Paul Collins, Nicole R. Murphy, Shane Jiraiya Cummings
Friday 12 noon. Room 201.

Very short stories: Writing and reading flash fiction
Flash fiction – a short story lasting only a few hundred words – is perhaps the most misunderstood of prose fiction forms, and potentially one of the hardest to write. What are the challenges of writing flash fiction, and what sorts of stories is it best equipped to tell? Is it possible to write a work of flash fiction that could rival lengthier classics in the field? Can you write quality fiction shorter than this panel description? (Which is 88 words long, by the way, including this sentence.)
Martin Livings, Sarah Parker, Jeff Harris, Amanda Pillar, Shane Jiraiya Cummings*
Friday 3pm. Room 217.
* My attendance on this panel hasn’t been confirmed.

Book launch – Macabre: A Journey through Australia’s Darkest Fears
Marty Young, Angela Challis, and a whole bunch of Aussie horror writers.
Friday 4pm. Room 203.

AHWA Nightmare Ball
Friday 9pm. Room 201.

Kaffeeklatsch
Monday 10am. Room 201.

Dirty feed
Are attempts to censor the web an assault on our freedom or a necessary precaution? As in Australia, so to the world.
Talie Helene, Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Gary Kemble, Cory Doctorow
Monday 12 noon. Room 210.

The full program is now online.

The reviews for Cthulhu’s Dark Cults have been coming in thick and fast! All have been positive, too, which is great because I think CDC is one of the great horror anthologies of 2010.

First up, Matthew Carpenter posted a detailed review of CDC on Amazon that was more than complimentary, although he was somewhat ambivalent about my novella “Requiem for the Burning God”:

… Some mercenaries are hired to provide security at a mine in Peru. One finds out more than is good for his health. This was an action story more than suspense or mystery; as such I liked it but I think the canvas was too broad. First the main character, Max Calder, leads his small band expertly in infantry operations and then he pilots a small plane to attack a ship. After that he is able to use an antiaircraft weapon. OK, this is too much scrutiny for what is actually a fun bit of pulp fiction.

Then, Jeff Ritchie at ScaryMinds has plenty of positives to point out about the anthology, citing “Requiem” as one of his favourites. Of the anthology, Jeff says:

The writers in the collection have really captured the true nature of the Cthulhu Mythos and have managed to twist that nature in a new direction. It’s quite the achievement and the collection really does become a must have for lovers of the horror genre. I’m calling this the best Mythos collection since Brian Lumley’s seminal Titus Crow works.

And “Requiem for the Burning God” gets a mention:

… the stories I would highlight as being the pick of the collection (please note chronological order here). John Sunseri’s “The Eternal Chinaman” gets things out of the harbour in style with perhaps a ‘Dagon’ inspired tale of magic versus true evil. Bringing the nasty into things David Witteveen hits us with “Perfect Skin”. Not to be outdone, Shane Jiraiya Cummings tells a cautionary tale of not diving in without first looking as the protagonists learn in the sensational “Requiem for the Burning God“. A touch of the ‘Boys Own Adventure’ was appreciated there.

Also over at ScaryMinds is a praiseworthy review of the recently released Eclecticism #13, which contains my story “A Picture of Death”.

ScaryMinds is the most exciting and comprehensive addition to the Australian horror criticism landscape since HorrorScope, and it’s a site that’s well worth your time. Check it out!

Cthulhu’s Dark Cults can be purchased from Chaosium, and Eclecticism #13 may be downloaded (for free!) from Dark Prints Press.

Brian M. Sammons over at HorrorWorld has had nothing but nice things to say about Cthulhu’s Dark Cults. While my novella “Requiem for the Burning God” wasn’t specifically mentioned, he was feeling the Cthulhu love and particularly liked stories by fellow Aussies David Conyers (also the editor), Penelope Love, and David Witteveen. As Brian said:

“I will have to thank [Conyers] for opening my American eyes to some truly great terror talents from the land down under.”

The review is here (you’ll have to scroll down about three quarters of the page).

I’m chuffed to see that my story “A Picture of Death”* has just been published in Eclecticism e-zine’s special 3rd anniversary 13th issue (themed ‘Superstitions’). As usual, editor Craig Bezant has done a magnificent job in crafting a visually spectacular issue.

Other contributors include Martin Livings, Brett McBean, and Andrew J. McKiernan (plus interviews with Scott Sigler and Stuart MacBride).

Download the e-zine for free here.

* “A Picture of Death” was first published in Voices (Morrigan Books, 2008).