Belated congratulations to the Aurealis Award winners, especially Sean’s/Russell’s win for Magic Dirt and Kirstyn’s well-deserved win in the Horror short story section.

And in case you’re wondering what happened to Black Box in the AAs … now the awards are done, I can reveal it was withdrawn from consideration. If you ever catch me in a quiet moment in person somewhere, I’d be more than happy to express my views on how this came to pass, the Horror panel convenor, and which bridges are currently burning.

The Aurealis Award nominees have been announced and it was great to see some mates amongst the names. A big shout out especially to Nathan Burrage, Rob Hood, and Ian McHugh, who are getting some well-deserved recognition for their work. Nice one, fellas.

Congratulations to all those authors, editors, and publishers working tirelessly out there who fought the good fight, whether they made the list or not. This time of year can often be divisive, so it’s worth saluting (and reading!) the abundance of quality work doing the rounds out there. Buy a book, people!

It’s been a couple of months… I owe some deserving people emails, but before I get to those, I thought I’d post a bit of an update

The Year of the Pig was just that. One of those Annus Horriblises worth forgetting. Two things came out of it – a pretty successful string of short story publications and a resolution to be more honest and uncompromising when it comes to people’s bullshit.

I’ve also completed my duties as convenor of the Aurealis Awards horror division. Congratulations to Susan, Anna, Terry, Cat, and all the nominees and honourable mentions (if you look at the judges’ reports, you’ll see there are more than a few across the divisions – in Horror, Margo Lanagan, Martin Livings, and Miranda Siemienowicz received HMs for their shorts, while Keri Arthur, David Conyers, and Jason Nahrung received HMs for their novels).

I’m glad I was involved in the awards process. It’s given me a greater appreciation for what’s involved, and it was great to hear the winners were so chuffed about it all.

I especially think Ron, Kate, Damon, and the judges deserve a special mention for putting the hard yards in. It wasn’t perfect at times but I think it was the smoothest and most professionally run AAs to date (and despite some impressions, the judges and admin went out of their way to ensure everything was considered – I personally hunted up every short story I was aware of and encouraged my fellow horror judges to read electronic submissions where appropriate). Everything within the bounds of possibility was considered (except where publishers and authors refused to participate), the commercial interest of sponsors and advertisers was met, deadlines were met, the results were made available within hours of the ceremony (a huge cheer for that), and judges were given a formal opportunity to debrief. You can’t ask for much more than that.

It was immensely vindicating (and surprising) to see one of my stories nominated for the Aurealis Award in the YA division (congrats to Deb for her fine “A Scar for Leida”, btw). It was also fantastic to see Russell score five nominations from Fantastic Wonder Stories. My nod for “Yamabushi Kaidan and the Smoke Dragon” was my first Aurealis nom (I had an HM in 2005 for “Revision is Murder”). I do a hell of a lot of ‘back end’ stuff – like running HorrorScope, editing anthologies (ADFH 2006, Black Box etc), and awards judging, so it’s great to see some people appreciate my writing (which I’ve always maintained is my primary goal, despite the chronic volunteerism) enough to rate a story of mine in their top five.

Here’s how the Year of the Pig went down for me, short story wise:

Novelettes:
“Yamabushi Kaidan and the Smoke Dragon” (Fantastic Wonder Stories)
“Beneath Southern Waves” (Daikaiju! 2)

Shorts:
“Genesis Six” (Apex Digest #8 – on the cusp of Dec06/Jan07)
“Dread Seasons Quartet” (four flash stories in Antipodean SF issues)
“Itch” (Horror Literature Quarterly #1)
“Memoirs of a Teenage Antichrist (ASIM #31)
“The Garden Shed Pact” (reprinted in Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2007 edition)
“The Cutting Room” (Gratia Placenti – published last month)

I also sold a few that are expected to appear this year – I’m especially looking forward to my appearances in Dark Wisdom, Macabre: A Journey Through Australian Horror, and Cthulhu’s Dark Cults (from Chaosium).

So, bring on the Year of the Rat.

Aurealis Awards judging has been occupying much of my time lately, which is not surprising given the looming deadline. Reading over the horror fiction for the year has put me in a reflective mood. I haven’t written anything for what seems like an eternity but the publications have ticked over this year, including some recent good news:

First up, my story “The Cutting Room” is appearing in Gratia Placenti, a horror anthology from Apex Publications. Gratia Placenti is now available for pre-order.

Here’s the blurb:
“This is the much anticipated follow up to the Stoker-nominated featured writer anthology Aegri Somnia. Gratia Placenti translated means “for the sake of pleasing.” 13 of the most sinister, darkest writers in the horror business were tasked with conveying their take on the theme of gratia placenti.”

Contents
“Only Spirits Cry” – R. Thomas Riley
“Crasher” – Debbie Kuhn
“Follow the Canary” – Athena Workman
“Translatio” – Geoffrey Girard
“Party Makers” – Adrienne Jones
“Some Glue Never Dries” – David Niall Wilson
“Some Good Eats” – JA Konrath
“Bright Red Razors” – Teri Jacobs
“Tomorrow and Tomorrow” – Mary Robinette Kowal
“The Listening” – Neil Ayres
“The Cutting Room” – Shane Jiraiya Cummings
“Something Wet” – James Reilly
“Popup Killer” – Bev Vincent

My most recent story to hit the streets is “Memoirs of a Teenage Antichrist”, which appears in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #31.

Contents:
“The Garden of the Djinn” – Dirk Flinthart
“Wicked View” – Marie Alafaci
“The Promise” – Sonny Whitelaw
“How I Learned to Keep Tidy” – Matthew Chrulew
“Reading the Lines” – J J Irwin
“The Haunting of Jig’s Ear” – Jim C Hines
“Memoirs of a Teenage Antichrist” – Shane Jiraiya Cummings
“The Neighborly Thing” – Suzanne Palmer
“Sing” – Mary O R Paddock
“Getting the Curse” – Susan Abel Sullivan
Poetry
“Wayfaring the Space-Time Continuum” – Davina Aw
Special Features
Interview with Robin Hobb – Tehani Wessely
Interview with Alastair Reynolds – Edwina Harvey

Including the above, my personal published fiction tally for 2007 looks pretty reasonable…

• “The Cutting Room” – Gratia Placenti (Apex Book Company) and Paura 4 [spanish]
• “Memoirs of a Teenage Antichrist” – Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #31
• “Beneath Southern Waves” – Daikaiju! 2: Revenge of the Giant Monster Tales (Agog! Press)
• “Dread Seasons Quartet: The Rustle of Autumnal Leaves” – Antipodean SF #108
• “Dread Seasons Quartet: Naked Azure Sky” – Antipodean SF #107
• “Yamabushi Kaidan and the Smoke Dragon” – Fantastic Wonder Stories (Ticonderoga Publications)
• “Itch” – Horror Literature Quarterly #1
• “Dread Seasons Quartet: Pallid Wisps of Snow” – Horror Carousel #5 and Antipodean SF #109
• “Dread Seasons Quartet: Rainbow-Speckled Field” – Antipodean SF #106
• “Genesis Six” – Apex Digest #8 and Best of Apex 2006 (Apex Book Company)

All good!

Back. Sort of. Well, not really. It’s a long and continuing story.

Thanks to those kind souls who enquired about my absence.

For the interested, while my writing this year has been slow and sporadic, the publications continue. Intriguingly (especially for someone perhaps best known for flash fiction), I appear to have drifted into novelette/novella range

Of my fiction appearances this year, “Yamabushi Kaidan and the Smoke Dragon” (in Fantastic Wonder Stories) and “Beneath Southern Waves” (Daikaiju 2) both weigh in as novelettes around 9-10k words. Neither are horror stories (although some may see horror in the latter).

Two of my best works are novellas: the still unsubmitted/unpublished novella (~25k words) “Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves” and my most recently written story “Requiem for the Burning God” (~18k words). Completing a novella is brilliant for the ego. There is a tremendous sense of achievement – more so than a short story – perhaps because of the investment in time and creative energy.

‘Burning God’ was demanding – probably my most demanding story to write for reasons I’ll keep to myself – taking me many more months to write than expected. It is my first fully-fledged Cthulhu Mythos piece (derived from the body of ‘cosmic horror’ work of HP Lovecraft and friends) and will appear in David Conyers’ forthcoming Mythos anthology Cthulhu’s Dark Cults. I can only thank David for his infinite patience. Writing Burning God has ignited a passion in me to write more Mythos-style fiction. My natural style seems well-suited to it.

Here’s a sample:

“Know how to handle a gun, Calder?” Dirke pulled a Mauser automatic pistol from his shoulder holster and aimed it at Max’s chest.

“Steady on,” MacKenzie grumbled.

“I know enough not to point my gun at people unless I’m intending to do something about it, Mr Dirke,” Max said.

Dirke searched the faces of his colleagues, hoping to find support in their eyes. When he didn’t, he muttered and holstered his weapon, eyeing off Calder all the while.

Unbeknownst to Dirke and the others, Max relaxed his grip on his revolver, which was tucked under the flap of his shirt. The Webley was warm in his grip and buzzed with static electricity as he pried his fingers away, almost reluctantly, one at a time.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the men as the truck continued its bumpy course through the streets of Lima. Calder tuned out the sights and sounds of the city, choosing to concentrate on the job ahead and his next move. Only the off-key tune of a flute pierced his thoughts, coming from some far-off corner of Lima and carried over the ebb and flow bustle of the streets.

The tune tickled Max’s ear in a most peculiar way, the notes rising when he expected them to fall, lingering when they should have been cut short, as though the flautist was an idiot-savant, a maestro without rhythm or a feel for the instrument. The tune lingered in Max’s mind well beyond Lima’s limits as the truck climbed onwards and upwards into the Peruvian Andes.

———————————

You can also keep an eye out for my fiction coming out from Apex Publications. The most excellent editor Jason Sizemore recently released the Best of Apex 2006 anthology, which includes my story from Apex Digest #8, “Genesis Six” (with a brilliant appreciation/foreword to my story from Dark Discoveries editor James Beach). This is a great value antho, and I’d encourage anyone with a love of dark science fiction to pick it up – or take out a subscription to Apex Digest. To me, Apex Digest offers a hell of a lot more value than those staid old rags like Analog and Asimovs, and is much more in touch with current SF trends (not just publishing the good ol’ boys).

My erotic horror story “The Cutting Room” (THAT story from Clarion 05) will appear in the Apex Publications anthology Gratia Placenti (trans. ‘for the sake of pleasing’). The rather psychedelic cover art can be seen here. I consider this story my best horror short story to date. I hope it is well received. Last year’s Apex anthology Aegri Somnia was short-listed for HWA’s Bram Stoker Award, so I’m looking forward to this one.

As mentioned a while back, a Spanish translation of “The Cutting Room” will also appear at the end of the year in the Spanish horror anthology Paura 4.

And in case you think I’ve been getting slack, the Black Box table of contents was finalised a month or two ago. I’ll update the Brimstone website with the full contributor list soon. HorrorScope is ticking over nicely, with the one and only Rob Hood joining the team. I’ll post a bunch of overdue reviews and interviews very soon.

In the meantime, my duties as Convenor of the Aurealis Awards horror panel and a judge of the Australian Shadows Award this year fill whatever little spare time you imagine I may have – although reading Aussie horror is an enjoyable way to spend the wee hours. I made the mistake of looking on a few blogs on my return and saw some kerfuffle about the Aurealis Awards. The only thing I’ll add is: don’t make wild assumptions on what judges are and aren’t doing. I won’t speak for other judges and panels, but do you honestly think I’m going to overlook anything in the horror field? I mean, really.

Lots to do. More silences to come. So yeah.

It’s now official.

I am one of the judges for the 2007 Australian Shadows Award.

I am also the Convenor of the Horror Division of the 2007 Aurealis Awards.

The respective awards bodies will undoubtedly unveil all soon.