Categories
Editing Events New Story

The Anniversary in Black Static, From Glasgow to Saturn, and A Night at the Museum: Fantasy Scotland

I’m sure the only reason this looks like so many things is because it’s in a title list… right?

First things first, then.

My horrific new flash fiction story, ‘The Anniversary’, appears in the latest issue of Black Static. It’s my first acceptance from any TTA Press publication, and is set in some quite wonderful black and white artwork (sorry, I’m afraid I don’t know who the artist is).

I was stunned when this piece was accepted – not least because I hadn’t realised Black Static took flash fiction – but also because I thought something quite this dark would be an incredibly difficult sell. ‘The Anniversary’ was one of those stories where you’re not entirely sure where it’s come from, neither are you sure you want to know… Combine that with approaching a magazine at the level of Black Static and, well, talk about self-rejection! I guess it just goes to show it’s worth taking chances with the places you submit to, if there’s any chance your story might be their thing.

Black Static‘s November/December issue will also feature new stories from recent BFA Award winner Georgina Bruce, Ralph Robert Moore, Carly Holmes, Mel Kassel, and the first new short story in ten years from Andrew Humphrey, as well as columns from Gary Couzens and Lynda E. Rucker.

For more details on how to pick up Black Static 61, including how to get it for free, head to the official website here (http://ttapress.com/blackstatic/).

Secondly, I’m chuffed to announce I’m now an Editor for From Glasgow to Saturn, the creative writing magazine from the University of Glasgow. Despite the name, From Glasgow to Saturn publishes a range of genres, as well as poetry, writing, and artwork. If you’re a writer/poet/artist, and an alumnus, student, or staff member of the University of Glasgow, I’d really like to hear from you. So, please either follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or keep an eye on the official website (https://glasgowtosaturn.com/), as we’ll be sending out a call for submissions really soon.

Finally, A Night at the Museum: Fantasy Scotland takes place on 24th November at the Hunterian Museum, run in collaboration with the wonderful MLitt in Fantasy programme at the University of Glasgow. There’ll be stations on Harry Potter, Gothic and Science Fantasy, the Loch Ness Monster, Scottish Comics, and more. There’ll also be live performances, including a specially comissioned piece from Markee de Saw and Bert Finkle.

Along with the splendidly fantastic Angie Spoto and Oliver Langmead, I’ll be manning the Creative Writing station at this year’s event. So why not pop along and get inspired by the Hunterian’s amazing collection? Tickets are available now.

 

Categories
Conventions Eastercon

Eastercon 2016: Mancunicon Schedule and the James White Award

Mancunicon

Going to Mancunicon (the 2016 BSFA Eastercon)? The full programme (and app) is now online – and it’s a cracker. With panels on SF Music, coping with Anxiety, Short Stories, Place and Identity — and my first ever moderating stint — it looks like I’ll be a busy bee this year.

In the meantime, I’ve been invited to judge this year’s James White Award, alongside Ian Sales and Neil Williamson. There really have been some imaginative entries amongst this year’s stories, so thank you to the entrants for making my first judging panel so much fun! The winner will be announced on Saturday 26th March during the BSFA Awards ceremony (also at Mancunicon), where I’ll be presenting the BSFA’s own Short Fiction Award. Hope to see you there!

So, if you don’t fancy barcon, here’s where I’ll be spending the weekend:

FRIDAY

14:30 – 15:30: Dealing with Anxiety in Fandom (Room 7)
Esther MacCallum-Stewart (M), Ruth EJ Booth, Meg Frank, Russell A Smith, Crystal Huff

Out of all my panels this weekend, this is the most important one to me. We’ll be talking about coping with Anxiety in relation to both going to cons and online interaction, but with the timing of the panel, expect that this will be focussed more on the former than the latter. Especially if Mancunicon is your first con, I’d encourage you to pop along if you can.

SATURDAY

A gentle day, but at the BSFA Awards (17:30, Deansgate 2&3) I’ll be presenting the Award for Best Short Fiction to either Aliette de Bodard, Paul Cornell, Jeff Noon, Nnedi Okorafor, or Gareth L Powell. Which is a marvellously surreal turn of events for my inner fan-girl.

SUNDAY – busy day!

13:00 – 14:00: Supporting the Short Stuff (Room 7)
Val Nolan (M), Ruth EJ Booth, Matthew Hughes, Juliet Kemp, JY Yang

This panel has sprung out of Neil Clarke’s recent comments in Clarkesworld on the future of Short Story outlets, sustainability, and what the future might look like for SF markets. Following his guest slot on the Coode Street Podcast just recently, I hope there’s going to be some good chat on this one.

20:30 – 21:30: Third Rock and Roll from the Sun (Room 7)
Michael Cobley (M), Gary Couzens, Ruth EJ Booth, Phil Nanson, Dave Tamlyn

SF music in all its forms. Join us for my forty minute lecture on the genius of Devin Townsend presents: Ziltoid the Omniscient. \m/

MONDAY

13:00 – 14:00: Place, Identity, Story (Room 6)
Ruth EJ Booth (M), Tiffani Angus, Ian McDonald, Taj Hayer, Russell A Smith

Guaranteed to be The Best Panel on Monday – not because I’m moderating it, but because we’re going to have Taj Hayer, whose latest play North Country is on Sunday evening (20:30 in Deansgate 2&3), Tiffani Angus (historical fantasist and academic, and an expert on the role of gardens in SFF), Urban fantasist Russell Smith, and Guest of Honour Ian McDonald. With a line-up like that, there’ll be plenty of proper chat, I’m hoping. So if you’re about, why not join us?