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.
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.
Before I moved, I made a mental checklist of the places and events I wanted to see and go to when I got to Glasgow. Near the top of that list was Stag & Dagger, the all-day music festival that takes place over the May bank holiday weekend. Friends up here are big fans — their festival, a feat of meticulous planning: listening to and rating bands weeks in advance, all in preparation for the final line-up announcement just a few days beforehand, and the creation of The Spreadsheet: a document with the full listings and the planned route between their top picks of the line up.
If it sounds nerdy as hell, that’s because it is — but frankly, I don’t blame them. Stag & Dagger’s hosted early gigs from the likes of Ed Sheeran and Kathryn Joseph, and a bit of early effort means you can narrow down fifty bands to the eight or nine favourites you can squeeze in before close of play.
This year, that effort definitely paid off. Though some last minute shoogling in the stage times meant we missed the sublime Kathryn Joseph this year, I got to see some ace bands: five of whom made my festival, three of whom who rocked my tiny little world. Here’s who you might want to watch out for in the next few months.
Thank god the Priory held off unleashing the house puma to allow ARTIFICIAL PLEASURE a few minutes in their dungeon*. This was one of those sets a festival goer dreams of: secreted away in a tiny venue, a band near shuddering with electricity and playing out of their skins, the only witnesses the handfuls of folk they managed to stuff inside. A clash of funky synth pop, that day fronted by the candlelit ghost of early eighties Bowie, Artifical Pleasure was the one band all three of us had agreed was a must-see this year. Felt good to be right.
*The Priory’s aesthetic is part venue, part Furry sex lair, complete with scratch post decor on the pillars.
One man and a box, a spotlight from above, on stage that was built for a choir: this MATT MALTESE cuts an unassuming shape, right before he sets your world on fire. A voice that you could float on, singing sweeping ballads about love, the end of the world, and wanking in the bath: Matt Maltese elevates the mundane (and slightly sticky) to the glorious epic, in a way seldom seen outside of Scott Walker or John Grant. He’s a treasure — and, for all these schedule changes, one witnessed tonight only by a precious handful. I can’t help but feel sorry for all those who missed him.
I’ll admit it. My reason for seeing this band, before any other consideration, was the name**. My second was a little less laudable, but then, no band of 14-year-olds I know have generated this much buzz since S-Club Juniors. LET’S EAT GRANDMA are gleefully indefinable, blending dance pop, trip hop and indie rock into their own multi-instrumental alternative sound. The hair hiding, hand-claps, the sudden collapses and climbing about under the keyboards, are as much part of the musical performance as the mandolin, recorder, and keys.
It’s a quintessence of artistic playfulness: it’s not that they’re not self-aware — they are — just they’re also unwilling to surrender to either side of the cusp between childhood and adulthood. In short, they’re refreshingly themselves, making them not only the coolest act in their teens you’ll have heard since early Kate Bush, but an utter fucking joy to watch.
**I still regret never seeing Darlington band Neil, Your Bedroom’s On Fire.
I hadn’t intended to see these guys, but I was left at a loose end for a bit, and decided to join my mates there. Live, their indie rock aesthetic has much more of a shoegaze vibe, at times reminding me of a harder-edged, poppier My Vitriol. But it’s their frontman, David Le’aupepe, who deserves the credit for this mention — an energetic soul, brimming with a passion like wildfire. One day people’ll talk about their gigs like a religious experience.
A victim of last minute schedule changes, sadly, we missed KATHRYN JOSEPH this year — but let me persuade you why you shouldn’t. I first saw Kathryn Joseph at the West End Festival All-dayer, skipping up to the auditorium at the Òran Mór, and stopping in my tracks at the top, as this bare music of unbearable strength trembled out, dappling like the afternoon sunlight across the Alasdair Gray mural. A voice like a bird trapped in the ice, able to make a piano sing between your bones, Kathryn Joseph is a genie — her gigs are a transformative experience. Be careful of who you want to become.
It made sense on paper. Bouncy, arrythmical pop sound, sweet melody, and some fantastic David-Byrne-Discovers-His-Hands dancing. This should have ticked every box on my list, but… Ever have one of those gigs where your friends have raved about a band for years, and when you got there, you weren’t quite feeling it that night? Honestly, I think this was more me than them, so I’d gladly give them a second go.
Blimey, February already. Here are three bits of news for you, in chronological order:
Firstly, I’ll be reading in Glasgow this Monday 6th February, as part of the University of Glasgow’s MLitt in Fantasy Reading Party. It’s a casual affair, BUT will feature a rare UK appearance from Canadian YA author Caighlan Smith and Dark Star author Oliver Langmead, as well as the chance to hear some exciting fresh new writers and some performative readings. So why not come join us? We’ll be starting at 6:30pm at Dram, where we’ve hired the backroom.
Talking of Oliver Langmead, I’ll be doing interview honours when he launches his second novel, Metronome in Glasgow on 9th March (event page). Ollie’s a witty guy with a love of language, so I’m looking forward to discussing his writing – and considering his first novel was an SF detective noir in the form of an epic poem, this should be a fascinating chat. Join us at Waterstones on Argyle ST from 6:30pm. UPDATE: You can now find the facebook event page here.
Finally, a little academic news. I’ll be presenting my first paper at GIFCON, which takes place the end of March at the University of Glasgow. ‘Gods Rebooted: Liminality in the Neil Gaiman Multiverse and the Expansion of the Superhero Canon’ will be an exploration of Neil Gaiman’s use of America as a liminal space in American Gods as rooted as much in comic books as the great American novel, tracing this back to his earlier work on the Sandman series (and possibly Black Orchid, if there’s time).
I should add that, while I have been helping out with GIFCON, the abstract judging used a double blind procedure where the reviewers (who did not include me, in this case) were unaware of the authorship of the paper. Unfortunately, that means it’s a good idea on its own merits and now I have to make a good paper out of that. Bugger.
If you’d like to see if I manage it, GIFCON takes place over 29th – 30th March at the University of Glasgow (see www.gifcon.org for more details).
Add about ten thousand words of non-fiction writing, creative writing, classes and photo editing, and that’s my schedule until the end of March. Hope to catch you at one or more of these!
Here’s a quick blog about a couple of upcoming events you might be interested in, if you’re in the Glasgow area…
TODAY! I’ll be interviewing Becky Chambers at the launch of her new book, A Closed and Common Orbit, sequel to the magnificent The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I’m incredibly excited about this – the Wayfarers series is one of my favourite SF series of the last few years, and I’m looking forward to a great chat with Becky about AI, fandom, and what it means to be human. So come join us this afternoon from 3pm at Waterstones Sauchiehall St. Click here for the facebook page.
Then, this Thursday, the Glasgow SF Writers Circle will be hosting a special line-up of readings to celebrate the recent release of Thirty Years of Rain, their 30th anniversary anthology. While I’m not sure of the reading schedule yet, I’ll definitely be on hand to sign copies of the book, which features my poem ‘Picture, of a Winter Afternoon’. Additionally I’m told the line-up for the night will also feature a rare appearance from Phil Raines, so this is definitely not one to miss. Everything kicks off at the Gilchrist PG Club from 7:30pm. More information here.
I’d been wondering why everyone was taking so long. As the crowd moved, the full length of St Vincent Street appeared ahead, from the tickertape starting line to, at its far end, a startlingly abrupt 30 degree slope — the kind of horrific steepness that, as a kid, your Mum would tell you off for biking down without your brakes on. My impatience vanished, leaving a single thought: “how the hell am I getting through this?”
The theme of this run is Sabotage. It’s been a tough year. My health hasn’t been great — I’ve lost three months of training to injury — a broken toe and a twisted ankle. Life issues have proved difficult to deal with, and that’s impacted on my well-being and my creativity. At times, it’s been overwhelming. Whether physical or mental — Beastie Boys or Cancer Bats — Sabotage has dogged my every step this year.
But I’m still here. More than that — I’m in Glasgow, living amongst good friends, studying a fascinating course in Fantasy, and beginning to find my own way in the world.
So what better way to celebrate that than running 13 miles through one of the hilliest cities in the country — and raising money for charity to boot?
So why SAMH? SAMH support those living in Scotland with mental health issues, as well as their families and carers. There are community-based programmes for everything from housing to addiction. They run the national anti-stigma campaign See Me, and the anti-bullying campaign Respect Me. They also provide employment support, as well as a host of information and advice. Whether you’re a student looking for a bit of extra support as you make this massive life change, or a carer looking after a someone with a mental health condition, this is the place to go.
If you’d like to help me support SAMH and their excellent work, please head to the link below to sponsor my run.
