2008 News:
Free eBooks
Tor.com are offering Tobsha Lerner's Soul for free download next week, if you sign up for their newsletter. They will also offer all previous free eBooks for download again the week after that.
Carissa's Weblog
Office news
The Aurealis office is currently unable to process any pending submissions or new subscription orders due to major computer failure. New submissions and orders should be sent as usual, but it will take some time before computer systems and previous information is back online. Please accept our apologies for these difficulties.
The Editor
Book Trailers
Sophie Masson blogs about book trailers and shares a few things she learned while making the trailer for her book The Case of the Diamond Shadow. She includes links to book trailers from Michael J Pryor, Isabelle Merlin, and Ian Irvine, as well as her own.
Carissa's Weblog
Shaun Tan Interview on ABC Classic FM
On June 12 Margaret Throsby, from ABC Classic FM's "Mornings" program interviews and steps into the musical world of Shaun Tan, with music that he selected for the program. The podcast doesn't include the music, but the Real and Windows Media streams do.
Carissa's Weblog
Catherine Jinks interview
BookExpoCast, the official podcast of Book Expo America, has a short interview with Catherine Jinks about her book Genius Squad.
Carissa's Weblog
Free Wallpaper
Tor.com offers two new computer desktop wallpapers each week for free. This week includes the cover art for Isobelle Carmody's Ashling by Tristan Elwell.
Carissa's Weblog
Writing for Games
Sarah L'Estrange interviews novelist, scriptwriter and games writer Matt Costello for the Book Show during the recent Sydney Writer's Festival.
Carissa's Weblog
Greg Egan Reviews
Strange Horizons had a Greg Egan feature week for their June 2nd edition. Incandescence, Quarantine and Teranesia, and Axiomatic and Dark Integers are all reviewed.
Carissa's Weblog
Simon Haynes Interview
The release of Hal Spacejock Book 1 as a drm-free ebook has generated some attention around the blogosphere. Here's an interview with Simon Haynes from Jeri Smith-Ready's blog.
Carissa's Weblog
Neil Gaiman Interview
During his recent visit to Australia The Book Show interviewed Neil Gaiman. Audio is available for streaming or download for a limited time, but there's a transcript of the entire interview as well.
Carissa's Weblog
Free ebook download
Simon Haynes is offering his book Hal Spacejock as a free download in rtf, prc, html and text formats.
Carissa's Weblog
Shaun Tan on ABC Radio
The Book Show interviews Shaun Tan. He also reads from his new book Tales from Outer Suburbia.
Carissa's Weblog
Carnival for May
Tanaudel is host for this month's Australian Speculative Fiction Carnival.
She also has extensive and visual notes on the keynote addresses given by Shaun Tan and Neil Gaiman at the recent CBCA Conference.
Carissa's Weblog
Suburban Fantasy
The Australian profiles Shaun Tan on the imminent publication of his new book Tales From Outer Suburbia.
Carissa's Weblog
Michael Pryor's latest Laws of Magic trailer online
If you haven't been seduced by Michael Pryor's Laws of Magic series yet, what are you waiting for? Check out the new book trailer for Word of Honour (Book 3, Laws of Magic) on YouTube.
John Flanagan
John Flanagan has got quite a bit of press recently on the release of The Battle for Skandia in the US and news that the series has been optioned by director Paul Haggis.
Carissa's Weblog
Food or Fairies?
From ABC RN's Breakfast Show:The Magic Pudding turns 90
"It is 90 years since renowned artist Norman Lindsay wrote the classic Australian children's book The Magic Pudding. The artist himself called the book a 'little bundle of piffle' and wrote it only to win a bet: whether children preferred stories about fairies or about food."
Available for streaming or download.
Carissa's Weblog
Aurealis editor at the Sydney Writers Festival
Speculative and fantasy fiction continues to grow in popularity with readers of all ages. How do writers create engaging and believable worlds? How do characters contribute to world-building and what cultural influences are at play?
This is what the focus will be at the Sydney Writers Festival event in Blacktown City on Tuesday, May 20 from 6.30pm.
The Sydney Writers Festival is in its 11th year and will see many of the world's greatest writers and thinkers converge in Sydney at the many events and activities taking place - including Blacktown City.
Practical Philosopy and Speculative Fiction
From ABC Radio's The Philosopher's Zone, a conversation with author Bernard Beckett about his novel Genesis in which Plato's philosophy is put into practice. It's available for download, streaming, or as a transcript.
Carissa's Weblog
Jack Dann's anthology shortlisted
Jack Dann's Wizards (called Dark Alchemy here and in the UK) that he co-edited with Gardner Dozois has just been shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Award.
"Stars of Speculative Fiction"
Mark S Deniz has a number of interviews with Australians in SF, including most recently Kaaron Warren, Martin Livings and Nathan Burrage. Check out the "Stars of Speculative Fiction" category on his blog for other interviews.
Carissa's Weblog
Recently on Voyager Online
Voyager Online has an interview with K E Mills that appeared earlier in Bookseller + Publisher Magazine.
They are also featuring guest blog posts from authors such as Kylie Chan (also), Fiona McIntosh, and Sara Douglass.
Carissa's Weblog
Speculative Fiction on The Book Show
From The Book Show on ABC Radio National, two recent episodes featuring interviews with Jeff Vandermeer on Steampunk and Ursula K. Le Guin on her new book Lavinia. Both episodes are available for streaming or download, but only for a limited time.
Carissa's Weblog
Hugo nominated story to download
Eos Books Blog has Greg Egan's Hugo-nominated story Glory available for download.
Carissa's Weblog
Carnival for April
April's Australian Speculative Fiction Carnival can be found at Eneit's Livejournal.
Carissa's Weblog
Dark Fiction Survey
ASif! reports that Brimstone Press is conducting a survey on Australian Dark Fiction until April 30, with participants going into a draw to win prizes.
Carissa's Weblog
SF&F on Articulate
Recently on Articulate:
Jesus novel good news for Adelaide author
Terry Dowling wins Australian Shadows award
James Doig: shining a light on Australia's gothic literature
Carissa's Weblog
Young writer interviewed
Life Matters on Radio National interviews young author Alexandra Adornetto whose new book has just been published. The audio is available for streaming or download for a limited time.
Carissa's Weblog
Aurealis editor at the Sydney Writers Festival
Right Down to the Plumbing: Speculative Fiction and World-building – Blacktown Library
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
6:30pm-7:30pm
Blacktown City Max Webber Library
Presenters:
Mr D M Cornish
Mr David Kowalski
Mr Stuart Mayne
Facilitator:
Ms Judith Ridge
Speculative and fantasy fiction continues to grow in popularity with readers of all ages. How do writers create engaging and believable worlds? How does character contribute to world-building and what cultural influences are at play? D.M. Cornish, David Kowalski and Stuart Mayne discuss with Judith Ridge.
I'm really looking forward to being at the SWF and hopefully meeting some subscribers and writers who can make it to the event.
SF on The Book Show
ABC Radio National's The Book Show reviews Aurealis Award winner David Kowalski's The Company of the Dead (30 mins in). Also included in the download and stream is the main feature, an interview with David Mitchell.
Carissa's Weblog
Short Fiction Competition
Shiny Mag is running a competition for ya speculative short fiction from 12 - 18 year olds: http://shinymag.blogspot.com/2008/02/shiny-writing-competition_07.html
Carissa's Weblog
Download a story from Garth Nix
Garth Nix’s Ditmar-nominated story “Bad Luck, Trouble, Death, and Vampire Sex” is available for download on Night Shade Book's Website: http://www.nightshadebooks.com/downloads
Carissa's Weblog
Graphic Novels on the ABC
ABC TV program Sunday Arts has a segment on Graphic Novels in episode 4. The program is available for Windows Media or mp4 download on their Video page.
Carissa's Weblog
Australian Fantasy Artists
Endicott Redux spotlights Australian artist Nadia Turner, and Justine Larbelestier shares two artworks from Nick Stathopoulos, one of which is a portrait of Shaun Tan.
Carissa's Weblog
Plot Synopsis Project
Sean Willams is one of many authors participating in this Project to post the synopses of their works in an effort to give aspiring writers an idea of the process and product. The list of authors can be found here: link. Sean posted a number of his own synopses here: link.
Carissa's Weblog
Sean McMullen Video Interview
Station 31's Nat Chat recently interviewed Sean McMullen. The video is available for streaming online or as a windows media download.
Carissa's Weblog
Ian Irvine contribution wins award
The Complete Guide to Writing SF (for which Ian wrote the chapter on book promotion) published in print and e-editions last year by Dragon Moon Press has won the EPPIE award for best electronically published non-fiction book.
Editorial news
Aurealis magazine owes Stephen Higgins a debt of thanks for his work since September 2006. But with his own professional workload growing Stephen has decided to step down from day-to-day activities on Aurealis. Thanks for all your work, Stephen it was greatly appreciated. Stuart Mayne continues as sole editor of Aurealis magazine.
Book and magazine editor Stuart Mayne has worked in publishing as an editor for 16 years or so. Stuart has worked at Chimaera Publications since October 2004. He has been editing Aurealis in conjunction with Stephen Higgins since September 2006.
Australia's scariest authors announced
Which Australian author wrote the best horror story or novel in 2007? The Australian Horror Writers Association is on the brink of answering that question with the release of the finalists for the 2008 Australian Shadows Award. The Australian Shadows Award is an annual jury-judged literary award issued by the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) that honours the best works of Australian dark fiction published in the preceding year.
This year's panel of judges named finalists from Sydney (Terry Dowling), Melbourne (Matthew Chrulew), Brisbane (Jason Nahrung), Adelaide (David Conyers), and Perth (Martin Livings), making the 2008 shortlist a truly interstate affair.
Some fun items from io9. . .
Seven Reasons Why Australia is the Most Apocalyptic Country and Robo-Kangaroos from the Terraformed Australian Outback.
Carissa's Weblog
From Faster Than Light Podcast. . .
An audio interview with Fiona McIntosh about her book "Goddess".
Carissa's Weblog
Carissa's weblog - Karen Miller Interview
The Word Nerd has a short interview with Karen Miller.
On Writer Unboxed. . .
Juliet Marillier writes about inspiration, and Sophie Masson writes about young readers.
2008 Ditmar Awards Shortlist
The 2008 Ditmar Shortlist has been published. Congratulations to Rjurik Davidson on his nomination for Domine, published in issue #37 of Aurealis.
New MirrorDanse title available
In the tradition of the Datlow/Windling and Gardner Dozois edited Year's Best anthologies comes the third in the award winning series, The Year's Best Australian SF & Fantasy, edited by Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt.
'... a staple guide to what's newest and best Down Under.' and '... the best introduction you'd get to the very best in the field.' Van Ikin, Sydney Morning Herald.
'Editors Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt once again serve up an excellent selection of the previous year's top imaginative short stories.' Terry Dowling, Weekend Australian.
'Anyone who eschews this collection because "sci-fi isn't literary" is an idiot.' Lucy Sussex, The Age.
'There’s been an explosion in science fiction writing in Australia. More writers, more stories, a higher standard and greater international recognition than ever before. With the Year’s Best series we’re bringing the best of the small press – and the best of the stories published overseas – to a wider audience.' says Congreve.
The Year’s Best Australian SF & Fantasy, Third Annual Volume, edited by Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt, is the latest release from MirrorDanse Books, Australia’s oldest and most successful independent publisher of SF.
During the Summer Break
Justine Larbelestier was interviewed by Fantasy Magazine, along with Ekaterina Sedia, Scott Westerfeld was interviewed by Public Radio International, and Justine and Scott were interviewed together by The Village Voice.
"What purpose does Short Fiction serve?"
Jonathan Strahan and Jack Dann are amongst a group of authors asked "What purpose does Short Fiction serve?" by SF Signal.
Ian Irvine's latest book trailer
Ian Irvine's latest and probably last (and definitely the best) book trailer,
for his three ecothrillers has been posted on youtube.
If anyone's wondering what it takes to put together a decent trailer, here's
the inventory:
- Picture research, approx 24 hours. They're all public domain images, ie free for any use. To buy from photo libraries would be at least $1500.
- Music research, about 6 hours in royalty-free music sites. Limited licence cost about $50.
- Font research, 2 hrs. Fonts, $20.
- Writing the script: about 15 hours getting the words right, and considering there's only a few hundred of them, that's a lot of work per word, but worth every penny.
- Misc time viewing prelims, troubleshooting etc, at least 6 hours.
- Ian's son putting it together in Premiere: 10.5 hours.
Allen & Unwin's Friday pitch
Allen & Unwin publisher Louise Thurtell has recently taken on an absolutely terrific fantasy manuscript, received via Friday Pitch. The as yet unnamed manuscript will be published next January.
Subscribers should be reminded that the Friday Pitch is still on-going. Email submissions must be sent on a Friday, with the first chapter and synopsis attached in Word for PC files or files compatible with Word for PC. If the prologue or first chapter is very short (less than 5 A4 pages) you're welcome to send a second chapter.
Initially A&U respond with a brief pro-forma email by the following Friday saying whether Ms Thurtell is interested in pursuing further material or not. Send submissions, only on a Friday to: louiset@allenandunwin.com
Sean McMullin interview
Jill Rowbotham has interviewed Sean McMullen for the Higher Education Australian. It'll be in this Saturday's (9 February) Australian.
Paul Collins interview
Paul Collins was interviewed on Station 31's NatChat show on January 18: http://www.nat.org.au/chat.html
2007 Aurealis Awards winners
Chimaera Publications and Aurealis magazine would like to congratulate all the shortlisted writers and winners of the 2007 Aurealis Awards. The field was of a particularly high standard this year, indicative of the increasing quality of Australian speculative fiction.
Fantastic Queensland should be congratulated for the quality of the Awards weekend and the friendliness with which everyone is welcomed. Thank you Ron, Kate and Damon for your hard work and calmness amidst the action.
best science fiction novel
David Kowalski, The Company of the Dead, Pan Macmillan
best science fiction short story
Cat Sparks, ‘Hollywood Roadkill’, On Spec, #69
best fantasy novel
Lian Hearn, Heaven’s Net is Wide, Tales of the Otori The First Book, Hachette Livre
best fantasy short story
Garth Nix, ‘Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz go to War Again’, Jim Baen’s Universe, April 2007
best horror novel
Susan Parisi, Blood of Dreams, Penguin Group (Australia)
best horror short story
Anna Tambour, ‘The Jeweller of Second-Hand Roe’, Subterranean, #7
best young adult novel
Anthony Eaton, Skyfall, UQP
best young adult short story
Deborah Biancotti, ‘A Scar for Leida’, Fantastic Wonder Stories, Ticonderoga Publications
best children’s (8-12 years) long fiction
Kate Forsyth, The Silver Horse, The Chain of Charms 2, Pan Macmillan
Kate Forsyth, The Herb of Grace, The Chain of Charms 3, Pan Macmillan
Kate Forsyth, The Cat’s Eye Shell, The Chain of Charms 4, Pan Macmillan
Kate Forsyth, The Lightning Bolt, The Chain of Charms 5, Pan Macmillan
Kate Forsyth, The Butterfly in Amber, The Chain of Charms 6, Pan Macmillan
best children’s (8-12 years) short fiction (tied)
Marc McBride, World of Monsters, Scholastic Australia
and
Briony Stewart, Kumiko and the Dragon, UQP
Peter McNamara Convenors' Award for Excellence
Terry Dowling, Rynemonn, Coeur de Lion Publications
Terry Dowling has long been a respected writer of science fiction and supporter of the speculative fiction community. In 2007 his book Rynemonn was released. This work is theculmination of the exceptional Tom Rynosseros stories that Dowling haspublished over more than a decade.
His work fits comfortably next to genre fiction writers such as Ray Bradbury or Ursula K. LeGuin. His literary skill and richness of storytelling equally bring to mind comparisons with writers such as Isak Dinesen and Thornton Wilder.
Therefore, the convening judges of the Aurealis Awards 2007 have awarded the Peter McNamara Convenors' Award for Excellence to Terry Dowling for Rynemonn, his magnum opus of the Tom Rynosseros/Tom Tyson saga.
GOLDEN AUREALIS
Novel: David Kowalski, The Company of the Dead, Pan Macmillan
Short Story: Cat Sparks, ‘Hollywood Roadkill’, On Spec, #69
New small press science fiction journal
Sci Phi, edited by Jason Reddie of The Sci Phi Show, is a new journal aimed at readers who like science fiction but want to think about its implications a little more. Each issue contains short stories and articles which look at various philosophical ideas through the lens of science fiction.
Issue #1 contains stories and articles by Matt Wallace, Paul S. Jenkins, Lee Battersby, Jason Pomerantz, Geoffrey Maloney, Michael Spence, Stephen Dedman, Ben Goertzel and Stephan Vladimir Bugaj, Ryan Nichols, and Jason Rennie.
The Sci Phi Journal comes in various formats, including an audio book (mp3 format) for your listening pleasure. All stories and articles are professionally read.
One of the highlights of the first issue is an article which explores the concept of "Lookism" prejudice based on the ideas in the Ted Chiang story, "Liking What You See: A Documentary."
Cost is $7 per issue, available from http://sciphijournal.com/
Write in your face
An initiative of the literature board supporting emerging forms of writing practice by young writers. Write in Your Face is a program of support to young writers, funded under the Australian Government's Young and Emerging Artists' Initiative. We invite proposals from young writers who are using language in innovative ways. This may involve writing for zines, e-zines, comics, multimedia, multi-artforms or cross-media works, websites, live performance and spoken word.
Selection criteria are:
- Innovative excellence
- Potential to advance the artistic expression and development of young writers
- Evidence the project is well planned and achievable within timeframe and budget.
You may apply for up to $8,000. You must be aged 30 years or under at the time of application to apply. You cannot apply for costs of equipment or other creative components such as music or graphics alone. Proposals must have a literary focus. Collaborative and multimedia projects are encouraged. Proposals involving self-publication of single author titles are not eligible.
Individuals, groups or legally constituted organisations may apply. Groups must nominate a legally constituted organisation or one of their members to act as the administrator for their grant. If you have received money through a previous Write in Your Face grant, you cannot reapply any sooner than one year after the end of your previous grant period.
Closing date: 1 February 2008. Projects for which funding is requested should not commence before 1 June 2008 and must be completed by 30 June 2009. Decisions advised: May 2008.