Entries Tagged 'Genre' ↓

What are waylines? According to David Rees-Thomas and Darryl Knickrehm they are a phenomenon recently discovered by NASA. They elaborate on this with the rather cryptic quotation: ‘Waylines are the seams of the universe. They are its borders, where reality and fantasy collide, where the impossible comes true. And sometimes they split open. Sometimes, the unknown slips out.’

Cool. So what, then, is Waylines? Waylines is a new bi-monthly, multi-media, speculative fiction magazine. They are currently on the lookout for science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction – writing with a bang that isn’t afraid to take a chance or play with genre and media.

Waylines aims to set itself apart from other SF magazines by delving into short film. Their goal is to release one short film with every issue of the magazine. For full submission details, for both writing and film, visit the Waylines website.

David and Darryl are also running a kickstarter campaign to get the magazine off the ground. Check out the kickstarter website to contribute to the magazine and secure an array of sweet pledge rewards, including subscriptions, limited edition publications, t-shirts and more.

Speakeasy recently caught up with David and Darryl to discuss the emergence of their new SF mag.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about how Waylines came about, and what your goals are for the magazine?

David Rees-Thomas and Darryl Knickrehm (D&D): Waylines Magazine came about as the logical result of me, David Rees-Thomas, and Darryl Knickrehm (we are co-editors) getting together and talking SF/fantasy and all that jazz every week. We are both writers as well, and we know there are a ton of great writers out there. There is always room for another magazine to highlight their wonderful stories.

The idea grew as our weekly meetings became more dominated by the idea, and as we sounded out folk, who we trusted, about their opinions. We’re now on the verge of launching as a pro-rates paying market, which is our ideal.

I worked as the Managing Editor at Ideomancer prior to launching Waylines, and I learned so much about how to keep things from getting out of control (slush keeps rolling in even as you sleep) and also, about the absolute importance of respect, for our authors, and for the process. We aim to turn stories around quickly, especially if they are ones we are not interested in publishing. We also aim to make our editorial process as transparent as we can. If in doubt, query!

Darryl has a background in film, and art, and we are editing the magazine as a team. This is important for us. We trust each other’s opinions and each of us brings a different take on an individual story.

We are both big fans of mags like Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, Lightspeed, Shimmer, F and SF, Apex, Analog, Strange Horizons, and so on. Oh yeah, and, of course, Ideomancer! We’ve been inspired by all these guys, and we also want to do something just a little different by including film as well as fiction.

Here’s a link, where you can get more of a sense of what we’re about-

http://www.waylinesmagazine.com/index.html

Speakeasy: Waylines is currently running a Kickstarter campaign. Can you tell us a little about the campaign, how it works, and how people can get involved?

Our aim is to pay our authors pro-rates for their fiction. To this end, we started a Kickstarter campaign. The aim is to raise money to complement the money we have put in ourselves. It is not just a donation though, as you are essentially buying products or services related to the magazine, such as subscriptions, t-shirts etc. Crowdfunding has become a viable and interesting method of getting numerous art projects off the ground.

Please feel free to take a look at the page, and the video. We only have 5 days left, so any help is hugely appreciated.

Speakeasy: I understand that you are currently accepting fiction submissions; can you talk a little about the kind of work that Waylines is looking for?

D&D: Great science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all the literature that hugs the edges. Honestly, that really does cover it. We like good space opera, and we like literary works. We are not quite as keen on flash fiction as some other markets perhaps, and we prefer stories that are not just one or two scenes, followed by a twist.

Aside from that, we are very open to submissions. We can promise a fast turnaround, and transparency of process.

Speakeasy: What sort of thing immediately turns you off of a submission? Conversely, what really draws you in?

D&D: We are not turned off by much. Violence, sexism, ageism, racism etc., which seems to have no purpose in the story except to make things ‘bad’ for a character is, for sure, a big issue.

Bad cover letters and bad formatting means you are doing yourself a disservice. Why bias the editors against your work, before they even get to the story? Check the internet, read the guidelines of the magazine, keep it simple.

Speakeasy: With a range of SF publications already available, how does Waylines aim to make itself stand out?

D&D: One important thing to note is that we see ourselves as joining a family of great magazines, and publications. We will be publishing short fiction, but we also aim to spotlight short genre film as well. This aspect of the magazine may take a bit more time to establish, but it’s something we feel adds an interesting dimension.

There is so much great speculative fiction out there, just itching to get published, so we can offer another platform for new and established authors.

We are also examining how we can use new media to broaden our audience, and that of speculative fiction as a whole.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us about the decision to publish short films, and what this multi media approach means for the magazine?

D&D: We wanted to take advantage of the digital format, because there’s so much more that can be done. Darryl’s been making films for years, and, ever since he organised and produced the Kansai International Film Festival, he’s been talking about all the short genre films out there that go unnoticed by a general audience.

We both figured the digital format of Waylines would be a perfect way to screen these films. So we thought, what better way to complement short stories than with short films?

Speakeasy: I understand issue one is due out in January 2013; what is next for Waylines? Are there any upcoming developments or opportunities you’d like to highlight?

D&D: Well, we plan on releasing six issues a year and we also plan on having an e-reader version which we will send to subscribers. This may be available through Amazon. We are always working on a business plan to carry Waylines forward, so that it is an enduring publication.

Speakeasy: Is there anything else you might like to mention?

Thank you for your questions.

Please visit us at Waylines!

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Julian Thumm is a freelance editor and writer. He has degrees from The University of Queensland and The University of Adelaide. He has worked with the Australian Journal of Communication, The University of Queensland Press, and Corporate Communication International through The City University of New York. He is currently based in Brisbane.

Calling all crime writers, Melbourne based magazine, Crime Factory, will soon be opening its doors to fiction submissions, so if you’ve got a hardboiled story, a noir story, or some dark fiction with a crime edge that needs a home then check out the Crime Factory website for full submission details.

That’s fiction; let’s talk non-fiction. Are you a criminal with a story to tell? Have you had a brush with crime? Do you feel the need to investigate the criminal underworld, to expose the Lynchian dark side of suburban life? Well, Crime Factory are always looking for quality non-fiction crime writing, and actively encourage and promote such writing. But for those looking to document the horrific exploits and grisly details of their favourite serial killer, you’re out of luck. The crew at Crime Factory will emphatically reject any trashy exploitative true crime. So if you’ve got true crime work with substance, with ethics and conscience, then this might be the publication for you.

Speakeasy recently caught up with Crime Factory editor, Cameron Ashley, to talk all things crime writing.

Speakeasy: How did Crime Factory come about and what are some of its goals/aims?

Cameron Ashley (CA): Crime Factory was born in 2000 from the brain of my good friend David Honeybone. It ran, in print and by subscription, until 2003 when Dave decided to shut up shop for personal reasons. I bugged him on and off over the years to bring it back until finally he gave me his blessing to restart, which I did in 2010 with my friend Liam Jose and Arizona-based Keith Rawson. We were very lucky to be supported by some pretty big names who helped us get back on our feet. Keith left in 2011 and we ‘promoted’ from within, bringing Andrew Nette into the fold. We went legit earlier this year and now trade (if it can really be called that) as Crime Factory Publications with an ABN and all. We continue to fumble our way through with enthusiasm and a s**tload of help.

Our goal for the magazine is to put out the most interesting mix of material that we can assemble in any three month period, from fiction to articles to non-fiction and reviews. Although mainly filtered through a noir/hardboiled lens, we really do just try and get the largest, strangest and most interesting batch of material together. As we expand into books like a real publisher, the same thing applies – we’re looking for something a bit different and aim to package and promote the material as best we can for as little as possible for the customer. Hopefully, we can get to a point where we have enough in the coffers to pay everybody for everything, from a short story in the zine to a full length novel. That’s what we’re looking at.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about the Australian crime writing scene and how Crime Factory fits into it?

CA: Hmm. I’m not actually sure that we do fit into it. We’re certainly trying! It’s heartening to see some new names pop up on the radar and to meet these names in person and find them as switched on and eager to build a proper community for the genre as their American counterparts are. We’re on the way.

Speakeasy: Are submissions currently open? If not, when do they open?

CA: Fiction submissions are closed until January. Non-fiction, whether that be an interview, an article or our true crime stuff, is and always remains open – it’s tough to find decent non-fiction and we try to encourage these submissions because we think they are important.

Speakeasy: The Crime Factory submission guidelines state generally that you accept crime/dark fiction submissions; can you tell us a little about what kinds of writing you think fits that description?

CA: Anthony Neil Smith once described Noir as ‘characters circling the drain.’ This is the essence, really, of what we’re looking for. Whichever way you want to interpret that – from Bukowksi to Goodis – it’s entirely up to you. Just no hitman stories please. If you send us a hitman story, it better be good.

Speakeasy: Does Crime Factory consider cross-genre work?

CA: Sure, more and more. The genre itself is becoming quite cross-genre, every genre is, so to ignore that would be pretty silly. Don’t send us any hard SF or anything, but yeah, pitch it to us and we’ll most likely take a look. Like I said, the more interesting the better. We love other genres – our Kung Fu Factory and most recent Horror Factory specials attest to that. We have more of this type of thing coming next year.

Speakeasy: On the Crime Factory blog, Ray Banks discusses various clichés of crime writing (pulp, noir, transgression); does the Crime Factory actively look to overturn genre clichés with its submissions?

CA: Not especially… I mean Ray’s a very forthright guy, he has a lot of valid opinions and most of the time I think he’s right. That’s not to say that you can’t have fun and play with the conventions and clichés of the genre. We value playfulness. I just bagged out hitman stuff, but witness what JJ DeCeglie did with both that played-out character and the hardboiled style itself in ‘Death Cannot Be Delegated’ for our Hard Labour anthology. There’s a lot that can be done. So, if you want to overturn them, yeah, great; if you want to play with them, that’s great too – that’s what they are there for. Just don’t treat them like a dog you need to walk on the same route everyday.

Speakeasy: The non-fiction guidelines are clearly against ‘trashy and exploitative’ non-fiction crime writing, stating ‘We hate most true crime over here’; can you elaborate on why this is? What effect do you think this kind of crime writing has on more legitimate or credible crime non-fiction?

CA: Argh. Yeah, see this is a topic that I find both fascinating and quite strange. It seems to me that, in general, Australians don’t read too much crime fiction, but do read huge piles of true crime. And much of that stuff is just horrible to me. I don’t understand why people have this huge desire to read, in a completely gratuitous and non-academic way, the most luridly scripted tales of serial killers and mass murderers. It just seems grossly voyeuristic and perverse and without much in the way of redeeming features.

Now, just like using the conventions of crime fiction in your stories, there is, thankfully, a large amount of really great true crime and I encourage you to read it (Tokyo Vice, The Other Hollywood, Lords of Chaos, and Lacan at the Scene are some that immediately spring to mind). It’s when the graphic and sensitive details of real murders are actually filtered through pacey, action-packed pulp prose that my brain starts to short-circuit a bit (Phillip Carlo’s sensationalistic biography of Richard Ramirez is the most extreme example I can think of here – disgusting).

The challenge for us has been, okay, how can we do true crime? It’s pretty easy for me to sit here and bang on about it on my soapbox, but that’s not really trying to set an example is it? So, after a chat with Duane Swierczynski, Dennis Tafoya and Jed Ayres at Noircon 2010, the answer we came up with was twofold: true crime as memoir (personalising the ‘experience’ of the crime) and true crime as reportage (detailing the crime with a journalistic intent). I’ve been really, really pleased with the results and I’m proud of what we’ve managed to publish so far, from Jed Ayres talking about his experiences as a child stepping over a man at Burger King who’d been stabbed, to Tom Darin Liskey’s report on gold-smuggling prostitutes in South America, we’ve got you covered.

Speakeasy: Following on from the previous question, what then do you look for in quality non-fiction submissions?

CA: That depends. If it’s a feature: knowledge about your chosen subject and an enthusiastic but academic style. If we’re talking about true crime: honesty, a respect for your subject matter, and lucid but punchy writing.

Speakeasy: Are there any exciting upcoming Crime Factory developments or opportunities you might like to mention?

CA: Let’s see… Hard Labour, our all-Australian anthology is out now; we’re currently putting together our next anthology based on the life and career of Lee Marvin (and it’s looking like the best thing we’ve done so far), and we’re opening up (hopefully) a new line of novellas for both print and ebook with Jed Ayres’ Fierce Bitches. We have another special issue for next year as well and CF #12 should be out around the end of the year or early 2013. It’s looking like a great issue too.

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Julian Thumm is a freelance editor and writer. He has degrees from The University of Queensland and The University of Adelaide. He has worked with the Australian Journal of Communication, The University of Queensland Press, and Corporate Communication International through The City University of New York. He is currently based in Brisbane.

Do you write romance? If so, you probably don’t need to be told that romance is big business. It’s ultra-competitive and, like most areas of the publishing industry, it’s labyrinthine to an almost mythic degree. Well, help is at hand, and I guarantee it’ll be more use than a ball of string or a handful of breadcrumbs.

The Romance Writers of Australia (RWA) is a professional organisation devoted to, well, romance writing. RWA was formed in 1991 initially to promote romance writing in Australia and to help aspiring authors. Today it boasts over 800 members from all over Australia and internationally. The RWA provides a network for like-minded writing professionals, at all stages of their careers. They also offer mentoring programs, contests and awards, conferences, writing bootcamps, a constant stream of industry news and writing opportunities…

I could go on, but I won’t. There’s no point listening to me blather on when Nikki Logan, romance writer and president of RWA, is waiting to tell us all about it.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about the goals and/or aims of the Romance Writers of Australia?

Nikki Logan (NL): Formally, RWA exists to promote excellence in romantic fiction, to help writers become published and maintain strong careers and to provide continuing support and development to our writer members. Less formally, we are absolutely committed to fostering the significant talent of Australian romance writers, forming strong relationships with publishers and industry and generally advancing the understanding and appreciation of romance as the world’s most popular fiction genre.

Speakeasy: What benefits do RWA members enjoy?

NL: When you join RWA, you become a part of an extensive network (800+ members) that offers personal and professional support at each stage of your writing career, through:

• Education on the craft or business of writing – through workshops that we run online and in person, mentor programs offered online or in person, and critique partner programs. We run multiple contests every year for the yet-to-be published which gives everyone access to affordable, diverse critical feedback from judges, and we publish Hearts Talk, the RWA monthly journal, which includes interviews, craft topics, industry news and achievements.
• Networking and fellowship with other romance writers. There’s nothing quite like finding the people that ‘get’ you and your work. RWA brings those people together through e-loops, forums and by facilitating the establishment of face-to-face critique groups around the country. We also host an annual conference which brings 300 members together with industry professionals from around Australia and the world to learn from each other and cement the bonds of fellowship.
• Funding: RWA offers annual grants to its face-to-face critique groups to hold events or retreats and it helps those members most in need of financial support to access its services through grants and subsidies.

Speakeasy: Who is eligible to join RWA and how do they go about joining up?

NL: Membership is open to anyone who writes – or wants to write – romance (in any subgenre), who supports and adheres to the purposes of RWA and who is over 18. New members can join online and pay by paypal, or print out the form and send it with a cheque or credit card details. (For full membership details please visit the RWA website.)

Speakeasy: What are the best things about being part of the Australian Romance community?

NL: International guests to our conferences comment, every year, on the strong camaraderie between our members and the open and accepting environment despite all being at different stages of our careers and despite, sometimes, being competitors in the same marketplace. You only have to hear the rousing cheer as finalists or winners are announced at our major awards to know how genuine the excitement for each other is. It’s inclusive, it’s exciting and – boy! – is it motivating. Everyone wants to be up on that stage the next year picking up an award.

So that fellowship is a big part of what makes our organisation what it is.

Being a part of the biggest revolution in publishing is very exciting. This is an amazing time to be a writer (particularly of romance), and so to surround yourself with 800 like-minded writers all firmly focused on the same goal… Awesome.

Speakeasy: What support does the RWA offer emerging writers when they’re dealing with the business end of Romance writing/publishing?

NL: Everyone learns differently and everyone feels a different degree of comfort in seeking information when they’re new. For those who aren’t backward in coming forward, we offer them a direct voice to ask their questions on the RomAus loop, where any number of published authors can reply offering the benefit of their experience.

If the public approach isn’t your bag, we offer a forum where topics are posted and answered by a range of different members to offer an archived collection of perspectives, and also a monthly newsletter which includes industry related information. The email loop is also great for lurkers; many members post links to articles of interest that they’ve found relating to market and industry. There’s a real culture of paying-it-forward and knowledge-sharing in our organisation and people are super generous with their findings.

We also offer the Romance Resource Centre (RRC) which is a searchable, online archive of the best craft, business and industry articles from our HeartsTalk magazine going back a decade. A quick search of the RRC archives will bring up dozens of articles useful for those trying to get a handle on any aspect of the business side of their profession: e.g., managing revisions under publisher pressure; understanding contracts; foreign translations and why they’re necessary; how to apply for an ITIN; why you can’t give up the day job straight away; interviews with editors and agents outlining what they want to see in submissions; tips for authors writing on the road, etc.

And finally there’s the formal workshop environment, be it online or face-to-face at a conference, where emerging writers can soak up the knowledge presented by a range of experts in their field.

So RWA doesn’t advocate for emerging writers, per se, but we offer something infinitely better – access to professionals who’ve trodden the exact same path before and who are generous with their experience or who can point them to someone who can assist. That helps our members be as informed as possible in making their own business choices.

Speakeasy: Are there any exciting upcoming RWA events or opportunities you might like to mention?

NL: Yes! For the first time, our national conference is truly going national by taking place on the west coast of Australia. In August 2013, RWA’s conference will happen in historic Fremantle. It’s called Riding the waves – Writing romance in tempestuous times, and will bring together speakers and editors/agents from around the world for a weekend of education, networking and fellowship. Registration for this will open in early 2013, but we have details of our core speakers at the conference website. This is open to non-members and is a great chance for writers to see what we have to offer.

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Julian Thumm is a freelance editor and writer. He has degrees from The University of Queensland and The University of Adelaide. He has worked with the Australian Journal of Communication, The University of Queensland Press, and Corporate Communication International through The City University of New York. He is currently based in Brisbane.

If you’re anything like me (e.g., massive nerd and proud of it) then you understand and appreciate comedy’s place in speculative fiction. Whether it’s Gulliver’s creative fire fighting, the glorious camp of a sweaty Shatner locked in a clumsy struggle with a Gorn, the existential angst of Marvin the Paranoid Android, the fact that Fry looks like a gormless James Dean, or the misplaced laughter generated by any Michael Bay film, humour and spec fic simply work together.

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine (ASIM) has been referred to as Australia’s pulpiest SF magazine, and, just to be clear, there’s nothing pejorative in that statement. According to Sue Bursztynski, ASIM editor, art director and SF writer, ASIM was launched with the intention of projecting a pulpy feel, reminiscent of the golden age of SF. So if you like your SF light, and irreverent with a humerous streak, but still want a story with throbbing forehead veins, then check out the pages of ASIM.

Submissions for ASIM are currently open, so dig out your best spec fic stories, crank up your Douglas Adams-esque wit, and oil up the Flash Gordon camp to a level that would short-circuit Hedonismbot. Full submission details and guidelines are available on the ASIM website.

Speakeasy recently pitched an array of questions at the ASIM team and here’s what editors Sue Bursztynski, Edwina Harvey and Simon Petrie had to say.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about how ASIM came about, what the magazine tries to do, and what place it occupies in Australian genre publishing?

ASIM: ASIM has just celebrated its tenth anniversary by publishing its fifty-sixth issue. ASIM first came about when a group of SF fans and writers decided that there wasn’t enough of a market for light speculative fiction and that they should start one. The magazine was launched officially at a Melbourne convention in 2002. The idea was that there should be a distinctly pulpy feel about the magazine, harking back to the golden age of SF. While we don’t publish ONLY humour, we still love it. Currently, we’re the only SF magazine in Australia still producing a paper print edition when everyone else has gone digital. While we see a trend away from paper-based subscriptions, many of our readers still like something they can touch, hold, and receive by mail.

We read our submissions blind, which means that new writers have the  same chance of selling us a story as big-name ones; in fact, some writers who are now doing very well, such as NZ writer Doug Van Belle, Writers of the Future winner Ian McHugh, and World Fantasy Award nominee Kathleen Jennings, sold us their first stories. We’ve also got submissions and have published stories by Hugo and Nebula winners, such as Ken Liu, Rachel Swirsky, and Jim C. Hines.

There are three rounds in the ASIM acceptance process; in the first one, a single reader reads and scores the story. If it’s considered good enough by this reader, it is read by two more people who also score the story. If the scores given by all three are good enough, the story goes into the ‘slushpool’ from which editors choose their stories. We don’t keep them for more than a couple of months; we don’t think that’s fair to the authors to have their work languishing with us. Like any other magazine, we get far more submissions than we could ever publish. But stories that got through our slushing system, which we didn’t have room to publish, mostly sell elsewhere, even if we didn’t buy them.

Speakeasy: Since SF covers a fairly broad range of sub-genres can you tell our readers about the types of genre and the tone of works that ASIM likes to publish?

ASIM: We’ll consider any genre of spec fic as long as it’s well-written and doesn’t feature gratuitous violence or sex. We like to publish a good balance – SF, fantasy, horror, poetry. While we do have a soft spot for humour, submissions don’t all have to be funny.

Speakeasy: Are submissions currently open? Obviously, ASIM publishes short fiction; what other types of submission are you currently looking for (e.g., non-fiction, poetry, art, comics, etc.)?

ASIM: Submissions are currently open, though we usually have a break over the Christmas/New Year season – it’s best to check the web site before submitting. We take poetry and non-fiction, though we rarely publish more than one or two poems per issue and usually only one article. The kind of non-fiction we publish is not about writing, but about science and SF, though we often publish interviews with authors. We take art samples which are put on a closed list gallery. If an editor chooses a particular artist from the gallery, the Art Director makes contact and the art is commissioned, whether it’s the cover or a story illustration. No serialised comics, sorry!

Speakeasy: The ASIM website outlines a number of things that you aren’t looking for in terms of submissions (e.g., vampires, werewolves, zombies, contemporary American settings); what are you particularly keen to see right now? Is there anything that you feel is under-represented in submissions at the moment?

ASIM: Actually, we have published stories on ALL of the above and so far, we have had two Bram Stoker Award nominations, one for a story with zombies in it. But we’ve had a lot of submissions on these themes and if you do submit a story on one of these themes, it had better be using a different angle not often seen. We began for the purpose of publishing humorous speculative fiction, but we will look at anything well written. We publish horror fiction, but don’t like anything that is too dark. There is a wide variety of fiction submitted. It’s hard to say what’s under-represented as we have a lot of people reading slush. Any story submitted, however, will have a better chance of reaching the second or third round of readers if it’s well-written and if it’s not a copy of the current flavour of the month.

Speakeasy: To your mind, what makes for great SF submissions? Conversely, what puts you off of a submission?

ASIM: We are more likely to finish reading a story if the author has taken care of grammar, spelling and punctuation. This may make us sound like English teachers (one of us actually is) but it shouldn’t be hard work to read a submission and reading should be about the story, not the grammar and punctuation. I, personally, won’t bother reading past the first page if I have to wade through poor expression.

Please do your research; if your story is SF and gets the science wrong, it will be picked up (we have some scientists in the group). If it’s medieval fantasy, say, and your characters ride their horses all night like furry machines or run around dark unlit streets as if it’s daytime, we’ll pick that up too.

Please don’t send us a story that isn’t spec fic. It doesn’t matter how good it is, if it isn’t SF, fantasy or horror, we won’t buy it. It is all too easy to recognise a story that is an exercise written for someone’s creative writing course and then sent out en masse to every market on the teacher’s list! But we would have had to read it, so please have some consideration.

For a good outline of some the problems with different kinds of story, see this article on our website by Doug Van Belle, who sold us his first story and is now selling books. Do check it out – it’s entertaining as well as useful.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about how you see the state of Australian SF right now?

ASIM: This is an exciting time for Aussie SF. There are plenty of small presses publishing novels and anthologies by both well-known and emerging writers. There is a lot of wonderful spec fic being written in Australia now, and small press can experiment with new ideas and styles in a way that large publishers can’t.

Speakeasy: Are there any exciting developments or opportunities within ASIM, or the broader SF community you’d like to tell our readers about?

ASIM: There are so many formats to be published in at the moment. For example, ASIM is now publishing in print and ebook formats, plus we created our second ‘Best Of’ editions on CD-ROM. When we started publishing, paper-based format was the only possibility open to us.

Speakeasy: Is there anything else you’d like to mention to our readers?

ASIM: As with any other market, we suggest that you get to know our style before submitting to ASIM.  Read the guidelines and our issues. Current issues and e-versions of ASIM are quite affordable.

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Julian Thumm is a freelance editor and writer. He has degrees from The University of Queensland and The University of Adelaide. He has worked with the Australian Journal of Communication, The University of Queensland Press, and Corporate Communication International through The City University of New York. He is currently based in Brisbane.

GenreCon is nearly upon us, and with this in mind it’s time to check out one of Australia’s ace indie genre publishers, Ticonderoga Publications (TP). Ticonderoga is the brainchild of writer and editor, Russell B. Farr. They specialise in science fiction, fantasy and horror short stories, and have published the work of some of Australia’s best known spec fic writers, including Sean Williams, Kim Wilkins, Angela Slatter, and Sara Douglas, to name just a few.

Recently, Ticonderoga have also ventured into novel publishing and we at Speakeasy are eager to see the first fruits of this new endeavour.

Submissions have just closed for TP’s latest anthology, Dreaming of Djinn, a collection of Orientalist spec fic inspired by the Arabian Nights. They are, however, still accepting novel submissions (for full details and guidelines visit their website).

Speakeasy recently caught up with Ticonderoga editors Russell Farr and Liz Grzyb to chat about their latest publishing ventures, the state of Australian genre publishing, and to generally talk all things Aussie spec fic.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about Ticonderoga Publications (TP) and its place in the Aussie speculative fiction (SF) community?

Russell Farr (RF): Ticonderoga Publications started in 1996 initially to produce a chapbook of the Howard Waldrop and Steven Utley story, Custer’s Last Jump, as I was involved in a convention bringing Waldrop to Australia. It was a small print run, Shaun Tan provided the cover, and it sold for $7.95. At the time Jonathan Strahan and Jeremy G. Byrne were doing remarkable things with Eidolon – both the magazine and also books – and they put up with me hanging around asking dumb questions. At the time the main indie book publishers were Eidolon, Mirrordanse (Bill Congreve) and, standing head and shoulders above them, was Aphelion (the late, great Peter McNamara). I thought what they were all doing was pretty cool, so I was soon following along, publishing collections of stories by Steven Utley, Simon Brown, Stephen Dedman and Sean Williams.

Jump forward to 2012 and we’re still going. We’ve expanded to include my wonderful fiancé, Liz Grzyb, as business and creative partner, and we’ve got between 25-30 titles in print. We’ve published collections by Angela Slatter, Lisa L. Hannett, Kaaron Warren, Felicity Dowker, Justina Robson, Lucy Sussex, Greg Mellor, the late Sara Douglass, and a number of others. We’ve been able to produce a number of anthologies, a Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror series, and next year will start publishing original novels.

We’ve never set out to have an agenda, or a place in the Australian SF community, we just happily hang out there and make what I hope are good books. We don’t really see ourselves as catering to any niche, just publishing what appeals to us – we see so many fantastic writers and want to share them with the world.

We are distributed worldwide by Ingram Content, which means that readers almost anywhere can order our books, or buy them online from stores such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Book Depository. We also sell books directly from our www.indiebooksonline.com site.

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Historical fiction is huge. It roams across time and space, tethered only by the strands of history, through the Senates of ancient Rome to the shoguns of Feudal Japan, from the cloisters of medieval monasteries to the courts of the Renaissance, from the British civil wars to the American civil war, across all oceans and across all continents.

Historical fiction toys with genre from the epic sagas of James Michener to the alternate histories of Harry Turtledove, the historical adventures of Bernard Cornwell to the romances of Georgette Heyer, and the inter-textual allegories of Umberto Eco. Historical fiction also explores national politics, helping nations understand their past and their present, the glories and the traumas, as seen in Gore Vidal’s American Narratives of Empire series, Eleanor Dark’s Australian Timeless Land trilogy, and such Latin American works as Carlos Fuentes’ Terra Nostra and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude. And, in recent years historical fiction has continued to make strong appearances on bestseller lists, and regularly dominate literary awards.

And this brings us to the Historical Novel Society (HNS), an organisation devoted to celebrating historical fiction in all its forms for all devotees, from the professional writer through to the enthusiastic reader.

Speakeasy recently caught up with James Vella-Bardon, co-founder of the Historical Novel Society Sydney (HNSS), to talk all things historical fiction, and to generally nerd-out about a genre we all love in some form or another.

For details on how to join the HNS and subscribe to the Historical Novel Review, visit the HNS website.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about how the Historical Novel Society (HNS), and the Sydney chapter, came about? Can you also tell us a little about what it does, and for whom?

James Vella-Bardon (JVB): The Historical Novel Society (HNS) was started in the UK by HNS founder Richard Lee, in 1997. In my view he’s a true visionary, because his movement has harnessed all of the passion for historical fiction that exists out there. In fact, the demand for HNS publications increases year after year, and several HNS chapters have sprouted up across the UK, USA and Ireland.

I describe the quarterly magazines published by HNS further on in this interview, but I should also add that HNS organises two annual historical novel conferences in the US and the UK, which are huge events and bring fans, authors, agents and publishers together under one roof, to celebrate their passion for historical fiction.

I discovered HNS online when I moved to Sydney from Europe, at which time I was trying to understand how best to market my work in progress or WIP (which is still in progress). For the great unpublished, like me, and for fans of the genre, being an HNS member is a great way to understand the latest occurrences in the world of historical fiction, and HNS serves as your insight into that world.

I was also disappointed to find out that there was no similar society in Australia, so in January 2012 I got in touch with some fellow HNS members to start an Australian HNS Chapter. It was a great decision, because HNSS has got me in touch with so many fascinating people. We have since created an active blog, and two busy social media profiles via Facebook and Twitter, and we are in constant touch with many interesting authors and fans of the genre. We also organise monthly chapter meetings, and two of our members headlined ‘Authors’ Alive’, a literary event organised last month by the Balmain Institute.

The HNSS is a voluntary organisation. Membership is free, since our members are the bedrock of our society, and we are always delighted whenever someone new joins us, thereby further enriching our society. Everyone’s views are important to us, from the international bestselling novelist, to the busy mother of four whose only escape is reading novels, to agents always looking for the next big thing, to publishers who are keen to address a fixed circle of clientele in these challenging new times.

Formally speaking, you could say that our primary purpose is to highlight Richard Lee’s amazing society, but we also get so much back from the society ourselves. Personally speaking, HNS and HNSS have helped me to develop my writing and discover new reading material in ways that the best writing course could not have done. One example of this: when I completed an earlier draft of my current WIP, HNS publications helped me to identify the best agents to market my work to. One of these was a super-agent, who I would never in a million years have expected to get back to me. But get back to me he did, and with a considerable amount of feedback and suggestions. I need not explain that I was bouncing off the walls when I received this, and it was an experience that changed my whole perception about myself and my writing.

HNS has deeply affected my life, and it will do the same for you, if you reach out to it. Our aim is to make other Australian ‘historical fictionistas’ aware of this fantastic movement.

Speakeasy: I know from experience that historical fiction is a genre that can be difficult to pin down, particularly as it sprawls across a variety of other genres (e.g., lit fic, SF, romance, etc.) Can you talk a little about how you might define historical fiction and how the HNS embraces or engages with the various other genres involved?

JVB: Well the hardest thing to pin down is ‘time period’. I know that the official stance of the HNS is that historical fiction includes any novel which refers to events which occurred at least fifty years ago. In this precise moment that means any event occurring precisely before 4.11pm AEST on 1 October 1962. So does that mean that events surrounding the Vietnam War, the first and second invasion of Iraq, 9/11 etc. are not historical events? Tough one isn’t it? But the HNS had to draw the line somewhere and that’s their position.

As for fiction, romance, lit fic – anything falls under the ‘historical fiction’ umbrella if it refers to events occuring pre-October 1 1962 – oh it’s 4.12pm AEST now! The HNS embraces crossovers between historical fiction and all other genres, but the lowest common denominator remains ‘historical fiction’.

Speakeasy: Who can/should join the HNS and how do they go about it?

JVB: The HNS caters for all those connected to historical fiction, be they readers, fans, writers, agents and publishers. Their quarterly magazine – the Historical Novel Review (HNR) – is phenomenal. At the front of the mag you’ve got industry updates telling you which manuscripts have been sold by which agent to which publisher and this helps aspiring authors to know which agents to target (and therefore save everyone’s time). The way I see it, this is in itself more than enough reason to buy it.

But that’s not all. HNR provides in-depth interviews with various authors about the writing process, interesting articles about different genres and categories of novels. The real cherry on the cake however, is the review of novels published during the quarter, which are divided according to century – I kid you not!

There is also a wealth of other information on their fantastic website:

http://historicalnovelsociety.org/

Joining the HNS and receiving the HNR at home could not be easier: you just hop onto their website. Annual membership costs AU$80 and you can pay via credit card or paypal.

Speakeasy: In recent years Australian historical fiction has gone from strength to strength (one need only look at publisher lists, best seller lists, or the last 15 years worth of Miles Franklin shortlists). Why do you think historical fiction is so popular in Australia (and in publishing in general) right now? What do you think this preoccupation with history says about Australian writers and readers, or Australian society at large?

JVB: I believe that the reason that historical novels are popular in Australia is the same reason why they are popular elsewhere, and that is because of the ‘infotainment’ that these novels provide: i.e., enjoying oneself while learning about a particular period.

The examples are too many to mention, but why read dry and dull history books about the intrigues of the Elizabethan court when you can pick up Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall? Why numb your mind with all of the dates about the Peninsular wars when you can read Bernard Cornwell’s brilliant Richard Sharpe novels? Not to mention Perez-Reverte’s Alatriste novels if you want to discover the world of 17^th century Imperial Spain. The list goes on and on and applies to the entire history of the whole world.

Truth be told, it sometimes baffles me how readers can consume so much fantasy and sci-fi when ‘real’ history is already so engaging. As they said in the X-files, ‘the truth is stranger than fiction’ – this is certainly true of ‘real’ human history.

What is certainly true of Australian writers is that they have the advantage of approaching a period – be it in Australia or overseas – with ‘fresh eyes’, since they’re generally free of cultural baggage given that Australia is the world’s youngest continent.

Another reason for this resurgence in interest in historical novels is, perhaps, the times we live in. Ever since the global financial crisis that followed the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the general feeling in the developed world is not one of certainty and perhaps it’s during times like these that people like to look back.

Speakeasy: Just for fun, can you tell our readers about a few of you favourite historical fiction reads and/or favourite historical fiction authors?

JVB: My top five favourite novels are the following:

The Last Valley (J.B. Pick) – this story was also portrayed in a brilliant movie featuring Omar Sharif and Michael Caine, and was directed by none other than Sydneysider James Clavell. Although not a commercial success, the movie did justice to a very touching and finely crafted novel.

Captain Alatriste (Arturo Perez-Reverte) – my hair rises just thinking about the brilliance of this novel, set in a wonderfully decadent Madrid that is capital to the crumbling Spanish Empire. Also converted into a great movie starring Viggo Mortensen.

Q (Luther Blisset) – an extravaganza that will keep you entertained for days on end, huge and allegorical in scope yet at the same time unpredictable and intimately personal, but always intelligent and engaging! A must read for all 16^th century Renaissance Europe fans!

Beau Geste (P.C. Wren) – novel about the Foreign Legion that is meticulously constructed, and you’ll never see the twist until you read the last word on the last page of the novel, which will leave your head spinning.

Sharpe’s Tiger (Bernard Cornwell) – the work of a master craftsman, the best Sharpe novel in my opinion. It’s gritty and gutsy, and bursting with nail-biting suspense.

Other historical novelists whose work I have greatly enjoyed include James Clavell, Elisabeth Storrs, Dorothy Dunnett, Harper Lee, Tim Willocks, Robert Low, Nikos Kazantzakis and Sven Hassel.

Speakeasy: Is there anything else you might like to mention to our readers?

JVB: Firstly I would like to thank GenreCon for the exposure that they are providing us, and also a big thanks to the people that have helped to breathe life into HNSS over the last nine months.

Anyone out there who is a historical fictionista and wants to join in the fun, please drop us a line at hnssydey@gmail.com. Also please feel free to check out our blog and become members via Facebook and Twitter.

The dream we’re currently working on is launching the inaugural HNS conference in Australia – anyone who wishes to get involved is more than welcome!

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Julian Thumm is a freelance editor and writer. He has degrees from The University of Queensland and The University of Adelaide. He has worked with the Australian Journal of Communication, The University of Queensland Press, and Corporate Communication International through The City University of New York. He is currently based in Brisbane.

Set phasers to fun, because it’s time for a good ol’ fashioned SF convention. But leave your Spock ears at home, kids, because this is a convention for the pros. Conflux 8 is a SF convention run by writers and for writers and it kicks off on Friday 28 September.

In the lead up to the AWM GenreCon in November, Speakeasy is getting to know some of the non-profit Community Partners who have signed on to support our inaugural conference and exist to help aspiring Australian genre writers. This week, we introduce you to Conflux, which will also host the 52^nd National Science Fiction Convention (Natcon) in 2013.

Conflux is Australia’s premier SF writers’ convention and this year it boast an array of local and international writing talent, as well as a variety of other industry professionals. If previous years are anything to go by (and I’m assured that they are) then this year’s convention will be an enjoyable and invaluable experience for the aspiring, emerging, and established SF writer, or fan.

Speakeasy managed to grab a few minutes with Nicole Murphy, author and President of Conflux, to chat about the upcoming convention and the Australian SF landscape in general.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about the history of Conflux and its place in the Australian SF community? What have been some of the past Conflux highlights for you?

Nicole Murphy (NM): Conflux began back in the early 2000s, when some passionate fans here in Canberra got together to run the Canberra Spec Fic Cons. They got ambitious and applied to be the Natcon (National Science Fiction Convention) in 2004 and thus was the first Conflux held. We’re about to have number eight, and Conflux 9 next year will again be the Natcon – ten years after the first (yes, the numbers don’t match; we skipped a year).

Conflux is known as the writers’ con. There’re some who don’t like that, but we happen to believe that there’s a room for all tastes in SF fandom, and that there should be different options for different people. Besides, pretty much everyone who has been involved with running Conflux conventions is a writer, so it was inevitable we’d run cons that catered more for our fellow kind.

I’ve had some great times at Conflux but undoubtedly the highlight for me was the first convention I chaired – Conflux 4, in 2007. I got to know some amazing writers through that con (one of our guests was science fiction giant Kevin J. Anderson and I still count him as a mate and he hugs the life out of me when we catch up). That convention was the second with our historically-accurate banquets and that year it was Regency and it was awesome – people dressing up, the food was incredible, it was the most amazing night. Then there’re the discos – we at Conflux are the dancing queens.

Of course, personally, Conflux was where I met and got to know Stephanie Smith, then the publisher of Voyager at HarperCollins, who in 2009 bought my trilogy. So professionally Conflux has meant a lot to me as well.

Speakeasy: With over half the Conflux panel items aimed at writers, can you tell us a little bit about what sort of information/opportunities might be available to writers?

NM: Firstly, there’s the workshops, which are almost exclusively focused on writers. This year we’re running five: topics include writing backstory, teaching history, writing for children, writing for game, and writing the fight right. Jack Dann does his fabulous ‘Keys of the Kingdom’ workshop every year and it’s a very valuable experience for any writer.

Then during the convention there’s panels about the craft, and the industry. You’ll get to meet with other writers and talk the business. There are often publishers and other industry professionals there. And Conflux regularly runs short story competitions, to help encourage and support new writers. And we’re still dreaming of things we can do.

Speakeasy: Besides writers, what other SF industry professionals are you expecting?

NM: Conflux often attracts a lot of publishers, both small press and major, and our reputation is growing with publishers and readers from other genres (e.g., romance) looking to us to find the crossover. We’re working on getting agents as well, and working on developing pitch opportunities and so on. Conflux is always a work in progress.

Speakeasy: What benefits (aside from the good times) might an aspiring/emerging SF writer derive from attending Conflux?

NM: There’s nothing more valuable than being able to chat to people who have been there, done that – you can learn from their mistakes and take advantage of their wisdom. People who will be at this year’s convention include New York Times bestseller Keri Arthur; World Fantasy Award winners Jack Dann and Janeen Webb; multiple award winning short story writer and novelist Kaaron Warren; and editor and publisher Keith Stevenson. It doesn’t matter your interest – writing novels, writing shorts, major publication, self-publication – you can find someone who’s done it and who’s willing to chat to you about it.

Speakeasy: What are you particularly excited about seeing or getting involved in at this year’s convention?

NM: I’m delighted that Keri Arthur is our guest and as a result we’re really getting into the crossover between spec fic and romance (e.g., paranormal romance and urban fantasy). As someone who often toys with that line, it’s great to see it being given prominence and importance on the spec fic side of things. In that respect we’re behind romance, who embraced it long ago.

We’re also doing a major book launch on Saturday night – five books in one event at one of our local bookstores. I think it’s going to be sensational. And we’ve got a local band coming along, The Fildenstar, who sing science fiction songs. I think it’s going to be a really inspiring event.

Speakeasy: Conflux 9 will be the Natcon for 2013. Can you tell us a little about what that means for Conflux and the Australian SF community in general?

NM: Donna Maree Hanson and I are co-chairing Conflux next year and we’re delighted it’s the Natcon. 2013 is the centenary of the establishment of Canberra, so it’s great to bring Australia’s premiere SF event to Canberra that year.

The Natcon is a very important event; for many, it’s the only convention they attend that year. Natcons are all about community and so Donna and I are working hard on issues like inclusivity and disability access to make it as welcoming as possible. We’re also looking at how to get folks who can’t make it to take part.

As I said earlier, it’s ten years since the last time Canberra hosted the Natcon and it’s about time it came back. The last Natcon (which Donna chaired) was absolutely awesome. It was my first ever SF convention, and created what will be a life-long love. Next year is going to be the last convention Donna and I organise and we’re determined to go out with a bang. So it’s going to be fun, innovative, extraordinary and will hopefully help everyone love Australian SF a little more.

Speakeasy: Can you tell us a little about how you see the state of Australian SF writing and publishing right now?

NM: Man, Aussie SF writing and publishing is FREAKING AWESOME at the moment. It doesn’t matter what level you look at, interesting things are happening. New writers are being picked up. Small press is a particularly interesting thing at the moment. Over in Perth, Twelfth Planet Press (TPP) and Ticonderoga are producing some remarkable books. TPP is currently doing the Twelve Planets series, focusing solely on Australian female writers, and the work that they’re publishing is astounding. Meanwhile, Ticonderoga is giving a lot of great authors their first collection and is also moving into novels. Honestly, I’m not sure there’s ever been a better time to be a SF writer and publisher in Australia.

Speakeasy: Just for a bit of fun, if you could pull together any SF icons (alive or dead), who would make up your dream convention panel and what would they discuss?

NM: Well, I’ve GOT to have Tolkien there. He’s a remarkable man and writer and let’s face it, every fantasy writer is still trying to emulate what he achieved. The breadth and depth of his work is inspirational.

Ursula le Guin would be another must-have – so inspirational, so down to earth. One of the first and greatest of the female writers in the genre and thus with a view point of the industry that’s unique.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is becoming a hero of mine, with her blog on the business for writers – so upfront about the trials and tribulations of this great career we’ve undertaken to strive for.

But all in all I’d say – my friends. The writers I know here in Canberra. Some of the most talented in the business, and some of the funniest and most generous. Kaaron Warren, Maxine McArthur, Matthew Farrer, Gillian Polack, Ian McHugh, Simon Petrie, Donna Maree Hanson, and lots more. I’d gather them together and we’d drink and talk writing until our voices gave out.

Now THAT would be a convention.

Speakeasy: Is there anything else you might like to mention to our readers?

NM: Buy my books

I’d say – writing can be a lonely, lonely business and we writers tend to be the type to live in our heads and overdramatise everything, which makes for good stories, but makes for a bad mental state. So find your tribe. Whether it be the mess and noise and full-on-ness of a convention, or a quieter writer’s group, or online, but find your tribe then share yourself. It will be worth it.

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Julian Thumm is a freelance editor and writer. He has degrees from The University of Queensland and The University of Adelaide. He has worked with the Australian Journal of Communication, The University of Queensland Press, and Corporate Communication International through The City University of New York. He is currently based in Brisbane.

For those of you who have been seduced by the dark side of writing, it’s time to give form to your finest literary golems, and unleash them on an unsuspecting public: the Midnight Echo goblins will soon be hungry for submissions.

Midnight Echo is one of Australia’s premier horror magazines, and the official magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA). Submissions for the upcoming issue #9, ‘Mythic Horror’, will open up from October 1, 2012. Guest editor, Geoff Brown, will be looking for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and artwork to load the pages of ME#9 with all the mythic horror, terror, fear and trepidation he can cram in.

Speakeasy recently caught up with Geoff Brown (aka. G. N. Braun), realist and dark fiction writer, president of the AHWA, and guest editor of Midnight Echo’s forthcoming ‘Mythic Horror’ issue.

Speakeasy: For those unfamiliar with Midnight Echo, could you tell us a bit about the magazine and its place in the Australian horror scene?

Geoff Brown (GB): Midnight Echo is the official magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association. We have released seven issues so far, with #8 (un-themed) due out toward the end of the year and #9 (‘Mythic Horror’) open for submissions from October 1, 2012 until January 31, 2013.

Each issue of Midnight Echo contains more than 100 pages of horror (or dark) fiction, poetry, art, graphic novels, book releases, and more. The magazine is released in a limited print edition and in digital format (e-pub, mobi, and PDF), and is distributed in hard copy and electronic format to readers all across the world, including AHWA members and the Horror Writers Association (HWA) members in the United States.

First imagined in 2007, we released issue one in October 2008. Midnight Echo has an executive editor, Marty Young, but we also feature a different guest editor for each issue, to allow a variation in style and taste for each release. No two editions will ever be the same. Previous editors have included: Kirstyn McDermott; Angela Challis; Shane Jiraiya Cummings; Lee Battersby; the editorial team of David Conyers, Jason Fischer and David Kernot for #6; and Marty Young, Amanda J. Spedding and Mark Farrugia for #8. Most recently, #7 (‘The Taboo Issue’) was edited by Daniel I. Russell.

Midnight Echo is an avenue for Australian writers of horror and dark fiction to get their stories out there to be read. We do not publish Australians exclusively, but we do prefer to have a majority of Australian writers in each issue. More recently, we have attempted to gain one or two ‘name’ authors (the most recent being Graham Masterton in #7, and Joe R. Lansdale and Jack Ketchum in #8) to drive sales and readership worldwide so as to ensure that our Aussie contributors have as much exposure as possible.

Speakeasy: What does this opportunity to guest edit the upcoming issue (#9) of Midnight Echo mean to you as a writer of dark fiction and a horror aficionado? Are you aiming to add your own flavour or vision to ME#9? If so, how?

GB: The chance to guest edit Midnight Echo #9 will allow me to sample the work of upcoming and emerging horror writers, both nationally and internationally. It will allow me to add my own tastes to the selection process, and allow me to mould the issue to something that is uniquely mythical in nature.

I have studied myths and symbols in a formal setting, and hope to find and bring some more obscure myths and legends to a more general audience via ‘recasting’ of ancient or little-known mythology into more modern settings.

Speakeasy: The theme for ME#9 is ‘mythical horror’. Can you tell us how this theme came about and what about it appeals to you?

GB: While studying for a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing at TAFE, we studied ‘Creativity in a Cultural Context’—a subject incorporating myths and symbols into story-telling. As a result of this, I am naturally more open to and interested in the mythology of the world. Regional and cultural mythology is a fascinating part of world literature, and is mostly forgotten, apart from in some areas of speculative fiction. Other areas, such as urban legends, also hold a strong fascination for me. The way that myths and legends can be used to explain away the unexplainable is fascinating. Mankind has taken myths and legends to a new height with religion, yet the ancient myths that preceded religion have largely been forgotten or have been relegated to storybooks for children. Yet mankind has used myths and folklore since before recorded history: as warnings, as ways to curtail immoral behaviour, and for entertainment.

Speakeasy: The Midnight Echo submission guidelines state that submissions must have ‘horror as a central theme’. Since this is a fairly broad directive, and perhaps not as obvious as it may seem, can you elaborate a little on what this means to you and what dimensions of horror you hope to see in submissions?

GB: Webster’s Dictionary gives the primary definition of horror as ‘a painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay’. It stands to reason, then, that ‘horror fiction’ is fiction that elicits those emotions in the reader. Robert McCammon, one of the founders of US genre association, the Horror Writers Association (HWA), said, ‘horror can be many, many things and go in many, many directions…[it] can shock, educate, illuminate, threaten, shriek, and whisper before it lets the readers loose’ (Twilight Zone Magazine, Oct 1986).

I would like to see things that do everything that Robert said. I want things that push us out of our comfort-zone: things that make us turn the lights up, make us wonder what that scratching noise is at the door. I want stories that grab the reader, stories that scare the reader, stories that make the reader think ‘what if?’

Horror is more than a genre; horror is an emotion. I want stories that engage the reader on an emotive level and incite fear of either the known or the unknown. How they do it, I leave up to the writers.

Speakeasy: Since acceptance of submissions comes down to editorial preference, what types of submissions will you particularly be looking for (e.g., fiction, poetry, non-fiction, art, reviews etc.)?

GB: I have already solicited a non-fiction piece by a world-renowned scholar (more details coming soon), so any non-fiction will have to be pretty special to warrant having two pieces in the mag. That said, I am still open to more non-fiction. Art is always welcome; we look for original cover and internal art (full-page, part-page and corner art are all needed for the issue). As well as these two, I am open to any and all submissions. I have a love of well-wrought flash fiction, so scare me in 1000 words or less; I have a low tolerance for pretentious poetry without soul, so make any verse especially vibrant and meaningful.

Speakeasy: As editor, what kinds of things immediately turn you off a submission? Conversely, what kinds of things immediately grab your attention?

GB: People need to follow the submission guidelines in regard to layout. If you can’t be bothered putting a bit of work into the layout of your tale, it doesn’t bode well for your professionalism. Included in the submission guidelines (read them very well, indeed) on the website is a link to a basic layout guide for submissions. Follow it.

Weak openings make me less likely to read the entire submission, especially once the number of submissions starts to rise. Conversely, strong openings that hook me from the opening sentence or paragraph will ensure that I read the whole thing. What hooks the editor, hooks the readers. I want my issue of ME to hook the readers.

Lack of research also tends to turn me off a story. With all the options people have to research their stuff (internet, libraries, etc.), there is no excuse for poor research. This is especially important for myths and legends. You can twist the tales a little, but be sure you know the original myth before you do so.

Speakeasy: In your experience, what are some of the most common problems afflicting horror/dark fiction submissions? What are a few of the best ways that writers can avoid/fix these problems before submission?

GB: People tend to write the common horror tropes. Werewolves, vampires, zombies are all classic horror creatures, but people aren’t doing anything different with them, except making them sexy. Monsters are not meant to be sexy. They are meant to scare the hell out of us. In asking for myths and legends for ME#9, I hope to drag some more obscure monsters and folklore from the minds of the writers.

Most common problems in literature aren’t limited to just the horror/dark fiction genres. Writers tend to forget (or never learn in the first place) the art and craft of writing. Story arc and characterisation; foreshadowing versus signposting; a twist in the tale versus a slice of life—all these things, and the way they are used, help to separate the skilled writer from the hobbyist. Grammar and punctuation seem to be very hit-and-miss these days, too. People send stories full of infelicities such as verb and pronoun confusion, dangling participles, spelling mistakes and things that a proofread before hitting ‘send’ may have eliminated.

Another pet hate I have is telling rather than showing. As Chekhov said, ‘Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass’.

Speakeasy: As current president of the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) could you tell our readers a little about the association, what it does, what its goals are, and who it benefits?

GB: The AHWA is a non-profit organisation that formed, unofficially, in 2003 as a way of providing a unified voice and a sense of community for Australian writers of dark fiction, while helping the development and evolution of this genre within Australia.

The AHWA represents over 200 established, emerging, and upcoming writers. We host a mentoring program for members, in which they have the opportunity to work with an established writer; we also host the Australian Shadows Awards, which reward excellence in Australian horror-genre fiction; we promote our members’ work in Sinister Reads (our online promotional blog); and most of all, we support our members in any other ways we can.

AHWA held its official launch during Continuum 3 in Melbourne on July 17, 2005, where a full house greeted the proclamation by Richard Harland, author of the 2004 Aurealis Awards best horror novel and Golden Aurealis winning The Black Crusade, that the AHWA was ‘well and truly up and running!’

On August 5, 2005, the AHWA became an incorporated body in the State of Victoria. For further details, please see the AHWA website.

Speakeasy: Is there anything else you might like to mention to our readers?

GB: One more thing in regard to Midnight Echo #9 submissions: send me your very best proofread, spellchecked (not just by Microsoft Word, either) and researched work. Don’t use US spelling, don’t send me trunk-stories that failed to get into a targeted market, and don’t send me something you’re not inordinately proud of. Send me something you would show with pride to Stephen King or Jack Ketchum.

To paraphrase Faulkner, send me your darlings, but kill them first.

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Julian Thumm is a freelance editor and writer. He has degrees from The University of Queensland and The University of Adelaide. He has worked with the Australian Journal of Communication, The University of Queensland Press, and Corporate Communication International through The City University of New York. He is currently based in Brisbane.

The big publishing news this week included the launch of HarperCollins 360, a global publishing program that ensures all books published by any division of HarperCollins around the world are available in print or digital format in all English-language markets. When the program is fully implemented, the HarperCollins global catalog — 50,000 print books and 40,000 e-books — will be available, limited only by the rights held, not by technology or geography. This may seem like a no-brainer to many casual observers, but the 3 Reasons 360 took so long to start post over on publishing perspectives offers some insight into why it’s taken so long.

Rejection is a part of the writing life, and all too often there are those who take rejection as an excuse to mope. Keith Cronin is prepared to institute a No-Moping Zone for the good of all writers, offering up some alternative reactions to rejection that may better-serve an aspiring writer in the long-term.

Stephanie Vanderslice speaks out in praise of author-crushes at the Huffington Post.

Gossamer Obsessions discusses the importance of being nice for book bloggers.

The Queensland Literary Awards – the community-based initiative that replaced the recently axed Queensland Premier’s Awards – has received twenty thousand dollars of funding from the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) Cultural Fund to administer and deliver this year’s awards.

Jon Merz discusses the rise of the authorpreneur in light of the news that best-selling fantasy novelist Terry Goodkind is planning to self-publish his next novel.

Chuck Wendig offers 25 Reasons This is the Best Time to be a Storyteller.

You’ve probably heard of Nora Roberts, best-selling romance novelist, but what about Nora A. Roberts? Smart Bitches, Trashy Books has a post examining the tactics used by two self-published novelists who adopted the pen-names Nora A. Roberts and James A. Paterson. It’s a great example of why this sort of thing isn’t a great idea, and the response from the real Nora Roberts included in the article goes a long way towards answering Shakespeare’s question, what’s in a name?

Jane Friedman has a great interview on her blog detailing How One Introverted Author Successfully Markets his Work.

Those are the links that caught our attention at the AWM offices this week. As usual, we’re keen to hear about your favourite links in the  comments – tell us the advice, opportunities, and essays about writing and publishing that caught your attention this week.

YA author Diana Peterfreund posted a glib-but-accurate list post about the difference between Revising and Rewriting earlier this week, but even more interesting was the follow-up post about the way the process changes once you’re a writer under contract.

In keeping with the YA theme, Malinda Lo has a great post on Writing about Kissing. It’s a great examination of various kinds of kissing scenes, with examples and details on why they work.

Ever wondered what a publisher or writer really means? The Intern has posted a bunch of amusing euphamisism used by publishers, writers, and people querying agents about their submitted manuscripts.

If you spend enough time listening to the internet you may come to believe that writers are in a perpetual state of war with themselves, trying to balance the demands of getting things written with the need to build a platform to promote their work. Fortunately there are some very sensible things said over on Writer Unboxed about Writing versus Platform on when to give each the most focus.

Last week we mentioned Seizure publishing’s Viva La Novella competition, but if you’re still trying to wrap your head around the form then Daniel Torday’s essay on The Secret Life of Novellas can point you towards some texts you probably hadn’t considered to be part of the novella camp.

The Other Side of the Story is running a great series on becoming productive as a writer. Part Three went live this week, although the first two installments are still available and it looks like there’s more to come.

Ever been so irritated by a book that you’ve thrown it across the room? Well the good news is that you’re not alone – over on omnivoracious blog there’s a great post about Four Book-Throwing Offenses (And How to Avoid Them).

Those are the links that caught our attention at the AWM offices this week. As usual, we’re keen to hear about your favourite links in the  comments – tell us the advice, opportunities, and essays about writing and publishing that caught your attention this week.