To self publish or to not

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about self publishing recently. I’ve been considering two projects that might be described as self publishing. And I’ve been looking at how self publishing fits into my professional life as a literature development worker. And I’ve just been following a thread incited by a Facebook status update fromContinue reading “To self publish or to not”

Hugo Nomination for Weird Tales!

The Hugo nominations are out and my two of my favourite magazines, Interzone and Weird Tales, have been nominated! Both receive a nod in the semi-pro zine category. Good luck to Andy Cox and Ann Vandermeer both. Electric Velocipede also scoops a nomination for best fanzine, so good luck to John Klima. The John WContinue reading “Hugo Nomination for Weird Tales!”

Mirrorshades

John Klima sticks his neck out and nominates his top 10 most influential SF / F anthologies over at Tor.com. It’s a list that makes me want to read more, as do the the comments. But I was surprised to see my most influential anthology went entirely unmentioned… Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology was the bookContinue reading “Mirrorshades”

Far Eastern tales of whimsy and malice

I’ve been avidly reading (and listening) to Eugie Foster’s perfectly formed fairy tales in short story form since I started reviewing for The Fix (which Eugie edits). They have appeared in some of my favourite venues including the Drabblecast and Realms of Fantasy (sadly no longer with us). Now they have been collected together inContinue reading “Far Eastern tales of whimsy and malice”

Watchmen rocks!

So…I’ve seen it. My considered conclusion…f@$king brilliant!! My favourite film reviewer, the good Dr himself, Mark Kermode, absolutely panned it in his review on Friday. I think he must be getting a bit long in the tooth because he completely missed the point. Yes its stupid and flippant when it shouldn’t be. Yes the actingContinue reading “Watchmen rocks!”

Clarion applicants…batten down the hatches!

Clarion classmate E J Fischer recounts his last minute application to the worlds greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy writing workshop @ UC San Diego. If its any encouragement to those of you who barely scrapped the deadline, it seemed that almost everyone in the class of 2008 applied at the last minute (and now ofContinue reading “Clarion applicants…batten down the hatches!”

Philip Jose Farmer, rebel against reality

Philip José Farmer, who passed out of this world yesterday, was among the last of a generation who emerged from the revolutionary literature of science fiction. Along with contemporaries including Robert Heinlen, Isaac Asimov, Philip K Dick and and Kurt Vonnegut, Farmer dedicated his life to writing stories that forced their readers to confront andContinue reading “Philip Jose Farmer, rebel against reality”

A Story of Courage, Tenacity and Dedication

Here in the UK we once had a prime time children’s TV programme called Record Breakers. On said programme, the now sadly departed Roy Castle would play the trumpet over the theme song whilst a chorus of gospel singers (I may be exagerating, but this is how my memory remebers it) sang the shows catchContinue reading “A Story of Courage, Tenacity and Dedication”