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The 2016 British Fantasy Awards Winners

The 2016 British Fantasy Awards Winners

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rawblood-catriona-ward-smallThe winners of the 2016 British Fantasy Awards have been announced by the British Fantasy Society. Tea and crumpets for everyone!

Since we forgot to report on the nominees three months ago, we’ll make up for it here by listing both the winners and the nominees in each category. Ready? Here we go.

Best Fantasy Novel — The Robert Holdstock Award

Uprooted, Naomi Novik (Macmillan)

Half a War, Joe Abercrombie (Harper Voyager)
Sorcerer to the Crown, Zen Cho (Macmillan)
Signal to Noise, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Solaris)
Guns of the Dawn, Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor)
The Iron Ghost, Jen Williams (Headline)

Best Horror Novel — The August Derleth Award

Rawblood, Catriona Ward (Weidenfeld & Nicholson)

Welcome to Night Vale, Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor (Orbit)
The Silence, Tim Lebbon (Titan)
A Cold Silence, Alison Littlewood (Jo Fletcher)
Lost Girl, Adam Nevill (Pan)
The Death House, Sarah Pinborough (Gollancz)
Rawblood, Catriona Ward (Weidenfeld & Nicholson)

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Future Treasures: Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume 3, edited by Simon Strantzas and Michael Kelly

Future Treasures: Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Volume 3, edited by Simon Strantzas and Michael Kelly

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years-best-weird-fiction-volume-3-smallMichael Kelly’s Year’s Best Weird Fiction has fast become one of my favorite Year’s Best series. Kelly is the editor of the acclaimed anthology series Shadows and Tall Trees, and every year he invites a guest editor to help select the finest strange and weird fiction from the last 12 months.

Laird Barron and Kathe Koja ably assisted with the first two volumes, and this year Simon Strantzas (Burnt Black Suns, Shadows Edge) bent his considerable editorial talents to the task. It arrives in hardcover and trade paperback from Undertow Books next month.

Showcasing the finest weird fiction from 2015, volume 3 of the Year’s Best Weird Fiction is our biggest and most ambitious volume to date.

Acclaimed editors Simon Strantzas and Michael Kelly bring their keen editorial sensibilities to the third volume of the Year’s Best Weird Fiction. The best weird stories of 2015 features work from Robert Aickman, Matthew M. Bartlett, Sadie Bruce, Nadia Bulkin, Ramsey Campbell, Brian Conn, Brian Evenson, L.S. Johnson, Rebecca Kuder, Tim Lebbon, Reggie Oliver, Lynda E. Rucker, Robert Shearman, Christopher Slatsky, D.P. Watt, Michael Wehunt, Marian Womack, Genevieve Valentine.

No longer the purview of esoteric readers, weird fiction is enjoying wide popularity. Chiefly derived from early 20th-century pulp fiction, its remit includes ghost stories, the strange and macabre, the supernatural, fantasy, myth, philosophical ontology, ambiguity, and a healthy helping of the outre. At its best, weird fiction is an intersecting of themes and ideas that explore and subvert the Laws of Nature. It is not confined to one genre, but is the most diverse and welcoming of all genres.

This series is perfect for those Black Gate readers who prefer dark fantasy, or who are looking for something just a little left of ordinary.

Here’s the complete Table of Contents.

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September/October Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Now on Sale

September/October Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Now on Sale

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the-magazine-of-fantasy-and-science-fiction-september-october-2016-smallWhen I was at Worldcon last month, I attended the Friday morning reading group hosted by F&SF. It featured five writers reading their stories from the magazine — Cat Rambo, David Gerrold (above middle), Sarah Pinsker (right), William Ledbetter, and Esther Friesner — and was moderated by editor C.C. Finlay (above left).

It was a lot of fun… and it certainly built up anticipation for the upcoming September/October issue. Two of the authors, David Gerrold and Sarah Pinsker, read extremely enticing excerpts from stories appearing in that issue. At the end of the panel Charles Finlay announced early copies were available in the back. I got in line to get one, but ended up giving my precious copy to someone at the con, and I wasn’t able to retrieve it before flying back to Illinois (*sob*). So I had to wait impatiently for several weeks until the issue arrived in my local bookstore, and I snapped up a copy a few days ago.

It’s a David Gerrold Special Issue, featuring two new novellas by Gerrold, a memoir, and an appreciation by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, “The Amazing Mr. Gerrold.” It’s F&SF‘s first author special in over a decade, and I’m glad to see Finlay bringing the idea back. (Gerrold is having quite a renaissance in the pages of F&SF… his novelette “The Thing on the Shelf,” featuring a horror writer nominated for the coveted Stoker Award, appeared last issue.)

The issue’s “The Dunsmuir Horror,” a Lovecraft pastiche starring author David Gerold, is both funny and very disturbing. Written in the form of a letter to Gordon van Gelder, F&SF‘s publisher and former editor, from the narrator as he recovers in a mental institution (as I said… very Lovecraftian), the story relates Gerrod’s investigations into a sinister American town that tries to lure weary travelers into stopping.

It’s an exceptional piece and a very fun read, and already getting some good notice. Here’s Clancy Weeks at Tangent Online.

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The Shadow over Innsmouth as a Generational Family Saga in Rural Alabama: Michael McDowell’s Blackwater

The Shadow over Innsmouth as a Generational Family Saga in Rural Alabama: Michael McDowell’s Blackwater

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Michael McDowell’s Blackwater was a paperback horror series originally published in six volumes by Avon in 1983. It’s a tough set to track down these days, but not impossible. For those wiling to settle for a modern edition, Amazon offers a complete omnibus Kindle volume for just $9.99 and, at the other end of the spectrum, Centipede Press produced a hardcover slipcased set of all six books in 2014 for $350.

I don’t own any of the original Avon paperbacks (although it’s certainly possible that one or two are buried somewhere in my basement). But my interest was piqued this week by a September 22 Facebook post by author Nathan Ballingrud:

I’m in the midst of reading Blackwater, by Michael McDowell. It is, you might say, as if The Shadow over Innsmouth was written as a generational family saga set in rural Alabama. It is strange, funny, warm, and frightening, and a true pleasure to read.

You gotta admit, as blurbs go, that one certainly gets your attention.

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The Mystery of New Dimensions 13

The Mystery of New Dimensions 13

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Robert Silverberg’s New Dimensions was one of the most celebrated anthology series of the 70s. It published an impressive amount of award-winning fiction, including R. A. Lafferty’s “Eurema’s Dam” (1973 Hugo), Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (1974 Hugo), James Tiptree, Jr’s “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” (1974 Hugo), Suzy McKee Charnas “Unicorn Tapestry” (1981 Nebula), and many others.

New Dimensions 11 and 12 were co-edited with Marta Randall. The final volume, New Dimensions 13, was solely edited by Randall, and it boasted a dazzling range of writers, including Vonda McIntyre, Robert Silverberg, R.A. Lafferty, Lucius Shepard Michael Swanwick, Barry N. Malzberg, and many others. There’s just one problem with it, however: no finished copies are known to have survived. The entire print run was reportedly pulped, and the only copies that exist today were advance copies sent out to reviewers.

Why? That’s part of the mystery. Gunter Swain posted the cover above on Facebook today — the first image I’ve ever seen of the book. He reports the book “was published but was never distributed.” In the comments section, Marta Randall shed some light on the mystery.

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Feast Your Eyes on Robert McGinnis’ New Covers for Neil Gaiman’s Early Paperbacks

Feast Your Eyes on Robert McGinnis’ New Covers for Neil Gaiman’s Early Paperbacks

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I know I’m not the only one out there who’s purchased a new edition of a favorite book just because I loved the new cover.

And I’ll definitely be getting in line to pick up the new mass market paperback editions of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, Neverwhere, Anansi Boys, and Stardust, all gorgeously rendered by famous paperback 50s artist Robert McGinnis, who’s now in his 90s but still doing brilliant work. Neil takes about how the new covers came about on his blog:

About a year ago, Jennifer Brehl and I were talking. Jennifer is my editor at William Morrow… I went off about how paperback covers used to be beautiful, and were painted, and told you so much. And how much I missed the covers of the ’50s and ’60s and ’70s, the ones I’d collected and bought back in the dawn of time. And somehow the conversation wound up with me asking if Harper Collins would publish a set of mass market paperbacks of my books with gloriously retro covers and Jennifer saying that yes, they would….

I sent a note to Jennifer asking if there was even the slightest possibility that Mr McGinnis would be interested in painting the covers for the paperback set we wanted to do. He said yes. I say that so blithely. But he has retired, pretty much, and he doesn’t have email, and it was only because the Morrow art director had worked with him, and he was intrigued by the commission… and ROBERT MCGINNIS SAID YES.

Neil has been talking about each cover in more detail on Tumblr. Check it out here.

The new mass market paperback edition of American Gods was published August 16, Stardust arrives on September 27, Anansi Boys on October 25, and Neverwhere on November 29. All four covers are painted by Robert E McGinnis, with lettering by Todd Klein. Click the images above for bigger versions.

New Treasures: The Tinker King by Tiffany Trent, Book II of The Unnaturalists

New Treasures: The Tinker King by Tiffany Trent, Book II of The Unnaturalists

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I discover a lot of great writers by attending readings, and that’s exactly how I found Tiffany Trent. I was at Wiscon — which has one of the most rewarding reading tracks of any convention in the country — back in 2012 , where one reader in particular really impressed me. Her writing was fresh and original, with a marvelously inventive world and a compelling and instantly likable main character. Here’s what I wrote at the time:

My favorite tale… was Tiffany Trent’s The Unnaturalists. Set in an alternate London where magical creatures are preserved in museums, The Unnaturalists follows plucky young Vespa Nyx, who is happily cataloging unnatural creatures in her father’s museum until she becomes involved in Syrus Reed’s attempts to free his Tinker family, who have been captured to be refinery slaves. Funny, fast-paced, and packed with lively characters, Tiffany Trent’s novel captured my attention immediately.

The Unnaturalists was published in hardcover in 2012, and the sequel, The Tinker King, arrived in 2014. Saga Press published the paperback edition of The Unnaturalists (above) in June of this year, and the paperback edition of The Tinker King followed on July 26. Both are available for $7.99 in print, and $6.99 in digital format. The covers are by Aaron Goodman (click for bigger versions).

The Print Version of the 7th Edition of Call of Cthulhu is Now Available

The Print Version of the 7th Edition of Call of Cthulhu is Now Available

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The Kickstarter for the long-awaited Seventh Edition of Call of Cthulhu, one of the greatest role playing games of all time, was one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns in gaming history, pulling in over $560,000 on a $40,000 goal. The PDF versions were released back in 2014, but the promised print edition took a lot longer to arrive. But it is now here — officially announced on the website on August 26, and already offered for sale at various online outlets.

The 7th Edition, based on the original rules by Sandy Peterson and Lynn Willis, was significantly revised by Paul Fricker and Mike Mason. It weighs in at 448 pages in hardcover, with an eye-catching cover by Sam Lamont and some color interiors. A significant amount of supporting material is already available, including the Call of Cthulhu Keepers Screen, a hardcover Investigator Handbook, the S.Petersen’s Field Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors, and the first 7th Edition adventure collection, Nameless Horrors.

If you’re new to Call of Cthulhu, or just curious, great! CoC is one of the most innovative and creative role playing games ever made, and — almost uniquely in the industry — its supplements and adventures make great reading, even if you never have the chance to sit down at a table with fellow players. It was the first semi-contemporary RPG, and also the first to feature ordinary folks as protagonists. But don’t just take my word for it… here’s a dead-on quote from Ed Grabianowski’s io9 article, “Call Of Cthulhu Was The First Role-Playing Game To Drive People Insane.”

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September 2016 Asimov’s Science Fiction Now on Sale

September 2016 Asimov’s Science Fiction Now on Sale

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asimovs-science-fiction-september-2016-smallThe September issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction looks like a very solid issue, with fiction from Carrie Vaughn, Ian R. MacLeod, Robert Reed, Rich Larson, Jack Skillingstead, and others. Here’s the full description from the website:

Jack Skillingstead’s September 2016 novelette takes us on a terrifying journey across universes. Pursued by malevolent forces, a brilliant mathematician struggles to clean up “The Whole Mess.” Failure means destruction and subjugation. The penalty for success could be worse.

New York Times best selling author, Carrie Vaughn exposes the debilitating consequences space travel holds for some in “The Mind Is Its Own Place”; appearing in Asimov’s with her first professional sale, Tegan Moore shines a light on some dark and twisted relationships in “Epitome”; Human and Alien intelligence slowly learn to communicate in Rich Larson’spoignant excavation of “All that Robot…”; World Fantasy Award winner Ian R. MacLeod introduces us to the enigmatic “Visitor from Taured”; Peter Wood runs  us around in some vicious, yet funny and perhaps all too recognizable, “Academic Circles”; and Robert Reed tells the old tale of migration and the promised land — this time with aliens — in “Dome on the Prairie.”

Robert Silverberg’s hilarious Reflections column reveals why it’s not a good idea to exclaim, “‘Darn,’ He Smiled”; Peter Heck reviews works by Charlie Jane Anders, Laura Anne Gilman, Fred Chappell, and others; plus we’ll have an array of poetry and other features you’re sure to enjoy.

The cover is by the great Michael Whelan.

Over at Tangent Online Bob Blough raves about the issue, and especially Ian M. McLeod’s “A Visitor from Taured,” which he calls “a potential award nominee.”

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A Sorceress Hiding From the Most Powerful Sorcerer in the World: Annie Bellet’s Level Grind: The Twenty-Sided Sorceress

A Sorceress Hiding From the Most Powerful Sorcerer in the World: Annie Bellet’s Level Grind: The Twenty-Sided Sorceress

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Annie Bellet’s Twenty-Sided Sorceress books are a USA Today bestselling series… pretty impressive for a small press outing from a relatively unknown writer. Last year Bellet was (like Black Gate) nominated for a Hugo Award on the Rabid Puppy slate, for her short story “Goodnight Stars” from The End is Now anthology. And (also like Black Gate) she declined the nomination… that principled stand won her an Alfie Award at George R.R. Martin’s Hugo Losers party, a coveted award in its own right.

Now Saga Press is gathering the first four novels in the popular series into one handsome omnibus edition, Level Grind: The Twenty-Sided Sorceress, Volume One. The books follow the adventures of Jade Crow, a sorceress hiding from the most powerful sorcerer in the world: her ex-boyfriend, who wants to consume her heart. They are:

Justice Calling (152 pages, July 23, 2014)
Murder of Crows (162 pages, August 23, 2014)
Pack of Lies (226 pages, October 14, 2014)
Hunting Season (204 pages, Dec 2, 2014)

Here’s a look at the original covers, all from Domed Muse Press.

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