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John C. Hocking’s “The Face in the Sea” wins The Harper’s Pen Award

John C. Hocking’s “The Face in the Sea” wins The Harper’s Pen Award

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harpers-penThe Sorcerer’s Guild has announced that John C. Hocking’s “The Face in the Sea” (Black Gate 13) has won The Harper’s Pen Award for the best all-around Sword & Sorcery short story of 2009.

Award administator Jeff Crook puts it this way:

John’s story is a superb example of the genre, harkening back to the master himself – REH. It hit all the points I mentioned in my previous post: two strong hooks (story and adventure); well-crafted, believable historical fantasy setting; solid characters; monsters, mayhem and magic aplenty; a satisfying ending, and an entertaining storyteller’s voice.

The Award winner receives $200, a certificate, and an engraved handmade pen by Syzygy Pens.

You can read an excerpt from “The Face in the Sea” as part of our Black Gate 13 online preview.

The sequel to the story, “The Bonestealer’s Mirror,” appears in Black Gate 14, now shipping.

Congratulations to John Hocking on the Award! Congratulations in fact, to all the finalists, including stories from Asimov’s Science Fiction, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Dark Worlds, Electric Spec, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Rage of the Behemoth, and Silver Blade.

Jeff Crook is posting his notes on each of the finalists at The Sorcerer’s Guild over the next few days.

On behalf of John C. Hocking and Black Gate, we’re extremely honored to receive this award. We also hope that, if you enjoy his story, you’ll take some time to explore Beneath Ceaseless Skies,  Electric Spec, Rage of the Behemoth, or one of the other fine publications on the ballot. And if you like what you see, we hope you’ll support some of our worthy competition.

Me, I’m going to start off with a subscription to Dark Worlds. It looks great.

Now Shipping: Black Gate 14

Now Shipping: Black Gate 14

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bg-14-cover3Black Gate 14 is now shipping.  Foreign and domestic subscriber copies went in the mail last week.

At  384 pages, Black Gate 14 is the largest issue in our history. Be sure you’re in a sturdy chair while reading.

It includes an 8-page Knights of the Dinner Table strip, nearly 25 full pages of art, and over 150,000 words of fiction – including a Morlock novella from James Enge, a new tale of Brand the Viking from John C. Hocking, and fiction from Michael Jasper & Jay Lake, Pete Butler, Robert J. Howe,  Diana Sherman, Martin Owton, Mike Shultz, and many others.

Rich Horton returns with another detailed look at the rich history of the fantasy genre, this time focusing on publishers striving to keep the best of the past in print in “Back To The Future: Modern Reprints of Classic Fantasy.” And of course we include our regular review columns, calling out the finest new fantasy games and books, assembled and edited by Howard Andrew Jones and Bill Ward.

The complete Black Gate 14 preview is here.

The gorgeous wraparound cover is by Bruce Pennington, who also did the cover to Black Gate 12.

The issue is available for just $15.95, plus $2.50 shipping – or, until we come to our senses, you can include it as part of a 4-issue subscription for the criminally low price of $29.95. Our order page is here.

We’re hard at work converting the issue to PDF format, and will make a downloadable version of the issue available in early April for just $4.95 (only $2.95 for existing subscribers).

John C. Hocking’s “The Face in the Sea” nominated for Harper’s Pen Award

John C. Hocking’s “The Face in the Sea” nominated for Harper’s Pen Award

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face-in-the-sea-277The Sorcerer’s Guild announced this week that John C. Hocking’s “The Face in the Sea” (from Black Gate 13) has been nominated for the Harper’s Pen Award (formerly the Ham-Sized Fist Award).

The Harper’s Pen Award honors the best Heroic Fantasy or Sword and Sorcery short fiction. The award is sponsored by The Sorcerer’s Guild. The stated goal of the award is “to encourage authors to continue to explore heroic fantasy and sword and sorcery fiction, as well as to reward those who continue to publish it.”

The Finalists for 2009 are:

Special shout out to Black Gate Contributing Editor Bill Ward, for his nomination for “The Last of His Kind.”

There’s some fine publications on that list.  If you like heroic fantasy, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to try a few of the links above and, if you like what you see, support one of our sister magazines. Me, I’m going off to read some more Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.

Congratulations to all the finalists!  The winner will be announced next week.

Gary Con II Report

Gary Con II Report

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gary_con2-logo1On Saturday I drove to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, for the second annual Gary Con, a friendly gathering in honor of Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons and the father of role-playing games.

You can read the Tribute to Gary Gygax, written by the staff at Black Gate magazine and Paizo publisher Erik Mona after Gary’s death in 2008, if you’re not familiar with his work.

Chainmail re-enactment of T1: The Village of Hommlet at Garycon II
Chainmail re-enactment of T1: The Village of Hommlet at Garycon II. Click for bigger version.

Lake Geneva is the birthplace of D&D and, consequently, the entire RPG industry. It was here that TSR, the company Gary co-founded in 1973, was headquartered for over two decades, and where many of the creative minds who helped it grow from a fledgling hobby company to the most influential game publisher of the last 30 years still live today – people like Tim Kask, founding editor of Dragon magazine, Gamma World author James Ward, RPGA founder Frank Mentzer, Snit’s Revenge creator Tom Wham, and many others.

The stated goal of the con is to “harken back to the early days of gaming conventions where role-playing was in its infancy and the players shared a strong sense of camaraderie,” and in that respect Gary Con was an unqualified success.

Players gathered around dozens of tables enjoying highlights from TSR’s early catalog, including first edition AD&D, Metamorphosis Alpha, Dawn Patrol, Boot Hill, Dungeon, Chainmail, and more modern games that strive to capture that sense of old-school adventure, such as Hackmaster, Castles and Crusades, and even Gygax’s fondly remembered post-TSR effort, Dangerous Journeys.

Best of all, I saw many renowned game designers and early TSR employees mingling with the crowd, or acting as dungeon masters for classic Gygax modules such as Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, The Temple of Hommlet, and Castle Greyhawk.

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Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Girl Who Feared Lightning” by Dan Brodribb

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “The Girl Who Feared Lightning” by Dan Brodribb

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lightninggirl-277The sarcophagus was empty, the mummy was on the loose, and Corporate expected her to deal with it. Seemed like a lot to ask, especially for minimum wage.

     “So where’s the mummy?” Cara asked. She ran her hand along the edge of the sarcophagus.
     “Well.” The man in the suit cleared his throat and studied the floor. “It escaped.”
     “You mean it was stolen?” she said.
     “I mean, it got up and walked away.” With his right hand, the man made a walking movement with his fingers; with his left, he pointed to the corner of the ceiling. “See that camera up there? We got the whole thing on film.”
     Slowly, very slowly, Cara pulled her hand away from the sarcophagus and looked around for something to wipe her fingers on.

Dan Brodribb is a Canadian writer and stand-up comic, whose stories have appeared in Canada, the U.S., and Australia.

“The Girl Who Feared Lightning” appears in Black Gate 14.  You can read a more complete excerpt here.

The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here.

Art by Bernie Mireault.

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Devil on the Wind” by Michael Jasper & Jay Lake

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Devil on the Wind” by Michael Jasper & Jay Lake

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devil_on_the_wind-277It was Lena’s fifth suicide. Such was the way of the Killaster Witches. But as ambitious as she was, Lena’s schemes for revenge might not be quite treacherous enough…

     After a few more steps, I realized Rego was no longer behind me.
     From the corner of my eye, I could see him. He was not alone.
     “Lena…” His voice was thick with fear. “Should’ve gone ‘round.”
     Dripping dirt, dust, and strips of leathered flesh, four corpses had risen from the dirt to surround Rego. His mount’s back was arched, its tail puffed up and thick. The skeletal hands clattered as they beat ragged chests and yellowed ribcages, inching closer to Rego. They glowed with the same sickly light as the cauldron beast. Even as I watched, more corpses pulled themselves from their shallow, unmarked graves.

Michael Jasper has three novels in print, and his collection Gunning for the Buddha is now available from Prime.  Jay Lake is the award-winning author of over 250 short stories and ten novels, including Green and Escapement.

“Devil on the Wind” appears in Black Gate 14.  You can read a more complete excerpt here.

Note: this story contains some adult themes.

The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here.

Art by John Kaufmann.

Black Gate Giveaway: Eberron Campaign Guide

Black Gate Giveaway: Eberron Campaign Guide

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eberron-campaignLast month we announced we were giving away eight copies of the Eberron Campaign Guide, a 4th Edition D&D Supplement from Wizards of the Coast.

How do you win? By sending a two-sentence summary of a recent Eberron product to eberron@blackgate.com. The best eight — as selected by a capricious panel of barely-literate judges — will be published here, and the authors will be awarded the prizes.

That’s it. No forms to fill out.  No skill-testing questions. No money down. No fine print.  OK, maybe a little fine print, so sue us. It’s a contest, no one’s gonna believe it’s legit until they see some fine print.

It’s a mighty fine book, too.  Yes, that’s Edward Scissorhand’s dad on the front cover.  And his dogs Zipper and Papercut.  They bring a whole new level of menace to “running with scissors.” Ouchie ouchie.

Come on, this is the easiest contest we’ve ever run.  Maybe the easiest contest in the whole history of civilization.  I could even make it even easier by pointing you to a complete list of Eberron modules and sourcebooks to get you started, but that would be spoon feeding you, wouldn’t it?  Yes it would.

Time is running out to claim one of these fine D&D books, and perhaps to introduce yourself to the very cool Eberron setting. E-mail us at eberron@blackgate.com now.  Operators are standing by.

A New Copy of Dhalgren: Caution, BookCrossing

A New Copy of Dhalgren: Caution, BookCrossing

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dhalgrenI bought my first copy of Dhalgren in the late 70s. If memory serves, I accidently dropped it in the sink shortly thereafter.  It swelled up and got sorta lumpy, even after it dried.

A few years ago I decided it was time to get a replacement. Now, I received a review copy of the imposing new trade paperback edition from Vintage Press a while back, with a big blurry red skyscraper on the cover, but what I wanted was the original 1975  Bantam edition (at left), which captured my imagination 35 years ago. Before it sank beneath the suds in our kitchen sink while I was supposed to be washing dishes, anyway.

It takes a while to find a pristine, unread copy of a 35-year old paperback, even on eBay. But before too long I had one, tucked snugly away with my other Samuel R. Delany, and I packed the old one away in the basement.

Except, now I want to read it. No point looking for the one I’d buried in the basement months ago (you’d understand if you saw my basement) — and anyway, who wants to read a book that’s all lumpy? I could read the new one… but man, I paid handsomely to have a pristine copy. Dhalgren is 890 pages — not exactly easy to read when you’re trying not to bend the spine.

So I did what any rational person would do. Back to eBay to find another copy.

This is the kinda thing that drives Alice crazy (Miss “Explain to me why you need a fourth copy??”), but I was very happy when it arrived today. And then I found this hand-written note on the inside cover:

BCID: 361-4144887

Dear Stranger,

If you read this book, please visit bookcrossing.com and say so. This book is traveling from hand to hand – better to be read by many people than to gather dust on a shelf. BookCrossing tracks it so that we readers know where it goes and what others think of it. Just go to the website, enter the BCID above, and leave a brief journal entry (anonymous, if you prefer). Then leave it somewhere to be read again.

Thank you!

Apparently, this thing is legit. The website checks out and everything. I entered my BCID and discovered my new copy of Dhalgren had been read by someone named Vasha and then “released into the wild” in a cafe in Ithaca, New York on August 2, 2006.

It’s hard to describe the delight in Alice’s eyes when she saw this. “You should pass it along!” she exclaimed. “Put it on a park bench or something.”  Get it out of her house, she means. My wife’s sanity depends on defending as much square footage as she can from the encroaching book madness. In her fondest dreams, this process involves a flamethrower.

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Special Fiction Feature: “The Renunciation of the Crimes of Gharad the Undying”

Special Fiction Feature: “The Renunciation of the Crimes of Gharad the Undying”

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gharad-small1We are proud to present a complete work of fiction from Black Gate 14: Alex Kreis’s “The Renunciation of the Crimes of Gharad the Undying.”

I am very sorry about seizing the throne of Falland and establishing a dictatorship based on terror and intimidation. As ruler of Falland, I enforced a number of highly unfair and immoral policies for which I now feel very badly, including putting all orphans raised by any forms of wildlife to death, and ordering the execution of all wandering bards (although I must say in my defense that that decision was not entirely unpopular).

You can read the complete story here.

“The Renunciation of the Crimes of Gharad the Undying” appears in Black Gate 14.  Alex lives in Massachusetts; this is his first fiction sale.

Art by Bernie Mireault.

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Freedling” by Mike Shultz

Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek: “Freedling” by Mike Shultz

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freedlingNaia was pinned under the rubble when the quake hit, trapped with the cruel sorcer, Cer Vassir. And then her nightmare truly began.

The blood on her fingers was alive. Tiny black specks within the viscous fluid writhed like mosquito larva. She sensed its hatred for the cold air. Hatred and fury.
      “I need you to touch me one more time,” the sorcer said.
      Naia heard nothing, only saw. How she could see the things in his blood she didn’t know; they were smaller than grains of flour. Yet they wriggled like the sorcer’s spider-glyph. Her eyes drifted to it.
      “Good. You know what you must touch.”
      The glyph slithered across his shoulder, turned on the incline of his neck, and returned to its original place, its eyes glowing cinders, its back gleaming sapphires.
      Touch it.

Mike Shultz’s first fiction sale was “The Thrall” in Black Gate 9, which HorrorScope called “complex, emotional fantasy at its finest.”

Mike’s first novel, Sword of Memory, will be published in German in 2010 by Piper Verlag.

“Freedling” appears in Black Gate 14, coming in February.  You can read a more complete excerpt here.

The complete Black Gate 14 Sneak Peek is available here.

Art by Richard Tucker.