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March/April Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine Now on Sale

March/April Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine Now on Sale

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fsf-apr-may-2011The March/April double issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction goes on sale today.

Click on the image at left for a full-sized version of the cool cover art by Kent Bash, illustrating Sheila Finch’s novella “The Evening and the Morning.”

In addition to Finch, this issue features novelets by Albert E. Cowdrey and Francis Marion Soty, and short stories by Paul Di Filippo, James Patrick Kelly, Kali Wallace, James Stoddard, and others.

It also includes “Night Gauntlet,” a short story attributed to no less than six authors: Walter C. DeBill, Jr., Richard Gavin, Robert M. Price, W. H. Pugmire, Jeffrey Thomas, and Don Webb. Looking forward to that one!

F&SF is published six times a year; issues are a generous 258 pages.  It is the longest-running professional fantasy magazine in the country, and has been published continuously since 1949. It is a great way to sample some of the fast-rising new names in fantasy.

The cover price is $7.50; one year-subscriptions are a bargain at $34.97, and include the giant October/November anniversary issue. You can order subscriptions and browse their blog at www.sfsite.com/fsf/.

We covered the Jan/Feb issue of F&SF here.

The 2010 Bram Stoker Award Nominees

The 2010 Bram Stoker Award Nominees

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stoker-awardThe final ballot for the 2010 Bram Stoker Awards has been announced. The Bram Stoker Awards are given each year by the Horror Writer’s Association for Superior Achievement. The categories are Novel, First Novel, Long Fiction, Short Fiction, Anthology, Collection, Non-Fiction, and Poetry Collection. The winers will be announced at the Stoker Weekend in Long Island NY, from June 16-19. The winners receive what is undoubtedly the coolest trophy the genre has to offer: a miniature haunted house designed by Gahan Wilson. The door even opens, with the winner’s name engraved on the inside. Man. I want one of these on my mantle so bad. Not bad enough to actually write a horror novel, but I wonder if I could get one on eBay. Well, eight more are going to be given out this June, so my chances are going up. The nominees include:

Superior Achievement in a Novel

  • Horns, Joe Hill (William Morrow)
  • Rot and Ruin, Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster)
  • Dead Love, Linda Watanabe McFerrin (Stone Bridge Press)
  • Apocalypse of the Dead, Joe McKinney (Pinnacle)
  • Dweller, Jeff Strand (Leisure/Dark Regions Press)
  • A Dark Matter, Peter Straub (DoubleDay)

Superior Achievement in a Collection

  • Occultation, Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
  • Blood and Gristle, Michael Louis Calvillo (Bad Moon Books)
  • Full Dark, No Stars, Stephen King (Simon & Schuster)
  • The Ones That Got Away, Stephen Graham Jones (Prime Books)
  • A Host of Shadows, Harry Shannon (Dark Regions)

The complete list is here. Congratulations to all the nominees! And don’t forget, eBay is a fine place to unload all those annoying trophies cluttering up your home.

TANGENT’s Best of 2010

TANGENT’s Best of 2010

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It’s nice to be noticed…

cthulhus-reignOne of my very own stories has just been included in the TANGENT ONLINE RECOMMENDED READING LIST for 2010. The tale is “This Is How the World Ends,” from the CTHULHU’S REIGN anthology (DAW).

Here’s the complete list.

Every year TANGENT creates such a list, with the goal of “working for you, finding the gold buried in the dross, the diamonds in the dungheap, and bringing these gems to your attention.” This year there are 190 short stories, novellas and novelettes recommended. The site indicates that “for every story you see on this list, there are at least four others that didn’t make the cut.” I am thrilled and honored to be included in the final list. Thanks, guys!

I have to note that there are four other stories from CTHULHU’S REIGN that also made the TANGENT list…for a total of five humdingers. A real indication of just how good this Cthulhoid anthology truly is.

(I would only add that Laird Barron’s “Vastation” really should be on the list as well…the mad genius of Laird’s story was one of the book’s most mind-blowing moments for me.)

stAlso on the list is a terrific story by an amazing writer, “In the Dreaming House” by Darrell Schweitzer, which ran in SPACE & TIME #110. Nobody writes a dark fantasy tale like Darrell…he is a true Master. BTW, you can still order this issue from the SPACE & TIME website. I’ve also got a new story, “The Gnomes of Carrick County,” coming up in S&T later this year. http://spaceandtimemagazine.com/wp/

Finally, there are several stories from BLACK GATE on the list…continuing to show how BG is one of the most important and vital fantasy mags in existence today. Carry on, Gents!

Peace,

John

Goth Chick Crypt Notes: Hell Rises Again

Goth Chick Crypt Notes: Hell Rises Again

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drive-angryWith March just around the corner there’s a tiny whiff of spring in the air and here at the Black Gate offices this means attention spans are running even shorter than normal.

With the boys busy sniffing last year’s Hawaiian shirts for potential (and highly unlikely) freshness, and polishing off the last of the Amber Ale to make room in the communal fridge for the MGD 64, all thoughts have turned to flip-flop and cargo shorts weather, leaving room for additional content at Blackgate.com.

Therefore, to save myself having to listen to one more chorus of “Marguerita-ville,” I’m shutting myself up with the espresso machine in the underground offices of Goth Chick News.

My plan is to pass the time down here until May by bringing you one additional helping of extra gooey, pop-culture goodness each week.

…

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Howard Andrew Jones and Scott Oden Surround the Sword Woman

Howard Andrew Jones and Scott Oden Surround the Sword Woman

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sword_womanAs Howard Andrew Jones month heads into the final stretch, we still have several exciting developments to tell you about.

First is the release this month of Robert E. Howard’s latest thick collection, Sword Woman and Other Historical Adventures, featuring a generous selection of classic pulp adventure tales from the creator of Conan, including “The Sowers of the Thunder,” “Lord of Samarcand,” “Hawks of Outremer,” and “The Road of Azrael.” This is the 11th volume in the handsome Del Rey editions of collected Howard fiction, following The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, the two-volume The Best of Robert E. Howard, and El Borak and Other Desert Adventures.

Howard Andrew Jones teamed up with fellow Black Gate blogger and historical fiction author Scott Oden to bookend the collection: Scott wrote the introduction, and Howard the lengthy 22-page afterword, “Howard’s Journey,” which puts REH’s historical fiction in proper context with the great pulp writers who preceded him.  From his afterword:

Pound for pound Robert E. Howard’s historical fiction more than holds its weight against Howard’s other genre and series work. Over just a few years Howard fashioned a grander helping of these stories than many historical writers craft over a lifetime… It should not be assumed, though, that he wrote any of his stories in a vacuum… Professional author though he was, Howard still had to find his comfort level with the genre. He did so in part by being familiar with both history and the writers who brought it to life before him…

Scholars have noted the influence of Jack London and Rudyard Kipling in his work, as well as Howard’s familiarity with myth and legend, likely via Thomas Bulfinch. The shadow cast by adventure and historical adventure writer Harold Lamb has been noted but never discussed at length. Robert E. Howard seems to have found a kind of kindred spirit in Lamb, and progressed from modeling off his fiction until, student growing to master, Howard matched and even sometimes surpassed his skill.

Sword Woman is fully illustrated by John Watkiss. It includes 18 complete stories, over a half-dozen fragments, and detailed notes on the texts. It is available in trade paperback for $18, and clocks in at over 570 pages. The series is edited by Rusty Burke.

John Klima Ends Print Version of Electric Velocipede

John Klima Ends Print Version of Electric Velocipede

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ev21-224John Klima, the editor of the Hugo-Award winning magazine Electric Velocipede, has announced that issue #21/22 will be the final print issue:

After much discussion, I’ve decided to dissolve my partnership with Night Shade Books. Our final issue together is issue #21/22, which went to the printer in November. It should be arriving at the Night Shade offices soon and be shipping out any time now. Please watch here for more details.

While Night Shade has done a good job in supporting the magazine from a production standpoint, they are not in the business of periodicals and as such our subscription numbers and individual sales have suffered to the point that it made no sense to continue with our current model. Night Shade wants to focus its energies on its core business of publishing and selling books….

Night Shade has graciously offered to pay the contributors whose work I had accepted for publication in the coming year as Electric Velocipede issues #23 – 25. After some discussion with the contributors, we are going to post the content of these issues online for the readers and fans of Electric Velocipede. We’re still working out the logistics on our side for how that will happen, so you’ll have to watch here for the final details. If this works as planned, the magazine will be completely online in 2012, opening for submissions towards the end of 2011.

Electric Velocipede is one of the finest small press genre magazines on the market.  It has published work by Jay Lake, Jeff VanderMeer, Neal Barrett, Jr, Paul DiFilippo, Liz Williams, Charles Coleman Finlay, Hal Duncan, Jeffrey Ford, Tobias Buckell, Catherynne M. Valente, Marie Brennan, and many others.  It won the Hugo Award for best fanzine in 2009, and has been a four-time World Fantasy Award nominee.

Issue 21/22, a big double issue, contains fiction from William Shunn, Shannon Page and Jay Lake, Shira Lipkin, Jenna Waterford, Michaela Roessner, and many others. It is available for $12 directly on the website.

The complete announcement is here.

The Desert of Souls Now Available in Kindle Edition

The Desert of Souls Now Available in Kindle Edition

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desert-of-souls21Howard Andrew Jones’ first novel The Desert of Souls is now available in Kindle format through Amazon.com’s online store.

The Kindle edition is priced at just $11.99, a thirteen dollar discount from the hardcover.

Rave reviews continue to pour in for The Desert of Souls, including these recent comments from some well-known fantasy authors:

“A grand and wonderful adventure filled with exotic magic and colorful places — like a cross between Sinbad and Indiana Jones.” — Kevin J. Anderson

“Like the genie of the lamp, Howard Jones has granted this reader’s wish for a fresh, exciting take on the venerable genre of sword-and-sorcery!” — Richard A. Knaak

“Howard Andrew Jones spins an exciting and suspenseful tale in his historical fantasy debut. A rich, detailed tapestry — part Arthur Conan Doyle, part Robert E. Howard, and part Omar Khayyam, woven in the magical thread of One Thousand And One Nights.” — E.E. Knight

The upcoming Black Gate 15 will excerpt the first two chapters of The Desert of Souls. But don’t wait — order your copy today!

Nebula: It Rhymes with Amalebula (sort of)

Nebula: It Rhymes with Amalebula (sort of)

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amalOur own Amal El-Mohtar, who has blogged for us about Saladin Ahmed and Fantasy in the Middle East, and about whom our other own Patty Templeton has blogged, has received a Nebula Award nomination for her short story, “The Green Book.”

So, first of all, YIPPEE!!! Regardless of outcome, I have promised to make her a TIARA fashioned from the ANDROMEDA GALAXY, with the Flame Nebula for a center stone! This will take mighty sorcery, so if you see any explosions coming from the direction of Palatine, Illinois… run.

honeymonth1And second of all, here’s where you can read “The Green Book” online. It first appeared in the November 2010 issue of Apex Magazine, edited by Cat Valente.

And third of all, Rich Horton will be reprinting “The Green Book” in his upcoming anthology, The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, so there will soon be an opportunity to HOLD it and LOVE it and sleep with it UNDER YOUR PILLOW!

(…I mean, not that you ALL have to do that. Some of us have a long-term intimacy with Ms. El-Mohtar’s fiction and poetry. Some of us have signed copies of The Honey Month. Not to make you jealous or anything. ‘Cause, you know, jealousy’s the green-eyed monster and all. So beware. )

Again, Amal — one thousand congratulations on your pretty head!

How to Support Peter S. Beagle with The Last Unicorn Blu-ray

How to Support Peter S. Beagle with The Last Unicorn Blu-ray

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last-unicorn-blu-rayToday is the street date for the Blu-ray release of The Last Unicorn, the 1982 Rankin/Bass-ITC Entertainment animated film version of Peter S. Beagle’s classic 1968 fantasy novel, for which Beagle also wrote the screenplay. After a poor-quality DVD release in 2004, which came from inadequate masters and was presented pan & scan, Lionsgate Entertainment released an excellent two-disc DVD in 2007 as a 25th Anniversary Edition. Now that version is making the leap to 1080 lines of resolution for the new generation of Hi-Def presentation.

But, if you plan on purchasing either the new Blu-ray disc (which includes a DVD copy) or the still available two-disc DVD, please buy them through Conlan Press, the company owned by Connor Cochran, Peter Beagle’s business manager.

Why? As Conlan Press explains on the page for the 25th Anniversary DVD:

Except for the copies that were purchased through Conlan Press via this website, or at Peter’s sales table at various conventions, none of the other Last Unicorn DVDs have ever paid him a cent. That’s right — at least 1.5 million DVDs have been sold around the world since 1999, and only the 4,000 copies sold here have earned him any money. From all the rest, Peter has gotten absolutely nothing.

…

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George R. R. Martin weds Parris McBride

George R. R. Martin weds Parris McBride

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grrmGeorge R. R. Martin married his long-time sweetie Parris McBride on February 15th. The announcement on GRRM’s blog reads:

Back in 1981, Parris left Portland, Oregon for Santa Fe, and moved in with me in my old house on Declovina Street. We’ve been together ever since, for good times and bad, a move or two, more cons and road trips and adventures than either of us can remember now in our advanced old age. After thirty years, we finally decided that maybe this relationship was going to work out after all.

So on the evening of February 15, we finally made it official, and married in front of our hearth at our home here in Santa Fe…. Unlike most Westerosi weddings, no one was killed and only tears of joy were shed.

(I can hear some of you saying ‘What took you so long?’ What can I say? I’m slow. With writing and with… ah… other things.)

Martin is the author of the Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series, which includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings.

More details (and pics) are available at George R.R. Martin’s LiveJournal blog, and Raya Rambles‘.

Congratulations to George and Parris! May a flock of blessings light upon thy back.