Thursday, May 29, 2014

GUEST POST by HAYDEN TRENHOLM of BUNDORAN PRESS


THIS POST, I AM DELIGHTED TO HOST HAYDEN TRENHOLM, Managing Editor of Bundoran Press. Hayden talks about how he came to purchase Bundoran, its new mission, and what he's planning now, including a new anthology, Second Contacts. Hayden, with Mike Rimar (both of whom have been published in On Spec and elsewhere) are currently seeking submissions as well as financial support through an Indiegogo campaign:

IN DECEMBER 2012, I PURCHASED BUNDORAN PRESS (www.bundoranpress.com) with my wife, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, from its founder, Virginia O'Dine. Mike Rimar joined the company as Associate Publisher in April, 2013. Up until then, my involvement with Bundoran had been as a writer; Virginia had published three of my novels. As well, I had edited the anthology, Blood and Water, which went on to win an Aurora award. 

One of my first decisions as Managing Editor was to change the focus of the press from general speculative fiction, that is, fantasy, science fiction, and YA, to science fiction only. This reflected my personal tastes as well as a belief that doing one thing well was the best way to grow both the company's reputation and business. 

Our motto became: Science Fiction Our conversation with the future.

It's been challenging in terms of finding the best possible novels and getting them to market. In the process, I've been privileged to read some very good books and work with friends, both old and new. I'm pretty proud of the work we've done and look forward to doing so for years to come. I enjoy editing and, what's more, have found reading so many good writers has improved my own work. Over the last year and a half, we've published three science fiction novels; four more are currently in production. The next, Javenny by Calgary writer, Al Onia, will be launched in August. We've also produced another collection which I edited. Strange Bedfellows, an anthology of political science fiction, was funded in part by an Indiegogo campaign. Its open submission process (and pay rate of 5.5 cents/word) attracted writers from all over the world. The final collection included eighteen stories from seven countries, with both experienced (two Nebula nominees) and emerging writers.

Which brings me to Second Contacts, our new anthology and Indiegogo project. In keeping with rising SFWA rates, we want to offer writers at least 6.5 cents a word (7 cents if we reach our stretch goal), have wrap around cover art, and expand our marketing efforts. Second Contacts will seek stories from the best writers in the field, and will explore the consequences of first contact, for us, for them, for our shared future. The possibilities are endless conquest, collaboration, assimilation, or separation. On earth, in space, or on alien planets, what will happen to individuals and societies after two generations or more of staring into alien eyes?

For this anthology, I'll be sharing the editing duties with my partner, Mike Rimar. We're both looking forward to the process. You can see more about the Indiegogo project here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/second-contacts.

BIOS: Mike Rimar has published nearly twenty stories, including five in the last year. Annus Mirabilis was a finalist for the Writers of the Future contest and A Bunny Hug for Karl published in the Masked Mosaic anthology, is a finalist for this year's Aurora award. Mike lives and works in Whitby, Ontario, and has two daughters. He is the Associate Publisher of Bundoran Press. http://mikerimar.com/
 
Hayden Trenholm is a three-time Aurora winning editor and writer, and the Managing Editor of Bundoran Press. He was a winner of the 1992 Three-day novel writing contest, and his trilogy of noir SF detective novels, The Steele Chronicles, were each nominated for an Aurora award. The third, Stealing Home, was also a Sunburst award finalist. He lives in Ottawa with his wife and business partner, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, where he works as a policy advisor to a senator. http://www.haydentrenholm.com/

(Thanks Hayden, and thanks Mike. Best of luck with Second Contacts. I'm sure it will be an amazing collection. - Susan).

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