Showing posts with label Anthologies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anthologies. Show all posts

Friday, January 05, 2018

TESSERACTS 22 - HISTORICAL FANTASY

IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO FINALLY MAKE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. Lorina Stephens and I will be editing Tesseracts 22, the theme Historical Fantasy, through Edge Books. The 'official' announcement will appear on the Edge site shortly. When it does, I'll post the link here. In the meantime, here's a little history about how it all came about. :-)

The idea for this anthology had its genesis over a year ago. The last book of my Tattooed Witch trilogy (The Tattooed Queen) was published in December 2016 through Five Rivers Publishing; I was thinking about what I might do next. Edge had not yet published an historical fantasy themed Tesseracts, so I considered with whom I might co-edit such an anthology. Of course, Lorina came to mind. After we talked about it, I pitched the idea to Edge. Brian Hades agreed it was a workable premise and so here we are

I can't tell you how excited I am about this. 

Okay, I can. I am very, very excited. The feedback we've received from writers who are about to start, or who are already working on a piece, makes me certain this is going to be an excellent collection.

If you're hearing about this for the first time, here is what we are looking for: 

Alchemy and Artifacts will examine the magic behind the history, the myths arising from the artifacts, the mysteries missed (or dismissed), but which lie at the root of world events. We are looking for tales that explore laws magical as well as physical, the manipulation of reality in the past, resulting in the present. History, sorcery, alchemy, mystery. What if?

For example:

·         What if the Black Plague was a curse unleased by Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales?
·         What if Egyptian hieroglyphics were incantations that moved pharaohs into the future instead of an afterlife?
·         What if the terracotta army from the Qin Shi Huang dynasty were golem soldiers, waiting to be animated through magic?
·         What if Picasso’s Guernica was a magical attempt to fight Franco during the Spanish Civil War?
·         What if Paul Revere’s silversmithing was a spell enacted to fight England during the American Revolution?
·         What if Elizabeth I was a witch, employing Drake to find a forgotten, powerful artifact to grant her godhead?
·         What if Haida totems animated and walked the coast?

·         These are only a sampling of the sorts of story ideas we are looking for.

Alternate histories will be considered, but we are inclined to choose work that considers actual world events and characters, and how some form of magic has manipulated history in a subtle yet dramatic way.

Intrigued yet? Here are a few more guidelines:

Submission Guidelines:

·         Alchemy and Artifacts will reflect as broad a spectrum of stories as possible, highlighting unique styles and manners. The greater the magic or magical event and the subtler (yet dramatic) effect it has on history, the better. We want to raise questions about the reality of magic behind events.
·         We are looking to represent as many historical periods as possible, from places all over the world.
·         Submissions must be speculative in nature, including fantasy, dark fantasy, magic realism, slipstream, supernatural horror, weird tales, surrealism, mythic fantasy, etc. We will consider steampunk, but with an emphasis on magic rather than technology.
·         Short fiction may be up to 5000 words in length.

·         We will also consider poetry.

     Complete guidelines will be available on the Edge site shortly. 

     Stay tuned! More to come.

     - Susan.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

EQUUS ANTHOLOGY - LAUNCHED

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Equus, edited by Rhonda Parrish
SO THIS WAS LAUNCHED TODAY, Equus, an anthology edited by Rhonda Parrish about all things equine, whimsical, fantastic, horrific, or what have you. My short story, Ladies Day, is featured in it. How would I describe Ladies Day? Historical Fantasy, set in a magical Edwardian England during the running of the Ascot. Think ridiculously big hats, champagne, and Norwegian countesses who cheat. (Gasp!) Also, Oxford dons and blue stocking heroines who make things right. Hopefully you'll find the story a fun read. I had a lot of fun writing it.

Here's one review I've already seen by T.R. North: 

"Equus has its share of horror, magical realism, high fantasy, and borderline science fiction, with no two tales having quite the same flavor; if one isn’t quite your cup of tea, the next is right there for you to try. Angela Rega’s unexpectedly wrenching “The Horse Witch” rubs shoulders with Cat McDonald’s bitter tribute to female anger in “The Last Ride of Hettie Richter,” and Susan MacGregor’s elegant trifle "Ladies Day" stands next to M.L.D Curelas’s white-knuckled science-fantasy mash-up “Neither Snow, nor Rain, nor Heat-Ray.” (Ladies Day as an 'elegant trifle'? Pretty much what I had in mind! Thank you, T.R. North.)

Here's a portion of another review by Barbara Tomporowski, where she mentions Ladies Day, among other stories: Ladies Day” by Susan MacGregor is one of the most enjoyable tales, since each major character – from the perceptive, responsible Cassandra to the odious Lord Henry Dinglecrumb – have their own voice." (Thank you, Barbara. High praise.)

If you love horses, know someone who does, or are otherwise interested in purchasing a great anthology, it's available for $12.95 US through World Weaver Press. Here's the link: Equus Anthology, World Weaver Press. 

If you read it, let me know what you think!

- Susan.

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).

Thursday, June 27, 2013

THE URBAN GREEN MAN ANTHOLOGY - INTERVIEW WITH EDITORS, ADRIA LAYCRAFT AND JANICE BLAINE

AS ONE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS to the Urban Green Man anthology, I'm excited about the book's launch this coming August through Edge Books. (I'm also thrilled that my story Evergreen is the lead and appears right after Charles de Lint's introduction.) I thought I'd pin down editors Adria Laycraft and Janice Blaine to talk about the anthology, how it came about, and what their experience was with it.

Ladies, your inspiration for the anthology was the Green Man in all of his (or her) manifestations. Question #1. In a nutshell, what is a Green Man? What drew you to this subject in the first place?

Adria: As a gardener, I’ve always been fascinated with the Green Man faces that are a popular garden decoration. As a writer, I had to know what the story behind the face was. The research taught me about the archetype of renewal and protection of all green growing things, and that many societies had their own version of this mythology. It seemed an obvious idea for a themed anthology, rich with symbolism and ripe for visual art as well. When I mentioned my idea to Janice when we worked in the EDGE office, her excitement led me to invite her to team up on the project and present it to Brian Hades—with very happy results.

Janice:  In college, I was introduced to the writings of Joseph Campbell and Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes. The universal myths and archetypes that they wrote about—the idea that we are connected by the stories we tell—fascinated me. I love stories that have a purpose, stories that explore the world and our role in it, myths as metaphors. The Green Man is one of those stories that shows up in many different forms all over the world. He is an Earth spirit who represents the connection between humanity and nature. He represents the cycles of life, renewal, and rebirth. He is often carved on old churches, surrounded by greenery with leaves protruding from his mouth. I've been painting and studying him for years, so I was thrilled with the opportunity to work on an anthology that celebrated him.

2). Before you received submissions, what overall ‘vision’ did you have for the anthology? Was there a particular message or theme you wanted to get across to the reader? Does your original vision reflect what the book has become? 

Adria: My original vision was simply to explore the mythology in all its facets, especially because many people I talked to hadn’t even heard of the Green Man. When we decided to narrow submissions to Urban Fantasy, the project took on a life of its own as we saw this myth brought into the modern day. Janice and I realized we wanted this be our way of being environmentalists of a sort, to talk about how the Green Man would feel if he ‘woke up’ to the world today. Our vision was met again and again in the stories and poems we received.

Janice: Because the Green Man is such a huge theme, we needed to narrow it down from the beginning. There seemed to be many Green Man books out there, but most of the ones we found explored the history of the archetype. We thought it would be interesting to bring the myth into a contemporary setting, to see how the Green Man might react to what humanity has done to his wild, natural world. For me, this anthology is an environmental statement. Some of the stories are hopeful visions of the future. Some are cautionary tales. All are explorations of green magic that can still be found in concrete jungles. 

3). Did the two of you two choose to work on this anthology together, or were you assigned to work on it? What do you feel you both brought to the process?

Adria: The original idea was mine, and as I said, Janice became an obvious partner because of her enthusiasm for the project, her knowledge of the mythology, and her strengths that were so different and complementary to mine. Janice turned this fantastic collection into a veritable work of art, enhancing our theme and making it something to collect and treasure. I can’t thank her enough for that. My job was to be a fast reader and to bring my writing, editing, and critiquing experience to the table. 

Janice: The idea was originally Adria's. She mentioned it to me one day while we were working at the EDGE office, and my excitement prompted her to ask me to partner with her. At first I was a bit hesitant, because I'm not a writer by trade. However, I am a storyteller, an illustrator, and an environmentalist. I've spent years studying and painting tree mythology and the Green Man legend. This anthology gave me the opportunity to explore these passions in a way I never expected. Adria and I come from very different backgrounds. Our skill sets compliment each other brilliantly. 

4). Of course, the stories you liked best were the ones you chose for the book. But what drew you to particular stories the most? Was it theme, characterization, plot? 

Adria: We had to reject some stories that we were very much in love with because they didn’t fit the theme. Once we were clear on our theme, we knew that we needed to stay true to it. At first we worried we might not get enough stories that fit—we shouldn’t have worried. The excitement over the project blew us away and provided enough amazing stories for several anthologies! I won't be surprised to see many of the stories we couldn’t keep appear in other publications.

Janice: The response we got to our call for submissions was incredible, not only in volume, but also in quality. We could easily have put together two full length anthologies with the number of excellent stories we received. This was clearly a theme that many people were very passionate about. In the end, we had to reject many excellent stories simply because they didn't quite fit the theme we wanted to reflect.

5). Were there any stories that surprised you? Why? 

Adria: Many of our stories go beyond the speculative fiction I expected to receive. Some of them expanded my mind and left me asking all the right questions, which is what good stories do. The book actually ends on a question, and it fits what the entire project was trying to do, overall. 

Janice: This was my first experience in this type of role, so I honestly didn't know what to expect. A part of me was concerned that there might not be enough interest in the project . (The humble side of me worries about that with every project I take on.) In this case, I had nothing to worry about. The submissions we received exceeded my expectations. I was most surprised by the volume and scope of the stories. We had people submitting from all over the world. 

6). What was the best thing about editing this anthology? The worst? What advice would you give to anyone who might consider writing for, or editing one?

Adria: There have been many wonderful moments. Reading through the stories the first time was a thrill and a privilege, and I enjoyed the process despite receiving three times as many submissions as expected. The worst thing by far was sending out rejection letters. I don’t like getting them, and now I know I don’t like sending them either. It got harder with every round. As to advice, I would say to be sure you’re up for the sheer magnitude of work involved. That, and don’t be surprised in how invested you become. When you write, your stories become your babies. This is no different.

Janice: I am an incredibly slow, meticulous reader, so the biggest challenge for me in this project was working through the volume of submissions. The majority of the slush pile was filtered by Adria. I loved watching our theme take shape as we added more and more stories to the "Interested" pile. I loved exploring creative ways we could arrange the final selections so that the stories would flow and complement each other. And, of course, I loved building all the visual elements. Creating the cover, illustrations, and layout was my role once the stories were chosen, while Adria had the job of editing and polishing the collection.

7). What’s next for you both? Another anthology, perhaps? 

Adria: I would be honoured to work with Janice again, but at this point we’re not sure what that might look like. I know we certainly work well together, but I also know the project has to be right before I would commit to it. I have my own novels and short stories I’m working on, including a middle grade science fiction series that I’d like to see in schools someday.

Janice: I would welcome the opportunity to work with Adria on another project. What that project might be, I can't say at this point.

Adria’s Bio: Adria Laycraft is a grateful member of IFWA and a proud survivor of the Odyssey Writers Workshop. She works as a freelance writer and editor of The Write Initiative. Look for her stories in Tesseracts 16, Neo-opsis, On-Spec, James Gunn's Ad Astra, DKA Magazine, Hypersonic Tales, The Alien Next Door, and In Places Between. Author of Be a Freelance Writer Now, Adria lives in Calgary with her husband and son. Learn more about Adria at www.adrialaycraft.com or at www.thewriteinitiative.com

Janice’s Bio: Janice Blaine is a professional commercial artist working out of Calgary. Throughout her career, she has worked on a wide variety of projects, ranging from pre-production animation to design and illustration of children’s books. Her illustrations have appeared on the covers of numerous magazines and books. Her cover illustration for Neo-Opsis's Issue #20 was nominated for an Aurora Award. She currently works as the Production Manager at EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. She also does freelance illustration and design work. Her personal work is fuelled by a passion for storytelling and a love of nature. Her paintings explore the universal language of myth and folklore. Her portfolio may be viewed a www.paintersblock.com

(Thanks Adria and Janice! For those who are interested, you can pre-order the book from Edge Books here: 

Next Post: Dropping the 'F' Bomb, Guest Post by Michael R. Fletcher

Stay tuned.

Monday, March 21, 2011

TESSERACTS 15 AUTHORS - HERE THEY ARE!

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE INTERESTED and have been waiting to hear, this is our Tesseracts Fifteen Table of Contents line-up:

A Safety of Crowds by E.L. Chen
Fragile Things by Amanda Sun
Just Dance by Erika Holt
Poem - adaptation by Francine Lewis
Saving the Dead, or The Diary of an Undertaker’s Apprentice by Jennifer Greylyn
Feral by Nicole Luiken
A+ Brain by Katrina Nicholson
The Road of Good Intentions by Cat McDonald
The Windup Heiress by Leslie Brown
The Bridge Builder by Kevin Cockle
My Name is Tommy by Mike Rimar
Darwin's Vampire by Elise Moser
Costumes by Shen Braun
Poem - Civility by J.J. Steinfeld
Take My Waking Slow by Michele Ann Jenkins
The Weirdo Adventures of Steve Rand by Claude Lalumière
Every You, Every Me by Virginia Modugno
The Oak Girl by Helen Marshall
Edge of Moonglow by Ed Greenwood
Split Decision by Robert Runte
Hide by Rebecca M. Senese
Four Against Chaos by Kurt Kirchmeier
Ice Pirates by Claire Eamer
Poem - You Always Knew by Michelle Barker
The Illumination of Cypher-Space by Lynne M. MacLean
The Tremor Road by Tony Pi
The Memory Junkies by K. Boorman

This is YA as you've never seen before. In the next day or so, I'll be posting about why we chose these particular pieces from among more than 250 submissions. Stay tuned.