I have mentioned this a few times now, but the time is finally here! Issue #6 of Midnight Echo (magazine of the Australian Horror Writer’s Association) is now open for submissions. This is the SF/Horror issue, co-edited by myself, David Conyers and David Kernot. Submission details as below:
This market is open to all, not just members of AHWA. So have a read of the guidelines, and send your creepy alien tales (of 5000 words or less) to midnightecho@australianhorror.com – it’s as easy as that.
If you have any queries, comment on this post or email me direct at mail@jasonfischer.com.au and I’ll do my best to answer them. Good luck and good writing!
Once more I stand on antipodean shores, and the Writers of the Future week is officially over. And what a week it was! I had the time of my life. Still feeling a bit jetlagged, and there are many things I shall retrospectively blog about, but I need to rest, collect my thoughts, and get some photos off my camera. In the meantime, the awards ceremony itself can now be viewed online – for your convenience, here tis!
Not sure where my speech is exactly in this clip, but it’s towards the end of things. What an incredible night! More soon.
Oscar Wilde, 1882, to US Customs: “I have nothing to declare but my genius”
Jason Fischer, 2010, to US Customs: “I have nothing to declare but my Tim-Tams”
So here I am, and barring the wonders of jetlag it’s AWESOME. I’m definitely going to have to do some retrospective blogging to cover our goings on, it’s quite the hectic schedule we’ve been given. KD Wentworth and Tim Powers are nothing but brilliant, and have been dishing out some life-changing advice.
Part of which was, don’t faff around on the internet, you have to hand in a complete story within 24 hours. So a quick gudday and seeya later! 🙂
The lovely folks organising the WOTF week are blogging both the workshops here, complete with photos:
Well, the time is nigh, I have my greenbacks and courage in hand, and Writers of the Future awaits me. I’m taking it stateside for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to work with some jaw-droppingly awesome writers, attend the award gala, and finally meet my fellow contest winners (who seem like a lovely and talented bunch). The anthology containing the winning stories is now available for pre-order on Amazon:
I love the cover-art on this – absolutely gorgeous! Having collected a few of these anthologies, I can tell you that the essays from the judges are worth the cover-price alone. Years of wisdom is thus dispensed, sandwiched amidst stories that could launch many fruitful writing careers, jammed full of the excellent artwork from the sister contest, Illustrators of the Future.
Still can’t believe my writing is actually in one of these…this sure is a nice feeling, folks 🙂
I will try and blog the Writers of the Future week when I get the chance, but it looks like they keep a pretty hectic schedule. It may be a retrospective account of the workshop and other events, but it’ll all end up on here at some point.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a Future needs getting to 🙂
Well, it’s been a week since I announced the Gravesend haiku competition, and it’s judging time. There’s been some great entries from a bunch of folks, and I’ve enjoyed them all. Still, I had to get down the serious business of judging these poems. I weighed up emotional resonance, usage of seasons, and sneaky Romero references, but mostly I counted syllables 🙂
Without further ado, the winners are:
Nature upended,
now snowflakes curl on undead
flesh; unmelting, still.
-Jess Irwin
Til death do we part;
chewing on my dear wife’s brains
silencing her screams
– Peter M Ball
Skulls are way too hard.
Softest way to get at brains:
through the eye sockets.
– Lisa Hannett
And a bonus winner, because it’s just too awesome, and captures perfectly the true angst of zombie haiku composition:
Your zombielicious copies of “After the World: Gravesend” will be in the post shortly. Congratulations!
ETA: Because he’s a classy haiku-loving kind of guy, Peter M Ball has donated his prize back into the contest. Here’s a poem that narrowly missed out on a spot in the top 3, which I’m now pleased to add to the winner’s circle.
Roused to seek fresh meat
As winter freshens the air:
I shall hunt you; hide.
-Chris
