AMAZING News 10/06/13

PRESS RELEASES AND NEWS LETTERS (See below for full text)

Swedish Short Fiction Competition Results
EDGE SF & Fantasy Publishing News
Lightspeed Magazine October Issue
Night Shade/Start New Releases

CAUSES

Scientific Proof That Science Fiction Can Be Used To Prototype The Future (MIT Confirms Amazing Stories’ Editorial Platform!) (Intel’s Tomorrow Project Agrees)
Special Needs in SF Literature
Female Authors – YAY!
Popularity of Black Science Fiction On The Rise
Dave Truesdale (Tangent Online) Reports That Amazing Stories May Have The First SF Pulp Cover To Feature A Person Of Color:

“I then did some research because I thought this might be the very first time a black man (or woman) had been on an SF cover (an “SF” cover being defined as any SF magazine from April of 1926 until the date of the current Amazing cover of 10/38).

Here’s what I found by going here.

Astounding — 0
Amazing — the October 1938 cover
Science Wonder Stories — 0
Air Wonder Stories — 0
Wonder Stories — 0
Thrilling Wonder Stories — 0
Science Wonder Quarterly — 0
Wonder Stories Quarterly — 0
Startling Stories first issue was January of 1939
Planet Stories first issue was Winter of 1939

So unless I’m missing an SF magazine between April of 1926 and October of 1938, this Amazing cover is historic. And guess who the editor was? Here’s the stats:

Amazing Stories, October 1938
Ziff-Davis Publisher
Editor: Ray Palmer
Cover artist: Robert Fuqua
Cover illustrates the novelette by Ed Earl Repp titled “The Gland Superman.””

ENTERTAINMENT

Star Trek Continues! (A fan-based production with high values AND some very convincing performances.  An anodyne for Trek souls – particularly if you just hate the reboots!)
Mechanicards Custom mechanical greeting cards
“Lens Flare Sucks!”  J.J. Apologizes
Tangent Online OTR – The Shadow October 1938 (podcast)
Harlan Ellison Interviewed About IHNMAIMS Video Game Reboot (Excellent Interview with Harlan!)
Book Bale:  Buy-a-Bundle and Set Your Own Price:  Paul Cook’s HALO Included!
Here’s A Bump For You Walking Dead Addicts – 3 New Webisodes (video)
John Carter Robert K. Abbett Book Art
Mr. Potato Head Dalek (What’s Next?  A Mr. Carrot Head Triffid?)
Bob Silverberg On Living in the Future
Writing Is Now A Contact Sport! (Typewriters Crush Keyboards When It Comes To Word Bashing)
 Virtual Animated SF Opera
Is That A Hadrosaur In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Going To Eat Me?  DinoPorn Making Bucks
Mars Attacks Board Game Kickstarter
11/05 NYRSF Readings to Feature Rajan Khanna and Fran Wilde

AWARDS

2013 NOVA Award Nominations Open
2013 Eurocon Awards
Fantasiknovelltävlingen Winners
Chinese SF Awards Dominated By Young Authors

FANDOM

Photo Galleries From LoneStarCon 3
SF, Science Fiction, Sci Fi?  Author David Barnett Adopts the Sci Fi Banner and Runs With It
Eripmav T-Shirt – A Damon Knight Short On A Shirt (via File 770)
Harlan Ellison at the Ray Bradbury Library (Video)
Lovecraft Walking Hike (RI Horror Film Fest)
Elliot K. Shorter 1939 – 2013 (A dear friend and fannish mentor)
Got A Good Idea For A Con Panel? Let Boskone Know
Boskone Program Book Opens For Ads
Frank Westwood – Co-Founder of UK ERB Society

INDUSTRY

RAH Short Listed For Bust In Missouri Capitol (Not in Top 2…)
51+% of American Adults READ A BOOK Last Year.  For Pleasure.  Is That A Good Thing or A Sad State of Affairs?
NEA Survey Highlights
Don’t Buy My Book On Amazon!

SCIENCE & TECH

Moldable Silicon:  This is NOT Your Father’s Playdoh
Wonderful Pinterest Wall of Space Images
Quadrotor Drone Open Source Project
Win A Trip To Space Reality Show Coming To NBC
Robot Runner/Walker Goes UnTethered

PRESS RELEASES AND NEWS LETTERS

RESULTS OF THE 14TH SWEDISH FANTASTIC SHORT-STORY COMPETITION

The Fantastic Short-Story Competition (“Fantastiknovelltävlingen”) is the biggest and longest running competition for science fiction, fantasy and horror short stories in Sweden, organised by the writers’ E-mail list SKRIVA. Its 14th edition had 110 entries and the following winners were selected:

1st prize: “Den hängda mannen” (“The Hanged Man”) by Jonas Lejon

2nd prize: “Intelligentare människor” (“More Intelligent People”) by Johannes Pinter

3rd prize: “De dansande stjärnornas natt” (“Night of the Dancing Stars”) by Robert Warreback

The jury consisting of authors Niklas Krog, Pia Lindestrand and Karolina Bjällerstedt Mickos also selected four honourable mentions written by Emanuel Blume, Jens Daniel Burman, Matilda Häggström and Roger Jervenheim. Winners share a prize sum of ca 300 USD –  plus some fringe goodies – donated by the Short Story Masters (“Novellmästarna”) society.
Full details (alas, only in Swedish) plus the story comments by the jury available at www.skriva.bravewriting.com. The 15th edition of the competition will be announced in the spring of 2014.

–Ahrvid Engholm
(ahrvid@hotmail.com, competition administrator)

~~~

News & Reviews
October 2013

EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing

How can it already be October 1st? September was full of events and October is just as busy!

Here are the highlights:
– Bitten by Books online book launch
– Other Bitten by Books online book launches
– Up coming conventions in October
– Up coming book launch events in October
– Recent NEWS
– Bakka Phoenix Triple Book Launch
– New Book Details

October Highlights:

October 2 – Join us for the Urban Green Man online book launch at Bitten by Books THIS Wednesday. You can drop in anytime from from 12pm CST October 2, through to 12pm CST October 3rd. There is an opportunity for anyone, anywhere in the world to join us. Visit https://bittenbybooks.com/ to find a link to the event. At the end of the launch we’ll hold a draw for a $50.00 amazon gift certificate.

Other Bitten by Books online book launches happening this year:

October 23:
Tesseracts Seventeen: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast to Coast
November 6:
Coins of Chaos
   November 13:
Chilling Tales: In words alas, drown I
   December (Date TBA):
        Multi-book online launch for:
             The Puzzle Box, Warriors, Clockwork Heart, The Trillionist and Vyrkation

EDGE will have books on sale at the following October conventions:
October 4 – 6:
Can Con – Ottawa (with Hayden Trenholm at the Bundoran Press table)
October 4 – 6:
V-Con – Vancouver (with Ian Alexander Martin at Atomic Fez Publishing)
October 18-20:
Conjecture – San Diego (at the Mysterious Galaxy booth)

Upcoming EDGE Launch or Signing Events in October:
     OCTOBER 9:
McNally Robinson 1120 Grant Avenue Winnipeg, MB
David Fuller will be reading (and signing) from Tesseracts Seventeen
     OCTOBER 14-20:
WordFest, Calgary
EDGE will be at the books table. All titles will.
     OCTOBER 15:
Audrey’s Books, Edmonton, AB,
Book Launch: and signing with Barbara Galler-Smith (Warriors)
OCTOBER 19:
Chapters – Sunridge, Calgary, #500 – 2555 32nd St NE, 11:00am – 3:00pm
Book Launch and Signing with Sagan Jeffries (The Trillionist)
     OCTOBER 19:
Bakka Phoenix Books, Toronto, 3:00pm
Triple Book Launch and Signing with many of the authors from,
“Tesseracts Seventeen”, “Chilling Tales: In words, alas, drown I”
and “Urban Green Man”
OCTOBER 25:
Well Read Books, 4137 4th Ave, Whitehorse, YT
Patricia Robertson and Dianne Homan will be reading (and signing)
from “Tesseracts Seventeen”
OCTOBER 26:
Indigo – South Common, Edmonton
Book Signing for “The Puzzle Box”
OCTOBER 26:
Roxanne’s Reflections, 152 St. Andrew St., West Fergus, ON
Dave Beynon – Reading and Book Signing “Tesseracts Seventeen”

RECENT NEWS…

The Puzzle Box
by The Apocalyptic Four (ISBN: 978-1-77053-040-9)
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The August 29th Edmonton book launch of THE PUZZLE BOX was a whole lot of fun. Audrey’s Bookstore was packed. The authors made it fun and even Ryan, the quiet one, had something to say. Check out the notice that ran in the Edmonton Journal.

WARRIORS
by Barbara Galler-Smith and Josh Langston (ISBN: 978-1-77053-030-0)
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Two New Reviews:

“Having devoured “Druids” and “Captives” I eagerly waited for the publication of the final novel in the Druids trilogy. “Warriors” did not disappoint, it just took too long to get here! I finally got closure for the heart-wrenching struggles of the Gauls against the villainous Caesar. This historical fantasy was the best I’ve ever read. The characters age subtly – they do not remain static. Mallec in particular becomes stodgy, set in his ways. Character development was especially fine-tuned. Mallec is shaken from his solemnly-ordered world and exhibits stress and frustration as a long-held secret is revealed to him. Rhonwen achieves a maturity and grace befitting a driad and asserts her independence boldly. If you do not know these characters yet, wait to read this book until you have read the first two. You need the background and the development of these characters toward what they become in “Warriors.” The story has all the elements one looks for in an epic novel plus twists and turns of the plot and an ending that only can be called ‘brilliant.'” – K. Boyce, amazon

Interview with Barbara Galler-Smith and Josh Langston 
Pat Flewwelling (on her Nine Day Wonder blog) has posted an in-depth interview with Barb Galler-Smith and Josh Langston (DRUIDS trilogy authors) focusing on their collaboration efforts while writing the trilogy. Full of insights and worth a read.

“Written around actual events, the story will appeal to both those looking for insight into the history of the times, or simply those in search of a rousing adventure tale with more depth of feeling for the thoughts of the characters than a straight swords-and-sorcery romp.”`- Manitoba Library Association.

The Trillionist
by Sagan Jeffries (ISBN: 978-1-894063-98-2)
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“Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Red Planet Blues, has this to say about Sagan Jeffries’ forthcoming science fiction novel:

“The Trillionist is an auspicious debut from a powerful new voice. Sage Rojan is a character you’ll never forget.”

Sagan Jeffries stopped in at Pages Bookstore
(1135 Kensington Road NW, Calgary, AB)
to sign some books in advance of his reading at the store
NOVEMBER 28, 2013.

Clockwork Heart
by Dru Pagliassotti (ISBN: 978-1-77053-026-3)
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The best seller at last weekend`s Comic Con in Edmonton was Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliasotti (Book One in the Clockwork Trilogy). Clockwork Heart is now available from your local bookseller and/or amazon.

Tesseracts Seventeen 
edited by Colleen Anderson & Steve Vernon (ISBN: 978-1-77053-044-7)

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Follow Colleen Anderson’s on-going ìnterviews with Tesseracts 17′ authors.  Here are the first two:
– Claude Lalumière
– Eileen Kernaghan

The Puzzle Box
by The Apocalyptic Four (ISBN: 978-1-77053-040-9)

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The Puzzle Box by The Apocalyptic Four reviewed and recommended by the Manitoba Library Association. “Readers are certain to find something in the collection to confuse, amuse, or intrigue them.”  READ MORE.

PARADOX RESOLUTION
by K. A. Bedford (ISBN: 978-1-894063-88-3)
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Now available as an audio book. Read by Cameron MacDonald. Released by Post Hypnotic Press. (Also available in paperback and e-book formats)

Recent review:

“For aficionados of the deeper depths of genre literature like p.i., mystery, horror, fantasy or science fiction there can sometimes be a period of years going by in which one has become aware of a “hidden” (under publicized or too far ahead of the l.c.d. curve) genius that one feels compelled to become a champion for, if only as a single voice crying out. It was in the early 70s that I began telling everyone I knew about this amazing madman named Philip K. Dick. Why don’t they use his stories for movie material? I’d fume. I’m so sorry now that I sort of got what I asked for. Now I once again find myself trying to imprint one name on my ostensibly science fiction-loving acquaintances’ skulls: K. A. BEDFORD. I only hope it doesn’t take another 20 years before someone with real clout and influence (studio hacks, videogame boy billionaires) recognize him — if not for his marvelous writing , then at least for his eminently marketable stories. Bedford deserves a better life than a writer-hermit’s existence in some windswept Outback no-man’s-land in Australia (where he lives and works in my imagination). PARADOX RESOLUTION is the sequel to TIME MACHINES REPAIRED WHILE-U-WAIT, his first sf/p.i. fusion which brought fresh blood to the tired time travel category and a great new character, “SPIDER” WEBB, a cross between Bogart and Dr. Who, in a tale that was a blend of “Maltese Falcon” and “Total Recall”. Not to mention a dash of Lovecraft Cthulhu consciousness curling up the narrative’s edges. How is that possible? I don’t know, but Bedford is the magician who can make any mad plot mechanism hum like a well-tuned time machine. In PARADOX RESOLUTION, Spider Webb, the ex-cop, ex-husband who just wants to be left alone with his misery, has his deep code of honor exploited, sending him into the unknown future to keep his hated boss’s mistake from ending humankind — and to serve yet again as another act of contrition to the ex-wife he still loves but can’t live with. If you love “Casablanca” and “Blade Runner”, you’ll have no happier a weekend than curled up with PARADOX RESOLUTION.” – Robert William, amazon review

Urban Green Man: An Archetype of Renewal
edited by Adria Laycraft & Janice Blaine (ISBN: 978-1-77053-038-6)

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Goldeen Ogawa wrote about how she became involved with Urban Green Man as a writer for the anthology. READ MORE.

Urban Green Man video can be seen HERE.

Enjoy, and come and meet the writers on October 2 for the Urban Green Man online book launch at bittenbybooks.com.

Bakka Phoenix Triple Book Launch…
 
In Toronto on October 19? Join us for the EDGE Triple Launch event at Bakka Phoenix Books. Please share this event with others you know may enjoy attending!

NEW BOOKS:

ISBN:
978-1-77053-026-3
Trade Paperback
5.5″ X 8.5″

$ 15.95
320 pages

ONLINE ORDERS
amazon.com
amazon.ca
 

Clockwork Heart
(Book One of a new trilogy)
by Dru Pagliassotti

Flight is freedom, but death hangs in the skies…

Taya soars over Ondinium on metal wings. She is an icarus, a courier privileged to travel freely across the city’s sectors and mingle indiscriminately amongst its castes. But even she cannot outfly the web of terrorism, loyalty, murder, and intrigue that snares her after a daring mid-air rescue. Taya finds herself entangled with the Forlore brothers, scions of an upperclass family: handsome, brilliant Alister, who sits on Ondinium’s governing council and writes programs for the Great Engine; and awkward, sharp tongued Cristof, who has exiled himself from his caste and repairs clocks in the lowest sector of the city. Both hide dangerous secrets, in the city that beats to the ticking of a clockwork heart.

About the Author:

Dru Pagliassotti is a professor of communication at California Lutheran University, where she teaches media theory and practice. She published and edited The Harrow, an online literary magazine for fantasy and horror, from 1998 to 2009. As a long-time roleplayer, Dru worked at About.Com’s Guide to roleplaying games from 1998 to 2001, writing weekly columns about roleplaying and reviewing hundreds of RPG systems and supplements; she had a brief appearance in About.Com’s very first commercial, dressed as a swordswoman in a black doublet and pantaloons. Her martial arts training in judo, ju-jitsu, and aikido comes in handy when writing fight scenes. [MORE]

Praise:

“Pagliasotti has brought forth a terrific novel, one that embodies a bold new direction in the fantasy genre. For those who enjoy the work of China Mieville or D.M. Cornish…” — Drew Bittner, SFRevu.

“Escape to the fantastic and captivating three-tiered city Pagliassotti has created. The plot is intricate and has multilayered characters who perplex, entertain, and gratify. This is a wonderfully written book — one for the keeper shelf.” — Romantic Times

“I must say, my little steampunk heart is just thrilled with this newest offering. It’s an off-world story and the author has done a fantastic job with the worldbuilding.” — Elizabeth Headrick, BookFetish.Org

ISBN:
978-1-894063-98-2
Trade Paperback
5.5″ X 8.5″

$ 14.95
240 pages

ONLINE ORDERS
amazon.com
amazon.ca

The Trillionist

by Sagan Jeffries

Secrets are often best kept… secret.

In “The Trillionist” Sage Rojan, genius inventor and futurist, stands before ‘Judge and Jury,’ not to defend past deeds, but to plead for the lives of the millions of people placed in mortal jeopardy by his own ill-considered actions.

‘These are the actions of a madman’, one says. ‘Perhaps the result of a life filled with genius,’ whispers another.

Sage Rojan knows the truth, and it’s up to him to make things right. But before he can save the world, he must first save himself.

“There are no inconsequentials,” Rojan pleads to Judge and Jury, “Even a single atom can affect the world around it. Those atoms and their orbiting electrons exist in an expanse small enough that, if you removed all of the space between them, an entire solar system would fit into an area the size of a sugar cube. Every being, large, small, brilliant, or foolish, depends on the contribution of the others. Where is the wisdom if intelligence is not used in the service of compassion?”

Author Sagan Jeffries exposes all – the who, what, when, where, why and how – revealing the life of Sage Rojan: boy genius, turned madman, turned savior.

About the Author:

Sagan Jeffries is the pen name of Ed Lukowich, former world curling champion. The two names prevent his careers from colliding with each other.

The Trillionist is his first novel. He also has a companion book, Trillion Universe Theory, in the works. Though neither of these books have anything to do with the sport which made him famous he is also the author of three curling-instruction books and a coffee-table book on the sport of curling.

Praise:

“Sagan Jeffries is a new author, not only to me, but to the reading world. He is famous for his sporting prowess on the world scene, teaching, sports books, & guiding of his sport, which funnily enough is briefly mentioned in this book. Under his sci-fi persona, he has embarked on a new adventure. I am impressed with the story, the writing, the verbal pictures he evokes, & above all, the characters, whose goals & motivations are clear, if not always achievable in a timely manner to them. Conflicts are detailed & believable, & finally resolved in a manner which ends here, but leaves the way open for future books, which may already be in the works. I look forward to the next adventures of Sage & Tamara.” — Mary Maxie

ISBN:
978-1-77053-044-7
Trade Paperback
5.5″ X 8.5″

$ 16.95
336 pages

ONLINE ORDERS
amazon.com

amazon.ca

Tesseracts Seventeen:

Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast to Coast
edited by Colleen Anderson & Steve Vernon

With nearly four million square miles of territory and a population of thirty-four million people – Canada lives and breathes storytelling. Editors Steve Vernon and Colleen Anderson have gathered thirty fresh new stories and poems of horror, science-fiction and fantasy from authors residing in EACH of the provinces and territories of Canada.

Find out what cold darkness lurks in the heart of a Tuktoyaktuk blizzard. Hear a long-lost legend, lingering by a lonely lighthouse, perched on the shores of Manitoulin Island. Meet a hambone ghostly actor in search of his next gig in the Ottawa Museum of Nature. Learn the colors of the graffiti that tattoo the grey tenement walls of Montreal. In the Maritimes find out how coming events can be foreseen in a few shards of pottery or solve a murder by reliving the memory of a dead man. Explore a distant future, rife with acronym or trace the delicate fancies of the calligrapher’s daughter.

Come join us on a magnificent cross-country trek through worlds familiar and unknown and enjoy over two dozen stories and poem – fantastic and frightening; inspirational, illuminating and eerily surreal.

Featuring works by: Catherine Austen, Jason Barrett, John Bell, Dave Beynon, Dwain Campbell, Rachel Cooper, Megan Fennell, David Jón Fuller, Ben Godby, Costi Gurgu, Alyxandra Harvey, Dianne Homan, Eileen Kernaghan, Claude Lalumière, Mark Leslie, Catherine MacLeod, William Meikle, Elise Moser, Dominik Parisien, Rhonda Parrish, Vincent Grant Perkins, Lisa Poh, Timothy Reynolds, Patricia Robertson, Rhea Rose, Holly Schofield, Lisa Smedman, J.J. Steinfeld, Steve Vernon, Edward Willett.

About the editors:

Colleen Anderson’s poetry and fiction have been published in Britain, Canada and the United States. Her work has been nominated for the Aurora and Gaylactic Spectrum Awards; and she’s received several honorable mentions in the Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, the Year’s Best SF, and Imaginarium. Colleen is a member of the Horror Writers of America and SF Canada and has a degree in creative writing.

First and foremost Steve Vernon is a storyteller. He has written traditional folklore collections such as Halifax Haunts and Haunted Harbours. His short fiction has appeared in the pages of The Horror Show, Cemetery Dance, Flesh & Blood, and Tor’s Year’s Best Horror.

ISBN:
978-1-77053-048-5
Trade Paperback
5.5″ X 8.5″

$ 14.95
240 pages

ONLINE ORDERS
amazon.com

amazon.ca

Coins of Chaos

edited by Jennifer Brozek

17 short stories based on the Hobo Nickel…

During and after the great depression they were traded for food, sex, shelter, and power. Twenty of the seemingly ordinary nickles carved with dark representations of world evils and imbued with magical powers that transformed the deliciously macabre bits of lost art into carriers of death, destruction, and ill luck.

Where these coins go, so does the Carver’s will. Each coin is filled with his malice and a desire for destruction.
And with each life ruined… the Carver’s life goes on.
Seventeen stories that tell the tale of the Carver’s legacy; of the coins designed for beauty now morphed into catalysts of pain.

Authors include: Nathaniel Lee, Kelly Swails, Andrew Penn Romine, Brandie Tarvin, Jay Lake, Erik Scott De Bie, Martin Livings, Nathan Crowder, Seanan McGuire, Glenn Rolfe, Dylan Birtolo, Kelly Lagor, Jason Andrew, Mae Empson, Richard Dansky, Peter M. Ball, Gary A. Braunbeck.

About the Editor:
Jennifer Brozek is an award winning editor, game designer, and author. She has been writing role-playing games and professionally publishing fiction since 2004. With the number of edited anthologies, fiction sales, RPG books, and non-fiction books under her belt, Jennifer is often considered a Renaissance woman, but she prefers to be known as a wordslinger and optimist.

Praise:
“COINS OF CHAOS gathers together new stories that are highly weird, deeply disturbing and thoroughly entertaining. Buckle up for this one, it’s going to be a wild, wild ride!” — Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of Flesh & Bone and V-Wars.

ISBN:
978-1-77053-024-9
Trade Paperback
5.5″ X 8.5″

$ 14.95
240 pages

ONLINE ORDERS
amazon.com

amazon.ca

Chilling Tales:
In words, alas, drown I
edited by Michael Kelly

20 New Spine Tingling Tales…

Canada’s maestro of the macabre, Michael Kelly, brings you CHILLING TALES: In Words, Alas, Drown I, an all new collection of nightmares that will perturb and torment you. Tales that will leave a frisson of fear and raise a quiver of gooseflesh. A chill is in the air.

This tome includes selections by iconic Canadian dark fantasy and horror writers Camille Alexa, Colleen Anderson, Kevin Cockle, Gemma Files, Lisa L. Hannett, Sandra Kasturi, Derek Künsken, Claude Lalumière, Daniel LeMoal, Catherine MacLeod, Helen Marshall, Michael Matheson, David Nickle, Ian Rogers, Douglas Smith, Simon Strantzas, Edo van Belkom, Halli Villegas, Bev Vincent, Robert J. Wiersema, and Rio Youers, with an introduction by Michael Kelly.

About the Editor:

Michael Kelly was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He is the author of two short story collections, Scratching the Surface, and Undertow and Other Laments, as well as co-author of the novel Ouroboros. His fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies and journals, including All Hallows, Be Very Afraid!, Dark Arts, Darkside 5, Flesh & Blood, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 21, The Literary Journal, Murmurations, PostScripts, Space & Time, Supernatural Tales, and Tesseracts Thirteen.

As editor, Michael is a Shirley Jackson Award finalist for Apparitions. He also edits and publishes the well-received literary journal Shadows & Tall Trees, and has helped judge The Toronto Star Short Story contest.

ISBN:
978-1-77053-040-9
Trade Paperback
5.5″ X 8.5″

$ 14.95
256 pages

ONLINE ORDERS
amazon.com
amazon.ca

THE PUZZLE BOX
by The Apocalyptic Four

An intriguing anthology where reality is transient and the puzzle box holds the key to the meaning of life.

Archeology Professor Albert Mallory understands reality. He knows the way the world works. When he steals an ancient puzzle box to pay off gambling debts, he thinks the only mysterious thing about the artifact is how to get it open. But when a stranger appears at Albert’s door demanding to see the box, Albert is plunged into mysteries he never dreamt possible.

Through the tales of four others who succeeded in opening the puzzle box — a musician named Warlock with a weakness for witches; photographer Autumn Bailey, with a strange link to the past; video store clerk Angela Matterly with those unworldly eyes; and a comic book illustrator called Sam, on a quest for his life — Albert learns that reality is transient and the way the world works is not found in text books.

Table of Contents:

The First Piece of the Puzzle
The Awakening of Master March by Randy McCharles
The Second Piece of the Puzzle
Autumn Unbound by Billie Milholland
The Third Piece of the Puzzle
Angela and Her Three Wishes by Eileen Bell
The Fourth Piece of the Puzzle
Ghost in the Machine by Ryan McFadden
The Final Piece of the Puzzle

The Apocalyptic Four, all award winning writers, reveal worlds where a puzzle box holds the key to the meaning of life.

Eileen Bell: award winning author published in On Spec, Western Producer, CBC’s Radio Anthology, Women of the Apocalypse, Evolve Two: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead and The 10th Circle Project.

Randy McCharles: winner of the Prix-Aurora Award for his short fiction, fan fiction, and fan organization, has been published in the Year’s Best Fantasy 9, The 10th Circle Project, Okal Rel Opus 2 & 6 and Tesseracts 11, 12, & 16.

Ryan T McFadden: an award-winning author published in The 10th Circle Project, Women of the Apocalypse, Blood and Water and When the Villain Comes Home.

Billie Milholland: published in Chickadee Magazine, CBC’s Radio Anthology, Western Producer, Women of the Apocalypse, The 10th Circle Project, Ride the Moon and a variety of weekly newspapers.

URBAN GREEN MAN

With an introduction by Charles de Lint, Urban Green Man: An Archetype of Renewal is a large anthology of urban and contemporary short literature; from an international cast of authors.

INTRODUCTION
by Charles de Lint

EARTH
– Evergreen by Susan MacGregor
– The Gift by Susan Forest
– Sap and Blood by Martin Rose
– The Green Square by D.S.V. Duncan
– Awake by Peter Storey
– Breath Stirs in the Husk by Eileen Wiedbrauk
– Green Apples by Rhiannon Held

AIR
– The Grey Man by Randy McCharles
– Mr. Green by Gary Budgen
– Whithergreen Karlene Tura Clark
– Cui Bono by Eric James Stone
– Fallow God by Maaja Wentz
– Green Man She Restless by Billi Milholland

FIRE
– Purple Vine Flowers by Sandra Wickham
– Exile by Mark Russell Reed
– Without Blemish by Celeste Peters
– Waking the Holly Kin Eileen Donaldson
– Deer Feet by Michael J. DeLuca
– Buried in the Green by Heather M. O’Connor
– The Forest Lord by Sarina Dorie

WATER
– Greentropy by Calie Voorhis
-Abandon All… by Goldeen Ogawa
– Green Salvage by Miriah Hetherington
– The Ring of Life by Nu Yang
– Cottage on the Bluff Michael Healy
– Johnny Serious Satyros Phil Brucato
– Fun Sucker by Suzanne Church

WOOD
– Greener Pastures by Micheal J. Martineck
– Green Jack by Alyxandra Harvey
– Green is Good by Karen Danylak
– Neither Slumber Nor Sleep by Kim Goldberg

Illustrations by Janice Blaine. Edited by Adria Laycraft and Janice Blaine.

Today’s Green Man is no longer a forgotten mythology relegated to garden statuary. It is as relevant today as it was in ancient times, and these stories will remind you of the myths’ importance.

ISBN: 978-1-77053-038-6
Trade Paperback
5.5″ X 8.5″
$ 14.95
280 pages

ONLINE ORDERS
amazon.com
amazon.ca

Watch the
BOOKTRAILER

Read Chapter One (PDF)

Book three of the Druids trilogy:

ISBN:
978-1-77053-030-0
Trade Paperback
5.5″ X 8.5″

$16.95 US
336 pages

ONLINE ORDERS
amazon.com
amazon.ca

WARRIORS
by Barbara Galler-Smith and Josh Langston

The final book of the DRUIDS trilogy tells a tumultuous tale of the Druidic battle to save their tribes, to protect their children and to preserved their culture, as the brutal soldiers of Julius Caesar’s army invades their lands.

History is written by victors, but the vanquished also have a powerful tale to tell.

In 57 BC the Druidic men and women of ancient Gaul banded together to battle against Julius Caesar’s campaign to rule the world.

Though the Gauls also faced hostile and bloody conflicts within their own tribes, they worked together to fight against the Roman invasion.

Remarkably, though war was an integral part of their everyday life, they found ways to celebrate their Druidic traditions and act on their most tender passions for life.

About Barbara Galler-Smith

Barbara Galler-Smith resides in Edmonton with John, her fabulously supportive husband, and two incredibly cute Yorkshire terriers. After a hiatus from everything but working for money and pet care brochures, she returned to the quirky world of writing science fiction and fantasy.

She’s a member of Edmonton’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer’s Group. “The Cult of Pain”, and co-founder, with writer-editor Ann Marston, of the emerging new writers group, “The Scruffies” (named for a group-written story’s main character, not for their personal conditions). She’s also busy editing with On Spec magazine.

About Josh Langston

A graduate of Georgia State University with a degree in Journalism, Josh’s writing tastes quickly shifted away from non-fiction. His short stories have been published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. When not writing fiction, Josh develops multi-media presentations about Georgia’s past for historical societies around the state.

Thanks for your continued support of our press. You can purchase your EDGE titles through your local book resellers and from our online partners.

Distributed in Canada and the United States by Fitzhenry and Whiteside
(US wholesale via Ingram)

EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing

Box 1714, Calgary, AB, Canada
Phone: (403) 254-0160
www.edgewebsite.com

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The October 2013 Issue is Now on Sale!

Welcome to issue forty-one of Lightspeed!

In this month’s issue, we have original science fiction by Keffy R.M. Kehrli (“HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!”) and Ken Liu (“Ghost Days”), along with SF reprints by Constance Cooper (“Trouble Leaves a Scent Trail”) and Kameron Hurley (“Enyo-Enyo”).

Plus, we have original fantasy by Dylan Otto Krider (“The Five Deaths of Marvin Dimitri”) and Charlie Jane Anders (“Small Dead Creatures”), and fantasy reprints by Karin Tidbeck (“Augusta Prima”) and Neil Gaiman (“An Invocation of Incuriosity”).

All that, and, of course, we also have our usual assortment of author and artist spotlights, along with feature interviews with Melissa Marr and über-geek Felicia Day. For our ebook readers, we also have the novella “Human Readable” by Cory Doctorow and novel excerpts of Parasite by Mira Grant, Copperhead by Tina Connolly, and Poe by J. Lincoln Fenn.

Can’t wait to get your hands on a copy? You can purchase the issue from the following ebookstores: Lightspeed (direct), Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, and Weightless Books. Visit our Ebooks page for links and more information.

Kickstarter Alert: Help Fund HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!

In this issue, you’ll find a story written in the form of a fictional Kickstarter pitch by Keffy R.M. Kehrli called “HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!!” My first thought when I read the story was: This story is really funny. My second thought was: I should build an anthology around it. My third thought was: Obviously the anthology should be launched via Kickstarter.

So that’s what I’m doing. I’m running Keffy’s story here in Lightspeed as an original, and simultaneously launching a Kickstarter for HELP FUND MY ROBOT ARMY!!! & Other Improbable Kickstarters, an anthology of futuristic, magical, alternate-world, and entirely fictional crowdfunding projects.

In addition to the anthology itself, there are lots of great prizes available, like subscriptions to Lightspeed and Nightmare, Tuckerizations, and signed copies of my anthologies. So, if you enjoy Keffy’s story and would like to read more stories like it, please do check out the Kickstarter and consider backing it. In addition to Keffy’s story (which will be the lone reprint in the anthology), the book will include works by folks such as Seanan McGuire, Daniel H. Wilson, Tim Pratt, Tobias S. Buckell, and Mary Robinette Kowal—along with works by Kickstarter phenoms such as Monte Cook (Numenera), David Malki (Machine of Death: The Game of Creative Assassination), Michael J. Sullivan (Hollow World), and Matt Forbeck (12 for ’12)—and more! The Kickstarter ends October 31, so don’t delay!

Subscriptions & Bundles of Back Issues!

Just a reminder that our Lightspeed Direct ebookstore is open for business. If you’d like to purchase an ebook issue, or if you’d like to subscribe directly from us, please visit lightspeedmagazine.com/store. All purchases from the Lightspeed store are provided in both epub and mobi format.

And don’t worry—all of our other purchasing options are still available, of course; this is just one more way you can buy the magazine or subscribe. You can, for instance, still subscribe via Amazon.com or from our friends at Weightless Books. Visit lightspeedmagazine.com/subscribe to learn more about all of our subscription options.

In the Lightspeed ebookstore, we’re also currently featuring a selection of Ebook Bundles. We currently have the following Lightspeed ebook bundles available:
Lightspeed (Year One) – $19.99
Lightspeed (Year Two) – $24.99
Lightspeed (Year Three) – $29.97
Lightspeed Supermassive Bundle (Years 1-3) – $69.95
Buying a Bundle gets you a copy of every issue published during the named period. So, for instance, the Year One Bundle gets you a copy of every issue we published during our first year (June 2010 – May 2011), etc. And then there’s the SUPERMASSIVE BUNDLE, which nets you a copy of every issue published during our first three years. (And buying the Supermassive Bundle saves you $5 off the cover price of buying the other three Bundles individually!)

Have You Tried Our Sister-Magazine, Nightmare, Yet?

Have you checked out our new sister-magazine Nightmare yet? Because of the ubiquity of gory horror movies, when a lot of people think of the horror genre in literature, they imagine it deals with that same kind of gory slasher-type stories we typically see in film, full of blood and guts and generally a lot of awfulness. But literary horror is rarely like that, and the fiction in NIGHTMARE basically never is. The fiction in Nightmare tends toward “quiet horror”: that is, the stories are literary and dark–at times visceral, and at times unsettling. In other words, not overly dissimilar from the stories you’d find in Lightspeed–just more toward the darker end of the literary spectrum.

Thus far, Nightmare has published original stories by acclaimed and bestselling horror scribes Ramsey Campbell, Sarah Langan, Jonathan Maberry, Laird Barron, Daniel H. Wilson, along with new material from talented newer writers such as Genevieve Valentine and Desirina Boskovich, among others. All that plus classic reprints by the likes of Joe Haldeman, Poppy Z. Brite, Sarah Pinborough, Tananarive Due, Lucius Shepard, and Lisa Tuttle.

In the August issue, we have original fiction from Matthew Cheney (“How Far to Englishman’s Bay”) and Jennifer Giesbrecht (“All My Princes Are Gone”), along with reprints by living legends Robert McCammon (“Nightcrawlers”) and Clive Barker (“Lost Souls”). (If you read the ebook or subscription edition of Lightspeed, you’ll get a copy of “How Far to Englishman’s Bay” in your issue as a bonus story.)

There’s also the latest installment of Nightmare’s column on horror, “The H Word,” plus author spotlights with all of our authors, a showcase on the cover artist, and part two of our two-part mega-interview with bestselling author Joe Hill.

Pop on over to www.nightmare-magazine.com to check out the magazine, purchase issues or subscribe, or just for more information and updates (or to subscribe to the free Nightmare newsletter).

Seeds of Change edited by John Joseph Adams

The original 2008 edition of Seeds of Change is now out-of-print, but the good news is that the new revised & expanded 2nd edition is now available. It is currently available in Kindle format (just $4!), and is coming soon in other ebook formats.

The 2nd edition includes an afterword to each story from the author, corrects some errors and typos, and features a beautiful new cover. Otherwise, it’s the same Seeds of Change you all know and love. So check it out, and tell a friend!

Learn more about the anthology at johnjosephadams.com/seeds-of-change.

If You Love Your Subscription, Review Your Subscription!

If you already have and love a Lightspeed subscription, please consider leaving us a positive review on Amazon.com or Weightless Books. A few kind words can go a long way toward encouraging other readers to try out Lightspeed if they’re on the fence about whether to give it a shot or not.

If you’d like to leave a review, here’s the product page on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Lightspeed-Magazine/dp/B004HO5TCO, and here’s the 12-month subscription option on Weightless Books: https://weightlessbooks.com/format/magazine/lightspeed-magazine-12-month-subscription.

Reviews of individual issues are also welcome, of course, though our primary interest is in spreading the word about subscriptions, so if you want to help out, please let other readers know what you think!

Sponsor Spotlight: 47North

Lightspeed’s sponsor this month is 47North:

This month, look for Poe by J. Lincoln Fenn (of which you can read an excerpt in our ebook edition this month). You can find more from 47North at www.apub.com.

For more information about Lightspeed’s sponsorship program, visit our advertising page.

Keeping Current

Remember, in addition to this newsletter, there are several ways you can sign up to be notified of new Lightspeed content:
RSS feed (full): lightspeedmagazine.com/rss-2
Podcast feed: lightspeedmagazine.com/itunes-rss
Twitter: @lightspeedmag
Facebook: facebook.com/lightspeedmagazine
Google+: plus.google.com/100415462108153087624
Subscribe: lightspeedmagazine.com/subscribe

Looking Forward: Issue 42

Coming up in November, in Lightspeed . . .

We have original science fiction by Sean Williams (“Death and the Hobbyist”—a Twinmaker Story) and Beth Revis (“The Turing Test”), along with SF reprints by James Tiptree, Jr. (“And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side”) and James Stoddard (“The Battle of York”).

Plus, we have original fantasy by Kelly Barnhill (“The Insect and the Astronomer”) and Matthew Hughes (“Sleeper”—a Kaslo Chronicles tale), and fantasy reprints by Ian McDonald (“Tonight We Fly”) and Maria Dahvana Headley (“Bit-u-men”).

All that, and of course we also have our usual assortment of author and artist spotlights, along with feature interviews with Chris Kluwe and Ryan North. For our ebook readers, we also have the novella “Holy Places” by Martha Wells and a pair of novel excerpts.

It’s another great issue, so be sure to check it out. And while you’re at it, tell a friend about Lightspeed!

Thanks for Reading!

We couldn’t publish the magazine without the loyal support of readers like you. So we here at Lightspeed salute you, and would like to thank you for your continued patronage.

Well, that’s about it for this installment of the newsletter. Thanks again for reading. Meanwhile, for more, visit www.lightspeedmagazine.com. See you next month!ne.com. See you next month!

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Night Shade/Start Publishing

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All
by Laird Barron
Now on Sale for $1.99 at Amazon
(deal expires October 31st)

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All

Over the course of two award-winning collections and a critically acclaimed novel, The Croning, Laird Barron has arisen as one of the strongest and most original literary voices in modern horror and the dark fantastic. Melding supernatural horror with hardboiled noir, espionage, and a scientific backbone, Barron’s stories have garnered critical acclaim and have been reprinted in numerous year’s best anthologies and nominated for multiple awards, including the Crawford, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy awards.

Barron returns with his third collection, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All. Collecting interlinking tales of sublime cosmic horror, including “Blackwood’s Baby,” “The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven,” and “The Men from Porlock,” The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All delivers enough spine-chilling horror to satisfy even the most jaded reader.

Night Shade Books
609 GREENWICH ST, FLOOR 6
New York, New York 10014
212-431-5454