Posts Tagged: Short Fiction

News

Ann VanderMeer joins Tor.com as Consulting Fiction Editor

By Aidan Moher August 29th, 2012

Ann VanderMeer joins Tor.com as Consulting Fiction EditorAnn VanderMeer has been hired by Tor.com as a ‘consulting fiction editor,’ joining Patrick Nielsen Hayden and Liz Gorinsky in acquiring short fiction for the website. Tor.com says:

Since the beginning, much of our fiction has been acquired and edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden; additionally, Liz Gorinsky began buying and editing for the site in 2010. Now we’re pleased to add Ann VanderMeer as a consulting fiction editor for Tor.com. […] She brings a sharp eye for adventurous fiction to all of her projects, and we look forward to the stories and authors she’ll bring to Tor.com.

Ann VanderMeer is one of the best in the business, and, after a public departure from the legendary genre magazine Weird Tales, it’s great to see her snapped up by another of the leading publishers of high-quality genre short fiction.

This is good news for any and all (like me) who are discouraged by the excessive turn-around times for Tor.com short fiction submissions, which, according to Duotrope, are currently sitting at a median of 299 days, well above the average wait time for SF/F/H short fiction venues. In comparison, Clarkesworld turns stories around in three days, and Lightspeed turns stories around in two days. Adding another acquiring editor, especially one with VanderMeer’s experience and expertise, should ease this period. Hopefully.

Equally, this is good news for anyone who likes good SF/F/H short fiction, as VanderMeer has a strong track record of acquiring and publishing quality stories from some of the genre’s best and brightest names.

Congratulations to both Tor.com and Ann VanderMeer.

Art

Cover Art for Unfettered, edited by Shawn Speakman

By Aidan Moher August 5th, 2012
Unfettered, edited by Shawn Speakman

That line-up still blows my mind.

Fun fact: Todd Lockwood, who created the art for the cover, incorporated Speakman’s likeness into the figure on the cover. It looks just like him, and I take some perverse joy in the fact that the latest in the endless line of hooded figures looks just like my friend.

As for the art, it’s a nice departure from Lockwood, who continues to be one of my favourite Fantasy artists. Love the brooding colour scheme and the liberal use of purple, which you don’t see very often.

You can learn more about Unfettered on the Grim Oak Press website.

News

Help a brother out, ‘Iron Eyes and the Watered-Down World’ by Saladin Ahmed *Updated*

By Aidan Moher June 12th, 2012
Barbarian, art by Seaver Liu

Barbarian, art by Seaver Liu

Saladin Ahmed, one of the most exciting young writer in Fantasy, is giving away a short story, ‘Iron Eyes and the Watered-Down World’, today. Exciting news, yeah? Yeah, it is. I always jump on a chance to read any of his short fiction, and have raved about it once or twice in the past. He’s good. But, there’s a caveat here, and that comes to the reason he’s releasing the story. But first, the fun part.
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News

Shawn Speakman announces Unfettered, feat. Rothfuss, Sanderson, Abraham and many more

By Aidan Moher April 13th, 2012
Unfettered, edited by Shawn Speakman

GRIM OAK PRESS TO PUBLISH UNFETTERED FANTASY ANTHOLOGY

Genre’s Best Writers to Contribute Against Fellow Writer’s Cancer Debt

SEATTLE, WA — Grim Oak Press, a new publishing company formed by webmaster and freelance writer Shawn Speakman, will be producing Unfettered, a fantasy short story anthology by some of the best writers in the genre, for a very good cause.

In 2011, Speakman was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He completed the recommended chemotherapy, but lacking health insurance, the treatment left him with almost $200,000 of financial debt. At the suggestion of New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks, and with the help of nearly two dozen authors who call Speakman a friend, Grim Oak Press will publish the short story anthology Unfettered, with the proceeds helping to alleviate the medical bills.

Authors contributing include: Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, Naomi Novik, Brandon Sanderson, RA Salvatore, Tad Williams, Jacqueline Carey, Daniel Abraham, Peter V.Brett, Robert VS Redick, Peter Orullian, Todd Lockwood, Carrie Vaughn, Blake Charlton, Kevin Hearne, Mark Lawrence, David Anthony Durham, Jennifer Bosworth, Lev Grossman, Steven Erikson, and Shawn Speakman

Some of the authors will be writing short stories set in the fantasy worlds that made them famous. Other writers will be creating entirely new tales. The contribution by so many noteworthy authors of bestselling titles speaks to the generosity found within the science fiction and fantasy communities.

Unfettered will be published as a trade hardcover as well as a leather-bound, signed and numbered edition limited to 500 copies and autographed by all contributors. Speakman will also publish his full-length urban/high fantasy novel, The Dark Thorn, through Grim Oak Press to further offset treatment expenses.

Orders are currently being accepted for The Dark Thorn, which is tentatively scheduled to publish in August 2012. Unfettered will be released by early 2013.

# # #

If you’d like more information about Grim Oak Press or wish to set up an interview about its projects, please email Shawn Speakman at [email protected]

For anyone with even a vague interest in Epic/High/Secondary World/Traditional/Whatever Fantasy, that’s a monstrous who’s-who list of the biggest names in the industry at the moment.
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Cover Art

Cover Art and Synopsis for The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson

By Aidan Moher April 3rd, 2012
The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson

From the bestselling author of the Mistborn Trilogy and co-author of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series comes the tale of a heretic thief who is the only hope for the survival of an empire.

Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Though condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor’s scepter, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Despite the fact that her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead from the attack of assassins.

Delving deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan’s truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but councilor Gaotona must overcome his prejudices to understand that her forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.

Skillfully deducing the machinations of her captors, Shai needs a perfect plan to escape. The fate of the kingdom lies in one impossible task. Is it possible to create a forgery of a soul so convincing that it is better than the soul itself?

Wow, how did this one slip by me? Before you get too excited (or heated because you’re desperately waiting on the sequels to The Way of Kings, this is a ‘short novel’ from Sanderson, about 30,000 words, so less than half the length of The Alloy of Law. Now, with that out of the way, it looks like this story is set in Sanderson’s Cosmere universe, meaning it will have ties (though not necessarily directly) to his other novels in that universe, including The Way of Kings and Mistborn, and should fit into the overarching narrative he’s constructing throughout his various series. The ‘novel’ itself sounds like it has all the juicy magic that we’ve come to expect from Sanderson.

And how gorgeous is that cover? I’ll be sure to post a larger version if I come across one.

The Emperor’s Soul will be released by Tachyon Publications (a great coup for the small publishing house) in December 2012.