Andrew McKiernan Signs Two-Book Deal

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Marty Young

Australian writer and illustrator Andrew McKiernan has just signed a two book deal with Satalyte Publishing.

The first is for a collection of his short stories, “A Prayer for Lazarus & Other Strange Offerings” (14 published stories + 2 new stories), which will appear in print and e-book in the second half of 2014.

The second deal is for his crime novel “A Quiet Place”, which he sold on the strength of
the first 8,000 words and will be appearing in print and e-book in early 2015.

Stay tuned for further updates as the publication dates approached.

Andrew J McKiernan is an author and illustrator living and working on the Central Coast of New South Wales. His stories have appeared in magazines such as Aurealis, Midnight Echo and the Eclecticism e-zine, as well as the anthologies In Bad Dreams 2, Masques, Scenes from the Second Storey, Macabre: A Journey Through Australia’s Darkest Fears, and Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2010. He has twice (2009 & 2010) been shortlisted for both Aurealis and Australian Shadows Awards, as well as a Ditmar Award shortlisting in 2010. His story “The Desert Song” from the Scenes from the Second Storey anthology received an Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year Vol.3. Andrew’s illustrations have appeared on many book and magazine covers, as well as featuring in the collections Shards: Short Sharp Tales by Shane Jiraiya Cummings from Brimstone Press and Savage Menace & Other Poems of Horror by Richard Tierney from P’rea Press.

Satalyte Publishing is an Australian publishing house of Australian authors for a global market. Their mission is to put Australian authors back on the world map of reading, and they will be offering the best of Australian authors in a variety of genres.

Cinema Nova’s Monster Fest

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Marty Young

Melbourne is being treated to more horror fun this month with Cinema Nova’s Monster Fest taking place from November the 21st until December the 1st.

Monster Fest

Now in its second year, and backed by local distribution company Monster Pictures, the film festival contains over 30 horror films, a VHS swapmeet, Trasharama (according to the website: A celebration of the nastiest, crudest, cheapest, filthiest, smelliest, most revolting short films made in Australia, Trasharama is everything a degenerate freak like you could want in a festival program), and oh so much more.

Some particular highlights include:
* a meet and greet with Linda Blair prior to the screening of The Exorcist, followed by a Q&A session with her (Nov 21)
* a live Q&A with Tom Savini via Skype before he introduces From Dusk Till Dawn (Nov 27)
* a Nightmare on Elm Street 1-6 movie marathon (Nov 29)

Full details, including the complete program, can be found here.

Ballarat Zombie Day

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Marty Young

For those of you with a love for dead things, you’ll probably want to head along to the Ballarat Zombie Day later this month.

When: 23 November at 10:00 until 24 November at 00:00
Where: PO Box 1013, Daylesford, Victoria 3460

ZombieHire.com is proud to present Ballarat Zombie Day, a day celebrating our favourite genre with their host venues Guf, Heroes HQ and The Tangled Maze.

Here are just some of the attractions:
* Kid’s Zombie Make-up (Cheap zombie scabs, scars, bites and wounds for kids of all ages)
* Zombie Props by Gore FX (Severed heads, lost limbs, bottled babies – can your stomach stand the GoreFX stall?)
* Zombie Steve’s Merch Stall
* Dead Rising 3 Launch Demos
* Left for Dead Gamer’s Comp
* Mister Bones’ Zombie Portraits (Talented zombie cartoon portraiturist Chris Bones will draw YOU AS A ZOMBIE!)
* The Walking Dead Zombie Photo Ops
* Zombie Antiquities by Nightshade FX (Gorgeous gothic hand-crafted artefacts and antiquities from the macabre minds at NightShade FX)
* Labyrinth Outbreak at the Tangled Maze (an unscripted open-air event in which survivors must navigate a hedge maze from start to finish at night, without getting attacked by zombies!)

TICKETS: Adults $20; children under 18 years $10

For more information, visit here.

ZombieHire.com is Australia’s #1 leading supplier of zombies, zombie-themed entertainment packages, film casting, promo stunts and sfx make-up services. ZH.com has has been invited to appear in campaigns for AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead'; IRL Shooter’s ‘Patient Zero'; BMW; Kryolan; Warner Bros; National Geographic; Hopscotch Entertainment; Nike and box office hits ‘Warm Bodies’ and ‘World War Z.’

ZombieHire.com prides itself on being a leader in the undead entertainment industry with a dedicated team of artists and performers, highly-realistic sfx make-up and costuming, and a masterful knowledge of the zombie genre.

Carnies is back!

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Marty Young

Martin Livings’ 2006 debut novel, Carnies, gets a new lease on life thanks to Australian publisher Cohesion Press.

CarniesCover

The small south-west Australian town of Tillbrook has a secret, one that has been kept for over a hundred years; the Dervish Carnival, which has been there for a century, is run by people who are neither human nor animal, but live in the woods and howl at night. But when David Hampden, a journalist on the downward slope of his career, visits the town with his younger brother, unemployed photographer Paul, that secret is threatened. When Paul is seduced unknowing into their world, David will get him back, whatever the cost. And the cost may be both their lives… and possibly even more.

Carnies is a contemporary Australian supernatural thriller by debut novelist Martin Livings, and is described by the author as “an old fashioned horror novel, harkening back to the days when scary books were fun.” Containing equal helpings of horror, action and humour, Carnies is a sideshow haunted house of a novel, with dark twists and turns, sudden drops, surprises, shocks and delights.

So roll up, come to the carnival. You’ll never be the same again… if you survive!

Coming soon as an ebook from Cohesion Press.

About the Author: Perth-based writer Martin Livings has had over eighty short stories published in a variety of magazines and anthologies both locally and internationally.
His short story collection, Living With the Dead, was published by Dark Prints Press in 2012, and an original story from it, ‘Birthday Suit’, won the Australian Shadows Award for Best Short Fiction for that year.

Carnies was his first novel, published by Hachette Livre in 2006 and nominated for both the Aurealis and Ditmar awards.

Amazon goes Australian

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Marty Young

In news that is sure to delight book hounds across our arid land, Amazon has now opened an Australian Amazon page.

As it says on the Amazon page:

“We’re pleased to inform you that you can now shop for eBooks at Amazon.com.au. We have been working hard to bring you a great selection of eBooks, including Australian best sellers and hundreds of thousands of titles that are exclusive to Kindle. You can read local customer reviews and purchase eBooks in Australian Dollars.

On your Kindle Fire device, you will also have access to the new Australian Amazon Appstore with a great selection of quality Android apps, games and a growing library of Australian favourites. Australian Appstore has local customer reviews, updated Australian best sellers, and you can purchase apps and games in Australian Dollars.”

One thing to be cautious of if you plan on moving across to Amazon Australia: any current magazine or newspaper subscriptions you have will be cancelled and you will receive a pro-rated refund.

SQ Mag seeking submissions

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Marty Young

SQ Mag is looking for submissions for their ‘Australiana’ themed 14th edition.

“In 2013 SQ Mag had a special edition on women writers in speculative fiction. This was amazingly successful and we have decided to run each year’s 1 May edition as a themed collection. We do not feel confined to any particular style or form of collection, and they can range from ‘higher’ themes such as women in writing, to downright straightforward entertainment and wimsy. The submissions pipe for Edition 14 is now open and the theme is ‘Australiana’.”

[‘Australiana’ means that the story must be in an Australian setting, or the major protagonist/s are Australian, or in some other, meaningful way be associated with Australia.]

The full submission guidelines can be found here.

SQ Mag is an international speculative fiction ezine that comes out bi-monthly (watch out for new editions on the 1st of January, March, May, July, September, and November each year). In addition to this, they also release an annual anthology called Star Quake, which captures the best stories published the previous year.

SQ Mag strives to present the highest standard fantasy, horror, and science fiction, and they publish around five pieces of fiction each edition. They are also committed to publishing at least one of each genre, and a high percentage of ‘new, upcoming’ authors, in each issue.

The ezine has, in its short life, already climbed from ‘for the love’ to a ‘token’ market for unsolicited manuscripts. To raise the bar, and to aid new writers, SQ Mag periodically solicits better established writers, and they have been very successful in this field: Jay Lake, Cat Rambo, Cat Sparks, Gary McMahon, Daniel I Russell, Tonia Brown – and they have some greats coming up: Kaaron Warren, Jeremy C Shipp, Alan Baxter, and Sean Williams.

SQ Mag is an international ezine with a love of the English language and the nuances of different idioms. They publish stories in the nationality of English they receive manuscripts – if a story is written in UK English, they publish in UK English. There will be a small tag next to each author citation with the flag of the English form. It does not necessarily represent the nationality of the author.

SQ Mag is an Australian Company published by IFWG Publishing Australia, and is licensed to use the IFWG Publishing and IFWG Publishing Australia imprints (these publishers also release children’s and adult speculative fiction).

Please note that SQ Mag is a free magazine. It works on the business model of gaining revenue from donations, advertising, and merchandising (including the Star Quake anthologies). This is a tough model, and SQ Mag encourages readers who enjoy SQ Mag to consider donating to the worth of the reading experience.

[With thanks to Gerry Huntman]

Don’t Let Us Lose Another Bookshop

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Marty Young

Some grim news came out today regarding Notions Unlimited Bookshop, one of Australia’s favourite bookstores. Owner-operator, all round good guy, and king of all that’s spec-fic, Chuck McKenzie, announced that the bookshop is in very real danger of closing by Christmas or soon after, due to the ever rising costs of running a business.

The following is taken directly from the Notions Unlimited Bookshop‘s website:

Since the day we opened our doors, just 20 months ago, the staff and management of Notions Unlimited Bookshop have worked hard to create something more than just a specialist bookstore, and we feel genuinely proud of much that we’ve achieved during that time, such as:

# Continuing to offer a great range of publications, including the best of Australian small-press, rare and hard-to-get titles, genre classics, and latest new releases.

# Building and maintaining a reputation for friendly and knowledgeable service.

# Keeping our prices reasonable – no mean task in these days of Internet shopping and global economic downturn.

# Becoming accepted as part of the local community, plus creating an ever-growing community of our own, bringing together fans of SF, fantasy, horror, graphic novels, gaming, manga, esoteric interests and more – something we’re especially proud of, and that we hope to continue doing for a long time to come.

In order for us to reach that last goal, however, we really do need the assistance of our customers, general supporters, and Facebook subscribers at this time.

Currently, Notions Unlimited Bookshop is looking at the very real possibility of closure – if not by Christmas, then perhaps just afterwards – with the chief cause being the ever-rising cost of running the business. It’s not definite at this point, but the writing is on the wall, and this appeal is an attempt to reverse matters before it’s too late.

Our aim, therefore, is not just to increase our daily sales, but to substantially increase the number of potential customers. Previously, we have tried to boost customer numbers through signage, social media and print advertising – yet almost 80% of our customers tell us they discovered us through referral from friends, family or colleagues.

So this is exactly what we’re asking our friends and customers to do for us now – refer us!

In a nutshell, while we’d love you to pop into our shop over the next few weeks and purchase a book (or two) to help keep us afloat, what we really want you to do is tell other people about us. Jump on Twitter and Facebook, tell your friends, family, workmates, and anybody else you know who loves SF, fantasy, horror, graphic novels, manga, media tie-ins, gaming, esoteric subjects, and other such related genres, to come and check us out in person (and then tell all of their peeps!). We’re not looking for handouts – just introductions to potential customers who may help to keep us in business. And do be sure to mention to everyone you refer us to that this is all in aid of keeping Notions Unlimited Bookshop operating.

Finally, I just want to make it absolutely clear that this is a genuine appeal, not some fake ‘going out of business’ sale or marketing trick. If things don’t improve markedly for us over the next month, we will almost certainly be forced to close our doors forever. No business owner ever wants to admit that a business is failing, but there comes a time when that owner has to either quietly slide towards the inevitable, or step into the spotlight and ask for assistance. So, if you feel you can assist, and will do so, you will have the absolute gratitude of myself and my staff – as well as, hopefully, a future in which we may continue to provide you with the range, service and community you deserve.

In the meantime, a massive and heartfelt ‘thank-you’ to all of our customers, regular and casual, who have supported us already since we opened. We couldn’t have survived thus far without you.

With Thanks,

Chuck McKenzie (Chief Zombologist)
Notions Unlimited Bookshop
facebook.com/pages/Notions-Unlimited-Bookshop/
@notionsun
info@notionsunlimitedbookshop.com

Bookshops are an endangered entity in this day and age, and whenever one closes its doors for good, we are all a little poorer for it. Don’t let this happen to Notions Unlimited Bookshop. Please help in any way you can.