Awesome news from those funky people at the David Gemmell Awards...
-- PRESS RELEASE --
New Award Categories
"When we established The David Gemmell Legend Award For Fantasy it was with the intention of subsequently introducing further award categories to cover other aspects of the fantasy genre. We are now pleased to announce two new, additional awards, to be presented at next year’s ceremony. They are -
The David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Newcomer
and
The David Gemmell Ravenheart Award for Best Fantasy Cover Art
"The Morningstar Award will give recognition to emerging talent in the field of fantasy fiction. As David Gemmell always took a keen interest in new writers, and helped many onto the path to publication, we regard this as an appropriate category to add, and one we feel sure David would have approved.
"The Ravenheart Award will honour the best fantasy book cover art. The importance of fantasy cover art deserves admiration, as do the artists who produce it, yet there is no major UK award acknowledging this. The Ravenheart Award will fulfil that role.
"Like the Legend Award, the winners of these new awards, for best debut author and best cover/artist, will be decided by popular vote. The first Legend Award, for best fantasy novel of the year, presented at a ceremony in London in June of this year, garnered an incredible 11,000 votes from around the world. We are confident that the Morningstar and Ravenheart awards, which are being created with the full approval of the Gemmell family, will be greeted with no less enthusiasm.
"Details of the process whereby these new awards will be administered can be found on our website.
"Our aim is to establish, over time, a set of awards covering all aspects of the fantasy genre. Launching this pair of new awards takes us a step nearer to that objective.
"The 2010 David Gemmell Awards ceremony will again be held at The Magic Circle headquarters in London, on Friday 18th June."
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Another Sale for Mike!
News hot off the press!
We've just heard that Alchemy member Mike Chinn has sold his story 'Welcome to the Hotel Marianas' to Pill Hill Press for their anthology of spooky sea stories entitled - The Bitter End: Tales of Nautical Terror (Edited by Jessy Marie Roberts)
The Bitter End is due to be released in April 2010.
Huge congrats to our Mike!
We've just heard that Alchemy member Mike Chinn has sold his story 'Welcome to the Hotel Marianas' to Pill Hill Press for their anthology of spooky sea stories entitled - The Bitter End: Tales of Nautical Terror (Edited by Jessy Marie Roberts)
The Bitter End is due to be released in April 2010.
Huge congrats to our Mike!
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Spotlight on Debbie
Inspired by celtic mythology and classic fairy tales, Debbie Bennett's story Daughter of Lir won second prize in the David Gemmell Cup in 1995/1996 (an annual short story competition held by the Hastings Writer's Group and originally judged by David Gemmell himself...)
Daughters of Lir was republished in the Fantasycon 2000 souvenir programme book under the name Cally Andrews and can now be found in Debbie's collection of short stories, Cherry Picks, which is posted on Authonomy.
Daughter of Lir
There’s a keen wind off the cliffs tonight. Banshees wail in harmony with the mournful cries of the seagulls that circle above the waves. The tide is in too, a rhythmic pounding on the rocks – the sea’s heartbeat growing stronger as the hour approaches. There is a feeling of anticipation in the darkness; lives have changed, battles been won and kingdoms lost on nights such as this.
Standing on the headland, by the edge of the crumbling chalk with hair stinging his face like a thousand tiny insects, he waits and watches as he’s waited and watched for what may be a hundred lifetimes. If he closes his eyes, faces the wind and looks with an inner vision, he can see forever out there in the ocean.
But it’s not forever he’s looking for. Not tonight with the memories strong and the image of her so clear in his mind it’s as if time itself has looped back for him, giving him another chance to reach out for her, hold on to her and keep her as he’s kept her love in his heart for so long.
Aisling is her name. Daughter of the Gods and forbidden to one of his kind. Aisling, who came to him on a night like this and left him with such a longing that life became meaningless without her. A sea vision, the sailors said – a child of the ocean sent to snare mortal souls with such beauty and song that could charm the angels from heaven itself and make them seem pale shades, ghostly silhouettes against the spell of the children of Lir. Superstition and yet he believes, for he can hear her now, hear the haunting melodies in the wind and the sea.
There is a power in the song, and power still in the singing.
But his Aisling has no need of such weapons. He is already under her spell and willingly. They have pledged their love for one another and though he knew her time was short, he has her promise to hold onto. And when her father called her home, she swore to return one day, to love him as only a child of the Gods can love.
So each year he waits on the headland and listens to the voices of the sea, secure in an unearthly love for a woman who is not mortal. Each year he listens for the song and hears only the banshees’ cries, premonitions of a death for which he can only dream until he finds her again. For the love of a God carries the price of eternity and he knows he will never find peace without Aisling.
The wind stills to silence. The tide ebbs. There is magic in the air tonight.
Aisling? He dares not look, but forces himself to step closer to the cliff edge. Down below, wet sand shimmers in nacreous light. The sea has withdrawn, exposing rocks like black teeth, the mouth of the ocean come to swallow its prey. Behind the rocks something moves, glistening in the shadows and he can make her out now, a slim figure in a pale shift, her hair like seaweed dressed with pearls. She is watching him, one hand touching the rock, the other outstretched towards him, pleading with him. She can come no further; Lir will not allow it. This is as far as she can keep her promise and it is not enough.
There are tears on his cheeks now, as he knows he cannot see her again. She has risked much already. But how can he live, knowing they can never be together? He sighs. Take me with you. He has no need of speech. She will hear him, if she chooses.
A flutter in the air around him and suddenly there are swans. Four white birds fly above him, majestic in their splendour. Slender white necks outstretched, they circle him for some moments, climbing effortlessly only to swoop down, then rise again. Up and down, round and round, until he is dizzy with exhilaration.
Aisling! There is joy in him as he knows the waiting is over, the promise kept. Yet still the swans circle, as reality crashes back in with the boom of the sea against the cliffs below. The wind howls again, the savage and ancient anger of a God defied. Aisling has betrayed her father by falling in love and he will not give her up lightly.
The swans are flying away from him now, buffeted by the wind. And then they are gone, white arrows speeding out to sea. His body shrieks with the loss, a part of him ripped open and exposed to the wind and the night. But this time it is different, now he knows he can fly too, that all he has to do is believe.
Five white swans soar high above a deserted headland. She has stolen his soul, taken what she laid claim to all those years ago and he is no longer human. And if he is no longer human, then he is free.
Daughters of Lir was republished in the Fantasycon 2000 souvenir programme book under the name Cally Andrews and can now be found in Debbie's collection of short stories, Cherry Picks, which is posted on Authonomy.
Daughter of Lir
There’s a keen wind off the cliffs tonight. Banshees wail in harmony with the mournful cries of the seagulls that circle above the waves. The tide is in too, a rhythmic pounding on the rocks – the sea’s heartbeat growing stronger as the hour approaches. There is a feeling of anticipation in the darkness; lives have changed, battles been won and kingdoms lost on nights such as this.
Standing on the headland, by the edge of the crumbling chalk with hair stinging his face like a thousand tiny insects, he waits and watches as he’s waited and watched for what may be a hundred lifetimes. If he closes his eyes, faces the wind and looks with an inner vision, he can see forever out there in the ocean.
But it’s not forever he’s looking for. Not tonight with the memories strong and the image of her so clear in his mind it’s as if time itself has looped back for him, giving him another chance to reach out for her, hold on to her and keep her as he’s kept her love in his heart for so long.
Aisling is her name. Daughter of the Gods and forbidden to one of his kind. Aisling, who came to him on a night like this and left him with such a longing that life became meaningless without her. A sea vision, the sailors said – a child of the ocean sent to snare mortal souls with such beauty and song that could charm the angels from heaven itself and make them seem pale shades, ghostly silhouettes against the spell of the children of Lir. Superstition and yet he believes, for he can hear her now, hear the haunting melodies in the wind and the sea.
There is a power in the song, and power still in the singing.
But his Aisling has no need of such weapons. He is already under her spell and willingly. They have pledged their love for one another and though he knew her time was short, he has her promise to hold onto. And when her father called her home, she swore to return one day, to love him as only a child of the Gods can love.
So each year he waits on the headland and listens to the voices of the sea, secure in an unearthly love for a woman who is not mortal. Each year he listens for the song and hears only the banshees’ cries, premonitions of a death for which he can only dream until he finds her again. For the love of a God carries the price of eternity and he knows he will never find peace without Aisling.
The wind stills to silence. The tide ebbs. There is magic in the air tonight.
Aisling? He dares not look, but forces himself to step closer to the cliff edge. Down below, wet sand shimmers in nacreous light. The sea has withdrawn, exposing rocks like black teeth, the mouth of the ocean come to swallow its prey. Behind the rocks something moves, glistening in the shadows and he can make her out now, a slim figure in a pale shift, her hair like seaweed dressed with pearls. She is watching him, one hand touching the rock, the other outstretched towards him, pleading with him. She can come no further; Lir will not allow it. This is as far as she can keep her promise and it is not enough.
There are tears on his cheeks now, as he knows he cannot see her again. She has risked much already. But how can he live, knowing they can never be together? He sighs. Take me with you. He has no need of speech. She will hear him, if she chooses.
A flutter in the air around him and suddenly there are swans. Four white birds fly above him, majestic in their splendour. Slender white necks outstretched, they circle him for some moments, climbing effortlessly only to swoop down, then rise again. Up and down, round and round, until he is dizzy with exhilaration.
Aisling! There is joy in him as he knows the waiting is over, the promise kept. Yet still the swans circle, as reality crashes back in with the boom of the sea against the cliffs below. The wind howls again, the savage and ancient anger of a God defied. Aisling has betrayed her father by falling in love and he will not give her up lightly.
The swans are flying away from him now, buffeted by the wind. And then they are gone, white arrows speeding out to sea. His body shrieks with the loss, a part of him ripped open and exposed to the wind and the night. But this time it is different, now he knows he can fly too, that all he has to do is believe.
Five white swans soar high above a deserted headland. She has stolen his soul, taken what she laid claim to all those years ago and he is no longer human. And if he is no longer human, then he is free.
Sunday, 4 October 2009
The Right Honourable Chinn
Congratulations to Alchemy member Mike Chinn for scoring two Honourable Mentions in Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year, Volume One.
The HMs were issued for his stories All Under Hatches Stow’d, which appeared in The Second Black Book of Horror; and Like a Bird, which appeared in The Third Black Book of Horror. If you fancy getting a hold of either of these books to check out the stories, pop by the Mortbury Press website.
The HMs were issued for his stories All Under Hatches Stow’d, which appeared in The Second Black Book of Horror; and Like a Bird, which appeared in The Third Black Book of Horror. If you fancy getting a hold of either of these books to check out the stories, pop by the Mortbury Press website.
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Support Our 'Zines Day!
And welcome to Support Our 'Zines Day! And what is it, you may be wondering? Very simple. SOZ Day is the day when you shout your love for your favourite 'zines across the internet and if you're in a flush mood, donate a little to keep them putting out the stuff you love... See here for the whys and wotnots...
Here's some great 'zines to get you started...
Clarkesworld Magazine
Fantasy Magazine
Strange Horizons
Hub Magazine
Murky Depths
The Lorelei Signal
Weird Tales
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly
Expanded Horizons
Theaker's Quarterly Fiction
And don't forget these 'Zine resources - Ralan.Com and Semiprozine.org
Saturday, 26 September 2009
BFS Short Story Competition
Also announced at Fantasycon last weekend were the results of the annual British Fantasy Society short story competition...
The lucky winner was Patrick Whittaker with his story Dead Astronauts. Patrick receives £50, a year's membership of the BFS (which includes eight magazines and at least one book), and will be published in a forthcoming BFS journal.
Second place went to Elana Gomel with In the Moment, who will receive £25 and will be published in a forthcoming journal.
Third place (alas, with no prize attached), went to Charlotte Bond with The Apocalypse Has Been Good to Us. (A story that is this reader's favourite!)
Alchemy members Jan Coleborn-Edwards, Pat Barber and Jenny Barber were on the reading panel along with Chris Teague (of Pendragon Press) and Ranjina Theaker.
The panel of celebrity judges for the final round of reading consisted of Rhys Hughes, Sarah Pinborough and Chaz Brenchley.
The BFS has announced that next year's competition will be open to entries from 1st January 2010 so stay tuned for more news!
The lucky winner was Patrick Whittaker with his story Dead Astronauts. Patrick receives £50, a year's membership of the BFS (which includes eight magazines and at least one book), and will be published in a forthcoming BFS journal.
Second place went to Elana Gomel with In the Moment, who will receive £25 and will be published in a forthcoming journal.
Third place (alas, with no prize attached), went to Charlotte Bond with The Apocalypse Has Been Good to Us. (A story that is this reader's favourite!)
Alchemy members Jan Coleborn-Edwards, Pat Barber and Jenny Barber were on the reading panel along with Chris Teague (of Pendragon Press) and Ranjina Theaker.
The panel of celebrity judges for the final round of reading consisted of Rhys Hughes, Sarah Pinborough and Chaz Brenchley.
The BFS has announced that next year's competition will be open to entries from 1st January 2010 so stay tuned for more news!
BFS Awards
The annual British Fantasy Awards were announced last weekend at Fantasycon on the night of Saturday 19th September. And the winners were:
Best Novel (The August Derleth Fantasy Award)
Memoirs of a Master Forger by William Heaney aka Graham Joyce (Gollancz)
Best Anthology
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 19 ed. Stephen Jones (Constable & Robinson)
Best Collection
Bull Running for Girls by Allyson Bird (Screaming Dreams)
Best Non-Fiction
Basil Copper: A Life in Books by Basil Copper ed. Stephen Jones (PS Publishing)
Best Novella
The Reach of Children by Tim Lebbon (Humdrumming)
Best Short Fiction
"Do You See" by Sarah Pinborough from Myth-Understandings ed. by Ian Whates (Newcon Press)
Best Magazine/Periodical
Postscripts ed. Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers (PS Publishing)
Best Artist
Vincent Chong
The PS Publishing Best Small Press Award
Elastic Press (Andrew Hook)
Best Comic/Graphic Novel
Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW Publishing)
Best Televison
Doctor Who (Russell T. Davies, BBC Wales)
Best Film
The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner Brothers)
The Karl Edward Wagner Award (the Special Award)
Hayao Miyazaki
The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer
Joseph D'Lacey for Meat (Bloody Books)
Best Novel (The August Derleth Fantasy Award)
Memoirs of a Master Forger by William Heaney aka Graham Joyce (Gollancz)
Best Anthology
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 19 ed. Stephen Jones (Constable & Robinson)
Best Collection
Bull Running for Girls by Allyson Bird (Screaming Dreams)
Best Non-Fiction
Basil Copper: A Life in Books by Basil Copper ed. Stephen Jones (PS Publishing)
Best Novella
The Reach of Children by Tim Lebbon (Humdrumming)
Best Short Fiction
"Do You See" by Sarah Pinborough from Myth-Understandings ed. by Ian Whates (Newcon Press)
Best Magazine/Periodical
Postscripts ed. Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers (PS Publishing)
Best Artist
Vincent Chong
The PS Publishing Best Small Press Award
Elastic Press (Andrew Hook)
Best Comic/Graphic Novel
Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW Publishing)
Best Televison
Doctor Who (Russell T. Davies, BBC Wales)
Best Film
The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner Brothers)
The Karl Edward Wagner Award (the Special Award)
Hayao Miyazaki
The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer
Joseph D'Lacey for Meat (Bloody Books)
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