Alchemy Writers

Jan and Sam are Hammered!

2012-01-19T10:25:00.001Z

It being January means that the Hammer Out Book of Ghosts is now officially out! In it you can find stories from Alchemy Members Jan Edwards and Sam Stone so don't delay, get your copy now!

Published by Fantom Films, all money raised from the anthology will go to the charity Hammer Out which helps fund research, raise awareness and provide support for people suffering from brain tumours.

The hardback edition can be had for £10.99 here.

Contents:
Foreword by Tracey Childs
Immortal Monster by Sam Stone
The Widow and the Deserter by Alex Barrett
Sleeping Lions by Niall Boyce
Orbyting by Jan Edwards
The Noise from the Flat Upstairs by S.E. Branson
Tower Song by Richard Howard
Deadline by Paul W.T. Ballard
The Attic Nursery by Raven Dane
Chillers and Breathers by Sam Stone
We Attract that which we Fear the Most by Louise Jameson
Last Rites by Simon Guerrier

Jen is Apocalyptic

2012-01-12T13:38:00.003Z

Alchemy Member Jenny Barber is a regular contributor to the Girls' Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse website and if that wasn't fun enough, she has also taken part in an Apocalypse Girls group interview on awesome website Pornokitsch, talking about the appeal of the Apocalypse and how the Girls' Guide came into being...

Jan in Cities of Death

2012-01-10T10:03:00.003Z

Congratulations to Alchemy member Jan Edwards who has had her story Bone Wary accepted for the A-Z Cities of Death anthology coming out from Static Movement.

Edited by Dean M. Drinkel, Cities contains 26 stories of horror in cities, with Jan's story covering S for Stoke on Trent!

Mike's Midnight Diner

2012-01-07T09:37:00.002Z

Excellent news from Alchemy member Mike Chinn - his story Once Upon an Easter has been accepted for The Midnight Diner vol.4. More news on publication date when we get it!

Alchemy 2011

2011-12-31T11:05:00.016Z

It has, it must be said, been quite a funky year for Alchemy members in 2011.

Debbie ventured into e-publishing and saw the release of her short story collection Maniac and Other Stories, and her novels Hamelin's Child (adult thriller) and Edge of Dreams (YA fantasy). She also saw the publication of her stories On the Edge of Forever in the Kindle Coffee-Break Collection anthology (edited by Saffina Desforges) and Moira on the Everyday Fiction site.

Not only that, Debbie has also guest blogged on Steve Lockley's Confessions of a Technophobe blog with When Too Much is Not Enough, had several posts on the You're Booked crime writers blog and regularly blogs at Authors Electric.

Jan was especially prolific this year - she saw the publication of Grey Magic for Cat Lovers in New Horizons/ BFS Journal (Summer 2011); Mayday Springs Askew in Tales from the Greenmantle (July 2011); The Clinic in the Alt-Dead anthology; Ballad of Lucy Lightfoot in Full Fathom Forty:40th Anniversary of the BFS; Roberta in Ethereal Tales #12; Redhill Residential in True Personal Ghost Stories; Valkenswaard in Unspoken Water #2; Wade's Run in Ghost Stories; Oblation in Andromeda's Offspring #3 and she finished off the year with the publication of Thirteenth Day in the Estronomicon Chrismas edition.

She's also had acceptances for several stories due out in 2012, guest blogged on Steve Lockley's Confessions of a Technophobe blog with Do We Dare To Comment?, and looks set to take over the world sometime soon!

Jenny has been mostly slush reading for Fantasy Magazine and judging the BFS Best Newcomer award, but has also guest blogged on Floor to Ceiling Books with Alice in Zombieland, and regularly posts over at the Girls' Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse blog.

Mike has seen the release of his e-novella Sailors of the Skies (available from Amazon), has had his story Cold Rain published in the Morpheus Tales Urban Horror Special, his story Only the Lonely appeared in Dark Valentine Issue #4/Spring 2011 and his story Sons of the Dragons appeared in Kzine Issue 1. Not only that but his story Saving Prince Romero is about to come out in the next PS Publishing antho - Postscripts #26/27 - Unfit For Eden and he was also interviewed by Stuart Young in Redeye Extra.

Peter edited and published the excellent Peter Atkins collection Rumours of the Marvellous and also had his story Who Wanders in the Mire published in the Christmas edition of Estronomicon. He was interviewed on the Red Moon Chronicle site and edited four fantastic issues of Dark Horizons - the British Fantasy Society's fiction magazine.

Sam saw the publication of the next volume in her Vampire Gene series - Hateful Heart by Murky Depths and her collection Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings was published by Telos Publishing. She also had her short stories Walking the Dead published in the BFS Journal/Spring 2011 and The Toymaker's House in Full Fathom Forty:40th Anniversary of the BFS.

She edited talespinning by David J. Howe for Telos Publishing, conducted an extensive signing tour, won the BFS Best Novel and Short Story awards and guest blogged on Steve Lockley's Confessions of a Technophobe blog with The Changing Face of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Series.

Here's hoping next year will be even more successful!

The Alchemy Press

2011-12-28T14:22:00.002Z

Group member Peter Coleborn's Alchemy Press has co-published, with Airgedlamh Productions, Rumours of the Marvellous by Peter Atkins. The signed, number edition -- 14 of Atkins' best tales -- was launched at FantasyCon 2011 last September. Also on hand to personally dedicate the book was cover artist Les Edwards. The book can be ordered from the Alchemy Press website or via Amazon.

The Alchemy Press has also published a Kindle novella: "Sailors of the Skies" by Alchemy Writers member Mike Chinn. This is a fabulous tribute to the pulp/noir stories from the 30s/40s -- and stars Damian Paladin. This eBook costs just 86p / 99c -- read a review of it on the Amazon website.

Jan and Peter's Estro Xmas

2011-12-24T22:18:00.004Z

Special Christmas congratulations to Alchemy members Jan Edwards and Peter Coleborn who both have stories in the special Xmas edition of Estronomicon - available to download free here!

Containing:

The Night Before Christmas - Neil Williamson
Two Years to the Day - Neil Davies
The Advent Calendar's Last Window - Bob Lock
Five-Thirty, Christmas Morning - John Forth
The Thirteenth Day - Jan Edwards
Christmas Present - Marion Pitman
Ho, Ho - Ian Hunter
Driving Home for Christmas - Mark Howard Jones
Proof - James Bennett
Jarly and the Saga of the Snowball - Stuart Young
Christmas with Julia - Stewart Horn
Who Wanders in the Mire - Peter Coleborn
Bitten by the Birds of Paradise - Matt Finucane
Schrodinger's Gifts - Neil Williamson

Jan and Sam Hammered Out

2011-12-24T08:50:00.006Z

Alchemy Members Jan Edwards and Sam Stone both have fiction due out in the Hammer Out Book of Ghosts in January 2012.

Published by Fantom Films, all money raised from the anthology will go to the charity Hammer Out which helps fund research, raise awareness and provide support for people suffering from brain tumours.

The hardback edition can be had for £10.99 here.

Jan's Valkenswaard is out!

2011-12-08T08:11:00.005Z

Excellent news: Unspoken Water #2 is now out and available for sale here.
Buy it for Jan's story Valkenswaard and you get a host of bonus other stories too! :-) Including:

Little Dead Girl by C. M. Saunders
A Breath of Air by Rebekah Brown
Crossing by Karen Ellery
Heartless by Thomas Williams
Sea Monkeys by Steve Lockley
The Crossroads by Stephen Palmer
Valkenswaard by Jan Edwards
The Magic Circle by Sarah Doyle

Available from http://www.ian-hunter.co.uk/buy-online and includes free "freebies" while stocks last.

You know you want to...

Debbie's Coffee Break

2011-11-28T17:11:00.003Z

Our Debbie's story On the Edge of Forever can now be found in the Kindle Coffee-Break Collection anthology (edited by Saffina Desforges). At just 99p, how can you miss it!

Jan's Oblation

2011-11-28T17:05:00.002Z

News hot off the wotsit:
Alchemy superstar Jan Edwards has another story accepted! Her SF story Oblation will be appearing in the December issue of Andromeda's Offspring.

Get in!

Jan Navigates Dark Currents!

2011-11-07T08:56:00.002Z

In other news... congrats to our Jan who has had her story Damnation Seize My Soul accepted for the Newcon Press anthology Dark Currents. More news on that when we get it!

Mike is a Dark Thing

2011-11-07T08:47:00.002Z

Well done our Mike who has just had his story All Under Hatches Stow’d accepted for the anthology Dark Things Quarterly #1 coming out from Pill Hill Press soon. Hatches was originally published in The Second Black Book of Horror in 2008 so you have multiple opportunities to get your hands on his funky wordage!

Jan's Story Book

2011-10-10T11:11:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Alchemy Writer Jan Edwards who has just heard that her story Jack Out of the Box will be published in the Wicked East Press anthology - Father Grim's Story Book.

More news on publication dates when we get it!

Alchemy for the Win!

2011-10-02T18:07:00.002+01:00

Double lots of congratulations are due to Alchemy writer Sam Stone who won not one, but two (!) British Fantasy Awards this weekend. Her story Fool's Gold, published in The Bitten Word, won Best Short Story; and her novel Demon Dance won Best Novel.

Moira is live!

2011-09-22T09:49:00.002+01:00

Debbie Bennett's story Moira is now live on the Everyday Fiction site here. Go read and comment!
And congratulations again to our Debs!

Alchemy across the Blogosphere

2011-09-22T09:39:00.003+01:00

Alchemy member Jenny Barber has a guest post up on the fabulous Floor to Ceiling Books blog - Alice in Zombieland

And don't forget you can also catch Debbie Bennett on the recently moved KindleUK blog which is now Do Authors Dream of Electric Books

2011-09-09T07:48:00.004+01:00

For those of you who have been eagerly awaiting it - Alt Dead, one of the many anthologies in which you can find Jan Edwards this year, is now out!

And! You can get the Alt-Dead: Kindle Edition for the bargain price of £2.13, while the Alt-Dead: Paperback Edition is available for £6.99

Jan in Unspoken Water

2011-09-07T07:56:00.002+01:00

And more congrats to our Jan who is having her story Valkenswaard published in Issue Two of Unspoken Water.

Edited by Ian Hunter, Issue Two also has fiction & poetry by C. M. Saunders, Rebekah Brown, Karen Ellery, Thomas Williams, Steve Lockley & Stephen Palmer and is due out soon.

Jan's Ethereal

2011-09-06T09:26:00.002+01:00

Congrats to Alchemy member Jan Edwards who will be having her story Roberta published in Issue 12 of Ethereal Tales.

No news when the issue is due out but stay tuned.

Sam Stone's Coffee Morning!

2011-09-03T07:35:00.007+01:00

Alchemy member Sam Stone will also be launching lovely things at Fantasycon 2011...

On Saturday 1st October, you can find her from 11:00am to 12:00pm in the Bar Rogue of the Royal Albion Hotel, Brighton launching both her new vampire novel Hateful Heart and her anthology Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings.

Published by The House of Murky Depths, Hateful Heart is the fourth in Sam's acclaimed and award winning Vampire Gene series of novels. In this, Lilly, Gabriele and Caesare encounter a terrifying threat from the past, one which seems intent in wiping vampires from the face of the Earth.

Published by Telos Publishing, Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings features thirteen stories of horror and passion, and six mythological and erotic poems from the pen of the new Queen of Vampire fiction. The stories have already received film interest from America, and Sam's work is shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award this year in both the Best Novel and Best Short Fiction categories.

Rumours of the Marvellous

2011-09-03T07:23:00.005+01:00

Coming soon from Alchemy Press and Airgedlámh, may we present the fabulous Rumours of the Marvellous!

Edited by our own Peter Coleborn, this collection of short stories by Peter Atkins will be launched at FantasyCon 2011 on Saturday 1st October at 1pm in the Regency Lounge of the Royal Albion Hotel in Brighton.

Rumours is a signed limited edition, signed by author Peter Atkins, Glen Hirshberg (introduction) and cover artist Les Edwards

Ordering details should be available soon.

Jan Gets True Ghost!

2011-08-11T08:45:00.001+01:00

Congrats to our Jan for another acceptance! Her story Redhill Residential will be appearing in the anthology True Personal Ghost Stories at some point in the not too distant future. TPGS is edited by Christopher Nadeau and Laurie Ricard, and will be published digitally by CN Infinity Anthologies.

More news when when we know it!

2011-07-31T13:52:00.003+01:00

We've just heard that our fabulous Debbie Bennett has had her story Moira accepted for Every Day Fiction. Congratulations our Debs! News on when it will be appearing as soon as we know!

Pete interviewed!

2011-07-29T13:06:00.001+01:00

Alchemy member Peter Coleborn has been interviewed on the Red Moon Chronicle site here!

Sam goes Full Fathom Forty

2011-07-29T12:55:00.002+01:00

We have just heard that Alchemy member Sam Stone will also be appearing in the British Fantasy Society's 40th Anniversary anthology! Go Sam!

Full Fathom Forty will be launched at Fantasycon in October but is available for preorder here.

Press Release Blurb!

For forty years the British Fantasy Society has been promoting and appreciating fantastic fiction in all its guises. Now, to celebrate the many worlds of wonder and terror, the BFS presents an anthology of works by members and friends of the Society past and present. Here you will find angels and vampires, werewolves and killers, magicians and gentlemen, alien worlds and urban nightmares. Let the British Fantasy Society be your guide through a selection of the best fiction to be found on this world ... or beyond!

Full author list for the anthology:
Nina Allan
Suzanne Barbieri
Carl Barker
Mike Barrett
Ramsey Campbell
Jonathan Carroll
Adrian Chamberlin
Simon Clark
Raven Dane
Jan Edwards
Murray Ewing
Paul Finch
Christopher Fowler
Matthew Fryer
Stephen Gallagher
Cate Gardner
R B Harkess
Ian Hunter
Wilf Kelleher Jones
Jasper Kent
Joel Lane
Stephen Laws
Mark Lewis
Alison J Littlewood
Steve Lockley
Graham Masterton
Peter Mark May
Geoff Nelder
Kim Newman
Stan Nicholls
Martin Owton
Cas Peace
John Llewellyn Probert
Tina Rath
Steven Savile
Robert Shearman
Jim Steel
Sam Stone
Deborah Walker
Conrad Williams

Bloggin' all over the world!

2011-07-29T09:11:00.004+01:00

The Alchemy Writers have been putting themselves about a bit online lately -

First up - Open House month on Steve Lockley's Confessions of a Technophobe blog, where you can find Jan Edwards asking Do We Dare To Comment?, Debbie Bennett talking about When Too Much is Not Enough, and Sam Stone discussing The Changing Face of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Series.

Debbie can also be found over on the You're Booked crime writers blog where she's talked about The Nature of Violence, the importance of a good cover, Self Publishing and E-Books, why she decided to publish her novels as Kindle editions and The Struggle of Getting Published.

Debbie also regularly blogs on the Kindle Authors UK blog too.

Zombie Jan

2011-07-23T14:53:00.002+01:00

News hot off the wossname! Massive congrats to Alchemy member Jan Edwards who has just heard that her story Midnight Twilight has been accepted for the upcoming anthology Alt Zombie. Edited by Peter Mark May, Alt Zombie will be coming out from Hersham Horror Books in April 2012.

More details when we get 'em!

Rumours of the Marvellous

2011-07-10T14:58:00.000+01:00

Peter Coleborn's Alchemy Press is due to start publishing again this year, with a short story collection by the brilliant Peter Atkins.

Jan Goes Full Fathom Forty!

2011-07-03T06:23:00.003+01:00

The very excellent Jan Edwards has just had confirmation that her story The Ballad of Lucy Lightfoot will be published in the British Fantasy Society's anniversay anthology Full Fathom Forty.

FFF will be launched at this year's Fantasycon in Brighton and will be available to both members and non-members.

Huge congrats to our Jan! \o/

Award Nominated Alchemy!

2011-06-30T18:32:00.002+01:00

The British Fantasy Society Awards shortlist is now out and Alchemy members Jan Edwards and Sam Stone have both made the finals!

Jan is nominated for the Best Short Story category for her story Otterburn, which appeared in the Christmas edition of Estronomicon here.

Sam is nominated for both the Best Novel category, for Demon Dance; and Best Short Story for Fool's Gold which appeared in the Newcon Press anthology The Bitten Word and can be read here.

Huge congrats to both. (Alchemy for the win!)

Sam on Tour!

2011-05-23T11:16:00.005+01:00

New Alchemy member Sam Stone is out and about promoting her Zombie and Vampire books - for more info on everything, check out her blog here!

For Zombies in New York and Other Bloody Jottings - Sam's short fiction and poetry collection - you can find her at the following places:

Preston Waterstones, 4th June. 12-4pm
Wigan Waterstones, 11th June 12-4pm
Cambridge Waterstones, 23rd July 2-5pm
Manchester Deansgate Waterstones, 30th July 2-5pm
Claudia Con Uk, 13th August - ALL DAY
London Date 27th August TBA

After that, the almighty Vampire Gene Tour starts, celebrating the launch of Hateful Heart, the next book in Sam's fabulous series...

You can catch Sam at:

The Asylum Steampunk Weekend, Lincoln. 9th-11th Sept - ALL WEEKEND
LLandudno Waterstones, 17th Sept, 12-4pm
Warrington Waterstones, 24th Sept, 12-4pm Sci-Fi/Fantasy Day.
FantasyCon, 30th Sept - 2nd Oct, ALL WEEKEND

Mike in Postscripts

2011-04-26T08:03:00.002+01:00

We now have confirmation that Mike's story 'Saving Prince Romero' will be in issue 26/27 of PS Publishing's Postscripts – Unfit for Eden. Possibly coming out sometime around July...

Mike's Dragon

2011-04-11T11:38:00.001+01:00

News hot of the press - our Mike Chinn has just had his story 'Sons of the Dragon' accepted for an upcoming edition of the new Kimota e-zine.

More details when we get them!

Debbie on Kindle

2011-04-09T13:06:00.002+01:00

If you want to get hold of some of Debbie Bennett's fictionary goodness, our Debs has two books out on Kindle...

Hamelin's Child - a powerful crime thriller.

And a truly excellent short story collection - Maniac and Other Stories

Get both - you know you want to!

Mike is Morpheus!

2011-04-04T07:13:00.003+01:00

And congrats to our Mike too! He's had his story 'Cold Rain' accepted for the Morpheus Tales Urban horror special.

More news on that as we get it!

Jan's Alt-Dead

2011-04-04T07:07:00.003+01:00

Congratulations to Alchemy member Jan Edwards! Her story 'The Clinic' will be appearing soon in the Hersham Books anthology Alt-Dead.

The full line up of the book is:

The Shufflers by Steven Savile & Steve Lockley
The Men in High Castles by Ian Woodhead
Mr Huxton goes Camping by Mark West
Last Supper by Dave Jeffery
A Real Buried Treasure by Stuart Neild
Shape without Form, Shade without Colour by Steve Bacon
In Bits by R. J. Gaulding
Running with the Dead by Zach Black
Z Cruise by Katherine Tomlinson
Fisher of Men by Adrian Chamberlin
The Clinic by Jan Edwards
Unfinished Business by Stuart Hughes
Talk Show by Richard Barber
Everybody Floats by Gary McMahon
Till Death Do Us Part by Stuart Young
The Jacket by Johnny Mains

Rock on our Jan! ;-P

Mike Chinn, the Robot Kid

2011-01-15T13:55:00.000Z

If you've not seen it, Alchemy Writers' member Mike Chinn was interviewed by Stu Young about Mike's work on comics. The interview is available here.

Jan's Xmas Estronomicon

2010-12-25T08:34:00.003Z

Big congrats to Alchemy member Jan Edwards who has a story in the Xmas Edition of Estronomicon! Check out Otterburn here!

Wildstacks - Issue One!

2010-12-24T14:26:00.003Z

Oh yes! Wildstacks #1 is now live!

Cover illo by Sunila Sen-Gupta

Fiction line up:

PATCHES
By Rob Shearman

TO INFER IS HUMAN
By Rod Rees

THE FAMILY ROOM
By Nicholas Royle

NOT A MOMENT TO SWOON
By Ian Whates

CHASING WATERFALLS
By Andrew Hook

SALTUS LUNAE
By Kari Sperring

WASHING OF THE WATERS
By Marion Pitman

LANTERN JACK
By Christopher Fowler

Mike's Dark Valentine

2010-12-09T14:17:00.002Z

Our Mike has made another sale! Woot! His story Only the Lonely will be appearing in the Spring issue of Dark Valentine. More news as and when we get it!

Debbie on the Publishing Struggle

2010-11-19T13:34:00.002Z

Alchemy member Debbie Bennett has published a guest blog post talking about the struggle of getting published, found, for your reading pleasure, on the Harrogate International Festival website. Go see!

Mike Makes You Flinch

2010-11-19T13:31:00.003Z

Alchemy member Mike Chinn will be having his story Cheechee's Out published in the upcoming Made You Flinch Anthology. Made You Flinch will be an anthology of two volumes produced by the Library of Horror, full table of contents and ordering information to be revealed at a later date so we'll let you know as and when...

Congrats to that Mike!

Wild Stacks!

2010-10-31T09:10:00.004Z

The Alchemy Press is coming out of hibernation to bring to you: Wild Stacks! A brand new online magazine of genre fiction goodness. Issue #0 is up now with stories from Allen Ashley, Anne Gay and Mike Chinn and Issue #1 will hit the interwebs in a couple of months time.

Meanwhile, submissions are open so get your stories in!

Alchemy Press is brought to you by Alchemy Writers Jan Edwards and Peter Coleborn; with Wild Stacks edited by Pete, ably assisted by Jan and Alchemy Writers Jenny Barber, Debbie Bennett and Mike Chinn.

Tomorrow, the multiverse! Mwa ha ha!

Jan's New Blog

2010-10-12T07:28:00.001+01:00

Our Jan now has a new internet presence - pop on over and see how talented she is!

Alchemy in October

2010-10-01T19:54:00.001+01:00

For all those Alchemy Writers who have managed to recover from Fantasycon (and those few who haven't!), don't forget that Saturday 9th October sees the next meeting of our merry crew.

Story challenge for the month is a Halloween/Samhain/similar festival of your choice story of around 3000 words.

See you there!

Jan gets Ethereal

2010-09-06T17:11:00.003+01:00

Our Jan does it again!

Jan's story Winter Eve has been accepted for Ethereal Tales #9 - the Halloween special issue which will be published 30th October.

Big cheers for the fabulous Jan!

Jan's April Love (and other stories)

2010-08-29T20:28:00.003+01:00

Jan's story April Love will be available online for download from 3rd september with a superb illustration by Dutch artist Shannon van Muijden. Find it in Dark Valentine Magazine here.

Other fiction from Jan coming up in September/October:

Appearing in Twisted Tongue #17 is a flash fiction piece called Eve Watch.

And Jan's short story May Day Comes Askew will be appearing in Tales of the Greenmantle #2.

Jenny interviews Aliette de Bodard

2010-08-13T12:09:00.002+01:00

Awesome fantasy writer Aliette de Bodard was interviewed recently by Alchemy member Jenny Barber. The interview will be appearing in Dark Horizons #57 in September and an extract can be found on the BFS website here!

Not only that, but two lucky winners can get their hands on a copy of de Bodard's debut novel Servant of the Underworld by entering the competition at the end of the interview! How can you miss that?

Jan goes Greenmantle!

2010-08-08T08:00:00.001+01:00

More awesome publishing news! Alchemy Writer Jan Edwards is having her story Mayday published in Greenmantle Magazine in September, with a follow up story commissioned for the next issue!

Very cool!

Chills & Winter Chills

2010-07-28T16:56:00.001+01:00

For a decade, Peter Coleborn edited and co-edited (with Simon MacCulloch) ten issues of Winter Chills/Chills for the British Fantasy Society -- the magazine dropped the "winter" with issue 5. A history of this magazine is currently appearing on the Alchemy Press blog.

Jan's Good Neighbour

2010-07-28T13:06:00.002+01:00

And for those of you on Authonomy, for a cracking piece of fantasy fiction, check out Alchemy member Jan Edwards and her excellent novel Good Neighbour

So what's it all about?

Ally Morgan is 17 and she has lived with her American mother in Texas for most of her life. Ally’s mother is killed in a hit and run accident. Then her missing father is found dead. Ally learns that her father was one of the Fey Folk, but believes herself to be human. When she arrives at Tegleigh Manor, in Sussex, there are several attempts to kill or kidnap her, and she soon begins to learn just what she must and can do to survive. Taking her father’s body through a portal in the nearby Hill she enters a new world of intrigue and power plays. The Fey Queen does not believe Ally is who she is said to be. Meanwhile, the Pwca (trickster) is hiding out in the family cellar claiming he owed her father his life. With two young Fey friends, Sian and Turi, Ally sets out to discover who killed her parents and is now attempting to steal her birthright. This is the first book in a proposed YA series about Ally and her Clan.

That link again ... read me!

Mike goes Appalachian

2010-07-22T10:05:00.003+01:00

Huge congrats to Alchemy member Mike Chinn whose story The Appalachian Collection is due to be published in the Pill Hill Press anthology: BACK TO THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE: More Horror in Rural America (edited by Jessica A. Weiss & Jessy Marie Roberts). The tentative release date is September 2010 - more news when we get it!

Heroic Fantasy Quarterly

2010-07-10T18:45:00.001+01:00

Possible market for your heroic fantasy tales. From their website:

"Welcome to the one-year anniversary issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly! One year of adventure, action, and arcane magic. One year of broadswords, short swords, long swords, lust, love, loss, revenge, romance, dragons, goats, stoats, and all points in between. We’ve had stories nominated for international awards while surviving tornadoes, hailstorms from hell, floods, escapes from New York, and soccer tournaments — we and our ISP — won’t be stopped! And all the while we’ve stayed true to our primary goals of publishing on schedule and finding cool tales to stoke the resurgence of adventure fantasy/sword and sorcery."

Jan's Dark Valentine

2010-07-08T07:22:00.002+01:00

More hot publishing news from the Alchemy cabal!

Alchemy member Jan Edwards will be having her story April Love published in Issue 2 of Dark Valentine.

Rock on, that Jan! :-)

Ace in the Hole: short story

2010-07-07T18:21:00.000+01:00

If you missed it when originally published in The Paladin Mandates by Mike Chinn, you can read one of the stories on the Alchemy Press blog.

Piper at the Gates of Fantasy

2010-07-07T18:18:00.000+01:00

Just in case you're interested, I'm starting to post to my blog again. I doubt that I'll have time to post long, serious commentaries -- just snippets of news and stuff.

Jen on Authonomy

2010-07-06T14:14:00.002+01:00

Alchemy member Jenny Barber now has a book up on Authonomy! (Well, the first five chapters of it...)

The book: Taurus

The pitch: Karis was content to live a life of raiding the waters around Marigan. Until a distress call from her human sister brings her against the might of the Gethine Alliance and the secrets they’ve uncovered in the ghost city of Sagara.

Amy Morgan was only supposed to recover a sword from a maze. One pack of Minotaurs later and she finds herself caught up in a new world where mermaid-pirates hunt the seas, her friends are captured and there’s all manner of trouble waiting for her if she can find her way home.

Kassia was looking for adventure, but an expedition to Sagara gives her more adventure than she ever imagined when she finds something that the violent Gethine Alliance has spent years searching for.

But surviving the Alliance’s attentions is easy compared to what’s waiting for them back on Earth.

That link again.. read me read me read me!

Mike's Parlour Games

2010-06-15T11:41:00.005+01:00

And now for some Alchemy Fiction! (Wahey!)

About the story:
Last year Mike's story 'Parlour Games' was published in the now out-of-print anthology Tales from the Smoking Room - edited by Benedict J Jones and VC Jones and published by Hand of Danjou Press.

In Parlour Games, we get the the return of Mike's popular character, Damian Paladin - Mike says:

'It wasn’t intended to be a Damian Paladin story as such – but Paladin’s been around in one guise or another for quite some time, and I’ve always had a small, thinly-disguised repertory company of characters popping up in my fiction (something I picked up from Michael Moorcock). It felt like the thing to do: why invent another expert on the occult and weird when you already have one to hand.

'I had no particular author or influence in mind – although I suspect Arthur Conan Doyle and MR James weren’t buried too deeply in my subconscious (James especially – since his ghostly tales were originally told from the brandy-warmed glow of a cosy, English university don’s study). Plus I’ve always enjoyed that typical late nineteenth century style of fiction – with its use of language and broad vocabulary.'

And so, for your reading pleasure, here it is!

PARLOUR GAMES
Mike Chinn

I slip my watch from its pocket and compare it to the smoking room’s mantle clock. Both agree that midnight is still several minutes away. Putting the watch back I catch Burgess’s eye: it appears that he too has been watching the time. Burgess shrugs his massive white eyebrows quite expressively, and draws on his cigar. We are both thinking the same, I imagine.

Almost midnight – and still no hint of whatever entertainment Rees-Franklin has planned for us. Every month the Rees-Franklins host a select dinner – just Burgess, Wyatt and I. All excellent evenings, to be sure. Mrs Rees-Franklin is an excellent hostess, her fine features still exhibiting much of the beauty for which she was so renowned in her youth; but to be frank, her husband is a little dull: his opinions and politics safe and conservative. The man never had, in my esteem, an original thought in his life.

However, two months ago they introduced some truly remarkable after-dinner amusements. I cannot conceive the idea was his – far too singular. Mrs Rees-Franklin, perhaps, although I think I detect the mischievous hand of their delightful daughter, Trudy. Word has already spread throughout local society; the Rees-Franklins are suddenly the talk of the county.

Last month they hired an excellent illusionist who astounded us with sleight of hand, a baffling mind reading trick, and a startling finale involving a clockwork mannequin and a quite gruesome vanishing trick – very much in the new Grand-Guinol style – for which Trudy volunteered. I confess that I was more than a little relieved when she stepped forth at the end – none the worse – over the dismembered mannequin. I believe I applauded the loudest of all. And the month before it had been a genuine medium – or so they insisted – and we spent a jolly evening among knocking tables, spirit guides, and trying to guess exactly who was rattling the ghostly tambourine. Even the ladies joined in.

But it is looking increasingly unlikely they will be rejoining us this evening. It is almost certain Mrs Rees-Franklin – along with Trudy – will have retired for the night. We men have been abandoned to our cigars and brandy.

I glance at the clock again: bare seconds have passed since last I checked; midnight is as far away as ever. The evening is becoming interminable.

I stand, making my way to the brandy decanter and pouring a generous splash into my snifter. As I do so, it occurs to me that we are one short. Rees-Franklin has an extra guest tonight – the natural curse of sudden popularity, perhaps – a gentleman he introduces as one Demyan Andreivich Pravdinski. Despite his Russian name, his features more resemble that of the Mediterranean breed. His dress and manners, however, are impeccable, and his knowledge of the world quite remarkable.

“I say – what happened to that Russian fellow?” I ask the room in general.
Everyone glances at his neighbour, drink and cigars lowered.

“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Wyatt mutters. He smoothes his magnificent side whiskers.

“He slipped out just after the ladies were excused,” Burgess says. He’s an astute chap, Burgess; little gets past him. “Quiet as you like.”

“Well now,” I ask our host. “Has our mysterious guest fled?”

Rees-Franklin smiles; it stretches his round, shiny face to the point of bursting. “Mr Pravdinski is still in the house, gentlemen. I understand he had some matters to attend to.”

“Damned irregular,” Wyatt complains. He heaves himself to his feet and helps himself to more brandy and a second cigar – though his complexion is already quite ruddy. “Slipping away like some Hottentot…”

“Indeed.” Burgess puffs on his own cigar. He resembles a powerful locomotive cresting a hill after an arduous climb. “Like a thief in the night, what…?” He glances towards me – in acknowledgement of my perspicacity, I hope.

I find myself laughing with no little sense of delight. “Is he this evening’s amusement?” I ask Rees-Franklin. The man just smiles back: maddeningly so.

“What?” Burgess joins in the merriment. “Just what can we expect, R-F? Something so risqué we have to wait for the ladies to be sound asleep?”

“I knew it!” huffs Wyatt. “Knew the fellow was some form of blackguard!” Over dinner, talk had naturally turned to the Second Boer War – a subject about which this Pravdinski had proven to be surprisingly knowledgeable. It quickly became obvious that he was no admirer of either Mr Rhodes or the British South Africa Company; Wyatt was predictably outraged.

“I can assure you Pravdinski is neither blackguard nor some kind of degenerate,” Rees-Franklin says in his level way. “He is possessed, however, of the most remarkable talents.”

“Another illusionist,” Burgess smiles. “I hope he’s not as gruesome as the last fellow –quite turned me stomach…” His grin and twinkling eyes belie his words.
Rees-Franklin crushes his cigar and looks thoughtful. “Pravdinski is no stage magician, I believe. His recommendation comes from the highest level. If I revealed just how high—.” His glance flickers to the door which is swinging open. “And here is the man, if I’m not very much mistaken.”

“Speak of the devil…,” Wyatt mutters.

Pravdinski steps into the smoking room, carrying a worn carpet bag. He smiles at us in turn, nodding a brief bow to each. At dinner, I saw that Trudy was quite smitten by his swarthy looks. I feel myself bristling.

“Are your preparations complete?” Rees-Franklin enquires.

“Thank you, yes.” Pravdinski’s voice is well-modulated and strangely accentless. In society, he could easily pass for the very best sort of Englishman.

He places his threadbare bag on the polished floor and opens it. I expect him to produce – with a vulgar flourish – some kind of outlandish apparatus. Instead, he removes a few lengths of cord, a bowl, fresh candles, and a small black jar that is covered in gold symbols. I’m reminded of Chinese and Japanese pottery, which it closely resembles.

Pravdinski places his odd collection on a small table and arranges it carefully: the candles forming a square with the bowl and jar at its centre. The cords he drops carelessly on the table top.

“Do you have a match?” he asks. Burgess leaves his armchair, offering the man his box of lucifers. Pravdinski lights the candles, handing Burgess the matches back as he extinguishes the used one. Then he takes another item from his bag: a clear bottle – rather like a medicine flat – almost filled with an opalescent liquid. Uncorking the bottle, he pours its contents into the bowl. The room is filled with a pungent smell – not unlike carbolic, but underlined with a faint, putrid tang.

“What’s this?” says Burgess, returning to his chair. “Black magic?”

“What?” Wyatt twitches in his chair, like a man awakening from a momentary nap. “Magic you say? Surely not again! Your humour grows too pawky, old man.”
Pravdinski smiles at them both. “Humour me, gentlemen. Let us call it … a calming ritual, if you like. No more the purview of magic than, let us say, an Anglican Mass.”

Wyatt harrumphs loudly but says nothing.

The Russian steps back from his make-shift altar, smoothing his coat lapels. He is silent for a moment.

“Mr Rees-Franklin invited me here after becoming aware of my reputation,” he says eventually.

“Damn me,” chuckles Burgess. “He’s some kind of after-dinner speaker…!”
Rees-Franklin holds up a hand for silence, and Burgess subsides.

Pravdinski bows and continues. “I am aware of his monthly entertainments, and their nature. He believed – as did you all, I am certain – that such things are quite harmless.”

I feel obliged to object. “What? Simple table-rapping and overly-theatrical tricks? Where is the harm?”

Pravdinski stares at me. His gaze is cold and measuring; I feel sure Trudy would not like him so much now. “In themselves, none. Most séances – such as yours – are quite fake; Grand-Guinol theatricality an exercise in quick and cheap scares. It is when such performances are combined with what went before.” He steps closer to the table; his eyes have not left me. “I note you failed to mention what happened three months ago.”

I laugh again. “Three months ago? There was nothing three months ago.” I turn to look at Wyatt, Burgess and Rees-Franklin. All are looking at me coolly.

“You remember, old man,” says Burgess. His huge eyebrows droop over his eyes, masking them. “R-F hired that Hindu chap to perform some kind of exorcism…”

“Damned nonsense,” Wyatt huffs. “Thought you needed a ghost first.”

“You were told it would be the Kathmarti Ritual, I believe?” Pravdinski asks.
Rees-Franklin nods heavily.

“A cleansing ritual rather than an exorcism,” continues the Russian. “In skilled hands a worthy practise, leaving house and inhabitants spiritually purged. But the man you employed was as much a charlatan as the medium who would amuse you all the next month. Rather than banishing any and all evil presences – he invited one in.”
Wyatt barks a derisory laugh. I join in. Oddly, Burgess and Rees-Franklin remain soberly quiet.

“I think I should recall such a spectacle,” I say. I wonder if I missed one of the dinners. It’s inconceivable that Rees-Franklin would fail to invite me; I’ve certainly never turned one down. “Come now,” I add, as cheerfully as possible, “confess to the joke…”

“No joke, my dear chap,” says Rees-Franklin carefully. “At least—.” He pauses, seeming unable to continue.

Wyatt clears his throat and takes a great interest in his brandy glass.

“What R-F is trying to say,” Burgess interjects, his veiled eyes reflecting fire from his cigar, “is that whatever humour there may be in the situation is certainly not of our creation.”

“You went over the entire house?” Rees-Franklin asks Pravdinski.

The Russian nods. “Thoroughly. There are traces to be found everywhere, of course. Little more than hints for the most part.”

“For the most part?” Rees-Franklin repeats. I have indulged too well in the brandy, and his pedantry makes me irritable. I begin to feel as flushed as Wyatt’s face, and loosen my collar.

“The greatest concentration is – as I feared – in your daughter’s room” Pravdinski is saying.

I start at the Russian’s words. He has been prying in Trudy’s room?

“Is this appropriate behaviour?” I exclaim. “Allowing a stranger access to Trudy’s bedroom?”

“Pravdinski has been nowhere except at my express wishes,” Rees-Franklin says. “It is not his behaviour we find questionable.”

“Then whose?” I unknot my tie. The room has grown too oppressive; the fumes from the Russian’s damnable concoction are thick and cloying. I can scarcely breathe.

“My daughter worshipped you,” Rees-Franklin murmurs. His voice is calm and measured; the sudden emotion in his eyes is not. “Damn it all – she still does! Once I would have been delighted to accept you as a son-in-law. But now—!”

“Now?” I can scarcely believe what I am hearing. Is the man drunk? I grip the arms of my chair, willing my breathing to settle; praying my racing heart will calm. “What have I done? I have always behaved impeccably towards your daughter!”

“That is why I find this so difficult.” He will not meet my eyes.

“Steady, R-F,” Burgess mutters.

Wyatt looks as uncomfortable as I feel. “What is all this?” he demands.

Pravdinski is pressing on with his point as though no of us has spoken. I find it hard to catch his words – there is a painful thrumming in my ears. “The failed Kathmarti Ritual brought something into the house. It could not survive as an uncorporeal force. It needed a host; we know it found one.”

I glance in Wyatt’s direction. His whiskers are pale against his crimson features. “It cannot be!” I say.

“Of course not!” The Russian is scathing. “Who in this room cannot remember more than two months back – the time when I believe the summoned thing fully awakened? Who in this room nurtures an unrequited lust for Trudy Rees-Franklin – a desire the creature delights in satisfying…”

“No!” I find the strength to stand, pushing against my chair with quivering arms.

“What utter filth! What rot! That is simply not true!”

“What is true is that during daylight hours, Miss Rees-Franklin cannot remember the terrors of the night—.”

“Thank the Lord,” sobs Rees-Franklin. Burgess pats his shoulder.

“This is madness!” I cry. I try to roar my outrage – but I am too weak. There is no air, yet I am burning up.

“Her ordeal remains only as a vague, formless horror,” the Russian presses on, merciless. “And even that is no match against the love she holds for you: her disbelief buries the unspeakable thoughts deeper still. She denies them. The creature chose its host well.”

I collapse back into my chair. I am hallucinating – for I see a lurid mist begin to boil from the Russian’s bowl of liquid. Within that mist I see a face: my face. It is a gaunt mask, contorted with rage.

I scream – but it is not my voice. That sound could never be my voice!
Pravdinski and Burgess are either side of me. I never see them move. The Russian’s cords are lashed around my wrists and ankles. I am bound to the chair. I writhe uselessly, and another roar of fury escapes my lips.

“Steady, old man,” I hear Burgess say. “It’s for your own good.”
Pravdinski is holding the bowl – bringing it closer. The raging face howls mutely in the vapours. I feel its terrible anger bellow from my throat in perfect synchrony with its lips.

“Hold him!” the Russian commands. Burgess tightens his grip. He is joined by Rees-Franklin and a bemused Wyatt. All three bear down on me.
Pravdinski places the bowl at my feet. I want to kick it over – send its noxious contents across the floor – but I am bound too securely. As the Russian comes to his feet, he removes something from within his coat; it glimmers in the candlelight.

The mantle-clock begins to chime midnight. The evening’s entertainment finally begins.

-

Mike is Doomed!

2010-05-19T12:40:00.003+01:00

Our Mike has sold another story! This time it's Hell Freezes Over which will be appearing in the anthology Doomology: The Dawning of Disasters. Doomology is edited by Bill Tucker and Wayne Goodchild and will be published by the Library of Science Fiction & Fantasy Press (date TBA).

Guess we know who's buying the drinks today!

Jan is reaching New Horizons

2010-05-16T07:05:00.002+01:00

Big congrats to our Jan, who has just had her story Grey Magic for Cat Lovers accepted for publication in the British Fantasy Society's magazine New Horizons.

Her story will be appearing in the Summer 2011 issue...

Mike is Null Immortalis

2010-05-05T20:19:00.002+01:00

And big congrats to young Mr Chinn as he's made another sale. His story A Matter of Degree will be appearing in Null Immortalis (Nemonymous #10). Publication date to be announced soon!

Three for the Price of One!

2010-04-06T14:21:00.002+01:00

This month you will find not one, not two, but three (yes, three!) Alchemy-ites in one lovely publication. Dark Horizons #56 (courtesy of the British Fantasy Society) hosts the excellent poem 'Quest' by Jan Edwards and Peter Coleborn, as well as a guest editorial on gender balance in the BFS by Jenny Barber.

If you're not already a BFS member, Dark Horizons is definitely a good reason to take the plunge... :-)

The Bitter End

2010-03-06T12:42:00.004Z

And for those of you waiting to read Mike Chinn's excellent 'Welcome to the Hotel Marianas', the Pill Hill Press anthology The Bitter End: Tales of Nautical Terror is out now! Read all about it here!

-Edited to add... and the lovely Mike talks about the story in his latest blog post here!

Write Fantastic is 5!

2010-02-21T09:12:00.002Z

To celebrate the Write Fantastic's fifth anniversary of awesomeness, that lovely band of writer peeps will be hosting a funky event in Oxford. Details are here!

Not only that, but they've welcomed four excellent writers into the WF fold - Kari Sperring, Ian Whates, Freda Warrington and Liz Williams.

Rock on!

Alt-Fiction News

2010-02-21T09:10:00.002Z

Alt Fiction fans will be pleased to note that not only is it on this year, but the star studded line up has begun to take shape! Check out the details here!

Mike's Raw Terror!

2010-02-21T09:01:00.004Z

And yes, what you've all been waiting for! :-) The Read Raw Press Anthology: Raw Terror, is available to buy right now! Yes! Right now! Check it out here.

Its primary selling point is, of course, the fact that Alchemy member Mike Chinn has a story entitled 'Kittens' in it... :-)

Nicki's New Blog

2010-02-21T08:57:00.002Z

Alchemy Member Nicki Robson has a new blog here!

Gemmell Award News

2009-11-04T07:48:00.000Z

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."

Another Sale for Mike!

2009-11-04T07:33:00.003Z

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!

Spotlight on Debbie

2009-10-07T12:28:00.003+01:00

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.

The Right Honourable Chinn

2009-10-04T09:10:00.003+01:00

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.

Support Our 'Zines Day!

2009-10-01T09:41:00.005+01:00

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

BFS Short Story Competition

2009-09-26T08:59:00.003+01:00

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!

BFS Awards

2009-09-26T08:54:00.003+01:00

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)

Fantasy Magazine Needs Slush Readers

2009-09-12T11:00:00.003+01:00

The very fabulous Fantasy Magazine is in need of some slush readers. If you can spare 5 - 10 hours a month and want to find out more, check out their website for more details,

All about Mike

2009-09-05T06:45:00.007+01:00

It's almost time for Dark Horizons #55 to hit the streets and not only is our Mike's story: Sailors of the Skies in it, but it's the cover story! Behold, Arthur Wang's view into young Mr Chinn's mind...

Mike talks about the return of Damian Paladin on his blog here.

And if, like any sane person in the universe, you can't wait to get yourself some Paladin goodness, there's an extract of Mike's story Ace in the Hole here.

New Award for Short Fantasy

2009-08-22T18:55:00.002+01:00

Following the success of the David Gemmell Legend Award and its celebration of heroic fantasy novels, a completely unrelated group of folks have decided that short heroic fiction deserves its trumpets too.

To that end, presenting: The Ham-Sized Fist Award! The award is for best heroic or sword & sorcery short fiction published during the year, whether in print or online and both the winning author AND the publisher scoop $400 prize money.

To find out how to nominate fiction for 2009, check out their website here.

Hugo Awards

2009-08-10T06:58:00.003+01:00

The Hugo Awards were presented at Worldcon over the weekend... and the lucky winners were:

* Best Novel: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
* Best Novella: The Erdmann Nexus by Nancy Kress
* Best Novelette: Shoggoths in Bloom by Elizabeth Bear
* Best Short Story: Exhalation by Ted Chiang (Eclipse Two)
* Best Related Book: Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998-2008, John Scalzi (Subterranean Press)
* Best Graphic Story: Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colours by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
* Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: WALL-E
* Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
* Best Editor Short Form: Ellen Datlow
* Best Editor Long Form: David G. Hartwell
* Best Professional Artist: Donato Giancola
* Best Semiprozine: Weird Tales, edited by Ann VanderMeer & Stephen H. Segal
* Best Fan Writer: Cheryl Morgan
* Best Fanzine: Electric Velocipede edited by John Klima
* Best Fan Artist: Frank Wu

And the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (presented by Dell Magazines): David Anthony Durham

Mythopoeic Awards

2009-08-06T08:15:00.003+01:00

The Mythopoeic Society have awarded their annual Mythopoeic awards and the lucky winners are:

Award for Adult Literature: Carol Berg for Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone
Award for Children's Literature: Kristin Cashore for Graceling

Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies: John Rateliff for The History of the Hobbit, Part One: Mr. Baggins; Part Two: Return to Bag-end
Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies: Charles Butler for Four British Fantasists

It's especially pleasing to see that women scooped both the literature awards...

Rule One

2009-07-19T09:27:00.001+01:00

We Do Not Talk About Write Club... (that will be all!) :->

Wizard Anthology

2009-07-17T10:05:00.002+01:00

Hot market news! Prime Books will be publishing an anthology of wizard stories in November 2010 and are looking for submissions.

The details are here, but in short:
Length: 5000 words or less.
Submission Period: 1st July 2009 – 31st March 2010.
Payment: 5 cents per word ($250 max), plus a pro-rata share of 50% of the anthology’s earnings and 1 contributor copy.
Submitted electronically.

Editor John Joseph Adams (also assistant editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction) has this to say about the content:

(a) The story should be about a wizard, witch, sorcerer, sorceress, of some kind (basically, any sort of user of magic).

(b) The fact that the story has wizards in it should be vital to the story, i.e., magic should be an important factor in the resolution of the plot.

(c) The wizards should be literal, in that they do actual magic, not like a pinball wizard or something like that.

(d) I’m interested in all types of wizard tales, but am especially interested in seeing some stories that explore the idea of wizardry from a non-traditional viewpoint–i.e., something based on the Chilean Kalku or on the supernatural practices of other cultures.

(e) The story may be set in a secondary world, the real world, the present, or in a historical time period…let your imagination run wild.

Link-mania

2009-07-13T07:21:00.003+01:00

Rachelle Gardner (and a mass of commenters) looks at social networks and how they fit into a writer's life.

Over on Nathan Bransford's blog, there's some guest bloggers talking about Everything You Need To Know About Writing A Novel, In 1000 Words, The Top Seven Things Every Aspiring Author's Website Must Have and the Five Stages of Querying Grief.

Ever wondered just what is meant by 'the same, but different'? Jessica Faust gives her views on The Meaning of Different.

Jane Smith comments on the dangers of responding to reviews and collects some cool links for other pieces in The Author's Big Mistake.

Sarah Monette talks about series fiction in When Last We Left Our Heroes while Alison Kent shares novella tips in Size Does Matter.

Next Meeting

2009-07-12T14:06:00.003+01:00

After a truly fantastic meeting yesterday, verily it has been decided that the next meeting will be 10th October at Alchemy Manor.

The Turing Test Wins Edge Hill Prize

2009-07-09T19:36:00.001+01:00

Chris Beckett's collection, The Turing Test, from Elastic Press, has won the prestigious Edge Hill Short Story Prize, earning Chris a remarkable £5,000 cash prize. The judges said:

"I suspect Chris Beckett winning the Edge Hill Prize will be seen as a surprise in the world of books. In fact, though, it was also a bit of surprise to the judges, none of whom knew they were science fiction fans beforehand. Yet, once the judging process started, it soon became clear that The Turing Test was the book that we'd all been impressed by, and enjoyed, the most - and one by one we admitted it. This was a very strong shortlist, including one Booker Prize winner in Anne Enright, and two authors who've been Booker shortlisted in Ali Smith and Shena Mackay. Even so, it was Beckett who seemed to us to have written the most imaginative and endlessly inventive stories, fizzing with ideas and complete with strong characters and big contemporary themes. We also appreciated the sheer zest of his story-telling and the obvious pleasure he had taken in creating his fiction."

Andrew Hook (publisher of Elastic Press, and editor of the BFS's New Horizons) said: "Naturally, we're very pleased about this." Obviously he is overwhelmed! Copies of the book are still available from Elastic Press. More on the Edge Hill Prize here.

Raw Terror

2009-07-02T11:11:00.002+01:00

Holy Maria! Mike has done it again! His story Kittens has just been accepted for an anthology from Read Raw Press. The book to look for will be Raw Terror, edited by Ian Hunter. No news as yet on when it's out so we'll let you know as and when!

Another DGLA Photo

2009-06-23T12:48:00.005+01:00

And here's the Alchemy Peeps at the DGLA:

From left: Jenny Barber, Jan Edwards, Pat Barber - Photo (c) Peter Coleborn

And of course:

The one and only Peter Coleborn! Photo (c) Jen

DGLA photos

2009-06-23T12:11:00.006+01:00

I have posted many photos on my Flikr site -- and some will appear on the official website as well. The shortlisted authors eached received a mini Snaga (see left; photo (c) Peter Coleborn).

It was a jolly posh do, at a magical venue (well, it would be, wouldn't it?!).

David Gemmell Legend Award

2009-06-21T12:13:00.005+01:00

The David Gemmell Legend Award was presented on the evening of Friday 19th June at the prestigious Magic Circle HQ in London. Alchemy members Peter Coleborn, Jan Edwards, Jenny Barber and Pat Barber were in attendance, with Peter being official Event Photographer! (Photos should appear on the DGLA website soon)

The Legend Award was won by Polish author: Andrzej Sapkowski for his book Blood of Elves, and was accepted on his behalf by Jo Fletcher from Gollancz. Votes came in from 74 different countries and a combined total of over 10,000 votes were collected from the short & long lists.

The event was a celebration of both fantasy as a genre and David Gemmell the legendary author. Anne Nicholls gave a moving tribute, while Stan Nicholls and Debbie Miller MC-ed and held the night together.

The ceremony was opened by a powerful rendition of A Call to Arms, performed by James Barclay. Barclay later acted as auctioneer for the Charity Auction which raised just over £1000 for Gemmell's favourite charity: Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Truly an excellent start for an important genre award.

Book in a Month!

2009-06-19T13:23:00.003+01:00

Stuck in a procrastination loop? Can't wait for Nanowrimo to roll around? Then have I got the thing for you!

Over on Genreality, Sasha White has proposed a Book in a Month (ish) challenge. Starting now, you have until July 31st to get to the end of the first draft of your book project. Or else! And like Nanowrimo, the goal is to switch your internal editor off and get those words down...

See you at the finishing line!

More Alchemy on Authonomy

2009-06-13T19:39:00.004+01:00

And Alchemy diva Debbie has added another book to Authonomy! Cherry Picks is a collection of her previously published short stories which have appeared in various small press and larger independent anthologies and also women's magazines. Some have won awards and competitions and one was "highly commended" by American Goddess of fantasy fiction Ellen Datlow.

Link-tastic

2009-06-13T11:26:00.003+01:00

Some more fun things to read...

Fed up with being told your favourite style of fiction isn't selling? Read How Readers Drive Publishing by Jane Smith.

Every wondered how to handle being a writer at a Con? Rachelle Gardner's got a few pointers in her Recovering From A Writers Conference post.

Over on Storytellers Unplugged, Gerald Houarner spills his brain and give you Notes from the Front.

Jane Smith talks about Problems with Logic while Jessica Faust give her thoughts on the concept You Have No Business Writing.

And finally, for some light relief, check out 5 Kickass Lessons Books Could Learn From The Movies by Robert Brockway.

More from Mike!

2009-06-10T08:25:00.002+01:00

More congrats and bottles of booze to Mr Chinn. Mike's story - Parlour Games - is soon to be appearing in the anthology Tales from the Smoking Room. TftSR is a themed anthology of Victorian/Edwardian horror and is available from the publisher on Ebay. Link here!

The line up for the anthology is:

The Strangled Garden - Stephen Bacon
Room Three - Matthew Crossman
The Iron Ape - Mark Harding
The Decent Thing - VC Jones
Parlour Games - Mike Chinn
Serendipity - Trudi Topham
A Game of Billiards - Craig Herbertson

Online Short Story Course

2009-06-09T20:14:00.001+01:00

Award winning author Christopher Fowler is currently running an online short story course on his blog... first lesson here!

Next Meeting

2009-06-08T08:37:00.000+01:00

We now have a date for the next Alchemy Meeting... Saturday 11th July at the Alchemy Cats-Have-Eaten-The-Aliens House.

And as a reminder, the story challenge for the July meet is: Write a story including/inspired by one of the following sentences:

And Jonathan jerks up from the floor screaming.

Cold darkness is comforting.

Just like in fairytales.

(For bonus points, include all three!)

Ditmar Awards

2009-06-08T08:02:00.002+01:00

This weekend the Ditmars were announced at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention. (Natcon)

Live coverage was provided by Cheryl Morgan on the Science Fiction Awards Watch site.

A. Bertram Chandler Award
Rosaleen Love

William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism and Review
Kim Wilkins, “Popular genres and the Australian literary community: the case of fantasy fiction” in the Journal of Australian Studies

Best New Talent
Felicity Dowker

Best Professional Achievement
Angela Challis, for Black, the Australian Dark Culture Magazine

Best Fan Production
ASif!, edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Gene Melzack

Best Fan Artist
Cat Sparks for Scary Food Cookbook

Best Fan Writer
Rob Hood, for Undead Backbrain

Best Professional Artwork
Shaun Tan, for Tales from Outer Suburbia

Best Collected Work
Dreaming Again, edited by Jack Dann

Best Short Story
Tie between Margo Lanagan “The Goosle” and Dirk Flinthart “This is not my story” (ASIM #37)

Best Novella/Novelette
“Painlessness” by Kirstyn McDermott

Best Novel
“Tender Morsels” by Margo Lanagan

Peter McNamara Award
Sean Williams

New Australian Award

2009-06-08T07:49:00.002+01:00

It has just been announced that the Australian Science Fiction Foundation will be launching a new award at next years Aussiecon - Aussiecon 4 - also the 68th World Science Fiction Convention, being held in Melbourne on 2nd –6th September 2010.

The award is to be called the The Norma K Hemming Award and is designed to mark excellence in the exploration of themes of race, gender, class and sexuality in science fiction and fantasy, produced in Australia or by Australian citizens.

Find out more about the award here.

Alchemy Art!

2009-06-08T07:42:00.002+01:00

More publishing news - Alchemy member Peter Coleborn will be having a piece of his artwork published in New Horizons #4. The piece will illustrate a short story called 'The Un-Explorers' by Matt Finucane and will hit the streets around December time.

New Horizons is British Fantasy Society Publication edited by the ever lovely Andrew Hook and is given out free to members of the BFS although copies should be available to buy if you're not a member.

British Fantasy Awards Shortlist

2009-06-08T07:38:00.001+01:00

The British Fantasy Society have just released the final shortlist for the BF Awards... The awards will be voted on by members of the British Fantasy Society and Fantasycon and will be presented at Fantasycon on the night of Saturday 19th September in a rather lovely awards do.

Appearance Update

2009-06-08T07:36:00.000+01:00

Our spies in Alchemy Land have discovered that Mike's Postcripts story will be appearing in the Autumn 2010 issue! Woot!