Steve Berman's Blog, page 2

Calls for Submissions

Hello!

So, a couple anthologies that I have been reading stories for have had their deadlines extended. More information can be found here:

http://www.steveberman.com/news/calls_for_submissions

So if you still feel like queering a bit of Edgar Allan Poe or want to write something with evil children in it, you can.

Feel free to share the news.

Best regards,

S

Better or worse?

Fairness in the Lammys

My op-ed piece on the Lammy fiasco ran yesterday. After asking the Advocate to spell my name correctly and noting that they had made one or two baffling edits, I'm still content with the message of the piece.

Of course... it took less than 24 hrs for trolls to purposefully try to twist my words and point. No, I am not advocating that the Lammys reward less deserving books. That entire bit of faulty interpretation comes from my complaint that the overseer of the entire Lammy Awards was also up for two awards himself--that is both gauche and unprofessional in my mind (and many others). Two just-as-deserving books could have been nominated if Labonte had been classy or the Board been responsible and denied allowing any Labone book a spot as a finalist.

And last night one of the judges who revealed to me the mismanagement last year called me up and told me he was willing to go public if I'm called a liar. It may come to that.

500 zombies? No, 500 words

So, to fill in some of the historical cracks remaining in Zombies: Shambling Through the Ages, which I am editing for Prime Books, I am seeking flash fiction tales, 500 words, about ancient zombie encounters. Nothing after 1800 please. Payment will be $50.

Some ideas that need covering:

-- Siege of Numantia had cannibalism
-- Caves at Hönne showed cannibalized remains
-- Antonine Plague in 165–180 AD
-- King Richard I of England dies from gangrene caused by the crossbow wound he received at the siege of Châlus in 1199
-- Bruges Matins in 1302
-- Philip IV of France accuses the Knights Templar of heresy in 1305
-- During ibn Baṭūṭah's travels he warned of cannibals
-- Aztec forces conquer and sack Mitla in 1494
-- Sawney Bean
-- Spánverjavígin in 1615
-- Italian plague of 1629–1631

Hope to get some great anecdotes and vignettes about carnivorous undead.

Bad Seeds

Next July the anthology of wicked tyke tales, Bad Seeds: Evil Progeny I am editing releases from Prime Books.

So far I have stories from Peter Straub ("Blue Rose), Jeffery Ford ("Gaslight"), Michael Reaves ("Make Believe) and Cassandra Clare & Holly Black ("The Perfect Dinner Party) among others. I'm not seeking only reprints, though, and have new work by Will Ludwigsen and Georgina Bruce.

Anyway, if you wish to recommend a short story involving an evil child (the kid must be sinister), feel free to do so. I pay a minimum 1 cent a word for most reprints. And if you are a writer and have something you think would be apt, please send it my way as an RTF file. I'd need to see it before December 1st, though. Payment for original work is roughly 3 cents a word, but if you're that famous, I could budge.

Which cover do you prefer?

Which cover do you like better for the next incarnation of Best Gay Stories?

So...

Last night was one of those nights where I realized that much of my passion for writing has gone. I had meant to work on it, but between the boredome during the daylight hours, returning home to deal with a crushing amoung of Lethe work (and drama, thank you Tor, for being greedy), I just wanted to play Civilization V all night long. When I finally went to bed with a book, an old collection of Civil War ghost stories to see if there was one I might have missed, everything I read was just so awful. It just reinforced the nihilism of writing -- stories may see print, but the book will end up in a used bookstore until cracked open, frowned upon, and discarded.

I'm still stinging from massive betrayals of people who I once considered serious friends. But, my father once told me that people do this all the time, the only person you should ever count on is a) your parents and b) your wife. And now a) is down to one and b) is never going to happen.

Pleased

I'm thrilled to be releasing Will Ludwigsen's second collection of weird and ghostly short stories (with an introduction from Jeffrey Ford)!

So.,..

44 has not been a bad day.

And the gay joke in Paranorman left me laughing.

It's Lethe Press's busiest season... so let's celebrate!