Angela Slatter's Blog, page 35

Australia Council announcement

I’m delighted and grateful and humbled and relieved to say that I was fortunate enough to be awarded an Australia Council for the Arts grant for next year.

This in no way represents ‘free money’. What it represents for me, and others, is that we are able to keep going for another year. I was at the end of my tether, I must admit, and about to go back to an office job. Writing careers proceed in fits and starts, there are peaks and troughs; grants like these help us keep going.

My project will be an Australian gothic novel called Blackwater.

The writers and literary organisations list contains quite a few friends and colleagues – including Claire Corbett, Nicole Hayes, Cass Moriarty, Michele Seminara, Omar Sakr and Ellen van Neerven – which is heartening indeed.

Adelaide Festival of Children’s Books
(Peter) James Boyce
Jessie Cole
Claire Corbett
Tricia Dearborn
Nicole Hayes
Abdul Hekmat
Lisa Hills
Zoe Holman
Daniel Keene
Michelle Leber
Bella Li
Cass Moriarty
Liam Pieper
Christine Piper
Omar Sakr
Michele Seminara
Angela Slatter
The Garret Podcast (Astrid Edwards and Nic Brasch)
Ellen van Neerven

Another eight groups received arts projects organisations grants.

Cordite Press
Giramondo Publishing Company
Melbourne University Publishing
NSW Writers’ Centre
Puncher & Wattmann
Spineless Wonders
The Stella Prize
TLB Society

Five projects were awarded development grants for individuals and groups.

Jesse Blackadder
Michael Fikaris
Amanda Murray
Stephanie Van Schilt and Jess O’Callaghan
Ariella Van Luyn

The full list of recipients in all art forms is here.

Proper cover!

This is how The Tallow-Wife novella’s cover will look for the limited edition hardback for Conflux!

I should mention that if you love it and want it (and you KNOW you do), then you need to pre-order. It *is* a limited edition; a few will be available at Conflux, but after that it will be gone, like dust in the wind.

 

Sharp Things

So I’m generally not allowed near sharp objects but in the interests of research I was today given training with several swords.

I needed to get some good info for Restoration, the final Verity book, so I contacted my fave swordswoman, Lois Spangler, about some instruction.

Conversation over breakfast with her and Peter M. Ball started out with the words “How many swords do you have in your car right now?” and never dipped below awesome.

Answer: three.

I like to think of them as emergency swords, but they are in fact practice swords.

Also: new t-shirt.

And yes, Verity Fassbinder gets a sword.

To Bell the Cat: Hellboy

I’ve been hiding this for months! At last it can be revealed! This is the illustration Mike Mignola did for my story in the new Hellboy prose anthology, An Assortment of Horrors.

Home!

I flew in this morning at 6.45am.

I know how neglected this poor blog is, but I promise I will have news just as soon as I stop wanting to nap.

The important thing is that the dogs got their first apple in three weeks.

Hellboy!!!

This bad boy is in stores very soon – go and pre-order!

For this, the fourth Hellboy prose anthology and the first in almost 10 years, editor Christopher Golden decided to recruit only authors who had never published a Hellboy story in prose before. The result is a fresh crop of tales that showcase the depth and richness of the world Mignola has created.

There rest of the review is over here at Cemetery Dance.

And here’s an interview with editor Christopher Golden.

The Sheep of Stenness

So, the tale of the sheep (ram, actually).

We walked into the Stenness enclosure and there are several sheep around the area. There’s this one large ram, which Dr Kim goes over to pat. I stand there watching, and when Kim moves away he fixes me with a gaze and walks determinedly to me. I shifted a bit as I thought “What if he butts?” But no. Just put his head against my thigh for a rub. Patting done, we wandered away to another stone. Juliet joins us. Then we notice Sheepix the Ram wandering towards us.

Kim says “I bet he goes straight to you, Angela.”

I say, “No, don’t be so … Oh gods.”

Sheepix demanding more love.

Then we’re in the car and we start making up stories: He’s your long lost love who was transformed into the shape of a sheep! But you didn’t recognise him! Now he’ll die of a broken heart! No wonder he lay down beside that stone when we left! No, he’ll live forever or until you return to recognise him and give him true love’s kiss! He’ll be a sheep for nine hundred years!

Writers, man. Writers.

Conflux GoH Limited Edition Book!

Greetings from the poor neglected blog! I’m still travelling, but will try to catch up in the next few days.

So, the lovely Tehani of FableCroft is releasing a strictly limited edition chapbook of The Tallow-Wife novella especially for my Conflux GoH spot.

With illustrations by the wonderful Kathleen Jennings.

The details are here.

New Fears has landed!

The new anthology edited by Mark Morris and published by Titan Books has landed in the Titan offices!

New Fears has stories from Alison Littlewood, Stephen Gallagher, Brady Golden, Nina Allan, Brian Keene, Chaz Brenchley, AK Benedict, Brian Lillie, Ramsey Campbell, Carole Johnstone, Sarah Lotz, Adam Nevill, Muriel Gray, Josh Malerman, Conrad Williams, Kathryn Ptacek, Christopher Golden, Stephen Laws and little old me.

The book will be out on September 19, and there will be a signing at the British Fantasy Convention over the weekend beginning September 29.

My story, “No Good Deed”, is a Sourdough world story for those waiting for something like that!

Best New Horror #28

This is #27!

The delightful Mr Stephen Jones is once again producing (in concert with the equally delightful PS Publishing) Best New Horror #28.

I’m very happy to report that he’s taking two of my stories, “Pale Tree House” and “The Red Forest” for the volume!