Cate Gardner's Blog, page 9

These Foolish & Harmful Delights

Behold the beauty that is the cover art for my collection 'These Foolish & Harmful Delights'. Cover artist is the immensely talented Daniele Serra, and the publisher is the wonderful Fox Spirit.

More news to follow.

I'm on Fire

Flame Tree Publications have announced several new submission opportunities including After Sundown, an anthology of horror stories edited by Mark Morris and following on from his excellent New Fears  series. As the anthology is mostly invite-only, there are just four spaces up for grabs. The submission period is 21st October to 3rd November. Ideal submission length is about 4000 words.

Well I know what I'll be doing this Halloween... Okay, maybe before, during and freaking-out just after.

Hopefully.

You can also submit to Adventures in Space, an anthology of Chinese and English Science Fiction stories. Pro-rate. 6,000 to 8,000 words. Submission period: 7th October to 20th October. Fire up those space ships.

The Mute Swan

I am delighted to announce that my story The Mute Swan set in my lovely town of Wallasey and New Brighton will appear in Paul Finch's Terror Tales series, Terror Tales of Northwest England.

The anthology (available to pre-order from Amazon) due out on October 1st features stories by Simon Bestwick, Stephen Gallagher, Ramsey Campbell, Paul Finch, Anna Taborska, Simon Kurt Unsworth and John Travis, amongst others.

Here is an extract from my story:

Carys screamed.
Feathers rained from the costume, carpeting the floor with swan. Carys tore at the dress, at the bodice too tight for her expanding frame. The tips of the feathers pricked her arms, as if inking a message on skin, transforming it. Scream hitched against her throat. She coughed blood onto the bones of the dress. If she snapped the bodice, it would cover her front, her burgeoning chest, but little else. She stretched her neck. The scream would not stop.

Entering Wonderland

We're off to London today - my first time since the flare and flyaway collars of the 1970s when I was a wee nipper - for the launch of Marie O'Regan & Paul Kane's latest anthology, Wonderland.

I don't have a story in it.

The Bestwick doesn't have a story in it.

I suspect we are/should be very sad about that, but I am way too delighted that several of my favourite authors are hiding within its pages and they are going to be at the signing. Speaking of that, it's taking place between 12:00 and 13:00 at Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Avenue, which is by the Shaftesbury Theatre and there I go again getting all excited. Following it, the HWA are having a meet-up at The Craft Beer Co. in Covent Garden. You don't have to be a member to attend. At least, I hope you don't as I haven't been a member for years.

We're going to have a fabulous time.

These Foolish & Harmful Foxes

I am delighted to announce that my collection These Foolish & Harmful Delights is to be published by Fox Spirit Books later this year.

This is my second collection (the first is now out of print) and I am very, very excited.

Dear Keeper of Clocks,Your secret is out. There used to b...

Dear Keeper of Clocks,

Your secret is out. There used to be more time in the day and now there isn't. You shaved a little off. Sure the hands on the clocks claim to circumnavigate the


When you started stealing back minutes, I ignored it. But hours.

Concrete Dandelions

I'm delighted to announce that my short story 'In the City of Concrete Dandelions' is now available to read in the Snowbooks anthology 'The Thread of the Infinite: Tales of Industrial Horror', edited by Dean Drinkel and available at the usual places.

The anthology contains stories by Phil Sloman, Steven Saville, Adrian Cole, Marie O'Regan, Adrian Chamberlain, Allen Ashley and Stephanie Ellis.

For Fox Sake Read

So I entered a competition on Twitter via Jo Thomas and Fox Spirit Books and I WON!!!

Behold the awesomeness of the prize - a set of ten Fox Pocket Anthologies and a canvas bag and a badge.

Why it's almost a forest in here...

The first review for The Woods is in over at Kendall Reviews.

Here's a snippet of what they had to say about my story, The Iron Curve of Thorns (head over to Kendall Review to read the rest):

...a fascinating story about ghosts and loss.

I'm very proud of this story and forgot to add in my story notes that part of it was inspired by the awesome 'Where The Wild Roses Grow' by Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue.

British Fantasy Awards 2019

CONGRATULATIONS! to the nominees of this years British Fantasy Awards. You guys rock! (especially my double-nominated little husband)


Best Fantasy Novel (the Robert Holdstock Award)
The Bitter Twins, by Jen Williams (Headline)
Empire of Sand, by Tasha Suri (Orbit)
Foundryside, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Jo Fletcher Books)
The Green Man’s Heir, by Juliet E McKenna (Wizard’s Tower Press)
The Loosening Skin, by Aliya Whiteley (Unsung Stories)
Priest of Bones, by Peter McLean (Jo Fletcher Books)Best Horror Novel (the August Derleth Award)
The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Tremblay (Titan Books)
Little Eve, by Catriona Ward (W&N)
The Way of the Worm, by Ramsey Campbell (PS Publishing)
Wolf’s Hill, by Simon Bestwick (Snowbooks)Best Newcomer (the Sydney J Bounds Award)
Tomi Adeyemi, for The Children of Blood and Bone (Macmillan Children’s Books)
Cameron Johnston, for The Traitor God (Angry Robot)
RF Kuang, for The Poppy War (HarperVoyager)
Tasha Suri, for Empire of Sand (Orbit)
Marian Womack, for Lost Objects (Luna Press Publishing)
Micah Yongo, for Lost Gods (Angry Robot)Best Novella
Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com)
Breakwater, by Simon Bestwick (Tor Books)
The Land of Somewhere Safe, by Hal Duncan (NewCon Press)
The Last Temptation of Dr Valentine, by John Llewellyn Probert (Black Shuck Books)
The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bolander (Tor.com)
The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard (Subterranean Press)Best Short Fiction 
Down Where Sound Comes Blunt, by GV Anderson (F&SF March/April 2018)
Her Blood the Apples, Her Bones the Trees, by Georgina Bruce (The Silent Garden: A Journal of Esoteric Fabulism)
In the Gallery of Silent Screams, by Carole Johnstone & Chris Kelso (Black Static #65)
A Son of the Sea, by Priya Sharma (All the Fabulous Beasts)
Telling Stories, by Ruth EJ Booth (The Dark #43)
Thumbsucker, by Robert Shearman (New Fears 2)Best Anthology
The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea, ed. Ellen Datlow (Night Shade Books)
Humanagerie, ed. Sarah Doyle & Allen Ashley (Eibonvale Press)
New Fears 2, ed. Mark Morris (Titan Books)
This Dreaming Isle, ed. Dan Coxon (Unsung Stories)
Year’s Best Weird Fiction, Vol. 5, ed. Robert Shearman & Michael Kelly (Undertow Publications)Best Collection
All the Fabulous Beasts, by Priya Sharma (Undertow Publications)
The Future is Blue, by Catherynne M Valente (Subterranean Press)
How Long ‘til Black Future Month?, by NK Jemisin (Orbit)
Lost Objects, by Marian Womack (Luna Press Publishing)
Octoberland, by Thana Niveau (PS Publishing)
Resonance & Revolt, by Rosanne Rabinowitz (Eibonvale Press)Best Non-Fiction
The Evolution of African Fantasy and Science Fiction, ed. Francesca T Barbini (Luna Press Publishing)
The Full Lid, by Alasdair Stuart (alasdairstuart.com/the-full-lid)
Ginger Nuts of Horror (www.gingernutsofhorror.com)
Les Vampires, by Tim Major (PS Publishing)
Noise and Sparks, by Ruth EJ Booth (Shoreline of Infinity)Best Independent Press
Fox Spirit Books
Luna Press Publishing
NewCon Press
Unsung StoriesBest Magazine / Periodical
Black Static
Gingernuts of Horror
Interzone
Shoreline of Infinity
Uncanny MagazineBest Audio
Bedtime Stories for the End of the World (endoftheworldpodcast.com)
Blood on Satan’s Claw, by Mark Morris (Bafflegab)
Breaking the Glass Slipper (www.breakingtheglassslipper.com)
PodCastle (podcastle.org)
PsuedoPod (pseudopod.org)Best Comic / Graphic Novel
100 Demon Dialogues, by Lucy Bellwood (Toonhound Studios)
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth, Vol. 1, by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Guy Davis, Tyler Crook & Dave Stewart (Dark Horse)
Hellboy: The Complete Short Stories, Vol. 1, by Mike Mignola and others (Dark Horse)
The Prisoner, by Robert S Malan & John Cockshaw (Luna Press Publishing)
Saga #49-54, by Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
Widdershins, Vol. 7, by Kate AshwinBest Artist
Vince Haig
David Rix
Daniele Serra
Sophie E TallisBest Film / Television Production
Annihilation, Alex Garland
Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Black Panther, Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole
The Haunting of Hill House, Mike Flanagan
Inside No. 9, series 4, Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Phil Lord & Rodney Rothman