Tehani Croft Wessely's Blog, page 17

Speaking of book launches…

It occurred to me recently, that given we have Jo Anderton’s launch next weekend, I probably should (finally) post about the OTHER book celebrations we’ve had recently. Well, in the past year. Hmmm, yes, it HAS been a busy 12 months!

First off the rank (gosh, was it really in APRIL last year?!) was the dual launch for The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories by Joanne Anderton and One Small Step, an anthology of discoveries at Conflux, the 2013 Natcon in Canberra in October. We had a great spot in the thoroughfare, and a good time slot too, and it was lovely to see so many con-goers in attendance. Kaaron Warren acted as launcher (for both our books AND Thoraiya Dyer’s Twelfth Planet Press Twelve Planets Collection Asymmetry!), and Joanne, Thoraiya and I said a few words too. Lots of fun!

Photo courtesy of Cat Sparks

Photo courtesy of Cat Sparks

So we had an intimate but fun launch for Dirk Flinthart’s debut novel, Path of Night, way back in November 2013. It’s the first book of ours that has been launched by the local mayor, which was exciting, and the author and cover designer both attended in fine style. Was lovely to meet some of the good people of Scottsdale, and we had a great evening.

Earlier this year, we had a FableCroft Book Party, hosted by the great folks at The Hobart Bookshop. The wonderful Lian Tanner said lovely things about Ink Black Magic and Path of Night, and Tansy and Dirk both got to read some of their novels too. Was a good turnout, particularly for the Sunday afternoon of the long weekend, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Photo by Helen Merrick

Just a few weeks ago (okay, okay, it was nearly two months – goodness me, the year is flying!) we celebrated two wins at the Aurealis Awards, with The Bone Chime Song taking out Best Collection and One Small Step sharing the glory with The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 2012 in the Best Anthology category. With several other FableCroft works on the shortlists, including Path of Night and Ink Black Magic, we had a brilliant night, and enjoyed being able to spend the evening with the best and brightest of Australian spec fic.

Photo courtesy of Cat Sparks

Now we’re gearing up for next weekend’s celebration of Jo’s new book Guardian, and I’m still a bit boggled that it’s been over a year since the launch of The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories! Hopefully it won’t take me so long to blog about the fun we have there… All attendees of Continuum X are welcome to join us for the launch, 4pm on Saturday 7 June. Hope to see you there!

Book launch! Guardian by Jo Anderton!

Join the FableCroft Publishing team at Continuum X in Melbourne to launch Jo Anderton‘s new Veiled Worlds novel, GUARDIAN. Tansy Rayner Roberts will officiate proceedings, Jo will be there to sign books, and there will be prizes, treats and special launch prices available!

We’ll be in “The Big Top” following the Fan Fund Auction and would love to see you there – let us know you’ll be coming by joining the Facebook event page or by commenting below.

FableCroft will have a presence in the Dealer Room most of Saturday and Sunday of the convention, with Slow Glass Books stocking our publications on Friday and Monday – come say hi!

New Who Season Five Report Card

SeeDavid’s S5 Report CardandTansy’s S5 Report Cardthrough the clickies! (See our Season One Report Cardshere,our Season Two Report Cardshere, our Season Three Report Cardshereand our Season Four Report Cards here.)

We would like to thank everyone who nominated our “New Who in Conversation” series for the William Atheling Jr Award again this year – it’s a great honour to be on the ballot! Voting for the annual Ditmar Awards (which the Atheling is included in) is open to all members of Continuum...

Guardian has landed!

The advance copies of Jo Anderton’s new novel Guardian have landed! We’re super excited to see them, because they are GORGEOUS! You can pre-order print copies from all your favourite physical and online retailers, but we are still honouring our pre-order special price (with BONUS ebook content!) which is the absolute cheapest way to get the book! Special pre-order offer ends on June 6, as the book will be officially launched at Continuum in Melbourne that weekend. So get in quick, for the best price (and exclusive Veiled Worlds content delivered straight to your email!).

PRE-ORDER Guardian by Jo Anderton, with exclusive bonus ebook!








With BONUS CONTENT ON ORDER


Print + international post $14.99 AUDEbook $7.99 AUD

Linky goodness!

The award-winning Starship Sofa podcast have worked their podcasty magic on another story from One Small Step – this time, Suzanne J Willis’ story “Number 73 Glad Avenue” has hit the airwaves – take a listen!

Marianne de Pierres’ novel Peacemaker is going to be made into an interactive game! The origins of the Peacemaker series are in the short story “Virgin Jackson”, which was reprinted in FableCroft’s Australis Imaginarium anthology in 2010!

Pozible have posted an interview with us about our Cranky Ladies crowdfunding campaign. Check it out here.

Jo Anderton’s forthcoming book Guardian has been sent to the printer! Official launch will take place at Continuum in Melbourne during the June long weekend. It’s not too late to pre-order your copy (ebook or print) for special introductory price and get bonus exclusive Veiled Worlds content!

The voting for NAFF (National Australian Fan Fund) closes TODAY, and I’m running, with my fan hat on! The fund supports an Australian fan to attend the National Science Fiction and Fantasy convention in Australia (this year that’s Continuum), and I’m really looking forward to being able to attend in that capacity, should I be successful! I can hardly ever get to panels when I go to cons, and being there as NAFF delegate would mean I can do the full convention experience — I’ve also got lots of fun ideas for fundraising for NAFF (part of the delegate’s responsibility), which I’m looking forward to. You can find more information here, and once you’ve read about each candidate, if you’ve got $5 to spare for a vote, it would be appreciated (you don’t have to vote for me — the other candidate is also very worthy, or you can vote to hold over funds for the following year).

Speaking of Natcon, if you are a member of Continuum, or were a member of Conflux last year, you have Ditmar Awards voting rights! It’s a great ballot, so please exercise your democratic rights We have posted some free fiction and discounts on our nominated books and stories, to help you make an informed choice

More Ditmar shortlist special offers!

I think we’re having way too much fun with this. Not only have we offered a bunch of free fiction to celebrate our Ditmar shortlistings, but now we’re discounting books!

For the month of May, the ebooks of Ink Black Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts and The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories by Joanne Anderton are HALF PRICE – that’s less than three dollars each! This special is currently live on Smashwords and Kobo, and Amazon will no doubt follow real soon.

Enjoy!

Ditmar shortlistings!

The annual Ditmar Awards shortlists were announced a few days ago, and we’re absolutely over the moon to have several works feature in various categories, alongside lots of other excellent Australian stuff! To celebrate, we’re offering up some free fiction, including our two shortlisted short stories, samples of Faith Mudge’s wonderful work, and an extract from Tansy Rayner Roberts’ Ink Black Magic. We’ve also linked to Kathleen Jennings’ Illustration Friday posts, as one of her pieces was on the cover of Focus 2012 (and we think she’s awesome…). Click on the highlighted links below to download the samples!

Best Novel

Ink Black Magic, Tansy Rayner Roberts (FableCroft Publishing)
Fragments of a Broken Land: Valarl Undead, Robert Hood (Wildside Press)
The Beckoning, Paul Collins (Damnation Books)
Trucksong, Andrew Macrae (Twelfth Planet Press)
The Only Game in the Galaxy (The Maximus Black Files 3), Paul Collins (Ford Street Publishing)

Best Novella or Novelette

“Prickle Moon”, Juliet Marillier, in Prickle Moon (Ticonderoga Publications)
“The Year of Ancient Ghosts”, Kim Wilkins, in The Year of Ancient Ghosts (Ticonderoga Publications)
“By Bone-Light”, Juliet Marillier, in Prickle Moon (Ticonderoga Publications)
“The Home for Broken Dolls”, Kirstyn McDermott, in Caution: Contains Small Parts (Twelfth Planet Press)
“What Amanda Wants”, Kirstyn McDermott, in Caution: Contains Small Parts (Twelfth Planet Press)

Best Short Story

“Mah-Song“, Joanne Anderton, in The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories (FableCroft Publishing)
“Air, Water and the Grove”, Kaaron Warren, in The Lowest Heaven (Jurassic London)
“Seven Days in Paris”, Thoraiya Dyer, in Asymmetry (Twelfth Planet Press)
“Scarp”, Cat Sparks, in The Bride Price (Ticonderoga Publications)
“Not the Worst of Sins”, Alan Baxter, in Beneath Ceaseless Skies 133 (Firkin Press)
“Cold White Daughter”, Tansy Rayner Roberts, in One Small Step (FableCroft Publishing)

Best Collected Work

The Back of the Back of Beyond, Edwina Harvey, edited by Simon Petrie (Peggy Bright Books)
Asymmetry, Thoraiya Dyer, edited by Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)
Caution: Contains Small Parts, Kirstyn McDermott, edited by Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)
The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories, Joanne Anderton, edited by Tehani Wesseley (FableCroft Publishing)
The Bride Price, Cat Sparks, edited by Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Best Artwork

Cover art, Eleanor Clarke, for The Back of the Back of Beyond by Edwina Harvey (Peggy Bright Books)
Illustrations, Kathleen Jennings, for Eclipse Online (Nightshade Books)
Cover art, Shauna O’Meara, for Next edited by Simon Petrie and Rob Porteous (CSFG Publishing)
Cover art, Cat Sparks, for The Bride Price by Cat Sparks (Ticonderoga Publications)
Rules of Summer, Shaun Tan (Hachette Australia)
Cover art, Pia Ravenari, for Prickle Moon by Juliet Marillier (Ticonderoga Publications)

Best Fan Writer

Tsana Dolichva, for body of work, including reviews and interviews in Tsana’s Reads and Reviews
Sean Wright, for body of work, including reviews in Adventures of a Bookonaut
Grant Watson, for body of work, including reviews in The Angriest
Foz Meadows, for body of work, including reviews in Shattersnipe: Malcontent & Rainbows
Alexandra Pierce, for body of work, including reviews in Randomly Yours, Alex
Tansy Rayner Roberts, for body of work, including essays and reviews at www.tansyrr.com

Best Fan Artist

Nalini Haynes, for body of work, including “Defender of the Faith”, “The Suck Fairy”, “Doctor Who vampire” and “The Last Cyberman” in Dark Matter
Kathleen Jennings, for body of work, including “Illustration Friday”
Dick Jenssen, for body of work, including cover art for Interstellar Ramjet Scoop and SF Commentary

Best Fan Publication in Any Medium

Dark Matter Zine, Nalini Haynes
SF Commentary, Bruce Gillespie
The Writer and the Critic, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond
Galactic Chat Podcast, Sean Wright, Alex Pierce, Helen Stubbs, David McDonald, and Mark Webb
The Coode Street Podcast, Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan
Galactic Suburbia, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts

Best New Talent

Michelle Goldsmith
Zena Shapter
Faith Mudge
Jo Spurrier
Stacey Larner

William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review

Reviews in Randomly Yours, Alex, Alexandra Pierce
“Things Invisible: Human and Ab-Human in Two of Hodgson’s Carnacki stories”, Leigh Blackmore, in Sargasso: The Journal of William Hope Hodgson Studies #1 edited by Sam Gafford (Ulthar Press)
Galactic Suburbia Episode 87: Saga Spoilerific Book Club, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts
The Reviewing New Who series, David McDonald, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Tehani Wessely
“A Puppet’s Parody of Joy: Dolls, Puppets and Mannikins as Diabolical Other”, Leigh Blackmore, in Ramsey Campbell: Critical Essays on the Master of Modern Horror edited by Gary William Crawford (Scarecrow Press)
“That was then, this is now: how my perceptions have changed”, George Ivanoff, in Doctor Who and Race edited by Lindy Orthia (Intellect Books)

Voting is now open for the Awards, for anyone who is a member of the 2013 Natcon (Conflux) or this year’s Natcon (Continuum X). Thank you so much to everyone who nominated our work!

Look, a book (cover)!

We’re almost ready to go to print on Guardian, Jo Anderton’s new novel, and we just got the final cover art through last night! I know Jo couldn’t wait to share it (she seems to like it…) and I’ve finally had a chance to pop it here as well!

Original art by Dion Hamill, design by Amanda Rainey

Don’t forget, you can still pre-order Guardian for a special price and receive exclusive bonus Veiled Worlds content — more details here.

Announcement: title change for new Jo Anderton novel!

Making books is a very interesting process, and one of those things that can be tricksy are book titles. A couple of years ago we had a working title of Apocalypse Hope for one of our anthologies, but it later became (the much more aptly named) Epilogue, thanks to a Twitter suggestion. Changing a title can be a big decision, especially if promotion for the book has already begun, but, after much deliberation, Jo Anderton and I have decided to change the title of the forthcoming Veiled Worlds novel from Unbound to Guardian! We agreed that the title of Unbound (in addition to being very popular right now!), didn’t really represent the story as well as Guardian. I’m hoping Jo might blog about the way stories change focus over time at some point, so you can find out more about that…

So, Jo’s novel, due out in June, is now titled Guardian, and it is FANTASTIC! We’re just putting to final touches on the layout, and have sent out the first Advance Review Copies. You can still pre-order at the special introductory price for ebook and print copies, and get the bonus ebook, for at least the next few weeks!

Contents:

Story: Grandeur

Interview: Tanyana

*NEW* Story: A Varsnian Name

Interview: Lad

Story: A Memory Trapped in Light

Intervention and group interview with reader questions 

The Movoc Under Keeper Tourism Brochure

So if you need a fix of the Veiled Worlds while you eagerly await Guardian, or just love Jo’s work as much as we do, order now!

PRE-ORDER Guardian by Jo Anderton, with exclusive bonus ebook!








With BONUS CONTENT ON ORDER


Print + international post $14.99 AUDEbook $7.99 AUD

 

The exclusive e-book will be sent to your Paypal email address in mobi, epub and PDF.

This PRE-ORDER pricing and bonus offer is available to readers all over the world, with no geographic restrictions. 

Photo used on ebook cover courtesy of Flickr user papalars and used under CC BY-ND 2.0

It seems I am a NAFF candidate!

I unexpectedly became a NAFF candidate over the weekend, which was a fun trick! That Sarah Parker is a smooth talker :) If you care to vote, for me, the other candidate, or to hold over funds for next year’s race, please feel welcome to do so! Some details below:

Welcome to the NAFF race for 2014. The National Australian Fan Fund (NAFF) was created to assist fans to travel across Australia to attend the National Science Fiction Convention (Natcon). NAFF assists fans to travel to the Natcon and...