Francesca T. Barbini's Blog, page 7

Gareth L Powell Joins The Luna Family!

The Luna family is delighted to welcome Gareth L Powell! And a huge thank you also to his agent, Alexander Cochrane from CW Agency UK. Most of you will know Gareth for his SFF novels and short stories - from the award-winning Ack Ack Macaque trilogy, to the recently released Embers of War. Gareth will be contributing to our Academia Lunare section, on a project that will be of particular interest to his many fans and any aspiring writers: Gareth L Powell - About Writing.Gareth has been on the scene for several years now, establishing himself as one of Britain's best SF voices. Not only that: his easygoing nature makes him incredibly approachable to his fans who, by the way, are growing by the day. He's there for them - a strong, creative and useful social media presence, happy to inspire and nurture.There are many aspiring writers among Gareth's followers and friends, along with the rest of his fans, who will definitely appreciate this new book. When I read the manuscript, I felt inspired, hopeful and comforted. It's like having a kind mentor sitting next to you, encouraging you to write a little more when you are tired, or to make a start when you don't think you can. I do believe this field journal will help many people. And even if you aren't a writer, you can still benefit from it, in the way it gently accompanies you through whatever creative journey you are on.Gareth told us:"There are some things nobody will ever teach you on a creative writing course. Lessons I had to learn the hard way, and things I wish I’d known when I was starting out as a writer. So I put this book together in the hope of passing on the insights I’ve gained in over a decade of writing professionally. This isn’t an English textbook. These are notes taken in the field and accounts of lessons-learned."The book will be out in 2019. In the meantime, you can get in touch with Gareth here:TwitterPatreonInstagramFacebookWebsite

Authors and Social Media Presence

In the present day, the importance of social media is ever-present. Used not only for its original purpose: social media now enables the cult of the celebrity to pervade so many aspects of people’s lives. The place of celebrities and well-known authors has changed significantly in recent years taking them from revered from afar, to continuously in the spotlight with little privacy. Being able to follow the life of a favourite author through social media is a very exciting prospect for many who wish to see the person behind the words, and authors are encouraged to post personal updates and thoughts alongside promoting their professional lives.It is important to consider what kind of content you are posting, whether you have a high following or not. Potential buyers may be out off buying a book if the author posts a highly controversial or offensive tweet for example. What’s more is that this could also be harmful to their career if a future publisher or agent also finds it inappropriate.Many authors can reach new audiences and expand on their own following by becoming part of a supportive web of similar individuals. A group of authors who retweet and promote the new releases of others in their network reap the benefits of reaching the followers of their colleagues as well as their own. The way that many celebrities or authors gain a large media following is through discovery: testing out what platforms, times and content get the best reaction from followers and adapting their posting to best suit the audience.Whilst authors use social media to promote their own new books, book tours/appearances and collaborations, some also use it to hold their followers’ interest between publications. Author of Breath of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss uses Twitter to reassure his followers of his progress writing future novels in the time between publications. Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods, Good Omens, The Sandman etc. has amassed 2.7 million followers on his Twitter account and uses it for many purposes. He is incredibly active in responding to followers and regularly tweets locations of his signed copies (usually when he visits airport bookshops), but he also uses his platform to promote charities and raise awareness of issues he considers important.J. K. Rowling has over 14 million Twitter followers, a person of her status clearly does not need to use her social media for self-promotion but she uses it for personal tweets and to use her influence to promote charity work. For very well-loved authors like Rowling, personal tweets and replying to fans are the most important aspects of her social media presence because they allow her to be relatable and allow fans to feel closer to their idol.What does this mean for emerging authors with little or no following? For less well-known authors, social media can be a way to gain followers of their works and career. The internet is practically limitless in its worldwide reach and allows authors to gain followers from every part of the world. It also performs this role for networking inside the publishing industry and could be the platform to link a publisher with a new author. The publishing industry is especially active on Twitter and this social media platform does seem to be the most used by industry professionals. This could be due to a high response rate, free promotion via book bloggers or the ease of use making it widely available for all. This being said, many authors and publishers utilise multiple social media platforms to have full coverage if a potential collaborator or buyer searches for them on one. It is advisable for authors to have as many ways to be reached as possible.

SYP: "Publishing Vs. the World" Conference

March 9th was the Society of Young Publishers’, Publishing Vs. the World conference held at Surgeons’ Hall Edinburgh. The keynote speaker was none other than Nicola Sturgeon who made our collective days when she spoke about her jealousy over those who get to work with books! It was very refreshing and inspiring to hear a leader talk about the importance of reading and the value she places on the publishing industry.For us young publishers, many of the speakers passed on their favourite tips to those just starting out. At the freelancing panel we were taught to know our own worth and set measurable goals to allow us to succeed without running into financial difficulties. Finances were a topic of discussion across many panels yesterday, one of which being the literature in translation panel, (Reading Between the Lines) which discussed the issues for funding smaller, independent publishers who get no funding in Scotland due to not producing Scottish authors’ work. This panel was very helpful for learning about some of the challenges that come with producing translated texts for the UK’s market. These challenges include picking commercially viable novels to publish, being able to compete financially with larger companies for translation rights, and the UK’s attitude to translated literature.In the final panel for the day, Publishing Vs. the World, there was a discussion about diversity in books and creating representation for all. We saw some shocking statistics about the diversity in children’s books in the USA, not reflective at all of the statistics about the actual inhabitants of the country. Representation in fiction is so important for children to see themselves succeeding in all kinds of careers and roles so as to not feel limited by their race, gender etc. This panel addressed the issue that even creators struggle to break out of creating only white characters due to being conditioned by the industry to do so. Author and creator of imprint Rosetta Press, Zetta Elliott suggested that it is not about profit but about power instead. She struggled with getting funded and published for her books containing non-white characters so went through the self published route to show those in her community how they can be represented and become published themselves.As with many publishing events, the major recurring theme of reading was prevalent. Nicola Sturgeon talked of her love of books, and the Editing Narrative Beginnings panel discussed the importance of a good book opening. It was lovely to once again be at an event filled with people passionate about publishing, and avid booklovers. The future all comes down to the importance of collaboration and encouraging young people to get involved. Supporting young people and providing opportunities for young voices to be heard is crucial in inspiring a generation of readers and creators that will carry on the important work that the publishing industry does.Check out the tag #SYPVS on twitter to read more from those who attended and see photos from the event!

SYP: "Society Vs. the World" Conference

March 9th was the Society of Young Publishers’, Publishing Vs. the World conference held at Surgeons’ Hall Edinburgh. The keynote speaker was none other than Nicola Sturgeon who made our collective days when she spoke about her jealousy over those who get to work with books! It was very refreshing and inspiring to hear a leader talk about the importance of reading and the value she places on the publishing industry.For us young publishers, many of the speakers passed on their favourite tips to those just starting out. At the freelancing panel we were taught to know our own worth and set measurable goals to allow us to succeed without running into financial difficulties. Finances were a topic of discussion across many panels yesterday, one of which being the literature in translation panel, (Reading Between the Lines) which discussed the issues for funding smaller, independent publishers who get no funding in Scotland due to not producing Scottish authors’ work. This panel was very helpful for learning about some of the challenges that come with producing translated texts for the UK’s market. These challenges include picking commercially viable novels to publish, being able to compete financially with larger companies for translation rights, and the UK’s attitude to translated literature.In the final panel for the day, Publishing Vs. the World, there was a discussion about diversity in books and creating representation for all. We saw some shocking statistics about the diversity in children’s books in the USA, not reflective at all of the statistics about the actual inhabitants of the country. Representation in fiction is so important for children to see themselves succeeding in all kinds of careers and roles so as to not feel limited by their race, gender etc. This panel addressed the issue that even creators struggle to break out of creating only white characters due to being conditioned by the industry to do so. Author and creator of imprint Rosetta Press, Zetta Elliott suggested that it is not about profit but about power instead. She struggled with getting funded and published for her books containing non-white characters so went through the self published route to show those in her community how they can be represented and become published themselves.As with many publishing events, the major recurring theme of reading was prevalent. Nicola Sturgeon talked of her love of books, and the Editing Narrative Beginnings panel discussed the importance of a good book opening. It was lovely to once again be at an event filled with people passionate about publishing, and avid booklovers. The future all comes down to the importance of collaboration and encouraging young people to get involved. Supporting young people and providing opportunities for young voices to be heard is crucial in inspiring a generation of readers and creators that will carry on the important work that the publishing industry does.Check out the tag #SYPVS on twitter to read more from those who attended and see photos from the event!

10 Tips for Authors!

1. Write every day.Writer’s block seems to only get worse the longer you remain stuck. By writing every day –even if you never use the words– you can avoid this. Remember: that which you write, does not have to be kept. It does not have to be inspired, incredible writing. It can just be a stream of consciousness.2. Put aside time to write.Reserve time every day to write and keep this even if you no longer have a deadline or major project to attend to! Even something as small as having this routine can help maintain the mindset needed for writing.3. Read, and read widely.As Stephen King suggests, “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time –or tools– to write”. Reading is such a huge part of the writing process and books are an author’s fuel. You never know when or where inspiration will strike!4. Think like your editor!If you’re in a writing slump or have a sudden loss of confidence in your work, try and take a step back and read through your work from a different perspective. Think of yourself as the reader and step outside of your writer self to consider what you, as a reader, would enjoy reading.5. Don’t be discouraged!So many great authors had their masterpieces rejected at first and went on to become great successes and widely well-regarded –had they given up, the world would be deprived of their stories!6. Try not to limit yourself.Perhaps consider having two different projects to work on at once so you can continue to be creative and productive even when you feel unable to progress with your main project. This second project could be something as simple as a blog or journal. Something like this would be a non-pressure project that could stay personal and private, just used as a creative outlet.7. Remember to take breaks!Even in stressful situations with deadlines looming it is important to give yourself time to relax and step away from your desk. Giving your brain time to process your writing can help create more realized and fully fleshed-out characters.8. Create a good working environment.A clear desk space, and a tidy room of the right temperature helps limit distractions and can enable writers to spend their precious time actually putting pen to paper. This tip is especially important if, like many writers, you write from home and need to separate time for writing in the same place as your normal daily life occurs. 9. Make character studies.A tip for writing well thought-out characters would be to think about each one individually and keep track of what you’ve written about them so far, to make sure not only that you’ve not contradicted yourself, but also for later reflection to identify if anything is missing to fully realize them.10. Enjoy yourself!Writing should be fun but as Ben Nesvig says, “Happiness is paradoxical. It only really comes when you focus outside of yourself on what you can give to others instead of what you can do for yourself.”Writing to impress yourself is counterintuitive because it is near impossible to do justice on paper to the vision in your mind. The real happiness comes when you hear about how happy your story has made the readers, and that makes it all worth it!Good luck to all of the writers out there!

Welcome to Luna! The Authors of the Call for Papers 2017.

One year ago, Luna opened its second Call for Papers. Under the title "The Evolution of African Fantasy and Science Fiction", we invited writers to explore this theme from their own personal perspectives and inclinations. With their various backgrounds and interests, I am proud to introduce you to our five writers, some who are new to the Luna family, and some who are already part of it, who have shared their research with us all. Clockwise from top left:Peter Maurits (Netherlands). Postdoctoral Fellow. "African Science Fiction and Knowledge Production". University Erlangen-Nurnberg.Polina Levontin (Russia). MA at UCL in Comparative Literature; researcher at Imperial College at the Center for Environmental Policy.Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso (Nigeria). MA at Swansea University in Creative Writing; writer of fiction and non-fiction, editorial member at Internation.Robert S Malan (South Africa). Editor and writer. Senior Editor at freeflowedit.Nick Wood (Zambia/South Africa). Ph.D. in Child Development from University of London; ClinicalTutor on a Doctoral Training Course in Clinical Psychology in the UK; Writer of science fiction and non-fiction.The first part of the book will explore the theme from a broader perspective: Peter Maurits will introduce us to the emergence of African science fiction; Nick Wood will explore the forces shaping the development of South African speculative fiction down the ages, and Ezeiyoke Chukwunonso will explain the dangers of expectation in African speculative fiction. In the second part we focus on more specific issues: Polina Levontin will look at the representation of scientists in Nigerian science fiction, whilst Robert S Malan will take a look at the evolution of portrayals of South Africans in popular entertainment during and after Apartheid.I cannot wait to share their articles with you all!The book will be out by autumn - exact date TBC. Before the summer we will share more details about the individual papers, so stay tuned!The Call for Papers 2018 will be announced on the 1st of May.

Publishing MSc at Edinburgh Napier University - My Experience So Far

Hi Luna readers!I’m Beth, a MSc Publishing student at Edinburgh Napier University and currently undertaking a placement with Luna Press Publishing. As part of my degree I am required to learn first-hand the roles of a publisher through a placement module. We pick our own placement company: I approached, and was selected by, LPP because science fiction and fantasy are my favourite genres to read, and I wanted to learn more about smaller, independent publishers. I look forward to taking on responsibilities over the course of my placement and learn more about publishing whilst I work for Luna.When picking Edinburgh Napier University, I was drawn to the sheer amount of opportunities and events we are encouraged to participate in. Our University course provides lectures by professionals from every sort of publishing careers possible, to enable the students to ascertain their own, more specific career path. I think it is this side of the course that has made me interested in smaller publishing houses and freelancers, because the lectures have opened up the industry and allowed me to see that there are so many more publishing roles out there. We are also encouraged to attend book launches and festivals, and many of us are travelling down to London in April for the London Book Fair. Many of these events are subsidised or even free for students and allow us to gain insight into our future career and feel part of the UK’s book and magazine industry. Our course is balanced so that we learn software skills in our first semester along with keeping up with current industry trends and important information such as copyright law and current topics of importance to booksellers and publishers. One of the most interesting things I have learnt this year is how different sectors of publishing come together in the creation of each product which will be so crucial to my understanding of my job in later life and how it fits in with the life cycle of a book from concept to sales. This semester we are putting those skills to use and preparing texts for publication and creating a magazine as part of the course. I cannot wait to contribute to this process and to start my life as a publisher, and I think my degree has helped consolidate this dream in my mind and has given me the confidence that I have made the correct career choice!I am very excited to continue with my placement at Luna Press Publishing and with the final stages of my degree and, of course, I look forward to all the events I will be attending later this year. In particular, I am eager to attend the Cambridge Literary Festival and SYP’s Conference, ‘Publishing vs the World’, in March. I love living in Edinburgh for my degree and being able to attend all of these events and get involved in Scotland’s book scene.

Coming Soon - "The Prisoner"

Back in 2015, writer Robert S Malan and artist John Cockshaw released Quest & The Sign of the Shining Beast. It was the launch pad for a new dark fantasy series: A Darkness In Mind. The book blended a traditional novelette with elements of graphic novel to create something quite unique, which garnered plenty of praise and endorsements. The opening of Quest & The Sign of the Shining Beast finds the unnamed central character awakening in a cave, with no memory of who he is or how he got there, and a strange, compelling voice in his head as his only guide. From there it spirals out, drawing the reader on an increasingly treacherous journey toward the murky heart of this world, and an unexpected, gut-wrenching ending.Now, almost two years to the day, the second entry in the series, The Prisoner, is set to launch at Eastercon 2018 in Harrogate, England. While still featuring common philosophical themes, The Prisoner shifts tonally, crafting a noir-horror told from a first person perspective.John Andras works at Morningstar prison, where day and night are almost indistinguishable from each other, in a city where the rain never seems to stop. He has debts to pay, but the thing he wants more than anything is a way out. After a strange encounter with one of the inmates, he catches the attention of the new warden, who has a special task for him. As he’s sucked into an assignment he may not escape from, his dreams grow darker and more disturbing. And death is creeping ever closer …Here’s what Robert and John had to say about their experiences working on The Prisoner:Robert:The Prisoner started life as a vivid dream. As soon as I awoke the next morning, I knew it had to be the next chapter for A Darkness in Mind. The book is very much a reflection of my love for dark fantasy and horror of the psychological variety. It also feels like a natural progression for me as a writer, and A Darkness In Mind as a series. I’m not big on shock-horror or gore. I’ve always been fascinated by the kind of horror that probes at you on a more cerebral level, like Stephen King at his finest, or the likes of William Peter Blatty’s Legion. While, on the surface, The Prisoner is a noir-horror, pulling the reader down into this murky world, there is a deeper, darker, philosophical discussion at its heart. I’m hoping people are game for that, because I believe it’s a journey worth taking. One that dares us to look in the mirror and question how we view our world. Of course, I always put story at the forefront – it should be compelling and entertaining.Quest & The Sign of the Shining Beast, the first entry, was birthed from a desire to approach storytelling from a different perspective; that of dream logic. Finding John Cockshaw, who naturally complemented everything I was trying to achieve thematically and visually … that was an exciting thing. For me, it speaks to the power of the vision when I was crafting the series, because it’s pretty ambitious in its overall arc: a hybrid of traditional written fiction and graphic novel, where each story is standalone, but linked specifically by the overall theme - examining the darker recesses of our hearts and minds. The idea was to take the reader on a voyage, at times to some pretty frightening places, but also worth exploring. I wanted to have people being able to drop in at any point on the road, at the same time having a wider conversation with them, and hopefully entice them back in, to examine the layers beneath.I was consumed by the tale of John Andras and The Prisoner. I’m thrilled to be sharing it with the world.John:Working on The Prisoner with Robert allowed me the opportunity to work on my first extended graphic novel sequences, and to explore the format of the graphic novel in greater detail. As the second book in an over-arching series, The Prisoner offered the chance to develop a continuity of style with the first entry, Quest and The Sign of the Shining Beast, and also allowed Robert and me to develop an effective shorthand in our planning and working relationship.In terms of the format of the graphic novel, the previous book employed the technique of photo-story or 'photo-roman' quite widely (in addition to hand-drawn and painted illustrations), but The Prisoner placed a greater emphasis on traditional illustrative elements along with mixed media. For me, Robert's writing always seems to lead on a descent into foreboding darkness and disquieting contemplation on his themes. This is a key requirement, though, for tapping into the spirit of the book in order to do the thematic material justice. But also to bring something new and original from my own perspective.The Prisoner will be launched on the 31st of March, at Eastercon 2018. Pre-order will start on the 1st of March. There will be a further discount for the subscribers of our newsletter - don't miss out!

Luna 3rd Birthday Dinner - The Aftermath!

We survived the third Luna Birthday Dinner! Just like last year, they had to 'nudge' us out of the doors in the early hours. The Luna family know how to party, obviously!Robert S Malan and yours truly were joined by some of our authors, artists, the design team and their lovely friends and family. We missed all those who couldn't make the journey, and hopefully they will be able to join us in the future - Edinburgh is, after all, a very pretty city to visit.Here's to many more celebrations!Here we are, at Le Di-Vin:

A J Dalton On His Latest Project for Academia Lunare

This is an exciting year for Luna author A J Dalton. His book, 'The Sub-genres of British Fantasy Fiction', has been longlisted for the BSFA Awards and he's ready to go again, by diving back into research for Academia Lunare.A J Dalton's new project for Luna's academic arm will be titled, 'The Satanic in Science Fiction and Fantasy'.Let's hear from the author himself:"As long as literature has existed, so has the motif of ‘the dark lord’. However, it was not until the emergence of fantasy and science fiction as distinct literary genres that the dark lord truly became enshrined in popular works. From Bram Stoker’s Dracula, to Tolkien’s Sauron, to Donaldson’s Lord Foul, to Lucas’s Darth Vader, the dark lord was ever present in SFF. Sometimes he was a mad god, evil emperor or evil corporation, but always there was that malign intelligence seeking to thwart the goody-goody Chosen One of the 1980s and 90s. And he had servants in the form of demon armies, alien invaders or intelligent machines, seeking to drag the unwary into the underworld, to conquer us or to make humanity entirely extinct.Come the new millennium, and the emergence of sub-genres like ‘grimdark fantasy’ and ‘dystopian YA’, we tend to see everything in shades of grey far more. We still have invading hordes, be they zombies or Dothraki, but they are mindless disease-carriers and immigrants-with-a-cause rather than out-and-out followers of Satan. Our sense of evil has perhaps changed. We seem to understand that ‘evil’ is really a matter of perspective. And what has become of ‘the dark lord’ himself? Well, he is now the star of tv series such as ‘Lucifer’ or ‘Dracula’. Has he actually changed from anti-hero into hero? Has he won in some way? Or do we now recognise ourselves in him? Were we really fighting against ourselves all along?This book considers the early literary origins of the character of Satan and his embodiment within SFF, in order to show how our idea of evil has changed over time, to identify how SFF has shifted since its early days, to suggest the trends which are yet to emerge and, perhaps, to help us better understand ourselves."Here's to a new project for Academia Lunare!