Tim Major's Blog, page 21

Call for submissions: Stephen King short story competition

The Guardian and Hodder have announced a new short story contest which ought to interest any writers of genre fiction…

The maestro of modern horror, Stephen King, will judge the contest and the winning story will be published on the Guardian website. The winner will also get to take part in a Guardian Masterclass run by King’s editor, Philippa Pride.

Stories must be 4000 words or less, previously unpublished, and inspired by the following (admittedly vague) brief by Stephen King:

“There’s som...

Gollancz unagented submissions window

Guys! Guys! Gollancz UK is opening for non-agented submissions in January!

Submissions will be open from 4th-22nd January 2016. They’re accepting hard copy only, but as long as your postmark checks out as within those dates then you’ll be OK.

They’re interested in seeing SF, fantasy, horror or YA crossover novels, as long as they’re complete and over 80,000 words. You’ll need to send the first 50 pages, a cover letter and a synopsis.

Just scroll down the list of authors on the Gollancz blog,...

Body Parts acceptance

My flash horror story, ‘The Puzzle Box’ has been accepted for publication in Body Parts Magazine (the ‘journal of horror and erotica’; my story is firmly in the first category).

It’ll be in Issue #5, which will appear online next month. Don’t worry about setting a calendar reminder – I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s available.

Call for submissions: Apex’s Christmas Invasion

If you’re a fan of SF, fantasy or horror, then you’re probably also a fan of Apex magazine. And if you write SF, fantasy or horror, then it’s very difficult to imagine a good excuse why you wouldn’t submit a story to their most recent writing contest.

The theme of this year’s annual Apex Christmas flash contest is CHRISTMAS INVASIONS, which ought to conjure up a ton of ideas. And to make things even simpler for you, the word count has to be under 250 words – so today’s lunch break ought to...

Announcement: a novel!

I’ve been a little quiet recently, but now I can reveal what I’ve been working on…

I HAVE A NOVEL COMING OUT.

I’m thrilled to announce that my first full-length novel, YOU DON’T BELONG HERE, will be published by Snowbooks next year. It’ll be out in paperback and ebook in September 2016.

It’s a time-travel psychological thriller. Here’s a blurb, though almost certainly not the final one:

Daniel Faint is on the run with a stolen time machine. As the house-sitter of a remote Cumbrian mansion, h...

We Need To Talk anthology launch

Last night I attended the South Bank launch event for the We Need To Talk anthology, jointly organised by The Eve Appeal, Kindred and Jurassic London. It was an excellent evening. I finally had face-to-face conversations with several people who’ve previously only been names attached to email conversations, and I also spoke to some Real Actual Proper Authors, who were all very welcoming and generous. And I was even asked to sign the book a few times!

We Need To Talk is available as a paperbac...

Martian canals and borrowed ideas in SF

I’ve got an article up on the Hodderscape website – it’s about Martian canals, the 1964 film Robinson Crusoe on Mars, and the borrowing of ideas in science fiction. It’s rather a ramble, but the main idea is that even misconceptions can lead to good fictional ideas that are then developed by writer after writer.

You can read the full article here.

Finding Waltzer-Three on Pantheon site

‘Finding Waltzer-Three’ is now available to read for free on the Pantheon website – the fantastic illustration is by Carrion House.

Alternatively, you can buy the print edition of Pantheon #8 from Amazon.com or Amazon UK.

Dark Lane Anthology Volume 2

Dark Lane Anthology Volume 2 is now available as an ebook from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. You can also buy a print version from Lulu.com – and an Amazon print version will be out soon.

The anthology contains my story, ‘The House Lights Dim’. Though a version of the story appeared a couple of years ago in Sanitarium magazine (my first ever short story sale!), I’ve dramatically reworked it since. It’s better than it was, I think.

Fox Spirit anthology acceptance

I’m really pleased that my story, ‘Winter in the Vivarium’, will be included in the Fox Spirit anthology, Winter Tales, edited by Margrét Helgadóttir. Fox Spirit has been producing fantastic books and I’ve long been eager to get involved…

Winter Tales will be published in February 2016. I’ll post information about the table of contents soon.