Jungle Accepted for Cosmic Crime; Vamps Reissue in Offing?

The call was last June: Hiraeth Publishing is looking for stories and illustrations for COSMIC CRIME STORIES 2022, a print anthology of tales of future crimes and future detectives. This anthology is tentatively scheduled to be published on 1 June 2022 in trade paperback format with a color cover, and black and white interior illustrations. The Editor is Tyree Campbell.

So I sent a story, “The Jungle,” of dastardly doings in a domed future city, initially published in GOING POSTAL (Space and Time, 1998). Then Wednesday (technically Tuesday, but for “internet reasons” I got it Wednesday) came the reply: Nice indictment! I’m accepting “The Jungle” . . . you’ll receive payment with your contributor’s copy. Pasted below is the contract for your story. As noted, it is a tale of future crime, but also how news may be handled in the future, sometimes so close to the actual action as to interfere. But then everything has to be part of the narrative.

And, for this narrative, an unexpected codicil: Once upon a time there was Sam’s Dot Publishing, and Editor/Publisher Tyree Campbell goes back to then too. In 2011 a poetry book appeared, VAMPS (A RETROSPECTIVE), by me, illustrated by Marge Simon (cf. October 17 2018, October 3 2017, et many al.). While things change. Morph. Eventually Hiraeth Publishing comes about . . . and at the bottom of Wednesday’s acceptance: I’d like permission to reissue VAMPS. I never did well with it before, but we’re dealing with a new printing process that gets us ‘out there,’ including sales in the UK and Europe. Please let me know.

So the contract went back, plus my okay on VAMPS. Of the latter no change (for now) if you click its center column picture, but more to come as it becomes known.