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Now We Are Ten: Celebrating the First Ten Years of NewCon Press
Sixteen original stories of science fiction and wonder from sixteen talented authors, written to celebrate the tenth birthday of NewCon Press
Contents:
1. Introduction by Ian Whates
2. The Final Path – Genevieve Cogman
3. Women’s Christmas – Ian McDonald
4. Pyramid – Nancy Kress
5. Liberty Bird – Jaine Fenn
6. Zanzara Island – Rachel Armstrong
7. Ten Sisters – Eric Brown
8. Licorice – Jack Skillingstead
9. The Time Travellers’ Ball – Rose Biggin
10. Dress Rehearsal – Adrian Tchaikovsky
11. The Tenth Man – Bryony Pearce
12. Rare As A Harpy’s Tear – Neil Williamson
13. How to Grow Silence from Seed – Tricia Sullivan
14. Utopia +10 – JA Christy
15. Ten Love Songs to Change the World – Peter F Hamilton
16. Ten Days – Nina Allan
17. Front Row Seat to the End of the World – EJ Swift
About the Authors
Contents:
1. Introduction by Ian Whates
2. The Final Path – Genevieve Cogman
3. Women’s Christmas – Ian McDonald
4. Pyramid – Nancy Kress
5. Liberty Bird – Jaine Fenn
6. Zanzara Island – Rachel Armstrong
7. Ten Sisters – Eric Brown
8. Licorice – Jack Skillingstead
9. The Time Travellers’ Ball – Rose Biggin
10. Dress Rehearsal – Adrian Tchaikovsky
11. The Tenth Man – Bryony Pearce
12. Rare As A Harpy’s Tear – Neil Williamson
13. How to Grow Silence from Seed – Tricia Sullivan
14. Utopia +10 – JA Christy
15. Ten Love Songs to Change the World – Peter F Hamilton
16. Ten Days – Nina Allan
17. Front Row Seat to the End of the World – EJ Swift
About the Authors
- GenresAnthologies
253 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 11, 2016
7 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Ian Whates
122 books81 followersIan Whates lives in a comfortable home down a quiet cul-de-sac in an idyllic Cambridgeshire village, which he shares with his partner Helen and their pets – Honey the golden cocker spaniel, Calvin the tailless black cat and Inky the goldfish (sadly, Binky died a few years ago).
Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.
This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.
Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.
In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).
In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.
In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.
His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest!
Ian’s earliest memories of science fiction are fragmented. He remembers loving Dr Who from an early age and other TV shows such as Lost in Space and Star Trek, but a defining moment came when he heard a radio adaptation of John Wyndham’s The Chrysalids. From that moment on he was hooked and became a frequent haunter of the local library, voraciously devouring the contents of their SF section.
This early love of science fiction manifested most tellingly during his school days, when he produced an SF murder mystery as homework after being set the essay title “The Language of Shakespeare”, much to the bemusement of his English teacher.
Ian’s first published stories appeared in the late 1980s in small press magazines such as Dream and New Moon Quarterly, after which he took a break from writing in order to research his chosen fields of science fiction and fantasy. In other words, he read copious amounts of both. Clearly the research was extensive, because he published nothing further for some seventeen years. In the early 2000s he made the decision to pursue writing seriously, joining the Northampton SF Writers Group in 2004 after being introduced to its chairman, Ian Watson.
In 2006 he started submitting stories again, and has subsequently been surprised at how many otherwise eminently sensible people have chosen to publish him. A couple have even appeared in the science journal Nature, and one, “The Gift of Joy”, even found its way onto the five-strong shortlist for best short story in the British Science Fiction Association Awards. And it didn’t come last! Ironically, the award was actually won by Ken MacLeod’s “Lighting Out”, a piece Ian had commissioned, edited and published in the NewCon Press anthology disLOCATIONS (2007).
In 2006 Ian launched independent publisher NewCon Press, quite by accident (buy him a pint sometime and he’ll tell you about it). Through NewCon he has been privileged to publish original stories from some of the biggest names in genre fiction, as well as provide debuts to some genuinely talented newcomers. The books, their covers and contents have racked up an impressive array of credits – four BSFA Awards, one BSF Award to date, inclusion in ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies and recommendations and honourable mentions from the likes of Gardner Dozios and Locus magazine.
In addition to his publishing and writing, Ian is currently a director of both the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) and the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA), editing Matrix, the online news and media reviews magazine, for the latter.
His first two completed novels are both due to appear in early 2010: City of Dreams and Nightmare via Harper Collins’ imprint Angry Robot, and The Noise Within from Rebellion imprint Solaris, with sequels to follow. When not pinching himself to make sure this is all really happening, Ian is currently beavering away at the sequels… honest!
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December 16, 2016This is number 76 of 100 signed and numbered copies and is signed by all contributors. All stories are copyright 2016.
November 29, 2016
Now We Are Ten is the anniversary anthology from NewCon Press, celebrating ten years of publishing fiction. Edited by press owner Ian Whates, this is a collection containing many different genres and authors, and the likelihood of you having read at least one of these authors is high. For a small press to release such an anthology is not unusual, but one that contains many award-nominated and award-winning authors is a pleasure to see.
From the publisher:
Sixteen original stories of science fiction and wonder from sixteen talented authors, written to celebrate the tenth birthday of NewCon Press
Contents:
1. Introduction by Ian Whates
2. The Final Path – Genevieve Cogman
3. Women’s Christmas – Ian McDonald
4. Pyramid – Nancy Kress
5. Liberty Bird – Jaine Fenn
6. Zanzara Island – Rachel Armstrong
7. Ten Sisters – Eric Brown
8. Licorice – Jack Skillingstead
9. The Time Travellers’ Ball – Rose Biggin
10. Dress Rehearsal – Adrian Tchaikovsky
11. The Tenth Man – Bryony Pearce
12. Rare As A Harpy’s Tear – Neil Williamson
13. How to Grow Silence from Seed – Tricia Sullivan
14. Utopia +10 – JA Christy
15. Ten Love Songs to Change the World – Peter F Hamilton
16. Ten Days – Nina Allan
17. Front Row Seat to the End of the World – EJ Swift
I’m familiar with almost all of the authors here, though have only read works by five of them in the past, and have been meaning to get to at least another handful of them. The main draw for me were new short stories by Peter F Hamilton and Eric Brown, two of my favourite authors, while I was also particularly interested in reading the offerings from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Nancy Kress, Nina Allan, and EJ Swift.
Now We Are Ten uses a simple theme for its stories: the number ten. Each one uses this in one way or another, some obviously, others in a more subtle manner. However, with such a wide variety on offer, and not really knowing what type of story each author has penned, I approached each with a mix of trepidation and eagerness, hoping that regardless of author it would be one I’d enjoy. While this was generally the case, it wasn’t always so, and is expected with any collection there were very big hits, but also just as big misses.
Following a nice introduction by Ian Whates explaining a little about the press and collection, we get to see just what is on offer. While Cogman’s dystopian story The Final Path is enjoyable enough – though I wasn’t sure about the ending – Macdonald’s Women’s Christmas was very short, and rather odd – not one for me. From there are two great stories: Kress’ Pyramid, a meta story that comes into its own once you connect the dots, and Fenn’s Liberty Bird, an SF space race with deeper musings on sexuality in a difficult society. Armstrong’s Zanzara Island was another miss for me, I just didn’t get what it was trying to do.
Brown’s Ten Sisters was a story I was particularly looking forward to, and it didn’t disappoint. An interesting tale with cloning at its centre, and one that managed to entertain and enthral throughout. Skillingstead’s Licorice uses a very unreliable narrator that fails to fully get the story across effectively, ultimately falling flat come the end. Meanwhile, Sullivan’s How to Grow Silence from Seed was surprisingly deep given its length, but again not a story that I particularly enjoyed. Next there’s a completely different and entirely effective entry: The Time Traveller’s Ball, a ten word story by Rose Biggin.
I’ve only read one novel by Tchaikovsky before – the excellent Children of Time – so I was eager to read his story, Dress Rehearsal, and what a story it is. Following a travelling theatre company that only ever puts on nine shows during each run, this was clever and engrossing with a wonderful twist at the end. Pearce’s The Tenth Man is another great addition, looking at parallel universes through multiple personalities. Unfortunately Williamson’s Rare As A Harpy’s Tear wasn’t clear at all, and one I found hard to finish despite its short length. Christy’s Utopia +10 was easily readable, though not particularly interesting given lack of detail, which was a shame.
Despite ups and downs throughout, Now We Are Ten finishes on a high note with its last three stories. Hamilton’s Ten Love Songs to Change the World is unlike anything he’s written before, but in a good way: contemporary, yet with a definite SF flavour. Allan’s Ten Days is the longest in the anthology, and one that seems to have an old murder-mystery at its heart until the pieces of the puzzle come together, delivering a satisfying ending. And finally we have Swift’s Front Row Seat to the End of the World, another great story that has a personal focus from the narrator and her regrets in life – particularly her estrangement from her daughter – as an Earth killing asteroid draws ever closer.
The question of whether Now We Are Ten is a success is easily answered: yes. Each story, no matter my personal preference, fit the theme perfectly. I found some stories missed the mark in their delivery, others perhaps a touch too obscure for their own good. Ultimately, the better stories balance the collection out nicely, with particular stand-outs coming from Brown, Tchaikovsky, Pearce, and Swift. Now We Are Ten is another reminder that short fiction has a special place in SF&F, and it’s a length that I read way too little of.
From the publisher:
Sixteen original stories of science fiction and wonder from sixteen talented authors, written to celebrate the tenth birthday of NewCon Press
Contents:
1. Introduction by Ian Whates
2. The Final Path – Genevieve Cogman
3. Women’s Christmas – Ian McDonald
4. Pyramid – Nancy Kress
5. Liberty Bird – Jaine Fenn
6. Zanzara Island – Rachel Armstrong
7. Ten Sisters – Eric Brown
8. Licorice – Jack Skillingstead
9. The Time Travellers’ Ball – Rose Biggin
10. Dress Rehearsal – Adrian Tchaikovsky
11. The Tenth Man – Bryony Pearce
12. Rare As A Harpy’s Tear – Neil Williamson
13. How to Grow Silence from Seed – Tricia Sullivan
14. Utopia +10 – JA Christy
15. Ten Love Songs to Change the World – Peter F Hamilton
16. Ten Days – Nina Allan
17. Front Row Seat to the End of the World – EJ Swift
I’m familiar with almost all of the authors here, though have only read works by five of them in the past, and have been meaning to get to at least another handful of them. The main draw for me were new short stories by Peter F Hamilton and Eric Brown, two of my favourite authors, while I was also particularly interested in reading the offerings from Adrian Tchaikovsky, Nancy Kress, Nina Allan, and EJ Swift.
Now We Are Ten uses a simple theme for its stories: the number ten. Each one uses this in one way or another, some obviously, others in a more subtle manner. However, with such a wide variety on offer, and not really knowing what type of story each author has penned, I approached each with a mix of trepidation and eagerness, hoping that regardless of author it would be one I’d enjoy. While this was generally the case, it wasn’t always so, and is expected with any collection there were very big hits, but also just as big misses.
Following a nice introduction by Ian Whates explaining a little about the press and collection, we get to see just what is on offer. While Cogman’s dystopian story The Final Path is enjoyable enough – though I wasn’t sure about the ending – Macdonald’s Women’s Christmas was very short, and rather odd – not one for me. From there are two great stories: Kress’ Pyramid, a meta story that comes into its own once you connect the dots, and Fenn’s Liberty Bird, an SF space race with deeper musings on sexuality in a difficult society. Armstrong’s Zanzara Island was another miss for me, I just didn’t get what it was trying to do.
Brown’s Ten Sisters was a story I was particularly looking forward to, and it didn’t disappoint. An interesting tale with cloning at its centre, and one that managed to entertain and enthral throughout. Skillingstead’s Licorice uses a very unreliable narrator that fails to fully get the story across effectively, ultimately falling flat come the end. Meanwhile, Sullivan’s How to Grow Silence from Seed was surprisingly deep given its length, but again not a story that I particularly enjoyed. Next there’s a completely different and entirely effective entry: The Time Traveller’s Ball, a ten word story by Rose Biggin.
I’ve only read one novel by Tchaikovsky before – the excellent Children of Time – so I was eager to read his story, Dress Rehearsal, and what a story it is. Following a travelling theatre company that only ever puts on nine shows during each run, this was clever and engrossing with a wonderful twist at the end. Pearce’s The Tenth Man is another great addition, looking at parallel universes through multiple personalities. Unfortunately Williamson’s Rare As A Harpy’s Tear wasn’t clear at all, and one I found hard to finish despite its short length. Christy’s Utopia +10 was easily readable, though not particularly interesting given lack of detail, which was a shame.
Despite ups and downs throughout, Now We Are Ten finishes on a high note with its last three stories. Hamilton’s Ten Love Songs to Change the World is unlike anything he’s written before, but in a good way: contemporary, yet with a definite SF flavour. Allan’s Ten Days is the longest in the anthology, and one that seems to have an old murder-mystery at its heart until the pieces of the puzzle come together, delivering a satisfying ending. And finally we have Swift’s Front Row Seat to the End of the World, another great story that has a personal focus from the narrator and her regrets in life – particularly her estrangement from her daughter – as an Earth killing asteroid draws ever closer.
The question of whether Now We Are Ten is a success is easily answered: yes. Each story, no matter my personal preference, fit the theme perfectly. I found some stories missed the mark in their delivery, others perhaps a touch too obscure for their own good. Ultimately, the better stories balance the collection out nicely, with particular stand-outs coming from Brown, Tchaikovsky, Pearce, and Swift. Now We Are Ten is another reminder that short fiction has a special place in SF&F, and it’s a length that I read way too little of.
December 31, 2019
for Ten Days by Nina Allan
dipped-in
January 11, 2019Read Nina Allan's story 'Ten Days'. This turns out to be a delightfully absorbing new story about the characters from
The Silver Wind
(I'm guessing it will be included in the new edition of the book when it comes out later this year). Dora Newland is the narrator; Martin is mentioned, as are Owen Andrews, Ray and Miranda; Lewis Usher appears; and of course there's a watch.
In this version of reality, the teenage Dora survived leukaemia and grew up to be a lawyer. She is passionately opposed to the death penalty, and wants to write a monograph on the subject; Martin encourages her to find a specific case study, which leads to her to Helen Bostall. In 1928 Helen was hanged for the murder of her partner, Edwin Dillon, but there was little conclusive evidence and Dora becomes convinced she was innocent. Dora's research turns up a pocket watch belonging to Arthur Rawlin, Helen's executioner. She's also told Rawlin believed it might be possible for him to travel back in time and save Helen. In Allan's Silver Wind stories, the phrase 'time machine' is frequently used to refer to a watch – but in this case it proves to hold more than one meaning.
'Ten Days' is a long story, almost a novella in itself. I loved it – in fact I think I liked it better than any of the original stories. It's far from the first time I've thought or said this about Allan's work, but it's just so meticulously detailed, with every character springing off the page. Dora is utterly convincing; Helen's milieu is just as tangible as the present day. Superb.
In this version of reality, the teenage Dora survived leukaemia and grew up to be a lawyer. She is passionately opposed to the death penalty, and wants to write a monograph on the subject; Martin encourages her to find a specific case study, which leads to her to Helen Bostall. In 1928 Helen was hanged for the murder of her partner, Edwin Dillon, but there was little conclusive evidence and Dora becomes convinced she was innocent. Dora's research turns up a pocket watch belonging to Arthur Rawlin, Helen's executioner. She's also told Rawlin believed it might be possible for him to travel back in time and save Helen. In Allan's Silver Wind stories, the phrase 'time machine' is frequently used to refer to a watch – but in this case it proves to hold more than one meaning.
'Ten Days' is a long story, almost a novella in itself. I loved it – in fact I think I liked it better than any of the original stories. It's far from the first time I've thought or said this about Allan's work, but it's just so meticulously detailed, with every character springing off the page. Dora is utterly convincing; Helen's milieu is just as tangible as the present day. Superb.
November 11, 2025
This is a fabulous anthology, celebrating the tenth anniversary of NewCon Press (it is soon to celebrate its twentieth!) and considering short stories are always a matter of subjective taste, and there are usually a couple (or more) in any anthology that don't quite engage me, I found this set of tales uniformly wonderful! There are some brilliant writers featured, some that are now pretty much household names in the genre, others not quite so well known, yet there is not a duff one among them. Hats off to Ian Whates for choosing his writers and stories so successfully! This is a real gem from NewCon's back catalogue, and I recommend it wholeheartedly!
November 10, 2023
Only read “Dress Rehearsal” by Adrian Tchaikovsky
November 4, 2024
Bought this because I wanted to read BSFA short fiction winner Liberty Bird by Jaine Fenn.
My ratings so far:
Liberty Bird by Jaine Fenn - 4* - Young privileged gay man struggles with coming out.
Women's Christmas by Ian McDonald - 2* - From Luna series. Women in Ireland.
Ten Love Songs to Change the World by Peter F. Hamilton - 3* - Fey girl time travel.
Time Travellers' Ball by Rose Biggin - 2* - 10 words plus title.
Pyramid by Nancy Kress - 2* - SF authors.
Dress Rehearsal by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 5* - Thespians and their manager’s contract. So well written, spare and lush and taut. Wow.
My ratings so far:
Liberty Bird by Jaine Fenn - 4* - Young privileged gay man struggles with coming out.
Women's Christmas by Ian McDonald - 2* - From Luna series. Women in Ireland.
Ten Love Songs to Change the World by Peter F. Hamilton - 3* - Fey girl time travel.
Time Travellers' Ball by Rose Biggin - 2* - 10 words plus title.
Pyramid by Nancy Kress - 2* - SF authors.
Dress Rehearsal by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 5* - Thespians and their manager’s contract. So well written, spare and lush and taut. Wow.
August 24, 2016
This was a mixed bag of stories. The longest story by Nina Allan, was excellent and the Peter Hamilton and EJ Swift stories very good but other than a few OK stories, most of the rest were poor in my opinion.
April 8, 2017
I don't usually buy books based on the publisher, but NewCon is very much The Little Press That Could, and 10 years of success seemed worth celebrating, especially when they got a pretty good set of writers together for the anniversary collection. Right, from the start, this is a strong collection with a story from Genevieve Cogman that does not go how you'd expect from the author of The Invisible Library series. Ian McDonald's Women's Christmas is a nice slice of life, with an SF background and good characterisation in a small space while Nancy Kress's Pyramid has you wondering all the way through until the final reveal and suddenly you have to go back and read the whole thing again, in a new light.
The rest of the collection is mostly just as strong. I must confess that I didn't really get Rachel Armstrong's Zanzarra Island or Jack Skillingstead's Licorice, but other highlights for me were Adrian Tchaikovsky's Dress Rehersal (with a neat conceit and a great last line); Peter F. Hamilton's Ten Love Songs to Change the Word, which left me with a lump in my throat; and E. J. Swift's Front Row Seats to the End of the World, about redemption and love at the end of days.
So a strong collection and here's to another ten, and more, years of a great wee press!
The rest of the collection is mostly just as strong. I must confess that I didn't really get Rachel Armstrong's Zanzarra Island or Jack Skillingstead's Licorice, but other highlights for me were Adrian Tchaikovsky's Dress Rehersal (with a neat conceit and a great last line); Peter F. Hamilton's Ten Love Songs to Change the Word, which left me with a lump in my throat; and E. J. Swift's Front Row Seats to the End of the World, about redemption and love at the end of days.
So a strong collection and here's to another ten, and more, years of a great wee press!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews