First review for “The Stars Askew”

Posted: June 26, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: stuff | Tags: , | Leave a comment

The first review for Rjurik Davidson’s “The Stars Askew” has appeared in the wild, as Matt Hlinak of Pop Mythology unpacks the second novel in the Caeli-Amur Series. 

Matt says:

I have been waiting with anticipation for the follow-up to Rjurik Davidson’s strikingly original debut, Unwrapped Sky (2014), and The Stars Askew does not disappoint. The “young master of the New Weird” fleshes out his wonderfully bizarre world, a world that blends familiar elements of history and mythology in unique ways.

You can read the full review here.

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Vampires in the Sunburnt Country ~ Jason Nahrung

Posted: June 8, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Book launch | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The books keep arriving from SuperNOVA — and this week they come from Jason Nahrung. Blood & Dust and The Big Smoke together form Vampires in the Sunburnt Country — a duo of (horror? thriller? adventure?) books about vampires in Queensland.

They were released in paperback yesterday by Clan Destine Press, launched at the Continuum Convention by acclaimed fantasy author, Alison Goodman.

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Jason Nahrung with Alison Goodman – launching the paperbacks of Vampires in the Sunburnt Country

Blood & Dust

Blood & DustFor Outback mechanic Kevin Matheson, it’s just another summer’s day. Mulga wavering in the haze, sweat on his brow, bastard flies getting in his way.

And then the vampires arrive, leaving his life like road kill in their wake.

Caught between vicious nomadic bikers and their brutal foes from the coast, Kevin fights to save not only those he holds dearest, but his own soul.

But how far will he go to save the people he loves?

Buy as eBook | paperback

The Big Smoke

The Big SmokeKevin Matheson is coming to Brisbane with revenge on his mind. Even for a vampire, there is no time like the present. He has a score to settle with Mira, the sadistic killer who tore his life in outback Queensland apart.

For Mira’s bodyguard, Reece, worn out and fading a little more each day, the present is all he has. He is determined to spend it protecting his mistress, for better or worse.

But, as the two men head for a collision, the vampires of Brisbane have their own plans – plans that will lead Kevin and Reece down roads they never expected to travel.

And at the end of the line, at the intersection of loyalty and vengeance, both face the question: who are they willing to sacrifice to win the war?

Buy eBook | paperback

Congratulations, Jason!

Cherry Crow Children ~ Deborah Kalin

Posted: April 7, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Book launch | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

The latest SuperNOVArian to birth a book is Deborah Kalin, whose much-anticipated fantasy collection Cherry Crow Children from Twelfth Planet Press was officially launched at Swancon this past Easter weekend.

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Tulliæn spans a fractured mountaintop, where the locals lie and the tourists come to die. Try the honey.

Briskwater crouches deep in the shadow of a dam wall. Ignore the weight of the water hanging overhead, and the little dead girl wandering the streets. Off with you, while you still can.

In Haverny Wood the birds drink blood, the dogs trade their coughings for corpses, the lost children carve up their bodies to run with the crows, and the townsfolk stitch silence into their spleens. You mustn’t talk so wild.

The desert-locked outpost of Boundary boasts the famed manufacturers of flawless timepieces; those who would learn the trade must offer up their eyes as starting materials. Look to your pride: it will eat you alive.

Sooner or later, in every community, fate demands its dues — and the currency is blood.

  • Introduction by Kate Elliott
  • The Wages of Honey
  • The Briskwater Mare
  • The Cherry Crow Children of Haverny Wood
  • The Miseducation of Mara Lys

Buy now from Twelfth Planet Press.

About Deborah

deborah kalinDeborah Kalin is an Australian author based in Melbourne. A student of Clarion South 2005, she is the author of the Binding books (Shadow Queen and Shadow Bound, published by Allen and Unwin), and her short fiction has appeared in Postscripts Magazine and ASIM. An original voice of Australian fiction, her work has been described as “striking, infuriating, endlessly surprising and wonderfully disturbing” (Aurealis).

Congratulations Deb!

The Three Sisters ~ Jane Routley

Posted: March 11, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Book launch | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

SuperNOVArian Jane Routley has a new e-book out from Clan Destine Press!

TTS3Described as a historical fantasy with feisty female characters, The Three Sisters is a tale about three sisters, estranged from the Society they are destined to save.

Elena, more beautiful than any man can resist, is kidnapped, her destiny controlled by the men who desire her. Yani, warrior woman, brave, strong, able to pass as a man, who will do anything to find Elena. Marigoth, powerful female mage, determined never to grow up, equally committed to finding their missing sister. In a country oppressed and cruelly ruled, the fate of many people lies in the unsuspecting hands of these three women.

About Jane

Two times Aurealis award winner Jane Routley lives in Melbourne. She has published short stories, articles and a blog about working on a railway station. This is her fourth published novel, available for the first time in Australia.

Congratulations Jane.

2014 Aurealis Awards Finalists Announced

Posted: March 2, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: stuff | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The finalists for this year’s Aurealis Awards have been announced and, as well as being an exceptionally strong field in general, it is wonderful to see SuperNOVA well represented.

The list of finalists is below, with SuperNOVA members in bold.

Good luck to all the finalists!

Winners of the 2014 Aurealis Awards and the Convenors’ Award for Excellence will be announced at the Aurealis Awards ceremony, on the evening of Saturday 11 April at the University House, Canberra. Details of the evening and a link to the online booking website are available at www.aurealisawards.org

For further information about the Awards please contact the Convenor, Nicole Murphy, at aurealisawards@gmail.com

2014 Aurealis Awards – Finalists

BEST FANTASY NOVEL

Fireborn, Keri Arthur (Hachette Australia)

This Shattered World, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)

The Lascar’s Dagger, Glenda Larke (Hachette Australia)

Dreamer’s Pool, Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Afterworlds, Scott Westerfeld (Penguin Books Australia)

Daughters of the Storm, Kim Wilkins (Harlequin Enterprises Australia)

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY

“The Oud”, Thoraiya Dyer (Long Hidden, Crossed Genres Publications)

“Teratogen”, Deborah Kalin (Cemetery Dance, #71, May 2014)

“The Ghost of Hephaestus”, Charlotte Nash (Phantazein, FableCroft Publications)

“St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls”, Angela Slatter (The Review of Australian Fiction, Volume 9, Issue 3)

“The Badger Bride”, Angela Slatter (Strange Tales IV, Tartarus Press)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Aurora: Meridian, Amanda Bridgeman (Momentum)

Nil By Mouth, LynC (Satalyte)

The White List, Nina D’Aleo (Momentum)

Peacemaker, Marianne de Pierres (Angry Robot)

This Shattered World, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Allen & Unwin)

Foresight, Graham Storrs (Momentum)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

“The Executioner Goes Home”, Deborah Biancotti (Review of Australian Fiction, Vol 11 Issue 6)

“Wine, Women and Stars”, Thoraiya Dyer (Analog Vol CXXXIV nos 1&2 Jan/Feb)

“The Glorious Aerybeth”, Jason Fischer (OnSpec, 11 Sep 2014)

“Dellinger”, Charlotte Nash (Use Only As Directed, Peggy Bright Books)

“Happy Go Lucky”, Garth Nix (Kaleidoscope, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST HORROR NOVEL

Book of the Dead, Greig Beck (Momentum)

Razorhurst, Justine Larbalestier (Allen & Unwin)

Obsidian, Alan Baxter (HarperVoyager)

BEST HORROR SHORT STORY

“The Executioner Goes Home”, Deborah Biancotti (Review of Australian Fiction, Vol 11 Issue 6)

“Skinsuit”, James Bradley (Island Magazine 137)

“By the Moon’s Good Grace”, Kirstyn McDermott (Review of Australian Fiction, Vol 12, Issue 3)

“Shay Corsham Worsted”, Garth Nix (Fearful Symmetries, Chizine)

“Home and Hearth”, Angela Slatter (Spectral Press)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

The Astrologer’s Daughter, Rebecca Lim (Text Publishing)

Afterworld, Lynnette Lounsbury (Allen & Unwin)

The Cracks in the Kingdom, Jaclyn Moriarty (Pan Macmillan Australia)

Clariel, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)

The Haunting of Lily Frost, Nova Weetman (UQP)

Afterworlds, Scott Westerfeld (Penguin Books Australia)

BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

“In Hades”, Goldie Alexander (Celapene Press)

“Falling Leaves”, Liz Argall (Apex Magazine)

“The Fuller and the Bogle”, David Cornish (Tales from the Half-Continent, Omnibus Books)

“Vanilla”, Dirk Flinthart (Kaleidoscope, Twelfth Planet Press)

“Signature”, Faith Mudge (Kaleidoscope, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

Slaves of Socorro: Brotherband #4, John Flanagan (Random House Australia)

Ophelia and the Marvellous Boy, Karen Foxlee (Hot Key Books)

The Last Viking Returns, Norman Jorgensen and James Foley (ILL.) (Fremantle Press)

Withering-by-Sea, Judith Rossell (ABC Books)

Sunker’s Deep: The Hidden #2, Lian Tanner (Allen & Unwin)

Shadow Sister: Dragon Keeper #5, Carole Wilkinson (Black Dog Books)

BEST COLLECTION

The Female Factory, Lisa L Hannett and Angela Slatter (Twelfth Planet Press)

Secret Lives, Rosaleen Love (Twelfth Planet Press)

Angel Dust, Ian McHugh (Ticonderoga Publications)

Difficult Second Album: more stories of Xenobiology, Space Elevators, and Bats Out Of Hell, Simon Petrie (Peggy Bright Books)

The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, Angela Slatter (Tartarus Press)

Black-Winged Angels, Angela Slatter (Ticonderoga Publications)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Kisses by Clockwork, Liz Grzyb (Ed) (Ticonderoga Publications)

Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories, Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios (Eds), (Twelfth Planet Press)

Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction, Dominica Malcolm (Ed) (Solarwyrm Press)

Reach for Infinity, Jonathan Strahan (Ed) (Solaris Books)

Fearsome Magics, Jonathan Strahan (Ed) (Solaris Books)

Phantazein, Tehani Wessely (Ed) (FableCroft Publishing)

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL/ILLUSTRATED WORK

Left Hand Path #1, Jason Franks & Paul Abstruse (Winter City Productions)

Awkwood, Jase Harper (Milk Shadow Books)

“A Small Wild Magic”, Kathleen Jennings (Monstrous Affections, Candlewick Press)

Mr Unpronounceable and the Sect of the Bleeding Eye, Tim Molloy (Milk Shadow Books)

The Game, Shane W Smith (Deeper Meanings Publishing)

2015 Ditmar Award voting now open!

Posted: February 16, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: stuff | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 2015 Ditmar Award ballot has been released, and features a number of SuperNOVA members (highlighted in bold below).

Voting has now opened, and will remain open until one minute before midnight AEST (ie. 11.59pm, GMT+11),
Wednesday, 28th of May, 2014.

You can vote online here, or visit here for more information.

Good luck to all the nominees!

Best Novel
————————————————————————
* The Lascar’s Dagger, Glenda Larke (Hachette)
* Bound (Alex Caine 1), Alan Baxter (Voyager)
* Clariel, Garth Nix (HarperCollins)
* Thief’s Magic (Millennium’s Rule 1), Trudi Canavan (Hachette Australia)
* The Godless (Children 1), Ben Peek (Tor UK)

Best Novella or Novelette
————————————————————————
* “The Ghost of Hephaestus”, Charlotte Nash, in Phantazein (FableCroft
Publishing)
* “The Legend Trap”, Sean Williams, in Kaleidoscope (Twelfth Planet Press)
* “The Darkness in Clara”, Alan Baxter, in SQ Mag 14 (IFWG Publishing
Australia)
* “St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls”, Angela Slatter, in Review of
Australian Fiction, Volume 9, Issue 3 (Review of Australian Fiction)
* “The Female Factory”, Lisa L. Hannett and Angela Slatter, in The
Female Factory (Twelfth Planet Press)
* “Escapement”, Stephanie Gunn, in Kisses by Clockwork (Ticonderoga
Publications)

Best Short Story
————————————————————————
* “Bahamut”, Thoraiya Dyer, in Phantazein (FableCroft Publishing)
* “Vanilla”, Dirk Flinthart, in Kaleidoscope (Twelfth Planet Press)
* “Cookie Cutter Superhero”, Tansy Rayner Roberts, in Kaleidoscope
(Twelfth Planet Press)
* “The Seventh Relic”, Cat Sparks, in Phantazein (FableCroft Publishing)
* “Signature”, Faith Mudge, in Kaleidoscope (Twelfth Planet Press)

Best Collected Work
————————————————————————
* Kaleidoscope, edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios (Twelfth
Planet Press)
* The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2013, edited by Liz
Grzyb and Talie Helene (Ticonderoga Publications)
* Phantazein, edited by Tehani Wessely (FableCroft Publishing)

Best Artwork
————————————————————————
* Illustrations, Kathleen Jennings, in Black-Winged Angels (Ticonderoga
Publications)
* Cover art, Kathleen Jennings, of Phantazein (FableCroft Publishing)
* Illustrations, Kathleen Jennings, in The Bitterwood Bible and Other
Recountings (Tartarus Press)

Best Fan Writer
————————————————————————
* Tansy Rayner Roberts, for body of work
* Tsana Dolichva, for body of work
* Bruce Gillespie, for body of work
* Katharine Stubbs, for body of work
* Alexandra Pierce for body of work
* Grant Watson, for body of work
* Sean Wright, for body of work

Best Fan Artist
————————————————————————
* Nalini Haynes, for body of work, including “Interstellar Park Ranger
Bond, Jaime Bond”, “Gabba and Slave Lay-off: Star Wars explains
Australian politics”, “The Driver”, and “Unmasked” in Dark Matter Zine
* Kathleen Jennings, for body of work, including Fakecon art and
Illustration Friday series
* Nick Stathopoulos, for movie poster of It Grows!

Best Fan Publication in Any Medium
————————————————————————
* Snapshot 2014, Tsana Dolichva, Nick Evans, Stephanie Gunn, Kathryn
Linge, Elanor Matton-Johnson, David McDonald, Helen Merrick, Jason
Nahrung, Ben Payne, Alex Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Helen Stubbs,
Katharine Stubbs, Tehani Wessely, and Sean Wright
* It Grows!, Nick Stathopoulos
* Galactic Suburbia, Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner
Roberts, and Andrew Finch
* The Writer and the Critic, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond
* Galactic Chat, Sean Wright, Helen Stubbs, David McDonald, Alexandra
Pierce, Sarah Parker, and Mark Webb

Best New Talent
————————————————————————
* Helen Stubbs
* Shauna O’Meara
* Michelle Goldsmith

William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review
————————————————————————
* Reviews in The Angriest, Grant Watson
* The Eddings Reread series, Tehani Wessely, Jo Anderton, and Alexandra
Pierce, in A Conversational Life
* Reviews in Adventures of a Bookonaut, Sean Wright
* “Does Sex Make Science Fiction Soft?”, in Uncanny Magazine 1, Tansy
Rayner Roberts
* Reviews in FictionMachine, Grant Watson
* The Reviewing New Who series, David McDonald, Tansy Rayner Roberts,
and Tehani Wessely

 

Cosmos Online Holiday Reading

Posted: January 14, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: stuff | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Cosmos Magazine have posted the finals story in their holiday reading lineup–SuperNovarian Claire McKenna’s “The marriage of the corn king”.

My husband’s blood is 100 proof ethanol and my jailer cops a bucket of the stuff as he plunges below the flaming lintel, and one of my husband’s fingers, thrown, sets him alight. Diesel farmers don’t think in terms of low-temperature vaporisation, so he doesn’t run like he should have done, and all it took from me was that tiny flame and suddenly all that sunlight and photons and C4 photosynthesis and energy dense biomass makes him hot and hot and burn and burn and burn…

But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Every process has a start, a moment of ignition, and I could point to several: the Sorrow, the Deconstruction, the Scatterings and Forgetting, the Falling-Down and The Casting-Up, the Migration of Millions, the Longer March. But all of these are indirect to me, for I was not born when those things happened, so it is Kasey who is first in my mind, striding through the transgenic corn fields in a polyester dress the colour of cellulose slurry. She can call up storms, Kasey. Not the regular kind, but the secret understorms that move within people.

You can read the full story here.

Tangent Online 2014 Recommended Reading List Announced

Posted: January 14, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: stuff | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

The annual Tangent Online Recommended Reading List has been released, and SuperNOVA member, Steve Cameron, has made the cut with his story “Holland: 1944” which appeared in Galaxy’s Edge #7.

Congratulations to Steve, and to the number of other Aussies on the list, which you can find here.

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New stories for the end of the year

Posted: December 29, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: stuff | Leave a comment

cold comfort by david mcdonaldSuperNova members David McDonald and Aidan Doyle have landed some cool publications in time for the new year.

David has had a three-story collection, Cold Comfort and Other Tales, published digitally by Clan Destine Press; and Aidan has had ‘Science fiction: Undeleted‘ published in Cosmos magazine’s holiday reading selection online.

Happy new year!

Review of The Streetking on Black Gate

Posted: December 17, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: stuff | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

A wonderful review of Peter Hickman’s “The Streetking” has gone up at Black Gate magazine:

There was only one heroic fantasy story in the November issues of Beneath Ceaseless Skies: #160‘s “The Streetking” by Peter Hickman. It’s a marvelous tale of a street criminal and the young noble girl who comes to sell him stolen jewelery. Over time she comes down to the streets herself. With her “mineshaft mind”, they become a formidable pair. So much so that they run afoul of the lord of the underworld, the Streetking.

The highlight of the story is the street argot Hickman’s created for his narrator’s voice. It’s got the right amount of slang and original syntax to sound believable.

You can read the full review here.

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