Currently Reading List, Black Petals

Because I constantly have to change things around here, I've started posting a list of books I'm currently reading and a list of books I've recently finished. Both can be found towards the bottom of this blog, under the banner ads. A lot of the books I've read I've only found by talking to other writers about books they're reading, so maybe people can discover new books from my list, too. Feel free to leave a comment about any of the books listed, or about any books you're reading. I'd be happy to tell you what I liked or didn't like about any of the books.

There are a lot of poetry and fiction contests open now, with deadlines toward the end of the year. I'll be posting links and more information about them, either in a new post or on the sidebar. In the meantime, here's one contest for drabbles (100-word stories):

The Sam's Dot Special Drabble Contest - Sam's Dot Publishing holds regular drabble contests throughout the year, but this one has a special theme -- "Alien Sex Secrets: What Your Alien Lover Wants You To Do In Bed." Finalists are published in a contest anthology, The Drabbler, and all writers with stories chosen for publication will get a copy. First prize is $10 plus a Sam's Dot paperback, second prize is $5 and a Sam's Dot chapbook. Deadline for submissions is December 31st.

Black Petals #45 is now online, including two poems by yours truly. There's also a creepy Halloween tale by C.S. Watts.

Black Petals #44, Rhysling Winners Announced, Contests

The new issue (#44) of Black Petals is now online. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but from the lineup it looks like a good one.

The results of the 2008 Rhysling Awards have been posted here -- congratulations to all the winners!

Here are two speculative fiction contests:

Science Fiction Writers of Earth Science Fiction/Fantasy Short Story Contest: The entry fee for this one is $5 per story, which includes a one-year membership in the Science Fiction Writers of Earth. Additional entries are $2 each. All entries must be unpublished. The top prizes are pretty good: $200/$100/$50, and the story that wins first place may earn another $75 for web publishing rights. Deadline is October 30th.

Electric Dragon Cafe Short Story Contest: This is a quarterly themed contest with no entry fee. The theme this time around is "birth & rebirth." First prize is a $25 Borders or Barnes & Noble gift card (which by then will probably be the same thing), second prize is a $10 gift card, and third prize is an Electric Dragon Cafe writing journal. Deadline is August 31st, and only unpublished stories for this one, too.

Non-paying markets

A lot of writers overlook the value of publishing in magazines or journals (online or in print) that don't pay contributors. Many great magazines have started off as non-paying, simply because they could not afford it. But as a writer, having your work appear in magazines can be reward enough -- either as the almighty ego boost, or just exposure to get your name out there. Also, many online venues will post a link to your blog or website and let you promote your books or other merchandise.

Here are a few non-paying speculative markets that I have found to be reputable and easy to work with:

- Black Petals
- Cemetery Moon - pays 1 copy
- Sinister Tales - pays leading story $125 and leading poem $25
- The Ashen Eye
- Twisted Dreams Magazine
- Twisted Tongue Magazine - pays for Editor's Choice award, all others free PDF and link
- Visionary Tongue - pays 1 copy

If you're looking for a great online repository of short horror stories, check out MicroHorror.com. The site is loaded with stories short enough to read in one sitting. Editor Nathan Rosen just added my story, "Shelter," to the site this month.

And if you're in the mood for a good poem, read "A Tan Dog Standing" by Julie Jordan Hanson, found online at the Michigan Quarterly Review archives. This is one of the finest poems I've read in a long time, and although it's not speculative, I think you'll enjoy it.

Apex Digest subscription drive

Apex Science Fiction & Horror Digest is holding a subscription drive to keep the magazine afloat. It's a great magazine -- quality fiction, essays, interviews, and illustrations. They've got a catalog of back issues on the website if you want to pick up a sample copy, rather than dive into a subscription, and if you've never read an issue, check out my review of Apex #9 or Dan McNeil's review of issue #7.

In other horror mag news, the new issue of Illumen hit the newsstands last month. The issue is full of great poets (plus me) -- check out the table of contents if you don't believe me.

Also releasing a new issue is the now-online horror purveyor Black Petals, with stories by the likes of Kenneth James Crist and Barry J. House, and a whole slew of poems by talented poet Chris Forbes.

It's Rhysling Time

It's that time of year again... time for those of you who are SFPA members to get your Rhysling nominations in. You can nominate one short poem (1-49 lines) and one long poem (50+ lines), but they have to be in by Feb. 18th. The complete guidelines for submitting a nomination can be found here.

Also, Black Petals #42 (the first online issue) just went live. Even though it's on a screen instead of a page, it's still the same quality of stories and poems that the Black Petals team has been bringing consistently for years. This issue has two featured poets, Kendall Evans and Gary Every.

Scifaikuest and Black Petals

As those of you who are subscribers already know, the new issue of Scifaikuest is out, and it's a keeper. They've moved to a classy perfect-bound format that fits the magazine well, even though we all know it's what's inside that counts. And inside is pretty much what Scifaikuest readers have come to expect: great scifaiku and horrorku, as well as related forms such as haibun and tanka. There's an article by Joshua Gage on the joining of haiku and horror, and there's a linked scifaiku by the issue's featured poet, J. Bruce Fuller, which is worth the price of the magazine alone.

There's also a companion online version of the magazine, with poems not available in the print issue. Check it out.

And in other news, Black Petals has officially gone online-only. They are still taking submissions and still committed to putting out a quality mag; the only difference is that now you can't take it in the bathroom with you (unless you have a laptop, which I guess a lot of people do, so nevermind). Read their updated submission guidelines here.

Bits and Pieces Review in Black Petals

Just got Black Petals #41 in the mail yesterday... I think it goes without saying that it's full of great stories, poems, and artwork. After this issue the magazine will be going on-line only, so if you want a print copy as a souvenir, this is your last opportunity.

Editor Anne Stickel reviewed my chapbook on page 2 (which, by the way, is available here). She also reviewed Strange Gardens of the Mind by fellow BP contributor Chris Forbes, a paperback collection of dark fiction and poetry. You can find ordering details over at Black Petals.

It's Been a While

So I haven't been posting much lately. Not a whole lot going on, but here are some things to check out:

The new issue of Black Petals (#41) is on sale now. Rumor has it this may be the last print issue of the magazine, so get a copy while you can.

A few new stories up at Whispers of Wickedness.

Spec House Distro has really expanded recently. You can order subscriptions to a bunch of magazines now, including Scifaikuest, The Shantytown Anomaly, and Dreams & Nightmares. Plus there's a whole slew of new books available from many of the speculative genre's top names.

Talebones #35

If you're trying to decide which small-press horror/sci-fi/dark fantasy magazine you want to try out this month (other than Black Petals, which by the way did I mention will be spotlighting my chapbook Bits and Pieces in their next issue?), you should check out Talebones.

The summer issue promises to be a strong one. Editor Patrick Swenson has made Talebones into a high-quality magazine, and the line-up for #35 looks like this issue will be no exception -- fiction by big names like William F. Nolan, Darrell Schweitzer, and Mary Robinette Kowal, and poetry by Spec House of Poetry's own Kendall Evans.

Kendall's chapbook, Poetry Red-Shifted in the Eyes of a Dragon, is currently the #1 bestseller over at Spec House Distro. It's some fine poetry from one of the genre's finest poets, and a great chapbook to add to any collection.

Bits & Pieces Review in Black Petals

Anne Stickel, editor of Black Petals, will be spotlighting my chapbook in the next issue, #41. Be sure to pick up a copy, especially if you've never sampled the magazine before... the quality of fiction and poetry it consistently contains is amazing. You can order a single copy or subscription here.

Black Petals #40

Black Petals #40, the 10th anniversary issue, is on sale now. I'm happy to have two poems included in it, and any horror fan should definitely pick up a copy of this issue. As Black Petals readers have come to expect, it's got stories and poems from some of the genre's top names -- Kendall Evans, Barry J. House, Kristine Ong Muslim, Garry Charles, and Aurelio Rico Lopez III, to name a few.

This issue will also be the last issue edited by Kenneth James Crist, who has done an amazing job with the magazine over the years. It's unfortunate that he has to step down, but if it means he'll be putting out more fiction collections like The Gazing Ball, then I can't say it's a completely bad thing.

And if you like Black Petals, check out issue #2 of Yellow Mama...

http://blackpetalsks.tripod.com/yellowmama

Upcoming poems

One of my poems, "The Last Tollbooth," will be in Black Petals #39, due out April 15th. Unless Mr. Crist can find a replacement editor, Black Petals will be shut down in about a year. If you're interested in helping out (and able to), get in touch with the man himself. Here's the information:

http://www.blackpetals.net/id4.html

Also, I just found out Writers' Journal accepted one of my poems for a future issue, which (I think) is pretty cool. I've got some other poems slated for upcoming issues of Scifaikuest, Vacuum Genesis, and Star*Line.

If anyone's actually reading this, leave some comments and share your news, too.