New Scifaikuest, some fiction markets

The August issue of Scifaikuest is available now. It's their 6th anniversary issue, and it's packed with great poems by too many well-known poets to name here. Well, okay, I'll name a few -- John J. Dunphy, Michael Dylan Welch, Kurt MacPhearson, and Kendall Evans. There's also an informative article about modifying haiku into scifaiku by Joshua Gage, and a couple of funny cartoons. Also, check out the online issue, which has unique content not found in the print version.

Here are a few speculative fiction markets to submit to:

- Flash Fiction Online: Stories between 500 and 1000 words, genre fiction welcome. Pays $50/story.
- Day of the Dead: Pays $25 and 1 contributor's copy, welcomes "subtle horror." Deadline Oct. 31st.
- Dark Jesters: Looking for humorous horror stories, 1500 to 2000 words. Pays $40 and 1 copy. Deadline Nov. 30th.

And last but not least, congratulations to Pete Tennant and the rest of the Whispers of Wickedness review team, who won this year's British Fantasy Award for Best Non-Fiction. I'm proud to have been a very small part of that team (though I'm sure they still would've won without me!). Read some of the award-winning reviews here.

Spec House Distro shut down

Yep, it's true... the online genre store Spec House Distro was raided by federal agents last week and shut down. Well, I'm actually not sure about the raided part, but I know it was definitely shut down. Just for now, hopefully. But you can still buy all the Spec House products here, on the blog page.

Also on the same page, check out the call for submissions on the right hand side. Spec House editor J. Bruce Fuller is looking for some special poems, and yours could be one of them.

In more Spec House of Poetry news, the deluxe edition of Kendall Evans' chapbook, "Poetry Red-Shifted in the Eyes of a Dragon," is SOLD OUT. It's a great collection of some of Evans' best poems, and if you haven't gotten a copy yet, you can still buy the "regular" chapbook (until that one sells out, too).

Here's a haiku contest you may or may not have heard of... the Haiku Calendar ompetition put on by Snapshot Press. Entries are $5 per haiku, or 3 for $10, and they're due in by April 30th.

Just found out Twisted Tongue Magazine is gonna publish a collection of four of my scifaiku in the upcoming issue, which is pretty cool. It's a great magazine if you've never read it, and it's a great magazine if you have read it, too.

A couple of good poems

Here are two poems I've read recently that really stuck with me. Both of them are technically excellent and evoke strong images.

- "April Again" by Charles Gramlich

- "When Again I Feel My Hands" by Marge Simon (scroll down past Tony Bernstein's article and the other poets)

Also, the official list of 2008 Rhysling nominations is online, if anyone hasn't seen it yet. I'm honored to have my name on the list, among so many larger-than-life poets, including David C. Kopaska-Merkel, Kendall Evans, J. Bruce Fuller, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Mike Allen, and Marge Simon.

Lastly, if anyone is looking for gifts for a fellow writer (or maybe for yourself), feel free to take a look at my Out to Lunch Cartoons gift shop. I've just lowered the prices on all the products, so now's a great time to buy something. If you're looking for a specific cartoon on a specific item that you don't see, just ask.

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.