Scifaikuest, Haiku in English

The August issue of Scifaikuest is out and it's a good one.  I'm not gonna review it fully 'cause I'd be biased since one of my scifaiku are included, but there are some great poems in here by Kurt MacPhearson, Belly
Peterson, Aurelio Rico Lopez III, and LeRoy Gorman, among others.  There's scifaiku, horrorku, tanka, haibun, and more.  Definitely something for every fan of speculative poetry.  You can purchase a copy of the issue on the Alban Lake website for just $6.00, as well as check out unique free content in the August online edition.

In mainstream haiku news, a new haiku anthology that may very well take its place in the haiku pantheon next to The Haiku Anthology, The Haiku Handbook, and other staples, has just been released -- Haiku in English, edited by Jim Kacian, Philip Rowland, and Allan Burns.  This is a massive hardcover text, weighing in at 464 pages, with tons of English-language haiku.  It can be purchased on Amazon for $17.62, and it's eligible for free shipping.  (The Kindle version is only $11.99.)

IHS International Haiku Competition, new issues of magazines

The Irish Haiku Society's 2013 International Haiku Competition is open for entries.  There are three prizes to be award: Euro 150, Euro 50, and Euro 30.  Unpublished poems, 17 syllables or fewer, are eligible, and all entries must be made by snail mail and postmarked by November 30th.  There is a $4 entry fee per haiku (or $25 for 7 poems).

Speaking of the Irish Haiku Society, Shamrock's new issue is available online for reading.  It has a lot of worthwhile poems, including some really good ones by Graham High and Ignatius Fay.

The new print issue of Scifaikuest (May 2013) is also out now, and it contains some good poems by Ross Balcom, Rebecca L. Brown, Aurelio Rico Lopez III, dan smith, and many more.  There are scifaiku, horroku, and tanka, among other forms.  Milo James Fowler is the featured poet.

The June issue of The Heron's Nest is full of talent, as well.  Curtis Dunlap, George Swede, Mark Forrester, and Jessica Malone Latham all have great poems featured in this issue.

Niteblade #24: Forbidden Island, is available now too.  The title poem, by J.A. Grier, is not to be missed -- a different take on the zombie poem.

random stuff

The new issue of Scifaikuest is now online, featuring great poetry (as well as a horrorku and senryu by yours truly). Also now online is the current Shamrock Haiku Journal, issue #10. Check out J.D. Heskin's dark lawn-mowing haiku (toward the bottom).

If anyone is thinking of buying this year's Writer's Market, Poet's Market, or Novel & Short Story Writer's Market, now is the perfect time to snatch them up at half price. Not sure how long this sale will last, but if you plan on getting a couple books, keep in mind that you get free shipping on orders over $25.

Lastly, we have a new contest: InkSpotter's 6th Annual Finding the Right Words Flash Fiction Contest. Has two prizes of CA$60 and CA$30 for stories under 500 words. Entry fee is only CA$2, and the postmark deadline is July 21st.

DailyHaiku

DailyHaiku is open for submissions through March 31st. There's no pay for contributors, but it's good exposure, and if your haiku are chosen for the annual print anthology, you'll get a copy. Submit 10 unpublished haiku by email. No simultaneous submissions.

Several magazines just put out new issues that are particularly good. For online reading, check out the March issue of Niteblade. If you prefer print magazines, order a copy of the current bear creek haiku or Scifaikuest. All three magazines are well-stocked with good poems (and Niteblade's got fiction, too).

Finally, thank you to whoever (whomever?) nominated my poem "Bats" for the Rhysling Award. It's an honor to be a part of the talented group that always makes up the Rhysling anthology, and "Bats" was an especially fun poem to write.

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.

Some new poems

Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. December has been a good month. Two more poems have been published online -- "Gift Horse" in the new issue of Niteblade and "Safety Scissors" in Down in the Cellar -- and I have some acceptances from Tales of the Talisman, Dreams & Nightmares, From the Asylum, and Scifaikuest.

Also, for haiku lovers, the new issue of Shamrock Haiku Journal is up, and it is FULL of good haiku and senryu, including a couple of exceptional poems by Marie Summers and Robert Lucky. (One of mine is buried in there somewhere, too.)

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.

Some poems up online

Here are a few poems that have been posted online recently:

- an untitled horrorku up at Scifaikuest. (Another one is included in the print version.)
- "The Reaper" over at Aberrant Dreams. They have a cool new webzine format where you can read the poems and then rate (and discuss) them in the forum.
- "The Pumpkin Man" and "Hall of Shadows" in issue #1 of Niteblade.
- "Skeleton" in the final issue of Blood, Blade, & Thruster.

If anyone else has any recent publications, feel free to share (and plug!) them here.