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.

Two Forums, One Market, and... that's it

Since Whispers of Wickedness will be closing down in the near future, all of its forum members (including me) will need to find a new place to share ideas*, communicate with others in the speculative genre*, and find new markets*.

* translation, "not do housework"

To that end, I would like to bring two other online forums to everyone's attention. The first one is rather new, but is also based in the UK and is hosted by a genre magazine. It is the Twisted Tongue forums, and while it doesn't have many members yet, it is still growing. One of the neat things about this forum is that it encourages poets to post poems for discussion or criticism.

The second forum I would like to mention is called Spatial Distortion, and it's hosted by the fine folks who bring you Aberrant Dreams. It's been around a little longer and has more participation, and (like Whispers) it provides a channel to give feedback on poems and stories published in the magazine, which is great for both the authors and the readers to compare and discuss.

Both forums are free (otherwise I wouldn't be mentioning them!) and neither one will be mad at you if you cheat on them and go to the other one too.

I'd also like to mention a new dark fiction and poetry magazine that's putting together its first issue -- The Ashen Eye. It's still taking submissions, and while it doesn't pay contributors (yet), it does offer a $10 prize to the best poem and story (and $5 for the best artwork) in each issue. The only way small magazines like this one can afford to pay contributors is by support from readers and writers, so think of a submission now as an investment in the future.

Whispers of Wickedness Shutting Its Doors

Whispers of Wickedness, the well-known British poetry and fiction small-press magazine, has decided to close down. The magazine provided years of enjoyable reading, introduced many now-famous writers, produced its own line of chapbooks, and hosted a website with independent reviews of other small-press publications. It will be sad to see it go.

You can read more information here.

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.

Story Up at Whispers

Whispers of Wickedness just posted a new batch of stories to their website, including my short, "Confession." Check 'em all out. And the latest issue of the magazine, #15 for those of you who are counting, is now available. You can see the cover and table of contents here.

For haiku enthusiasts, here are a few more haiku magazines you might be interested in:

- Modern Haiku
- Tundra
- White Lotus

The First Bits and Pieces Review!

Emma Lee, poet extraordinaire, reviewed Bits and Pieces for Whispers of Wickedness. Read the full review here.

And while you're surfing, take a look around Emma's website, too.

Two New Stories up at Whispers

There are two new stories posted over at Whispers of Wickedness - "The Guts to Quit" by Jason Sizemore, editor of Apex Digest, and "Screamcrow" by Charles Richard Laing, a Whispers regular. Both are excellent flash fiction stories. Check them out here.

Book of Shadows review

My review of Book of Shadows is online at Whispers of Wickedness - http://www.ookami.co.uk/html/book_of_shadows_volume_1.html. There are plenty of other reviews there, as well as quality stories and poems. Browse around the site.

New Review

My review of Book of Shadows, Volume One (Brimstone Press) should be up on the Whispers of Wickedness website soon. It's a great book for any fan of dark flash fiction, and flash fiction writers should check it out too.

Also, one of my poems will be in the April issue of From the Asylum. (I'll try to get a link up soon.) Some more poems will be coming out soon in Leading Edge, Tales of the Talisman, The Shantytown Anomaly, and The Magazine of Speculative Poetry.

HAHAKU, a Sam's Dot anthology of humorous horror and science fiction senryu, is still accepting submissions through the end of April. You can check out their guidelines here: http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/HahakuGL.htm.