I appear to have accidentally volunteered myself to be the media liaison for Bristolcon.

Bristolcon is a one-day science fiction convention being held in conjunction with the British Browncoat Ceilidh on 26 September, organised by Kumara Conventions at the Mercure Holland House Hotel & Spa in Bristol. There will be discussion panels, trade stands, book signings, live music and a bar. The guest of honour will be Alistair Reynolds and profits from both events will be donated to the charity Equality Now.

All media enquiries should be directed to me at: media “at” bristolcon.org

Tickets can be bought here: http://www.bristolcon.org

Doing What You Have To Do To Get By

By Gareth L Powell

The three inflatables rounded the headland an hour after sunrise. Kadie Jones crouched in the lead boat, wrapped in the noise and fumes from the outboard motor, gripping a heavy service revolver in one hand. She wore a thick military surplus coat and a fur cap with khaki earflaps. As soon as the prow of the boat hit the beach, she sprang out and splashed up onto the shingle, her boots crunching noisily as she ran. Ahead, in the town, the church bell tolled.

“We’ve been spotted,” she said.

Continue reading “Friday Fiction”

The latest podcast from TTA Press features a recording of my Interzone poll-winning story Ack-Ack Macaque, read by the author.

The recording is accompanied on the website by the artwork which accompanied its original appearance in Interzone in 2007.

Listen to it here: Transmission 19

This is the first time I’ve released a recording of myself reading a full-length piece, so please feel free to leave feedback in the comments below.

Andrew Hook, the man behind Elastic Press, is interviewed by Peter Tennant on the TTA Press website:

“People will always want to read books and there will always be writers writing material which the majors aren’t going to be interested in (for whatever reason). So on that basis, the independent press will always have material to publish. What I think is important is that all publishers need flexibility and should embrace new technology. For example, several of the Elastic Press books are also available as e-books and audio books, and it would have been foolish to ignore those possibilities.”

Read the full interview here: Link

1. You must write.
2. You must finish what you write.
3. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order.
4. You must put the work on the market.
5. You must keep the work on the market until it is sold.

These rules appeared in the 1947 essay “On the Writing of Speculative Fiction” by Robert A. Heinlein and I agree with all of them save for number three. I tend to find my first drafts fairly ragged. The magic happens in the rewrites. I would hate to send a first draft out to market. But, based on my own experience, I think we can interpret this rule as:

“When a professional editor tells you to change a story, do so.”

After all, the editor probably has a far greater understanding of what sells in his particular market. Don’t be precious. If they ask you to change something, they almost certainly have a very good reason for the request.

After lying dormant for 2009, Pendragon Press has now announced the full details of its 2010 publishing schedule, which confirms the release of my first novel, Silversands, at Eastercon next year (see previous post). The list also includes books by Simon Maginn, Gary Fry, Gary McMahon, Gary Greenwood, and David Barnett.

Link.

Last year, Eran Cantrell provided the cover art to my short story collection, The Last Reef and Other Stories – which then became the masthead of this website. Now she’s gone one better and illustrated an entire book – this time, the perennial favourite by Lewis Carol. I’ve seen some pages online and they look magnificent.

Writing on Facebook, Eran says:

“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to publish a book for the first time. After several months of working in the margins of my busy school and work schedule, it’s finally available on lulu.com for $9.95. I’m still trying to earn enough money for my final year’s tuition in college, so any revenue is greatly appreciated! I hope you all enjoy how it’s turned out.“

Eran’s full length comic of The Jabberwocky can be found on lulu.com here: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-jabberwocky/7290052