Writing on Jeff Vandermeer’s blog, Jason Sanford puts in a good word for the UK SF&F magazine Interzone.

Gardner Dozois has called Interzone “the best looking SF magazine,” and it’s hard to disagree. But as good as their design is, the writing is even better. I love their fiction, and find their reviews and nonfiction articles to be the best in the business.

He backs up this view by linking to four sample stories from the magazine – three of which are past winners of the magazine’s annual readers’ poll for best short story of the year.

• Mercurio D. Rivera’s “Longing for Langalana” (PDF download). Also available in a podcast. Winner, 2006 Interzone Readers’ Poll.
• Gareth L. Powell’s “Ack-Ack Macaque” (podcast). Winner, 2007 Interzone Readers’ Poll.
• Jason Sanford’s “When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees” (PDF download). Winner, 2008 Interzone Readers’ Poll.
• Eugie Foster’s “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” (reprinted in Apex Magazine).

Read the whole of Jason’s article here: www.jeffvandermeer.com

Yesterday on Twitter, I asked:

We’ve had New Weird and Steampunk. What’s going to be the “next big thing” in science fiction?

As you can imagine, I had a number of replies. Some were serious, others less so. For instance, I think Marc Gascoigne was perfectly serious with this heartfelt plea:

Spacepunk, sir… Spacepunk

Whereas Jonathan McCalmont had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he wrote:

VampirePunk : The former members of Crass kick the shit out of the casts of Twilight and the Anita Blake novels.

But the one that really caught my eye was a blog post from Jason Sanford in which he puts the case for an emerging trend he calls “SciFi Strange“.

SciFi Strange writers live in today’s multicultural world, where diversity and difference are the norm, even as we explore the basic human values and needs which bind all of us together. SciFi Strange also flirts with the boundaries of what is scientifically–and therefore realistically–possible, without being bounded by the rigid frames of the world as we know it today. But don’t mistake SciFi Strange for fantasy. This is pure science fiction. It’s merely an updated version of the literature of ideas. A SF equipped for a world where the frontiers of scientific possibility are almost philosophical in nature.

He goes on to name a few stories he identifies as SciFi Strange, including stories by Aliette de Bodard,  Eugie Foster, Mercurio D. Rivera, Paolo Bacigalupi, Ted Chiang, Ian McDonald, and Nnedi Okorafor. He even includes my own short story, “Ack-Ack Macaque“.

What do you think? Does his argument make sense – or are there other “movements” emerging in modern science 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.

Vaughan Stanger has included my short story ‘Ack-Ack Macaque’ in another anthology. This one’s themed around computers and virtual reality and goes by the title The Blue Screen of Death & Other Stories.

The collection also features stories by Cat Rambo, Eugie Foster, and Ben Jeapes, among others, and describes itself as: “strange tales of touchy-feely interfaces and animated monkeys, the ultimate botnet and the blue screen of death, plus many other humorous and thought-provoking stories.”

Order online here: Blue Screen of Death

In addition, I:

• Had a story reprinted in Concept SciFi
• Was interviewed by Concept SciFi
• Sold a third story to Interzone (Memory Dust, coming Jan 2009)
• Sold a story to the Future Bristol anthology edited by Colin Harvey (What Would Nicolas Cage Have Done? coming April 2009)
• Co-wrote a short story with Aliette de Bodard (The Church of Accelerated Redemption, finishing touches currently being applied)
• Co-wrote a short story with Rob Starr (The Winding Curve, which appeared in Rob’s collection Sophistry by Degrees, Jan 2008)
• Was interviewed by SF Crowsnest
• Garnered excellent reviews for The Last Reef & Other Stories from The Fix, SF Crowsnest, Morpheus Tales, Interzone, etc
• Wrote another short story, Laptop Jack, that’s ready to go out to market…

Just for fun, I’ve been toying with ideas for a sequel to “Ack-Ack Macaque“. These are the titles I’ve come up with so far:

• Ack-Ack’s Back and He’s On Crack!
• Ack-Ack Macaque and the Terror of Monster Island!
• Ack-Ack Macaque and the Space Vampires!
• Ack-Ack Macaque versus the Surf Nazis!

TTA Press have just announced their new podcast site, Transmissons From Beyond. Every other Monday, they’ll broadcast a new story taken from one of their magazines – Crimewave, Black Static or Interzone.

I have already been working with Pete Bullock to produce audio versions of my two Interzone stories – “The Last Reef” and “Ack-Ack Macaque” – and they will both make an appearance on the site in due course.

The first review of The Last Reef is now online at The Fix, and it’s positive. The reviewer, Rae Bryant, writes:

“In The Last Reef, Powell holds a cross-section of science, nature, and technology in his quintessential human hand and gives it a roll across the universal table. What turns up is an eclectic mix of possibility, tragedy, and hope—a gamble worth betting on.”

And:

“Powell’s depth and breadth of characterization work, and his settings are truly impressive. His work displays a willingness to show truths and flaws for what they are, rather than gratuitously exaggerating only strengths. With his instinct for subtlety, Powell is an author to watch. His work is the spyglass of science fiction, the ship just over the horizon.”

Read the full review here: http://thefix-online.com/reviews/the-last-reef/

The new issue of Interzone is here, including the results of the 2007 Readers’ Poll.

As you already know, my story “Ack-Ack Macaque” came first in the poll, closely followed by stories from Grace Dugan and Alastair Reynolds.

Included with the results in the magazine this year are a selection of comments from the voters. There were a couple of complimentary ones about “Ack-Ack Macaque” – and only one negative one, which made me laugh out loud because it described the characters as “petty and unpleasant hipsters“.

Coming first in this poll means a great deal to me, as it was my ambition for many years to sell a story to Interzone, and I’m absolutely delighted that now I’ve had two featured in the magazine, both have enjoyed an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from the readership.

I’m delighted to see the readers of Interzone have voted “Ack-Ack Macaque” as their favourite short story of 2007.

I’m very pleased and surprised with this accolade for three reasons: 1) because my story was up against some very strong writing from some excellent authors, 2) because Interzone’s always been the standard against which I’ve measured my success, and 3) because this poll was voted for by the readers of the magazine, and shows there’s an audience out there for the kind of stuff I’m writing.

This is the second year running I’ve had a story placed highly in this poll, and I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me.

You can see a list of the full results here: http://ttapress.com/441/2007-interzone-readers-poll-results