DARK FICTION MAGAZINE LAUNCH

This is an online magazine I'm going to be visiting a lot.

Dark Fiction Magazine (www.darkfictionmagazine.co.uk) is pleased to announce the launch of a new service for fans of genre fiction. Beginning Oct 31st (Halloween), Dark Fiction Magazine will be launching a monthly magazine of audio short stories. This is a free service designed to promote genre short fiction to an audience of podcast and radio listeners. A cross between an audio book, an anthology and a podcast, Dark Fiction Magazine is designed to take the enjoyment of short genre fiction in a new and exciting direction.

Dark Fiction Magazine publishes at least four short stories a month: a mix of award-winning shorts and brand new stories from both established genre authors and emerging writers. Each episode will have a monthly theme and feature complementary tales from the three main genres – science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Co-founder Del Lakin-Smith said: "I love reading short stories, and with the increased uptake of mobile and portable devices this really is a growth area. But like many I find I don't have as much time as I would like to read, so I tend to listen to many podcasts on the go. The idea of replacing my podcasts with high quality, well performed audio short stories is something I find highly appealing, so Sharon and I set about making that a reality."

Sharon Ring, co-founder of Dark Fiction Magazine, said: “From technophobe to technophile in less than two years; I spend a great deal of time working online. To while away those hours, I like to listen to podcasts and drink copious amounts of strong coffee. Now, while I don’t recommend you drink as much coffee as I, I do recommend you check out what Del and I have created. We love podcasts; we love genre fiction; we built a site to bring the two together.”

The theme of Dark Fiction Magazine’s first episode is The Darkness Descends and will feature four fantastical stories:

• ‘Maybe Then I’ll Fade Away’ by Joseph D’Lacey (exclusive to Dark Fiction Magazine)
• ‘Pumpkin Night’ by Gary McMahon
• ‘Do You See?’ by Sarah Pinborough (awarded the 2009 British Fantasy Society Short Story Award)
• ‘Perhaps The Last’ by Conrad Williams

Lined up for future episodes are Pat Cadigan, Cory Doctorow, Jon Courtenay, Grimwood, Ramsey Campbell, Rob Shearman, Kim Lakin-Smith, Ian Whates, Lauren Beukes, Mark Morris, Adam Nevill, Gareth L Powell, Jeremy C Shipp, Adam Christopher, and Jennifer Williams, among others.

With a team of dedicated and passionate narrators, a central recording facility and a love of genre, Dark Fiction Magazine delivers a truly outstanding aural experience.

Dark Fiction Magazine will also be producing special editions with seasonal stories and topical issues, competitions, flash fiction episodes and novel excerpts. Each episode aims to shock and delight, to horrify and confound as Dark Fiction Magazine takes its listeners on an aural tour through the world of genre fiction.

Dark Fiction Magazine is a collaborative project, created and developed by Del Lakin-Smith and Sharon Ring. For further information, contact Del or Sharon at
editorial@darkfictionmagazine.co.uk

The Winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2010

Originally posted at Hellnotes
posted by Dave

Here are the winners of the British Fantasy Awards 2010, as announced at the British Fantasy Awards ceremony at FantasyCon 2010 this past weekend:

Best Novel: The August Derleth Fantasy Award
One
Conrad Williams (Virgin Horror)

Best Novella
The Language Of Dying
Sarah Pinborough (PS Publishing)

Best Short Fiction
“What Happens When You Wake Up In The Night”
Michael Marshall Smith (Nightjar)

Best Anthology
The Mammoth Book Of Best New Horror 20
Edited by Stephen Jones (Constable and Robinson)

Best Collection
Love Songs For The Shy And Cynical
Robert Shearman (Big Finish)

The PS Publishing Best Small Press Award
Telos Publishing
David Howe

Best Comic/Graphic Novel
Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader?
Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert (DC Comics/Titan Books)

Best Artist Vincent Chong
For work including covers for:
The Witnesses Are Gone (PS Publishing)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 20 (Constable & Robinson)

Best Non-Fiction
Ansible
David Langford

Best Magazine/Periodical
Murky Depths
Edited and published by Terry Martin

Best Television
Doctor Who
Head writer: Russell T Davies (BBC Wales)

Best Film
Let The Right One In
Directed by Tomas Alfredson (EFTI)

Best Newcomer – The Sydney J. Bounds Award
Kari Sperring
For Living With Ghosts (DAW)

The British Fantasy Society Special Award: The Karl Edward Wagner Award
Robert Holdstock

The British Fantasy Award winners were decided by a vote of the combined memberships of the British Fantasy Society, FantasyCon 2009 and FantasyCon 2010. The exceptions are the the Sydney J. Bounds Award, decided by a panel of appointed judges, and the Karl Edward Wagner Award, decided by the British Fantasy Society and FantasyCon 2010 committees.

The winner of the BFS Short Story Competition 2010 was also announced during the ceremony. The winning story was “Omar the Teller of Tales” by Robin Tompkins. The runner-up was “The Song” by Travis Heermann, and third place went to “Beating Heart” by Dan Malach.

Brian Keene Poised to Unleash Maelstrom: But What is It?

Hello.

My name is Gregory Fisher. I'm also called the Undead Rat. I run a blog focusing on my favorite topic: Horror Books.

For sometime now, horror author Brian Keene has been dropping hints on The Official Website of Author Brian Keene about something called Maelstrom.

First announce in a cryptic blog post on June 11, 2010 and the referred to in three subsequent posts. Little by little Brian Keene has revealed what we absolutely needed to know and not much more.

He has stated:

* Maelstrom is big . . . huge . . . humongous even!

* Subscribers to the newsletter Of Keene Interest will find out what it is before the rest of us -- in fact they should already know.

* It will come out October 1st, 2010

* On August 16 he announced it will cost $125.00, giving us a month and a half to scrape up the funds

* Maelstrom will be offered as an online purchase only. Do not expect it to come to a store near you.

* Did I mention it was gargantuan?


What is Maelstrom? Well, most of us will have to wait until October to find out but I'm willing to hazard a guess.

Before I do, please realize I have no special insight, no relationship with the man (other than I buy his books), and no communication with him on this subject (I do not even have rudimentary telepathy). I'm also not a subscriber to Of Keene Interest, yet.

My best guess is that Maelstrom is the Labyrinth Mythos, the origin story that comes before the stories in Mr. Keene's horror novels such as The Rising, Earthworm Gods, Ghoul, Darkness on the Edge of Town and many others.