Richard Wright

So, that was Fantasycon, and very entertaining it was too. Quite a blur, to be honest. The best bit was putting some faces to names (including the gents above, Chris Teague from Pendragon and Steven Savile), which I spent most of Friday evening doing, aided by large amounts of John Smiths. I’d hate to start reeling off names, as I’d inevitably miss somebody, who would inevitably be offended, but hello to you all, and thanks for the welcome.

On Saturday I popped in and out of panels and the dealer’s room, and picked up some splendid titles, including Pendragon’s stunning looking new antho New Writings in the Fantastic, and on Sunday I flew home. A good weekend, all in – and congratulations to all the award winners. Choices lost out to the Elastic Book of Music, but Paul Finch’s Kid won in the best novella category, so congratulations both to Paul and Chris.

So now Choices has not only been reviewed well all over the place, it’s also the only place you can currently read the British Fantasy Award winning novella Kid, among others. So, you know, that’s sort of a hint. That you should buy it. You see what I did there?

I mentioned a while ago that the Pendragon Press anthology Choices, featuring my novelette ‘Radio Trauma’, had made it to the (very) long list of potential nominees for the British Fantasy Award in the best anthology of 2006 category. Alas, it has now been bumped off that list… straight onto the bona fide final shortlist. The BFS membership will now go away and ponder the final five, vote again, and the winner will be announced alongside the other categories at an awards dinner on the 23rd September in Nottingham (a bit like the Oscars, only shabbier and more drunken, or so I gather). I was already delighted to be in this book, and obviously this remains the case, only a little bit more. Congratulations to the editor and publisher Chistopher Teague, who spent a long time planning and filling the book, trying to get it right, for getting this far, and fingers crossed that he gets a trophy for his mantle, because he’s thoroughly deserving of one. He also, obviously, has absolutely splendid tastes in fiction…

As for ‘Radio Trauma’, it too was knocked from its long list in the best novella anthology, but in a less aspiring direction. Not a surprise in the least, and I’ve commented previously that I would have been a little bit embarrassed to get any further, given the lack of actual fantasy in the story (fantasy should be a given in a British Fantasy Award shortlisted story, I feel). However, I also mentioned in that entry how much I’d like to see Paul Finch’s ‘Kid’ win the award, so am pleased to see it on the list in the novella category. Happy to see Eric Brown’s ‘Memory of Joy’, also from Choices, on there too, which is also very deserving, in my opinion.

I’ll be at the British Fantasy Convention this year in Nottingham, although I won’t be attending the awards banquet in order to keep costs down, so I look forward to buying the nominees a pint or two in person.

So, to summarise, Choices has now been released to some excellent reviews, has been shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award for best anthology, has had two of the six stories shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award in the best novella category, and has a perfectly credible chance of winning any of those awards.

So now will you go and buy the damn book?

First off, Choices has picked up another excellent review over at the SF Crowsnest. Go and have a look, and then consider buying a copy and finding out why all the reviewers who have picked it up have said nice things like:

“This is an anthology of well-written novelettes but with three that stand out. ‘Kid’, ‘Memory Of Joy’ and ‘Radio Trauma’ are certainly worth buying this volume for.”

I was also pleased to see that the book has been recommended for the British Fantasy Award for best anthology. Before you get too excited, all that means is that one or more members of the BFS have recommended that it be included on the ‘long list’ for voting. At the moment, that long list is being voted on by the society’s members to produce a ‘short list’ of three or four books. When the short list is established, the membership votes again, and the award winner is announced at the BFS convention in September, at a fancy ceremony. As such, the book has another stage to get through before it can claim to have been shortlisted for the award, but it’s nice to be in the running at all.

Equally pleasing, though a little more baffling, is that my story in that book, ‘Radio Trauma’, has also been individually recommended, and is on the long list in the best novella category. Very flattering though this is, I doubt it will go any further. Nor should it. Despite being in an anthology dominated by fiction with a subtle supernatural edge, ‘Radio Trauma’ is a straight thriller, falling into the horror category thanks to the actions of lunatic talk show caller Keith rather than any fantastical goings on. I can’t help but feel that having an element of fantasy in the story should probably be a prerequisite of winning a British Fantasy award. I’d feel a little bit like a fraud if the story went any further in the selection process. That said, I’m pleased to see that every other novelette in the book has also made the list (which should tell you something about the contents). Personally, I’d like to see Paul Finch’s ‘Kid’ win, as it’s one of my favourite stories of the year.

So, instead of investing your time reading me writing about the book, why not go and buy the actual book, and you’ll be in a much better position to find out whether it’s award-worthy or not…

I know some of you have been gnawing your fingers in anticipation of Choices, the new anthology from Pendragon Press containing my novelette Radio Trauma, especially those of you who ordered from Shocklines. Due to some shipping delays, Shocklines was a couple of months behind in receiving their order (transatlantic shipping being the particular problem – they left the publisher promptly in January, and have just turned up at the Shocklines warehouse).

One of the reasons I like to send American readers to Shocklines in particularly is that they will accept your pre-order, but don’t charge you until the moment the book is shipping to you – when unavoidable delays such as this happen, you’re not paying for it. As I say though, the book is now on in the post, with my own apologies for the delay. I hope you enjoy it.

Even better news is that Matt at Shocklines has placed the book into his Guaranteed Good Read promotion. This means that if you take a chance on it but don’t like it, you have thirty days to return the book for your money back, no questions asked. He’s that confident you’ll like it, which is good to see.

Of course, if you haven’t ordered the book yet, that makes this the perfect time to do so. And did I mention that every copy currently stocked at Shocklines is autographed by every author in the book?

Go on… take a punt, and if you don’t like it I’ll not only eat my hat, but you’ll get your money back too…

Well, so far 2007 is turning into a very splendid year, as you’ll see in a moment or two. As such, I felt it was time for a change of online wardrobe. If you’re reading this on Myspace, pop over to my website proper and have a look around. There’s a whole new look, and lots of structural things that make me very happy indeed. For a start, my journal (which I copy and paste into my Myspace page) is now a built-in part of my website, instead of sitting awkwardly to the side. If you’re an RSS reader, you can now subscribe via a link on the front page to everything that happens on the site – the journal, news, and more to come. You can also comment all over the place, not just in the journal itself, subscribe to a comments feed to keep up to date with what everybody else is saying, and click on tags all over the place to narrow down on stuff you’re interested in. Have a poke around, and see what you think. Comments are welcome…

This urge to reinvent is brought on by satisfying bursts of both productivity and sales on the writing front. At the moment, 2007 is shaping up to be the best year of publishing I’ve had for ages (and, touch wood, we’re only a month in). Some things I can talk about, and some things I need by a little obtuse regarding just now. I learned a long time ago that announcing projects before contracts are signed can leave this writer with egg on his face…

• Choices – the book that kicked off this little run. Okay, so technically it was published 31st December 2006, but I’ll count it as the start of my 2007 publishing calendar. So far, informal opinion on the book has been excellent, and the reviews recieved thus far have matched that. Fingers crossed that word spreads. Novelettes are an underpublished form of fiction, despite being incredibly satisfying for a reader (long enough for unrushed plot and character development, short enough to devour in a sitting), and Pendragon Press were brave in committing to the book and seeking out the best work they could. As well as hoping I does well for myself and the other writers, I really hope it rewards the publisher.
• Tattered Souls. You go years without making a novelette sale, and then two come along at once. I hinted at this sale a couple of weeks back, but at the time no contracts had been signed, and the book did not yet have a name. Details are still sketchy, but I can tell you that the book features my story Other People, a story that will push you on a journey through the psyches of several tormented characters, and hopefully leave you reeling. I can also say that the publisher is aiming to launch the book at the World Horror Convention in Toronto at the end of March, and that I believe the other stories in the book are also novelette length. I can also tell you that I’m frantically struggling through line edits as we speak, so that the good folks at Cutting Edge can keep the book on schedule.
• Super Secret Project. That would be a charming name for a book, wouldn’t it? All I’ll tell you about this right now is that the first stage of work is just about done, and the second is about to begin. Oh, and it’s a bloody extraordinary project, and that isn’t hyperbole (well, all right, it is, but it’s entirely justified in this case). When announcements are made on the coming months, you may well soil yourselves with anticipation. I did, just thinking about it, and I’m not remotely embarrassed about it.
• Mystery Short Story Sale. While the above project is genuinely hush-hush right now, this one is obtuse only because contracts are yet to be sent out, and so forth. The sale is to a magazine, nationally distributed in the US, and the short story is a chilling puzzle which you will have to be more than usually on your toes to solve.
• Miscellany. Things too ephemeral to discuss right now, that I’m trying not to let myself get excited about until they firm up. They include a novella in which there is interest, a book length project that I have been approached about (and which will blow your mind and my own if it goes through), and several smaller bits and pieces, including the usual raft of submissions I’m waiting to hear back about.

With all of that happening, the old website was beginning to feel rather tired and clumsy, and much insomnia later, is revived for your pleasure.

Anyway, as January is closing, it’s time for me to update you as to progress in the actual writing, rather than merely the sales that follow. If you remember, my goal at the start of the year was to complete four novels, twelve novellas, and twenty-six short stories. By close of play today, I’ll have managed two of the short stories, most of a novella, and am about three quarters of the way through the novel. The novella would have had a good chance of being entirely complete, were the line edits on Other People not the more urgent priority. Fingers crossed, I’ll have it complete by the weekend.

Not a bad start, indeed.