Free fiction - "Lipstick" by Michael Haulică

I am certain that plenty of Romanian writers can make an important contribution to the world of speculative fiction and I do hope that one day more of their works would be translated into English. If that starts to happen sooner rather than later remains to be seen, until then, here is another example of Romanian speculative fiction, a morsel of a story, “Lipstick”, written by one of the most important names of the local science fiction, Michael Haulică. “Lipstick” was published several times in Romanian, in 1993 in Jurnalul SF (SF Journal), 1996 in Dependent SF (SF Addicted), 1998 in Dealul Melcilor (Snails’ Hill), 2001 Cronica Română (Romanian Chronicle), in the author’s personal volumes, “Madia Mangalena” (1999) and “Fantastic Stories” (2010), translated into Danish in 2004 and published in “Science Fiction” magazine and in English in “Magaera” (2003), “Magaera Anthology Vol.1” (2005) and Anotherealm (2003), being finalist of the “Invasion” contest. You can read Michael Haulică’s “Lipstick”, translated by Adriana Moșoiu, either on his personal site or on Anotherealm.

Title spotlight - "Scale Bright" by Benjanun Sriduangkaew

I am always thrilled to see a favorite writer publishing a new book, there is a joyful anticipation in opening a preferred author’s new work, a delightful feeling of meeting an old friend again. But there is a different, wonderful excitement to be had at the discovery of a new writer, a new author who enrich and refresh the reading experience and puts a spell on me with her/his writing. My latest such excitement comes from Benjanun Sriduangkaew, a name heavily underlined on the list of newly discovered writers, who kept me mesmerized from her first story I’ve read, “Fade to Gold” (“End of the Road” edited by Jonathan Oliver), until the last, the recently re-published “Courtship in the Country of Machine-Gods” (The Future Fire, September 2012/“The Apex Book of World SF 3” edited by Lavie Tidhar/Apex Magazine, July 2014). And every single one of these stories turned Benjanun Sriduangkaew into a certainty for me. Unfortunately, I haven’t read all of her stories published so far, for one reason or another some of them skipped under my radar. However, besides the two stories already mentioned, “The Bees Her Heart, The Hive Her Belly”, “The Crows Her Dragon’s Gate”, “Annex”, “Vector”, “Silent Bridge, Pale Cascade”, “Zeraquesh in Absentia”, “Autodidact” and “Golden Daughter, Stone Wife” were as many motives of delight, of immersing into magical worlds and tales, as many challenging stories full of beautiful writing and sensibility. But as I am still in love with the printed books, without much chance of falling out of it, I was delighted to learn that I’ll soon have the chance to add a book bearing Benjanun Sriduangkaew’s name on the bookshelves with my favorite volumes. “Scale Bright” is Benjanun Sriduangkaew’s upcoming novella, due to be released by Immersion Press, and by the sounds of its blurb we can expect once again a fascinating world within our own, a captivating and original story, with melancholically and delicate touches. Besides the assured writing of Benjanun Sriduangkaew. To make things even better, Immersion Press didn’t repeat the slip it made with Aliette de Bodard’s “On a Red Station, Drifting” (as excellent as that novella was its cover was nowhere near its true value) and accompanied Benjanun Sriduangkaew’s “Scale Bright” with an equally seductive cover, created by Richard Wagner. As a result, there are plenty of arguments for me not to miss “Scale Bright” when it is released.

Julienne’s aunts are the archer who shot down the suns and the woman who lives on the moon. They teach her that there’s more to the city of her birth than meets the eye—that beneath the modern chrome and glass of Hong Kong there are demons, gods, and the seethe of ancient feuds. As a mortal Julienne is to give them wide berth, for unlike her divine aunts she is painfully vulnerable, and choice prey for any demon.

Until one day, she comes across a wounded, bleeding woman no one else can see, and is drawn into an old, old story of love, snake women, and the deathless monk who hunts them.

2014 Ignotus Awards nominees

AEFCFT, Asociación Española de Fantasía, Ciencia Ficción y Terror (The Spanish Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror Association) has announced the nominees for the 2014 Ignotus Awards, the awards created in 1991 and celebrating each year the works of Spanish speculative fiction as well as the ones translated into Spanish. The winners of the 2014 Ignotus Awards will be announced at Hispacon – MIRcon, the Spanish National Fantasy and Science Fiction Convention, which takes place between 6^th and 8^th December in Montcada i Rexac (Barcelona).

NOVEL

“Esta noche arderá el cielo” (This Night the Sky Will Burn) by Emilio Bueso (Salto de Página)

“Gente muerta” (Dead People) by J. G. Mesa (aContracorriente)

“La canción secreta del mundo” (The Secret Song of the World) by José Antonio Cotrina (Hidra)

“Los nombres muertos” (The Dead Names) by Jesús Cañadas (Fantascy)

“Memoria de tinieblas” (Memory of Darkness) by Eduardo Vaquerizo (Sportula)

NOVELLA

“En el filo” (On the Edge) by Ramón Muñoz (from “Terra Nova Vol. 2” / Fantascy)

“La edad del vuelo” (The Age of Flight) by Alberto Moreno Pérez (“Zaibatsu / La edad del vuelo” / Juan José Aroz, Espiral)

“La montaña” (The Mountain) by Juan González Mesa (Bizarro)

“La penúltima danza del Griwll” (Griwll’s Penultimate Dance) by Ramón Merino Collado (“De monstruos y Trincheras” / Juan José Aroz, Espiral)

“Rafentshalf” (Rafentshalf) by Jesús Fernández Lozano (from “Reyes de aire y agua” / Cápside)

SHORT STORY

“Dariya” (Dariya) by Nieves Delgado (from “Ellos son el future” / Web Ficción Científica / Revista Terbi nº 7)

“El aeropuerto del fin del mundo” (The Airport at the End of the World) by Tamara Romero (from “Visiones 2012” / AEFCFT)

“El enemigo en casa” (The Enemy Within) by Concepción Regueiro (from “Historias del Crazy Bar” / Stonewall)

“La última huella” (The Last Footprint) by Miguel Santander (from “La costilla de Dios” / Libralia / Revista TerBi nº 6)

“Los orcos no comen golosinas” (The Orcs Don’t Eat Sweets) by Carlos López Hernando (from “Visiones 2012” / AEFCFT)

“Wendy de los gatos” (Wendy of the Cats) by Jesús Fernández Lozano (from “Reyes de aire y agua” / Cápside)

ANTHOLOGY

“Cuentos para Algernon Año I” (Stories for Algernon, Year One) edited by Marcheto (Cuentos para Algernon)

“Hic sunt dracones. Cuentos imposibles” (Hic sunt dracones. Impossible Dreams) by Tim Pratt (Fata Libelli)

“La bomba número seis” (Pump Six and Other Stories) by Paolo Bacigalupi (Fantascy)

“Reyes de aire y agua” (Kings of Air and Water) by Jesús Fernández Lozano (Cápside)

“Terra Nova Vol. 2” (Terra Nova, Volume 2) edited by Mariano Villarreal & Luis Pestarini (Fantascy)

NON-FICTION

“Cómo escribir ciencia-ficción y fantasia” (How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy) by Orson Scott Card (Alamut)

“El poder de la sangre” (The Power of Blood) by Pedro L. López (Dolmen)

“Jack Kirby. El cuarto demiurgo” (Jack Kirby. The Fourth Demiurge) by José Manuel Uría (Sportula)

“Japón sobrenatural” (Supernatural Japan) by Daniel Aguilar (Satori)

“La biblia steampunk” (The Steampunk Bible) by Jeff Vandermeer & S. J. Chambers (Edge Entertainment)

“La 100cia ficción de Rescepto” (The Hundredth Fiction of Respect) by Sergio Mars (Cápside)

“La literatura fantástica argentina en el siglo XIX” (The 19^th Century Argentinean Fantastic Literature) by Carlos Abraham (La Biblioteca del Laberinto)

“Silencios de pánico” (Panicked Silences) by Diego López & David Pizarro (Tyrannosaurus Books)

“Steampunk Cinema” (Steampunk Cinema) by various writers (Tyrannosaurus Books)

ARTICLE

“Howard Koch, el guionista tras la magia de La guerra de los mundos de Orson Welles” (Howard Koch, the screenwriter behind the magic of Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds) by Luis Alfonso Gámez (Web Magonia)

“La ciencia ficción española” (The Spanish Science Fiction) by Mariano Villarreal (Web El rincón de Koreander)

“Literatura Fantástica en cifras. Estadística de producción editorial de género fantástico en España durante el año 2013” (The Fantastic Literature in Numbers. Editorial Statistics of Production of the Fantasy Genre in Spain During 2013) by Mariano Villarreal (Web Literatura Fantástica)

“Sobre la fantasía feérica” (About the Fairy Fantasy) by Sergio Mars (Antología Reyes de aire y agua)

“Ucronía” (Ucronia) by Asociación Cultural ALT+64 (Revista TerBi nº 7 / Web alt+64 Wiki)

ILLUSTRATION

The cover of Koldo Campo for “De monstruos y trincheras” (Of Monsters and Trenches) (Juan José Aroz, Espiral)

The cover of Carlos Argiles for “El dirigible” (The Dirigible) (Dlorean)

The cover of Alejandro Colucci for “El mejor de los mundos posibles” (The Best of All Possible Worlds) (RBA)

The cover of Eduardo Vaquerizo for “Memoria de tinieblas” (Memory of Darkness) (Sportula)

The cover of Olga Esther for “Reyes de aire y agua” (Kings of Air and Water) (Cápside)

The cover of Ángel Benito Gastañaga for “Terra Nova Vol. 2” (Terra Nova, Volume 2) (Fantascy)

The cover of Koldo Campo for “Zaibatsu / La edad del vuelo” (Zaibatsu / The Age of Flight) (Juan José Aroz, Espiral)

AUDIOVISUAL MATERIAL

“El cosmonauta” (The Astronaut) by Nicolás Alcalá (Feature Film)

“Fallo de Sistema” (System Failure) by Santiago Bustamante (Radio Program)

“Los últimos días” (The Last Days) by Álex Pastor & David Pastor (Feature Film)

“Luces en el Horizonte” (Lights of the Horizon) by Luis Martínez & Pablo Uría (Podcast)

“Los VerdHugos” (The VerdHugos) by Miquel Codony, Pedro Román, Elías F. Combarro & Joseph María Oriol (Podcast)

COMIC BOOKS

The category has been cancelled this year because it didn’t reach the minimum number of candidates as it is stated in the Article 26 of the Rules for the Ignotus Awards.

POETRY

The category has been cancelled this year because it didn’t reach the minimum number of candidates as it is stated in the Article 26 of the Rules for the Ignotus Awards.

MAGAZINE

Alfa Eridiani (Asociación Cultural Alfa Eridiani)

Barsoom (La Hermandad del Enmascarado)

Delirio (La Biblioteca del Laberinto)

miNatura (Asociación Cultural miNatura Soterrània)

Planetas Prohibidos (Grupo Planetas Prohibidos)

Scifiworld (Inquidanzas Ediciones)

TRANSLATED NOVEL

“2312” (2312) by Kim Stanley Robinson (Minotauro)

“El vacío de la evolución” (The Evolutionary Void) by Peter F. Hamilton (La Factoría de Ideas)

“Embassytown” (Embassytown) by China Miéville (Fantascy)

“La casa de hojas” (House of Leaves) by Mark Z. Danielewski (Alpha Decay)

“El ladrón cuántico” (The Quantum Thief) by Hannu Rajaniemi (Alamut)

“Las luminosas” (The Shining Girls) by Lauren Beukes (RBA)

“Tierras rojas” (Red Country) by Joe Abercrombie (Alianza)

TRANSLATED SHORT STORY

“26 monos, además del abismo” (26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss) by Kij Johnson (Cuentos para Algernon Vol I)

“Araña, la artista” (Spider, the Artist) by Nnedi Okorafor (Terra Nova Vol 2 / Fantascy)

“El hombre que puso fin a la Historia: documental” (The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary) by Ken Liu (Terra Nova Vol 2 / Fantascy)

“Las manos de su marido” (Her Husband’s Hands) by Adam-Troy Castro (Terra Nova Vol 2 / Fantascy)

“Separados por las aguas del Río Celeste” (Scattered Along the River of Heaven) by Aliette de Bodard (Terra Nova Vol 2 / Fantascy)

“Sueños imposibles” (Impossible Dreams) by Tim Pratt (Hic sunt dracones / Fata Libelli)

WEBSITE

“Alt+64-Wiki” - Asociación cultural Alt+64 (http://alt64.org/wiki/index.php/Portada)

“Cuentos para Algernon” - Marcheto (http://cuentosparaalgernon.wordpress.com)

“La tercera fundación” - Asociación para la difusión de la literatura fantástica ‘Los Conseguidores’ (http://www.tercerafundacion.net)

“Literatura Fantástica” - Mariano Villarreal (http://literfan.cyberdark.net)

“Sense of wonder” - Elías Combarro (http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot.com.es)

Congratulations and good luck to all the nominees!

2013 Shirley Jackson Awards

On 13^th July, the Shirley Jackson Award (my favorite literature award due to its constant challenging of my reading habits) announced its 2013 winners in a ceremony held at Readercon 25, in Burlington, Massachusetts.

NOVEL:

“American Elsewhere” by Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit)

NOVELLA:

“Burning Girls” by Veronica Schanoes (Tor.com)

NOVELETTE:

“Cry Murder! In a Small Voice” by Greer Gilman (Small Beer Press)

SHORT FICTION:

“57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides” by Sam J. Miller (Nightmare Magazine, December 2013)

SINGLE-AUTHOR COLLECTION:

“Before and Afterlives” by Christopher Barzak (Lethe Press)

“North American Lake Monsters” by Nathan Ballingrud (Small Beer Press)

EDITED ANTHOLOGY:

“Grimscribe’s Puppets” edited by Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. (Miskatonic River Press)

Congratulations to all the winners!