Cover art - "The 2nd Spectral Book of Horror Stories" edited by Mark Morris

Last year, Spectral Press kicked with “The Spectral Book of Horror Stories” a new series of anthologies inspired by and in the style of the classic short story collections “The Pan Book of Horror Stories” and “The Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories”. And the first volume was something to remember, starting with the cover art, the editorial work of Mark Morris and the stories published within the first collection. It came as no surprise then that “The Spectral Book of Horror Stories” is in competition this year for a Shirley Jackson Award at the Best Anthology category, together with two of its stories running for the same award at the Best Short Fiction category (“The Dog’s Home” by Alison Littlewood) and the Best Novelette category (“Newspaper Heart” by Stephen Volk). This October, during the FantasyCon in Nottingham Spectral Press will launch the 2^nd volume of this series of anthologies, edited again by Mark Morris and with the same cover artist as of the first volume, the very talented Vincent Chong. There is no news yet about the table of contents of “The 2^nd Spectral Book of Horror Stories”, but I do love the cover artwork for the second volume. Vincent Chong inflicts the same eerie, unsettling sensation of the first cover here as well, establishing a very nice trend for “The Spectral Book of Horror Stories” by offering each volume an excellent visual companionship. The cover art is something to look for as much as are the stories published in each collection, making both features memorable trademarks for the series. I am convinced that this second anthology would be as good as the first and that “The Spectral Book of Horror Stories” would easily become one of my favorite series of short story collections. If it isn’t already.

Cover art - "The House of Shattered Wings" by Aliette de Bodard (UK edition)

In March we saw the US cover for Aliette de Bodard’s upcoming novel, “The House of Shattered Wings”; in the meantime the UK cover has surfaced as well. Gollancz, the UK publisher, goes for another approach, more subtle, but no less interesting. The reference to the title can be fully glimpsed through the wings occupying the center of the cover, while their crystal like appearance leads the thought to a highly valued item, but also fragile and easily breakable. Paris being on ruins, following the Great Houses War, can be guessed by the aspect of Notre-Dame’s interior, the walls cracked here and there, graffiti written on them and the floor covered by water and debris. Now, from the synopsis we learn that Notre-Dame is actually a burnt-out shell, but this is clearer on the US cover rather than the UK one. I am not here to complain though, so I don’t have any quarrel with the Gollancz’s approach for their cover. As a matter of fact, I am not even sure which edition of Aliette de Bodard’s “The House of Shattered Wings” I would like to have on my bookshelves. Of course, I would love both of them, but due to a couple of impediments fulfilling that wish is far-fetched. But no matter the final choice, I will definitely have a copy of Aliette de Bodard’s novel on my personal library.

Here is also some of the early praise “The House of the Shattered Wings” is gathering.

“A superb murder mystery, on an epic scale, set against the fall out – literally – of a war in Heaven.

Paris has survived the Great Houses War – just. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. The citizens continue to live, love, fight and survive in their war-torn city, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over the once grand capital.

House Silverspires, previously the leader of those power games, lies in disarray. Its magic is ailing; its founder, Morningstar, has been missing for decades; and now something from the shadows stalks its people inside their very own walls.

Within the House, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen, an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction, and a resentful young man wielding spells from the Far East. They may be Silverspires’ salvation. They may be the architects of its last, irreversible fall…"

“THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS is a Gothic masterpiece of supernatural intrigues, loves and betrayals in a ruined and decadent future Paris — wildly imaginative and completely convincing, this novel will haunt you long after you’ve put it down.”

Tim Powers, author of THE ANUBIS GATES

“Darkly entertaining. de Bodard makes Fallen Angels entirely her own in this post-apocalyptic Paris near the turn of the century. The personal politics of necessity blend and clash with the politics of the powerful as people—mortal and immortal—attempt to survive.”

Michelle Sagara, author of THE CHRONICLES OF ELANTRA and THE HOUSE WAR series

“THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS exists in a rich, evocative Paris that is thick with magical history. Pathos and beauty intertwine in a novel filled with longing.”

Mary Robinette Kowal, Multiple-Hugo award winning author of THE GLAMOURIST HISTORIES

“Original and intriguing, this novel is a strange delight and a foretaste of great things to come.”

Justina Robson, author of THE GLORIOUS ANGELS

“An intense, beautiful, brutal journey written with an eye for the stunning, vivid detail and the cruel demands of duty, loyalty, and leadership. Its portrait of a ruined Paris ruled by fallen angels is one I won’t soon forget.”

Kate Elliott, author of the SPIRITWALKER trilogy

Awards round-up - Shirley Jackson Awards, Premio Ignotus & Spectrum 22

It seems that most of my heavy work is out of the way, at least for now. So it’s time to catch up on some of the fun things, starting with the shortlists of a few awards I am quite fond of.

2014 Shirley Jackson Awards (the winners will be announced during Readercon 26, taking place at Burlington Marriott, Burlington, Massachusetts, between 9^th and 12^th of July):

NOVEL

“Annihilation” by Jeff VanderMeer (FSG Originals)

“Bird Box” by Josh Malerman (Ecco)

“Broken Monsters” by Lauren Beukes (Mulholland)

“Confessions” by Kanae Minato (Mulholland)

“The Lesser Dead” by Christopher Buehlman (Berkley)

“The Unquiet House” by Alison Littlewood (Jo Fletcher Books)

NOVELLA

“The Beauty” by Aliya Whiteley (Unsung Stories)

“Ceremony of Flies” by Kate Jonez (DarkFuse)

“The Good Shabti” by Robert Sharp (Jurassic London)

“The Mothers of Voorhisville” by Mary Rickert (Tor.com, April 2014)

“We Are All Completely Fine” by Daryl Gregory (Tachyon)

NOVELETTE

“The Devil in America” by Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com, April 2014)

“The End of the End of Everything” by Dale Bailey (Tor.com, April 2014)

“The Husband Stitch” by Carmen Maria Machado (Granta)

“Newspaper Heart” by Stephen Volk (The Spectral Book of Horror Stories, Spectral Press)

“Office at Night” by Kate Bernheimer and Laird Hunt (Walker Art Center/ Coffee House Press)

“The Quiet Room” by V H Leslie (Shadows & Tall Trees 2014, Undertow Publications/ChiZine Publications)

SHORT FICTION

“Candy Girl” by Chikodili Emelumadu (Apex Magazine, November 2014)

“The Dogs Home” by Alison Littlewood (The Spectral Book of Horror Stories, Spectral Press)

“The Fisher Queen” by Alyssa Wong (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May/June 2014)

“Shay Corsham Worsted” by Garth Nix (Fearful Symmetries, ChiZine Publications)

“Wendigo Nights” by Siobhan Carroll (Fearful Symmetries, ChiZine Publications)

SINGLE-AUTHOR COLLECTION

“After the People Lights Have Gone Off” by Stephen Graham Jones (Dark House)

“Burnt Black Suns:  A Collection of Weird Tales” by Simon Strantzas (Hippocampus)

“Gifts for the One Who Comes After” by Helen Marshall (ChiZine Publications)

“They Do The Same Things Different There” by Robert Shearman (ChiZine Publications)

“Unseaming” by Mike Allen (Antimatter Press)

EDITED ANTHOLOGY

“Letters to Lovecraft” edited by Jesse Bullington (Stone Skin Press)

“Fearful Symmetries” edited by Ellen Datlow (ChiZine Publications)

“The Spectral Book of Horror Stories” edited by Mark Morris (Spectral Press)

“Shadows & Tall Trees 2014” edited by Michael Kelly (Undertow Publications/ChiZine Publications)

“The Children of Old Leech: A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron” edited by Ross E. Lockhart and Justin Steele (Word Horde)

2015 Premio Ignotus (The annual Spanish award recognizing the works of speculative fiction. The winners will be announced during HispaCon, taking place this year in Granada, most probably during the month of November):

NOVEL

“A vuestras mentes dispersas” (To Your Scattered Minds) by Joan Antoni Fernández (Ed. Juan José Aroz)
“El libro de Ivo” (The Book of Ivo) by Juan Cuadra Pérez (Ed. Fantascy)
“El mapa del caos” (The Map of Chaos) by Félix J. Palma (Ed. Plaza&Janés)
“La inconquistable” (The Unconquerable) by José Antonio Bonilla (Ed. Autores Premiados)
“La piedad del Primero” (The Piety of the First) by Pablo Bueno (Ed. Sportula)
“Las tierras en juego” (The Lands At Stake) by Arkaitz León Muela (Ed. Círculo Rojo)
“Un minuto antes de la oscuridad”(One Minute Before the Darkness) by Ismael Martínez Biurrun (Ed. Fantascy)

NOVELLA

“Adepta” (Adept) by Felicidad Martínez (Ed. Sportula)
“El rey lansquenete” (The Landsknecht King) by Santiago García Albás (Ed. Sportula)
“La epopeya de los amantes” (The Lover’s Epic) by Miguel Santander (Terra Nova 3, Ed. Fantascy)
“Los centinelas del tiempo” (The Sentires of Time) by Javier Negrete (Mañana todavía, Ed. Fantascy)
“Pasteles de barro” (Mud Pastries) by Carlos Martí Mezquita (Ed. Autores Premiados)

SHORT STORY

“Antonio Benjumea” (Antonio Benjunea) by Cristina Jurado (Crónicas de tinieblas, Ed. Sportula)
“Casas rojas” (Red Houses) by Nieves Delgado (Alucinadas, Ed. Palabaristas)
“El pastor de naves” (The Pastor of Ships) by Felicidad Martínez (Empaquetados, Ed. Sportula)
“Prolang” (Prolang) by Ricardo Montesinos (Terra Nova 3, Ed. Fantascy)
“WeKids” (WeKids) by Laura Gallego (Mañana todavía, Ed. Fantascy)

ANTHOLOGY

“Alucinadas” (Hallucinated) edited by Cristina Jurado and Leticia Lara (Ed. Palabaristas)
“Cuentos para Algernon Año II” (Stories for Algernon, Second Year) edited by Marcheto (Ed. blog Cuentos para Algernon)
“El ciclo de Xuya” (The Xuya Cycle) by Aliette de Bodard (Ed. Fata Libelli)
“Mañana todavía” (Still Tomorrow) edited by Ricard Ruiz Garzón (Ed. Fantascy)
“Terra Nova 3” (Terra Nova 3) edited by Mariano Villarreal (Ed. Fantascy)

NON-FICTION

The category is cancelled this year due to the lack of minimal number of applications required by the 26^th Article of the Regulation.

ARTICLE

“20 autores de relatos de ciencia ficción que deberías estar leyendo” (20 Sci-Fi Short Fiction Authors You Must Read) by Elías F. Combarro (Sense of Wonder, http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot.com.es/2014/01/20-autores-de-relatos-de-ciencia.html)
“El futuro bajo sospecha” (The Future Under Suspicion) by Ismael Martínez Biurrun (C, http://www.ccyberdark.net/1747/el-futuro-bajo-sospecha)
“Fachas del espacio” (Figures of Space) by Félix García (El fantascopio, http://elfantascopio.com/?p=250)
“Introducción” (Introduction) by Fernando Ángel Moreno and Julián Díez (Historia y antología de la ciencia ficción española, Ed. Cátedra)
“Premios Ignotus para Dummies” (Premio Ignotus For Dummies) by Juanma Santiago (Los premios Ignotus 1991-2000, Ed. Sportula)
“Yo sobreviví a las guerras del fándom (incluso las provoqué)” (I Survived the Wars of the Fandom (I Even Provoked Them)) by Juanma Santiago (Pornografía emocional, http://juanmasantiagoblog.blogspot.com.es/2014/12/yo-sobrevivi-las-guerras-del-fandom.html)

ILLUSTRATION

Koldo Campo’s cover for “A vuestras mentes dispersas” (To Your Scattered Minds) (Ed. Juan José Aroz)
Koldo Campo’s cover for “Antes del primer día” (Before the First Day) (Ed. Juan José Aroz)
Juan Miguel Aguilera’s cover for “Crónicas de tinieblas” (Chronicles of Tenebrous) (Ed. Sportula)
Román García Mora’s cover for “La inconquistable” (The Unconquerable) (Ed. Autores Premiados)
Olga Esther’s cover for “La piedad del Primero” (The Piety of the First) (Ed. Sportula)
María Paz Muela’s cover for “Las tierras en juego” (The Lands At Stake) (Ed. Círculo Rojo)
Alejandro Colucci’s cover for “Retrofuturismos” (Retrofutures) (Ed. Nevsky)

AUDIO-VISUAL PRODUCTION

YouTube Channel of Sense of Wonder by Elías F. Combarro (Vídeo, https://www.youtube.com/user/Sentidodelamaravilla)
La cueva (The Cave) directed by Alfredo Montero (Motion Picture, Filmax International y Morena Films)
“La órbita de Endor” (The Endor’s Orbit) by various authors (Podcast, http://laorbitadeendor.blogspot.com.es)
“Los Verdhugos” (The Verdhugos) by various authors (Podcast, http://verdhugos.blogspot.com.es)
“Luces en el horizonte” (Lights of the Horizon) by Luis Martínez Vallés (Radio and Podcast, https://lucesenelhorizonte.wordpress.com)
“The Spoiler Club” (The Spoiler Club” by various authors (Videocast, http://thespoilerclub.tumblr.com)

COMIC BOOK

The category is cancelled this year due to the lack of minimal number of applications required by the 26^th Article of the Regulation.

POEM

The category is cancelled this year due to the lack of minimal number of applications required by the 26^th Article of the Regulation.

MAGAZINE

Alfa Eridiani (Ed. Asociación Alfa Eridiani)
Barsoom (Ed. La hermandad del enmascarado)
Delirio (Ed. La biblioteca del laberinto)
miNatura (Ed. Ricardo Acevedo y Carmen Rosa Signes Urrea)
Planetas Prohibidos (Ed. Grupo Planetas Prohibidos)
Presencia Humana (Ed. Aristas Martínez)
Scifiworld (Ed. http://www.scifiworld.es)

FOREIGN NOVEL

“Aniquilación” (Annihilation) by Jeff Vandermeer (Ed. Destino)
“El Marciano” (The Martian) by Andy Weir (Ed. Ediciones B)
“El rito” (The Croning) by Laird Barron (Ed. Valdemar)
“La música del silencio” (The Slow Regard of Silent Things) by Patrick Rothfuss (Ed. Plaza&Janés)
“Perillán” (Dodger) by Terry Pratchet (Ed. Fantascy)

FOREGIN SHORT STORY

“¿Quién cuidará de los dioses?” (Taking Care of Gods) by Liu Cixin (Terra Nova 3, Ed. Fantascy)
“El jugador” (The Gambler) by Paolo Bacigalupi (Terra Nova 3, Ed. Fantascy)
“En una estación roja, a la deriva” (On a Red Station, Drifting) by Aliette de Bodard (Ed. Fata Libelli)
“Legión” (Legion) by Brandon Sanderson (Legión y El alma del emperador, Ed. Fantascy)
“Mono no aware” (Mono no aware) by Ken Liu (Terra Nova 3, Ed. Fantascy)

WEB SITE

“Cuentos para Algernon” (Stories for Algernon) by Marcheto (https://cuentosparaalgernon.wordpress.com)
“Donde acaba el infinito” (Where the Infinite Ends) by Alexander Páez (http://dondeterminaelinfinito.blogspot.com.es)
“Fantífica” (Fantifica) by Random House Mondadori (http://www.fantifica.com)
“La tercera fundación” (The Third Foundation) by The Cultural Asscoiation Los Conseguidores (http://www.tercerafundacion.net)
“Literatura fantástica” (Fantastic Literature) by Mariano Villarreal (http://literfan.cyberdark.net)
“Sense of Wonder” by Elías F. Combarro (http://sentidodelamaravilla.blogspot.com.es)

Last, but not least, the winners of the Spectrum 22 Awards have been announced on May 23^rd at the Folly Theater in Kansas City.

ADVERTISING

GOLD: Taylor Wessling – “Barbarians: Faust”

SILVER: Yuko Shimizu – “Tokyo Night Show”

Runners-up:

Johnny Dombrowski — “Murder on the Orient Express”

Edward Kinsella III — “Vernacchio”

Victo Ngai — “The Cloisters”

BOOK

GOLD: Dan dos Santos — “Taking Flight”

SILVER: Scott Gustafson — “Jack and the Sleeping Giant”

Runners-up:

Jeffrey Alan Love — “Radiant State”

Petar Meseldžija — “The Giants are Coming”

Sam Weber — cover for “Dune” by Frank Herbert

COMICS

GOLD: Audrey Benjaminsen — “Bernadette”, page 1

SILVER: Alex Alice — “Castle in the Stars”

Runners-up:

David Palumbo — “The Beast”

James Turner — “Rebel Angels”

Tula Lotay — “Rebels”

CONCEPT ART

GOLD: Sung Choi — “The Parade”

SILVER: Audrey Benjaminsen — “Fairy 3”

Runners-up:

Te Hu — “Wonders: Gate of Luxor”

Kellan Jett — “Meeting”

Allen Williams — “The Good Dog”

DIMENSIONAL

GOLD: Forest Rogers — “Venetian Harpy”

SILVER: David Silva — “Dragon vs. Raptors”

Runners-up:

Dan Chudzinski — “The Mudpuppy”

Mark Newman — “Gallevarbe: Death’s Siren”

Dug Stanat — “A Bird From His Brim Will Guide Your Last Breath”

EDITORIAL

GOLD: Tran Nguyen — “A Distressed Damsel”

SILVER: Sam Bosma — “Critical Education”

Runners-up:

Jensine Eckwall — “This Circle: Walking Into The Wind”

Edward Kinsella III — “Gland Monster”

Victo Ngai — “Cocoon”

INSTITUTIONAL

GOLD: Rovina Cai — “Fake It”

SILVER: Laurie Lee Brom — “Bad Seed”

Runners-up:

Ed Binkley — “Rikshaw Pass”

Jeffrey Alan Love — “Skyrim”

Jessica Shirley — “The Child Sleeps”

UNPUBLISHED

GOLD: Cynthia Sheppard — “Momentum”

SILVER: Paul Bonner — “Beowulf: Mother”

Runners-up:

Donato Giancola — “Descent from Caradhras”

Rebecca Léveillé Guay — “Time and Chance”

Omar Rayyan — “A Night at the Races”

GRAND MASTER AWARD – Scott Gustafson

Congratulations to all!