Tag: announcements

Table of Contents for THE ART OF BEING HUMAN

~ Tehani
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/NGA

In 2020, the world was tipped upside down and shaken in ways we could barely have imagined, except perhaps in the post-apocalyptic and dystopic worlds of story. Amidst pandemic illness and death, political machinations and despair, one of the casualties has been, at least in a financial sense, the Arts. Governments across the world have slashed funding, galleries, theatres and entertainment venues have closed amid lockdown restrictions, money is being carefully metered with jobs more uncertain than ever, meaning our creatives across all industries are suffering. And yet, more than ever, we are turning to art to stay sane in lockdown, to keep our spirits up in isolation, and to remind us that despite the hardship, there is beauty in this world. 

To that end, FableCroft is coming out of hiatus in 2021 to publish a brand new original anthology, The Art of Being Human. Co-edited by Tehani Croft and Stephanie Lai, this anthology seeks to remind readers of the hope and beauty of the Arts, and the way our engagement with writing, music, film, theatre, artworks in all media, and craft of all kinds are at the core of our humanity.

It is our very great pleasure to announce the table of contents for The Art of Being Human. We had around 350 submissions equalling well over 1.5 million words from at least 30 countries – I’m pretty sure it’s FableCroft’s biggest submission call ever! We are absolutely delighted with the lineup of stories we have selected, but it was a very difficult task. We could easily have accepted dozens more, so high was the quality of submissions. The stories selected range across the speculative fiction genres, and come to you from all over the world. We can’t wait for you to read them.

So, without further ado, the forthcoming lineup!

Table of Contents

“Pieced together” by K G Anderson  

“Birdsong” by Joanne Anderton  

“The world has gone silent” by Joyce Chng  

“The ocean, the lighthouse keeper and the sunset” by Lee Cope  

“The library” by Helen Vivienne Fletcher  

“The icecutter’s daughter” by Aiki Flinthart

“Neuro” by Ephiny Gale  

“Everyday wonder” by Valerie Hunter  

“A trail of blue paper flowers” by Nikoline Kaiser  

“Spools of silk, shards of stone” by Karin Landelius  

“Drawing blood” by Gerri Leen  

“Greatheart” by Juliet Marillier  

“That feeling when you ask me to dance” by Cara Mast  

“Seeding trouble” by Kirstyn McDermott  

“Among the faded woods” by Faith Mudge  

“Exposure” by Jason Nahrung  

“The light in the attic, the bones in the earth” by Spencer Nitkey  

“The maiden, the statistician, and the architect” by Steve Quinn  

“She is not in heaven” by Rivqa Rafael  

“All dressed up for the death trade” by Tansy Rayner Roberts  

“The mask makers” by Kristi Ross  

“When silence speaks” by Spencer Sekulin  

“Everything so slow and quiet” by Kaaron Warren  

“The poet’s tale” by Suzanne J Willis

We still have a way to go on finalising the book, but keep an eye on our social media for pre-order options and release date!

Advertisement

Submissions OPEN! The Art of Being Human anthology

~ Tehani

The world in 2020 has been tipped upside down and shaken in ways we could barely have imagined, except perhaps in the post-apocalyptic and dystopic worlds of story. Amidst pandemic illness and death, political machinations and despair, one of the casualties has been, at least in a financial sense, the Arts. Governments across the world have slashed funding, galleries, theatres and entertainment venues have closed amid lockdown restrictions, money is being carefully metered with jobs more uncertain than ever, meaning our creatives across all industries are suffering. And yet, more than ever, we are turning to art to stay sane in lockdown, to keep our spirits up in isolation, and to remind us that despite the hardship, there is beauty in this world. 

60801main_image_feature_186_jwrfull
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/NGA

To that end, FableCroft is coming out of hiatus in this year of social distancing and staying at home, to call for submissions on a brand new original anthology, The Art of Being Human. Co-edited by Tehani Croft and Stephanie Lai, this anthology seeks to remind readers of the hope and beauty of the Arts, and the way our engagement with writing, music, film, theatre, artworks in all media, and craft of all kinds are at the core of our humanity. We are looking at this through a broad context, seeking work that in some way demonstrates the beauty and hope of humanity through a lens of “the arts” in some form.

Stories should be between 2,000 to 20,000 words long, and not previously published. Poetry of any length is also welcome. Works are invited from all over the world, but must be primarily in the English language.

Stories must contain speculative elements – science fiction, fantasy and horror and their sub-genres are all welcome, but we recommend researching FableCroft’s past projects for an idea of the sort of stories we publish. Generally, no erotica or splatterpunk is desirable. Please query the editor before sending stories outside those limits.

We are seeking original stories only – no reprint submissions please.

No simultaneous submissions please.

For multiple submissions, please query first.

Submission Guidelines:

E-mail to fablecroft@gmail.com as an attached RTF. We do not accept submissions via snail mail.

  • Please use a regular font, size 12, with margins of at least 2cm.
  • Indent the first line of each paragraphs by 0.5 (approx 1cm), 1.5 space lines, and indicate section breaks with a centered “#”.
  • Include name, address, phone number, email etc at the top of the document.

Submissions open: September 1, 2020

Submissions close: December 1, 2020

Anticipated publication date: May 2021

Payment will be AUD$100.00 for stories of up to 10,000 words (payment for poetry and longer stories accepted will be negotiated with the author) and a contributor copy of the ebook. 

We would also like to include artwork to support the stories, and illustrators are invited to send appropriate samples (previously published work welcome for this element) – payment to be discussed. 

A FableCroft Announcement

~ Tehani ~ 14 Comments

The time has come, the walrus said, to speak of many things…

Next Sunday, at Conflux, we will be launching Tansy Rayner Roberts’ Mocklore collection, Bounty. This launch will take place 5.30pm at the Novotel Canberra on Northbourne Ave. And it will be the final book we produce for the foreseeable future.

FableCroft will be in indefinite hiatus following Conflux. Due to my family circumstances, and with an interstate move (and the new job that will hopefully come with that) at the end of the year, I no longer have the time or financial resources to devote to the press. I have been thinking about this for several months, and come to this decision (as with many others this year) with much regret and sadness.

I am extraordinarily grateful to my wonderful authors, artists, designers and proofreaders for their willingness to work with me over the past six years, and feel very privileged to have been able to publish your wonderful work. And thank YOU to every person who has supported FableCroft during this time, as a reader, reviewer, retweeter etc – you’re all awesome!

I will not say this is a final farewell, because perhaps, hopefully, I will one day be in a position to revitalise the press once more. I’d certainly like to, as I love this gig enormously. But life is life, and sometimes you have to put stuff aside – for a little while or a long one – and focus on other things.

At this stage, FableCroft anthologies will still be available in print and ebook from your preferred e-tailer (and on this site while print stocks last), but I am negotiating with writers regarding single author collections and novels and some of these will revert to their author.

Again, my thanks. I look forward to seeing the many creators we have published since 2010 flourish!fare-thee-well

Announcement: Table of Contents for IN YOUR FACE

~ Tehani ~ Leave a comment

We’re delighted to announce the preliminary table of contents for the In Your Face anthology. There may still be some additions over the coming weeks, but the following are firm acceptances!

Thoraiya Dyer Where The Pelican Builds Her Nest
Tansy Rayner Roberts Letters to Cleopatra
Stephanie Lai Cherries in Winter, Rivers in Spring
Simon Brown Rain from a New God (reprint)
Shauna O’Meara No one Here is Going to Save You
Sean Williams Lust, Entrapment, and the Matter Transmitter: a Case Study
Paul Haines Wives (reprint)
Marlee Jane Ward Fert
Kirstyn McDermott Accidents Happen
Kaaron Warren All Roll Over
Jo Anderton A pain that must be suffered
Jason Nahrung A House in Blue
Ian McHugh Tolerance
Dirk Flinthart Waters of Kati Thanda
David McDonald And Now Art Thou Cursed From the Earth
Darren Goossens Zero Sum Game
Craig Cormick The Lost Boys
Claire McKenna The Autumn Dog Cannot Live to Spring
Cat Sparks No Fat Chicks
Barbara Robson Absolution (reprint)
Angela Slatter Home and Hearth (reprint)
Alan Baxter Bodies of Evidence

If you would like to learn more about the stories, check out the authors talking about their piece via our link round up here. And if you are keen to get your hands on the book, you can pre-order via the crowdfunding campaign, with the added bonus of helping the authors earn more for their work!

1200_650_1000

Exciting announcement for 2016 from FableCroft Publishing

~ Tehani ~ 3 Comments

Kate with GargoyleIn the first of several very exciting announcements we have to make about forthcoming projects for 2016, it is our very great pleasure to make it known that in March 2016, FableCroft will publish The Rebirth of Rapunzel: A Mythic Biography of the Maiden in the Tower by Kate Forsyth.

This unique collection will include Kate’s research on the Rapunzel story that underpinned her stunning, award-winning novel, Bitter Greens, as well as several other pieces related to fairy tales and folklore. The book is not your usual reference work, but an wonderful exploration of the subject matter, written in Kate’s clever and engaging style.

We plan to release both a hardcover print edition as well as an accessible ebook version, with cover art by one of our favourite authors, Kathleen Jennings, and aim to launch at the Natcon, Contact, in Brisbane over the Easter long weekend.

Announcement: new anthology!

~ Tehani

I’ve said before that one of the big advantages about being a small press is the ability to leap on a project when one presents itself. Cranky Ladies of History was one such book, which we were able to produce thanks to the generosity of our crowdfunding backers.

specfactionNow we’re delighted to announce another book that has only come into being quite accidentally, in a confluence of events sparked by my reading a fantastic story by an Australian author, and then ignited thanks to the generosity of the group SpecFaction in the form of a financial grant intended for just one purpose: to produce an anthology showcasing Australian spec fic.

To this end, FableCroft is putting together a collection of Australian speculative fiction stories that deal with very provocative and/or confronting themes, but with purpose – they will be pieces that perhaps make readers uncomfortable because they are a bit too hard-hitting or close to the bone, but which do so in order to interrogate these themes and ideas, and make a point about the world we live in.

With a working title of In Your Face, the book will be made up of both original and reprinted work. We are privileged to have gained permission to include the novella “Wives”, by the sadly missed Paul Haines, and already have several original works under consideration as well. We aim to launch the book at Natcon in Brisbane in March 2016 and look forward to bringing it to you!

Dirk Flinthart’s STRIKING FIRE: cover reveal and TOC

~ Tehani ~ Leave a comment

We’re very excited to share the cover design for Dirk Flinthart’s forthcoming short story collection, Striking Fire. Designer Amanda Rainey has done a gorgeous job with it (as usual!) and we’re so pleased with the result!

Striking Fire cover-1

 

We can now also announce the final table of contents for the book, which will be launched on Saturday October 3, 2015, at Conflux in Canberra. It’s a cracker of a book!

the first martian (original to collection)

the flatmate from hell

the ballad of farther-on jones 

collateral damage

eschaton and coda

faith (original to collection)

truckers

fortitude valley station, 2.15am

a friend in the trade (original to collection)

granuaile

sanction

no hard feelings (original to collection)

the fletcher test

the last word

outlines

tough (original to collection)

walker

one night stand

gaslight a go go

parity check

night shift (original to collection)

ANNOUNCEMENT — Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction contents

~ Tehani ~ Leave a comment

LogoFableCroft is delighted to announce the contents of Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction. The third installment of our annual Focus series collects an elite selection of work which has received acclaim via national and international Awards recognition. 

St Dymphna’s School for Poison Girls by Angela Slatter
Wine, Women and Stars by Thoraiya Dyer
Vanilla by Dirk Flinthart
The Legend Trap by Sean Williams
The Seventh Relic by Cat Sparks
Death’s Door Café by Kaaron Warren
The Ghost of Hephaestus by Charlotte Nash
The Executioner Goes Home by Deborah Biancotti
Signature by Faith Mudge
Cookie Cutter Superhero by Tansy Rayner Roberts
Shadows of the Lonely Dead by Alan Baxter

Focus 2014 will be available in ebook on all platforms in September.

Monsterful announcement

~ Tehani ~ Leave a comment

I realised I neglected to make a formal announcement here about the status of the Monsterful anthology we announced earlier this year; Twitter and Facebook notifications were made, and the information removed from this site, but I didn’t actually post on the blog.

Regretfully, we have put the project on indefinite hold in order to focus on other books. Please see our submissions page for open calls. We still hope to bring the book to life at some stage, but now is not the right time.

Announcement: Dirk Flinthart collection

~ Tehani ~ Leave a comment

Flinthart Author PhotoWe are very pleased to announce that we are currently working on a collection of short fiction by Dirk Flinthart, who readers of Australian spec fic will no doubt be familiar with.

Flinthart has written for many FableCroft projects, and in 2013 we published his original novel Path of Night; we are huge fans of his work and are delighted to be bringing you his debut collection.

His stories have been shortlisted for several national speculative fiction awards and his young adult piece, “Vanilla”, from Twelfth Planet Press’s Kaleidoscope anthology, recently won the Best Young Adult Short Story at the 2014 Aurealis Awards.

The as-yet untitled collection will comprise reprinted work from Flinthart’s extensive short fiction career, as well as several stories original to the book. We anticipate a release date in September 2015.

Some fans of Flinthart’s work may be hoping for some new Red Priest work – those fans will be somewhat disappointed, but only in the short term! We are not including the Red Priest stories in THIS book… Yes, you may read that to mean there will be a future project that expands on the Red Priest’s adventures, and we look forward to bringing it to you.

This year’s collection will focus on Flinthart’s stories for adult readers, and ranges across science fiction, fantasy and horror, with some wondrous and bizarre genre-bending ideas. From award-nominated horror and science fiction to new pieces of urban fantasy and SF and everything in between, Flinthart will take you on a wild and crazy ride – can’t wait to share it with you!

We are currently working on the final lineup and look forward to announcing it in the near future. In the meantime, want an idea of what you’re in for? Below is a semi-comprehensive bibliography of Dirk Flinthart’s publication history – would love to hear from anyone who as amendments or additions for the list! Please note this is NOT the table of contents for the collection! We’ll announce that as soon as we’ve figured out how to whittle down a huge and amazing list to a sensible number for the book!

Gaslight a go go AGOG! Smashing Stories
The Last Word 2012
One Night Stand AGOG! Ripping Reads
Eschaton and Coda After the Rain
The Fletcher Test Epilogue
Collateral Damage Insert Title Here
Outlines Damnation and Dames
The stars like candles ASIM 6
Parity Check ASIM 9
Fortitude Valley Station, 2:15am ASIM 18
Truckers ASIM 30
Walker Sprawl
The Flatmate from Hell Encounters
Granuaile Cranky Ladies of History
Sanction Amazon short
The Ballad of Farther-on Jones AGOG! Fantastic Fiction
Baited ??original publication? Was made into short film
Networking for Dummies The Workers’ Paradise
Once and Future King Darwin’s Evolutions (emag)
The Eighth Day Use Only As Directed
The Bull in Winter Bloodstones
Corpus Christi ASIM 11
Fairytale ASIM 12
Monochrome for two ASIM 20
Invictus ASIM 21
Head Shot ASIM 54
The Big One AGOG! Terrific Tales
The Red Priest’s Vigil ASIM 25
The Garden of the Djinn (Red Priest) ASIM 31
The Red Priest’s Homecoming ASIM 17
This is not my story ASIM 37
One Story, no refunds Shiny #6
The Best Dog in the World Worlds Next Door
Vanilla Kaleidoscope
Angel Rising (New Ceres) Novella
Debutante (New Ceres) New Ceres Nights
She Walks in Beauty (New Ceres) New Ceres #1