Tag: One Small Step

Recent Reviews

~ Tehani ~ Leave a comment

Cranky Ladies cover ARCThanks to the always-on-top-of-things VentureAdlaxre, we have our first review of Cranky Ladies of History (due out March 8)! Absolutely delighted to see she loved it, with a comprehensive five-star review! Among other things, she says of various pieces: “…a gentle and beautiful piece of writing…”, “…rich in culture and a joy to read…”, “…a light touch yet with a depth of thought…”.

A short review of Jo Anderton’s Guardian by reader John on Goodreads has this great line: This is sci-fi done right.

Alex Pierce reviews One Small Step, saying: …a who’s who of established and emerging Australian writers, too, which is a total delight.

Over at Beyond the Dreamline, Faith calls Splashdance Silver: definitely funny…a bouncy, airy charm.

Awards special! One Small Step on sale

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OneSmallStepCoverdraftTo celebrate the WSFA Small Press Award shortlisting of D.K. Mok’s wonderful story “Morning Star”, we’ve got a special offer on the anthology it first appeared in, One Small Step! 

Save on the print anthology (included postage world-wide):

Awards Special “One Small Step” (inc. postage worldwide)
Awards special $17.99 AUD

Save on the ebook anthology:

Purchase on Smashwords and use the coupon EL65E to save a whopping 50% on the RRP!

Offers end October 13, 2014.

FableCroft excitement!

~ Tehani ~ 1 Comment

OneSmallStepCoverdraftWe woke up this morning (in Australia) to the very exciting news that DK Mok’s wonderful story “Morning Star” from One Small Step has been shortlisted for the Washington Science Fiction Association’s Small Press Award! This is one of my absolute favourite awards, and I’m delighted to see DK’s story recognised, and amid fantastic company! FableCroft author David McDonald is also shortlisted, alongside another Aussie Sean McMullen — yay Aussies!

Pratchetts WomenIn other excitement, Tansy Rayner Roberts’ essay collection Pratchett’s Women is having a good week – first it appeared on the MetaFilter site amid some fantastic discussion, and then it got a mention at BoingBoing! This makes us very happy 🙂

 

Speaking of book launches…

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It occurred to me recently, that given we have Jo Anderton’s launch next weekend, I probably should (finally) post about the OTHER book celebrations we’ve had recently. Well, in the past year. Hmmm, yes, it HAS been a busy 12 months! (more photos of events over at the FableCroft Facebook page)

First off the rank (gosh, was it really in APRIL last year?!) was the dual launch for The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories by Joanne Anderton and One Small Step, an anthology of discoveries at Conflux, the 2013 Natcon in Canberra in October. We had a great spot in the thoroughfare, and a good time slot too, and it was lovely to see so many con-goers in attendance. Kaaron Warren acted as launcher (for both our books AND Thoraiya Dyer’s Twelfth Planet Press Twelve Planets Collection Asymmetry!), and Joanne, Thoraiya and I said a few words too. Lots of fun!

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Photo courtesy of Cat Sparks
Screen Shot 2014-05-31 at 3.24.39 PM
Photo courtesy of Cat Sparks

So we had an intimate but fun launch for Dirk Flinthart’s debut novel, Path of Night, way back in November 2013. It’s the first book of ours that has been launched by the local mayor, which was exciting, and the author and cover designer both attended in fine style. Was lovely to meet some of the good people of Scottsdale, and we had a great evening.

Author reading book shoppers

Earlier this year, we had a FableCroft Book Party, hosted by the great folks at The Hobart Bookshop. The wonderful Lian Tanner said lovely things about Ink Black Magic and Path of Night, and Tansy and Dirk both got to read some of their novels too. Was a good turnout, particularly for the Sunday afternoon of the long weekend, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Photo by Helen Merrick
Photo by Helen Merrick

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Just a few weeks ago (okay, okay, it was nearly two months – goodness me, the year is flying!) we celebrated two wins at the Aurealis Awards, with The Bone Chime Song taking out Best Collection and One Small Step sharing the glory with The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror 2012 in the Best Anthology category. With several other FableCroft works on the shortlists, including Path of Night and Ink Black Magic, we had a brilliant night, and enjoyed being able to spend the evening with the best and brightest of Australian spec fic.

Photo by Cat Sparks
Photo courtesy of Cat Sparks

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Now we’re gearing up for next weekend’s celebration of Jo’s new book Guardian, and I’m still a bit boggled that it’s been over a year since the launch of The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories! Hopefully it won’t take me so long to blog about the fun we have there… All attendees of Continuum X are welcome to join us for the launch, 4pm on Saturday 7 June. Hope to see you there!

Linky goodness!

~ Tehani

The award-winning Starship Sofa podcast have worked their podcasty magic on another story from One Small Step – this time, Suzanne J Willis’ story “Number 73 Glad Avenue” has hit the airwaves – take a listen!

Marianne de Pierres’ novel Peacemaker is going to be made into an interactive game! The origins of the Peacemaker series are in the short story “Virgin Jackson”, which was reprinted in FableCroft’s Australis Imaginarium anthology in 2010!

Pozible have posted an interview with us about our Cranky Ladies crowdfunding campaign. Check it out here.

Guardian coverJo Anderton’s forthcoming book Guardian has been sent to the printer! Official launch will take place at Continuum in Melbourne during the June long weekend. It’s not too late to pre-order your copy (ebook or print) for special introductory price and get bonus exclusive Veiled Worlds content!

The voting for NAFF (National Australian Fan Fund) closes TODAY, and I’m running, with my fan hat on! The fund supports an Australian fan to attend the National Science Fiction and Fantasy convention in Australia (this year that’s Continuum), and I’m really looking forward to being able to attend in that capacity, should I be successful! I can hardly ever get to panels when I go to cons, and being there as NAFF delegate would mean I can do the full convention experience — I’ve also got lots of fun ideas for fundraising for NAFF (part of the delegate’s responsibility), which I’m looking forward to. You can find more information here, and once you’ve read about each candidate, if you’ve got $5 to spare for a vote, it would be appreciated (you don’t have to vote for me — the other candidate is also very worthy, or you can vote to hold over funds for the following year).

Speaking of Natcon, if you are a member of Continuum, or were a member of Conflux last year, you have Ditmar Awards voting rights! It’s a great ballot, so please exercise your democratic rights 🙂 We have posted some free fiction and discounts on our nominated books and stories, to help you make an informed choice 🙂

Ditmar shortlistings!

~ Tehani

The annual Ditmar Awards shortlists were announced a few days ago, and we’re absolutely over the moon to have several works feature in various categories, alongside lots of other excellent Australian stuff! To celebrate, we’re offering up some free fiction, including our two shortlisted short stories, samples of Faith Mudge’s wonderful work, and an extract from Tansy Rayner Roberts’ Ink Black Magic. We’ve also linked to Kathleen Jennings’ Illustration Friday posts, as one of her pieces was on the cover of Focus 2012 (and we think she’s awesome…). Click on the highlighted links below to download the samples!

InkBlackMagicsmBest Novel

  • Ink Black Magic, Tansy Rayner Roberts (FableCroft Publishing)
  • Fragments of a Broken Land: Valarl Undead, Robert Hood (Wildside Press)
  • The Beckoning, Paul Collins (Damnation Books)
  • Trucksong, Andrew Macrae (Twelfth Planet Press)
  • The Only Game in the Galaxy (The Maximus Black Files 3), Paul Collins (Ford Street Publishing)

Best Novella or Novelette

  • “Prickle Moon”, Juliet Marillier, in Prickle Moon (Ticonderoga Publications)
  • “The Year of Ancient Ghosts”, Kim Wilkins, in The Year of Ancient Ghosts (Ticonderoga Publications)
  • “By Bone-Light”, Juliet Marillier, in Prickle Moon (Ticonderoga Publications)
  • “The Home for Broken Dolls”, Kirstyn McDermott, in Caution: Contains Small Parts (Twelfth Planet Press)
  • “What Amanda Wants”, Kirstyn McDermott, in Caution: Contains Small Parts (Twelfth Planet Press)

OneSmallStepCoverdraftBest Short Story

  • “Mah-Song“, Joanne Anderton, in The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories (FableCroft Publishing)
  • “Air, Water and the Grove”, Kaaron Warren, in The Lowest Heaven (Jurassic London)
  • “Seven Days in Paris”, Thoraiya Dyer, in Asymmetry (Twelfth Planet Press)
  • “Scarp”, Cat Sparks, in The Bride Price (Ticonderoga Publications)
  • “Not the Worst of Sins”, Alan Baxter, in Beneath Ceaseless Skies 133 (Firkin Press)
  • “Cold White Daughter”, Tansy Rayner Roberts, in One Small Step (FableCroft Publishing)

BoneChimeCoverDraftBest Collected Work

  • The Back of the Back of Beyond, Edwina Harvey, edited by Simon Petrie (Peggy Bright Books)
  • Asymmetry, Thoraiya Dyer, edited by Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)
  • Caution: Contains Small Parts, Kirstyn McDermott, edited by Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)
  • The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories, Joanne Anderton, edited by Tehani Wesseley (FableCroft Publishing)
  • The Bride Price, Cat Sparks, edited by Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Best Artwork

  • Cover art, Eleanor Clarke, for The Back of the Back of Beyond by Edwina Harvey (Peggy Bright Books)
  • Illustrations, Kathleen Jennings, for Eclipse Online (Nightshade Books)
  • Cover art, Shauna O’Meara, for Next edited by Simon Petrie and Rob Porteous (CSFG Publishing)
  • Cover art, Cat Sparks, for The Bride Price by Cat Sparks (Ticonderoga Publications)
  • Rules of Summer, Shaun Tan (Hachette Australia)
  • Cover art, Pia Ravenari, for Prickle Moon by Juliet Marillier (Ticonderoga Publications)

Best Fan Writer

  • Tsana Dolichva, for body of work, including reviews and interviews in Tsana’s Reads and Reviews
  • Sean Wright, for body of work, including reviews in Adventures of a Bookonaut
  • Grant Watson, for body of work, including reviews in The Angriest
  • Foz Meadows, for body of work, including reviews in Shattersnipe: Malcontent & Rainbows
  • Alexandra Pierce, for body of work, including reviews in Randomly Yours, Alex
  • Tansy Rayner Roberts, for body of work, including essays and reviews at http://www.tansyrr.com

Best Fan Artist

  • Nalini Haynes, for body of work, including “Defender of the Faith”, “The Suck Fairy”, “Doctor Who vampire” and “The Last Cyberman” in Dark Matter
  • Kathleen Jennings, for body of work, including “Illustration Friday”
  • Dick Jenssen, for body of work, including cover art for Interstellar Ramjet Scoop and SF Commentary

Best Fan Publication in Any Medium

  • Dark Matter Zine, Nalini Haynes
  • SF Commentary, Bruce Gillespie
  • The Writer and the Critic, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond
  • Galactic Chat Podcast, Sean Wright, Alex Pierce, Helen Stubbs, David McDonald, and Mark Webb
  • The Coode Street Podcast, Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan
  • Galactic Suburbia, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts

Best New Talent

  • Michelle Goldsmith
  • Zena Shapter
  • Faith Mudge
  • Jo Spurrier
  • Stacey Larner

William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review

  • Reviews in Randomly Yours, Alex, Alexandra Pierce
  • “Things Invisible: Human and Ab-Human in Two of Hodgson’s Carnacki stories”, Leigh Blackmore, in Sargasso: The Journal of William Hope Hodgson Studies #1 edited by Sam Gafford (Ulthar Press)
  • Galactic Suburbia Episode 87: Saga Spoilerific Book Club, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts
  • The Reviewing New Who series, David McDonald, Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Tehani Wessely
  • “A Puppet’s Parody of Joy: Dolls, Puppets and Mannikins as Diabolical Other”, Leigh Blackmore, in Ramsey Campbell: Critical Essays on the Master of Modern Horror edited by Gary William Crawford (Scarecrow Press)
  • “That was then, this is now: how my perceptions have changed”, George Ivanoff, in Doctor Who and Race edited by Lindy Orthia (Intellect Books)

Voting is now open for the Awards, for anyone who is a member of the 2013 Natcon (Conflux) or this year’s Natcon (Continuum X). Thank you so much to everyone who nominated our work!

Aurealis Awards shortlists!

~ Tehani

AA logoWe’re very excited to see the Aurealis Awards shortlists announced last night! It’s always lovely to see all the marvellous talent on the lists, but it’s particularly nice when some of our own work is there too!

Huge congratulations to Joanne Anderton, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Dirk Flinthart and DK Mok for their individual shortlistings, and to all the contributors to One Small Step and Focus 2012! None of our books are made in a vacuum, and all our writers, artists, designers and proofers play a huge role – thanks to you all!

Congratulations to all the finalists for the 2013 Awards. Look forward to seeing everyone at the ceremony in April!

More information about the shortlists and the Awards ceremony can be found at the website.

Rounding up all the things!

~ Tehani

OneSmallStepCoverdraftFirstly, a link we should have posted a month ago and managed not to! We were very exciting to see (hear?) “Always Greener” by Michelle Marquardt podcast over at StarShip Sofa! “Always Greener” opens the One Small Step anthology and is the first story from FableCroft (that I know of) to be republished this way. Very cool! Check it out at the Hugo Award winning StarShip Sofa website or on iTunes!

Our Tansy has been busy in the past few weeks, guesting on several excellent blogs, such as Ambling along the Aqueduct, as part of the “Pleasures of Reading, Viewing and Listening in 2013” series and Tor.com, with “The Main Character in Their Own Lives: Does Diversity Make YA SF/F Better?” – take a look at see some of the reasons she won the Best Fan Writer Hugo this year!

FableCroft got a lot of love from Marianne de Pierres when she mind-melded at SF Signal on the topic “What lesser known books deserve more attention?”, along with other great Australian small presses. 

In reviews news, Krista at Escape Club took a look at Ink Black Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts, and is now a fan of comic fantasy!

Also at Escape Club, Joelene included One Small Step in her Top 5 Books of 2013 – very cool!

People talking about One Small Step

~ Tehani

OneSmallStepCoverdraftTwo wonderful, comprehensive reviews of One Small Step have appeared in the past week, which is always delightful to see. Thank you so much to the people who take the time to review our work!

Just today, Foz Meadows shared a review of One Small Step at A Dribble of Ink. Among many other very kind words and insightful discussion of the stories, Foz says:

…I found this to be a highly enjoyable, moving anthology of works by Australian women; and particularly for me, as an Aussie expat, the regular touches of Australiana that creep into the stories – references to eucalyptus, kangaroos, wombats and other such Antipodean things – served as a pleasant reminder that my country of origin is ripe for SFFnal interpretation…

and

…as a showcasing of Australian female talent, it’s both an important and extremely worthwhile anthology. Recommended reading for anyone interested in SFF with a feminist bent, and a strong incentive to keep an eye on Fablecroft Press’s output.

Foz looks at each story individually, and I particularly enjoyed these snippets:

…gorgeous writing, strong characterisation and powerful emotional angle…

…an honest, meaningful exploration of love and motherhood…

…an eerie, powerful story about the nature of pain and what it means to be human … the theme, setting and execution all work together to make something truly memorable…

…funny, poignant and breathtaking: a perfect, original story about humanity, agency, the end of the world and what comes after…

Thank you so much Foz!

Also in the past few days, Karen Burnham reviewed One Small Step in The Cascadia Subduction Zone literary journal, saying (again, among many other things focussing on individual stories!):

…There are many rewards inside for those approaching with a mind open to broadening…

…my expectations were blown wide open…

Many thanks, Karen!

Lovely new reviews

~ Tehani

OneSmallStepCoverdraftA couple of lovely new reviews around the ridges recently. 

Mieneke over at A Fantastical Librarian gave a comprehensive look at One Small Step, saying (among lots of other very nice things): “a very strong collection of stories showcasing the talents of eighteen very talented women.”

Tsana at Tsana Reads & Reviews took advantage of our super World Fantasy Awards discount on To Spin a Darker Stair (just $5 including postage anywhere in the world! Ends 31 October!) and very generously then reviewed the book, saying it “punches above its weight class.”

And although this is a little while ago, I wanted to point out Michelle E. Goldsmith’s glowing review of The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories at Vilutheril.Michelle is very definite about her recommendation: “I urge anyone who loves dark, strange and beautifully written stories to read this collection.” Thanks Michelle!