It’s that time of year again, somehow—awards eligibility post time! (If you're not familiar with this tradition Lyndsie Manusos wrote an excellent overview on BookRiot last year).
I had 3 short stories published in 2023, and I’m also eligible in Fan Artist categories. Will update this if more happens this year—I hope to do more fan art, and I might have one more story out. Notwithstanding awards eligibility, I had a fantastic year, too—more below!
Just noting that none of the below stories are available to read online in full, but please message/email me and I’ll happily send you a digital copy!
Integrated Learning
I’ve never broken Stonegate’s rules before. I have a perfect record.
Would I break a rule to maintain that perfect record?
To graduate as Select and move up in the world, painfully independent Gem must ace her final assignment. Unfortunately it’s group work, her partner is inexplicably distracting, and information on their topic—the multiform hivemind organisms known as the Many—is restricted. In Aurealis #166.
Jimmy Flip Brings His Little One to Work, and It Comes My Turn to Hold It
I’d been putting it off for so long, by the time I settle my mind to it, and rap on the door to Human Resources with a smile on my face, I expect it to be easy. And it is—until it isn’t.
No one answers. I creak open the door. It is dark inside. Something slithers to the back of the room.
Stevie’s colleague brings his new baby in to work. Stevie makes a faux pas. In Body of Work anthology, and a short excerpt is free to listen on Narratives Library (it's alphabetical by author, so you'll need to scroll down).
Efficiensize Your Terrible Imprint
I transfer the photograph from the DISPOSAL bin to the KEEP bin when he isn’t looking.
I watch Didi carefully all afternoon, but he doesn’t transfer the wedding photograph back.
Didi insists they have a social responsibility to reduce their environmental impact by digitising their possessions and disposing of the originals. Gogo knows the copies aren’t the same—but can she justify the space she takes up? In Andromeda Spaceways Magazine #91.
Fan Artist
I’m also eligible in Fan Artist categories. So far, that’s for Log Lady (Twin Peaks) and Ellie and Riley (The Last of Us) on Instagram. I'll update this if I do more this year. I also post my art on Twitter/X if you prefer to browse there.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read. Please take care during these difficult times, and I hope you have a happy and safe rest of the year.
Beyond eligibility posts, I had a great 2023. I wrote and queried a second book, joined more fabulous writing groups including the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild (CSFG) Novel Critique Group, signed with my wonderful agent Carleen Geisler at ArtHouse Literary, and was shortlisted for Publishable 2023, including a fantastic mentorship with Sophie Overett, author of THE RABBITS.
I had a blast at Conflux Speculative Fiction Convention, doing my first live reading at the BODY OF WORK book launch, appearing on panels about doppelgängers, antiheroes, and Portal, and meeting and catching up with amazing people. I was shortlisted for a Ditmar Award in Best New Talent, Short Story, and Fan Artist categories, and won in the Fan Artist category that weekend. Big thank you to the committee for organising Conflux and the Ditmar Awards ceremony.
Photo from Conflux 2023 taken by Cat Sparks
I’ve been writing away and querying/submitting consistently, but publishing-wise, nothing reportable happened in the first half of 2023, then all the things happened in the second half! It really got me thinking about how so much in this industry is outside of our control, and how important it is to set goals which relate to the only things we can control—the writing (“finish the book, then write the next book/story”), improving our craft, and querying/submitting. Some of my favourite motivational thoughts on this subject are from T.R. Napper who won an Aurealis and a Ditmar Award for his cyberpunk novel 36 STREETS this year, the 'Finding the Joy' episodes of the Basic Pitches podcast with Anna Mercier and Lyssa Mia Smith and the 'Pitches 101 with Tenebrous Press' episode of the Dead Languages podcast with P.L. McMillan and Carson Winter.
I'm currently completing the Publishable program and agent edits on my weird, speculative horror novel set on a cruise ship prior to going on submission (pictured below), and drafting the next project. I'm excited to see where this journey takes us.
Next year I’m excited to have a short story forthcoming in THE OFF SEASON: AN ANTHOLOGY OF COASTAL NEW WEIRD in October 2024. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!
Comments