Loose-leaf Links for March

rae-and-essa-space-adventures

Follow up

Readers intrigued by my review of Amanda Pillar’s Graced may be interested to know she has been doing a number of guest posts recently. You can find links on her blog. My pick is her post about juggling writing and editing.

Awards news

The Australian Romance Readers Awards were presented on 7 March. The full list of winners can be found on the ARRA website.

If romance isn’t your thing, you’re still in luck. This month saw shortlists released for the Bram Stoker Awards (for horror buffs), the Aurealis Awards (SFF) and the Stella Prize (literary fiction).

Via We Need Diverse Books: the Walter Dean Meyers Award for YA is taking submissions. If you are a diverse author who has published YA in the US, you have until 1 November to apply.

On Diversity

Exciting news from Tsana Dolichva of Tsana’s Reads and Reviews. She’s teaming up with Holly Kench and Twelfth Planet Press to create a new anthology. Called Defying Doomsday, the stories will focus on the post-apocalyptic survival of disabled, chronically ill, neurodiverse and mentally ill characters. Following in the footsteps of TPP’s Kaleidoscope, the anthology will be contingent upon a successful Pozible campaign which will be starting on 1 April.

Curating a diverse anthology is not an easy matter, as Renay of Ladybusiness recently learned. She writes about how self-censorship often kills diverse submissions before they are made.

If you are interested in issues of culture, land, ownership and speculative fiction in Australia, holdfast magazine has posted two excellent articles. Ambelin Kwaymullina offers an Indigenous perspective, while Gillian Polack writes from a non-Indigenous perspective.

N.K. Jemisin ponders the way two very similar characters of hers are judged very differently because of their gender. This also seems to tap into commentary on Jupiter Ascending.

Over on Tor.com, Kate Elliott offers some tips on writing women characters.

Readers looking to expand diversity in their reading may be interested in this list of 2015 YA reads by authors of colour over on We Need Diverse Books. AustLit have a similar list focused on Australian speculative fiction.

Or you might like to hop on over to Project Unicorn for some free genre YA featuring lesbian protagonists. Creators Sarah and Jennifer Diemer have just announced they are reopening the project for a short time.

For Writers

Fireside Fiction are looking for flash fiction and short stories up to 4000 words from all genres. Submissions close 11 April.

coeur de lion are reopening submissions for Dimension6 (Issue #1 reviewed here) beginning 27 March. Minimum length 4500 words.

Tiny Owl Workshop are opening up Lot 2 of The Lane of Unusual Traders. They are looking for flash fiction up to 500 words and short stories up to 3000 words. There are some particular requirements for this project, so please check out the submission guidelines. The deadline is 1 May for flash fiction and 31 May for short stories.

Fox Spirit Books are looking for winter-themed SFF stories set on Earth for their anthology Winter Tales. Stories should be 1500-7500 words. Submissions close 15 June.

If you are feeling a bit discouraged about your writing, Kate Elliott offers a gentle reminder that your writing is never a waste of time.

For Readers

If you’re wondering about that gorgeous cover at the top of the post, Donna Maree Hanson‘s Rae and Essa’s Space Adventures is due out on 8 May from Escape Publishing. The YA SF romance is a sequel to Rayessa and the Space Pirates.

Ticonderoga Publications have announced the table of contents for their forthcoming anthology Hear Me Roar. The anthology will be available in June and is currently available for preorder.

Twelfth Planet Press’s Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2013 is now available in paperback and for e-book preorders. The table of contents is impressive, as is the honourable mentions list.

Lastly, sign ups for Dewey’s 24-hour read-a-thon are now open! The event will be taking place on 26 April (Australian time). As with last time, you don’t have to participate for the full 24 hours. Just read as much as you feel comfortable.


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