Accusations against ChiZine Publications

Several years ago, back when I worked at the World’s Biggest Bookstore in Toronto, I heard of a new horror imprint that was starting called ChiZine Publications. They’d started as a local horror magazine and were branching out to publish short story collections and novels.

Over the years I went to several of their events: book launches at Ad Astra, evening readings at bars, the store hosted a few readings and launches. I reviewed some of their books on this blog and interviewed a few of their authors for an in store display and posting in full here online.

Several of their authors were regulars at the store and would chat with us and sign copies of their books when they came in to shop.

So it’s with surprise and horror that I’ve learned how the publisher has been treating some of their employees and authors. Apparently the close friends of the publishers (Sandra Kasturi and Brett Savory) have been treated well, but others have had late or non-existent payments for work, missing author copies of anthologies, there are accusations of authors being intimidated (so they wouldn’t complain about lack of payment) and fears of being blackballed by the publisher so others wouldn’t work with them. One author has also accused another author of some vile racist comments.

I’ve been following the complaints via twitter and facebook but file770 now has a good overview so I’ll link to that post here.

As some others have pointed out, being a 2 person operation doesn’t excuse not paying people on time. If you can’t run the business properly, maybe it’s time to shut down.

ChiZine has published some amazing books, but the harm they’re doing to the writing and speculative fiction community in Toronto seems to outweigh the positives.

I still have several of their books on my to be read pile. I don’t believe punishing the authors by not reviewing books is fair, so I won’t remove them from my pile. One author has been accused of using racist comments towards another author so I will not review that author’s books anymore (and if other authors are named in the future in such things - from ChiZine or other publishers - this will apply to their books as well).

However, until I hear these issues have been cleared up and proper apologies rendered, I won’t be supporting any more of their events.

I’m a bit torn on buying and reviewing newer books. Again, I don’t think authors should be punished for the publisher’s behaviour, but I don’t want to support the publisher by giving them money. I’ll have to think about this and see how things play out in the next few weeks.

Update:

High Fever Books has an updated rundown with more stories of mistreatment and the official ChiZine Publications statement (several of these are linked to on facebook).

Update Nov 9
Dora Badger has started a Google Doc with information on how you can support ChiZine authors outside of the publisher (other books they've written, patreon accounts, etc). It's a work in progress, as there are a lot of authors.

Book Review: The Bone Mother by David Demchuk

Pros: delightfully creepy and/or unsettling vignettes, real photographs, fascinating mythologies

Con: no frame story to bring the disparate bits together

The publisher describes the book better than I can, so I’m using their synopsis here:

Three neighbouring villages on the Ukrainian/Romanian border are the final refuge for the last of the mythical creatures of Eastern Europe. Now, on the eve of the war that may eradicate their kind—and with the ruthless Night Police descending upon their sanctuary—they tell their stories and confront their destinies:

• The Rusalka, the beautiful vengeful water spirit who lives in lakes and ponds and lures men and children to their deaths;

• The Vovkulaka, who changes from her human form into that of a wolf and hides with her kind deep in the densest forests;

• The Strigoi, a revenant who feasts on blood and twists the minds of those who love, serve and shelter him;

• The Dvoynik, an apparition that impersonates its victim and draws him into a web of evil in order to free itself;

• And the Bone Mother, a skeletal crone with iron teeth who lurks in her house in the heart of the woods, and cooks and eats those who fail her vexing challenges.

Eerie and unsettling like the best fairy tales, these incisor-sharp portraits of ghosts, witches, sirens, and seers—and the mortals who live at their side and in their thrall—will chill your marrow and tear at your heart.

This is a collection of vignettes by people who have had supernatural experiences of some sort or are themselves supernatural creatures. Each story shows a snippet of life. There’s little description or detail, but it’s not required. I enjoyed piecing some of the stories together as the collection went on, though there’s no frame story giving them the feeling of being a cohesive whole. The publisher’s synopsis for the book is basically the frame story the book itself lacks and needs in order to give a sense of cohesion to the collection. I read this in ebook format and hadn’t read the synopsis in months, so wasn’t able to benefit from the information it gave. At the very least there should have been a wrap up story that tied things together better.

Most of the stories are fronted by a real photograph from the Costica Acsinte Archive. A few stories have hand drawn illustrations instead.

While I was familiar with a few of the creatures described, most of them were new and quite fascinating. It would have been cool to get more details about them, but again, the stories are more about ambiance and the feeling of dread than about describing things in detail. In this way, not knowing what the creatures were in some ways enhanced the horror based on the limited descriptions that were given.

Several of the stories are by people who grew up and lived in the three Eastern European villages, the rest are by their descendants. At least one story took place in Canada, and another in the United States.

On the whole I enjoyed the collection. A few of the stories were genuinely terrifying, while most were joyfully creepy. I would have liked a proper conclusion or frame story tying everything together better, but it’s definitely worth picking up.

Shout-Out: The Acolyte by Nick Cutter

Jonah Murtag is an Acolyte on the New Bethlehem police force. His job: eradicate all heretical religious faiths, their practitioners, and artefacts. Murtag's got problems-one of his partners is a zealot, and he's in love with the other one. Trouble at work, trouble at home. Murtag realizes that you can rob a citizenry of almost anything, but you can't take away its faith. When a string of bombings paralyzes the city, religious fanatics are initially suspected, but startling clues point to a far more ominous perpetrator. If Murtag doesn't get things sorted out, the Divine Council will dispatch The Quints, aka: Heaven's Own Bagmen. The clock is ticking towards doomsday for the Chosen of New Bethlehem. And Jonah Murtag's got another problem. The biggest and most worrisome . . . Jonah isn't a believer anymore.          

ChiZine Publications Launches Teen Imprint

The weird is coming to teens with ChiZine's new YA imprint, ChiTeen.  The company plans to start by publishing 4 titles a year.

ChiTeen books will be geared for a variety of ages. The Door in the Mountain by Caitlin Sweet, which will be published in May in Canada, is for older teens and “may veer into the new adult arena,” according to [Sandra] Kasturi [co-publisher of ChiZine Publications]. The other spring title The Floating Boy and the Girl Who Couldn’t Fly by P.T. Jones, will likely appeal to younger teens 13 to 15, or even tweens, she added. Both of those titles will publish in October in the U.S. A third, Dead Girls Don’t by Mags Storey, will be released in October in Canada but as a spring book for the U.S.

You can read more about the launch, and their new ebook press, CZPebook, which will be publishing older, out of print titles, over on Publisher's Weekly.

Rock, Paper, Cynic Webcomic and ChiZine Publications Team Up

The press release:

Rock, Paper, Cynic and ChiZine enter co-operative agreement

TORONTO, Ontario (March 30, 2014) — ChiZine Publications (CZP) and popular webcomic Rock, Paper, Cynic (RPC) are pleased to announce a cooperative venture. RPC is now an imprint of ChiZine Publications, an internationally acclaimed press.

Rock, Paper, Cynic was started by Peter Chiykowski, a Toronto-based cartoonist, as an online webcomic. The comic’s focus is “celebrating things that make the world weird and exciting, and poking fun at things that bring people down.” With its growing reach and popularity, including being shared by “geek” icons such as George Takei and Nathan Fillion, RPC began publishing chapbooks and mini-posters.

By becoming an imprint of ChiZine Publications, Rock, Paper, Cynic will be available through ChiZine Publications’ distribution channels: Harper Collins in Canada and Diamond Book Distributors internationally. As well, Rock, Paper Cynic’s titles will be featured in the CZP catalogue.

Under the terms of the agreement, Chiykowski will retain creative control over Rock, Paper, Cynic.

“We’re known for being a ‘dark’ publisher, but we’ve done some satire and humour in the past. Rock, Paper, Cynic brings the same thought-provoking quality as our titles,” says Sandra Kasturi, co-publisher of ChiZine Publications. “We’ve always thought Peter’s work was smart, hilarious and odd—and hope that through our distribution channels he can reach an even wider (and weirder!) audience.”

“ChiZine’s readers recognize something strange and wonderful when they see it,” adds Chiykowski. “I think that they’re going to get a kick out of Rock, Paper, Cynic.”

Rock, Paper Cynic’s latest book, The H.M.S. Bad Idea, will be published in mid-November.The H.M.S. Bad Idea will be an anthology of geeky comics about bad ideas, lost causes and “choosing ‘awesome’ over ‘right.’” It will be the first Rock, Paper, Cynic title published under the agreement.

Shout-Out: Dead Americans and Other Stories by Ben Peek

Out today.  You can check out the table of contents and a sample here.

A collection of the critically acclaimed dark, weird and surreal short fiction of Ben Peek. It presents a world where bands are named after the murderer of a dead president, where the work of Octavia E. Butler is turned into an apocalypse meta-narrative, and John Wayne visits a Wal-Mart. It presents a world where a dying sun shines over a broken, bitter landscape and men and women tattoo their life onto their skin for an absent god. It presents Mark Twain dreaming of Sydney, and answers a questionnaire you never read.

ChiZine's Picking Up The Ghost optioned for film

A YA novel out from ChiZine Publications in 2011 has been optioned for film/TV rights.  This is the first time one of their books has been optioned as well as one of their first YA titles.  Due to the success of this and their other YA titles, they're starting a new line of YA books, ChiTeen, in 2014.

About the novel:

Living in St. Jude, a 110-year-old dying city on the edge of the Mississippi, is tough. But when a letter informs fourteen-year-old Cinque Williams of the passing of the father he never met, he is faced with an incomplete past and an uncertain future. A curse meant for his father condemns Cinque to a slow death even as it opens his eyes to the strange otherworld around him. With help from the ghost Willy T, an enigmatic White Woman named Iku, an African Loa, and a devious shape-shifter, Cinque gathers the tools to confront the ghost of his dead father. But he will learn that sometimes too much knowledge can be dangerous - and the people he trusts most are those poised to betray him!

ChiZine Publications Will Launch a YA Imprint in 2014

From their press release:

Co-publishers Brett Alexander Savory and Sandra Kasturi announced today a new imprint for ChiZine Publications (CZP) to focus on Young Adult fiction. Called “ChiTeen,” the first title will be The Unlikely But Totally True Adventures of Floating Boy and Anxiety Girl by Paul Tremblay and Stephen Graham Jones, scheduled for release in spring 2014.

“As a business, you can’t ignore the young adult market,” says Savory. “Over the last decade, writers like Rowling, Gaiman and Collins were consistently on bestseller lists. We've been wanting to get into the YA market for a couple of years, and now the timing is right."

“Our editorial style lends itself to young adult fiction,” adds Kasturi. “CZP embraces the dark, the bizarre, the unusual. So many teens feel isolated or different and are looking for that outlet. ChiTeen will offer the same dark and weird stories with strong writing that CZP is known for, just with subject matter more suited for a younger audience.”

Kasturi and Savory will serve as ChiTeen’s co-publishers along with most of the CZP team. They are currently approaching authors to fill out their 2014 roster. They are not currently open to un-agented submissions for the new imprint.

As with CZP, distribution will be handled by HarperCollinsCanada in Canada and Diamond Book Distributors throughout the rest of the world. Foreign rights are handled by Cooke International.

Brett Alexander Savory and Sandra Kasturi have been nominated for the 2012 World Fantasy Award, under the Special Award Professional category.  Several of their authors were nominated for the Prix Aurora Award and the Sunburst Award.  To find out more about ChiZine, check out its website.

New Author Spotlight: Gord Zajac

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with 3 books or less in the different SF/F subgenres. Today's spotlight shines on Gord Zajac! His debut novel is Major Karnage published by Chizine Publications. Here's the cover copy...

It has been 20 years since The War, and Major John Karnage has finally settled into retirement: locked up in an insane asylum, with an explosive device embedded in the back of his neck to curb his violent tendencies. Karnage and his troopers have been deemed unfit to live in normal society. Like a bit of old chewing gum stuck under a coffee table, the world has left The War and its scarred, unstable veterans behind. The military has been disbanded and World Peace has descended upon the Earth. Its inhabitants live happy, profitable lives under the global rule of the benevolent Dabney Corporation. All is tea and roses in this new, sanitized world... until a terrifying threat from beyond the stars rears its squiggly head! An invading armada of aliens threatens to destroy the Earth, and it's up to Major Karnage to stop them - as long as he doesn't accidentally blow his own head off first.

Check out his book if you like never ending wars or soldiers fighting past their prime:

• Veteran by Gavin Smith (Gollancz)
• Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Tor Science Fiction)
• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (St. Martin's Griffin)

ChiZine Offers Subscriptions

Angry Robot Books does it, as does Cemetery Dance Publications.  Now ChiZine is offering it as well.  What is it?  It's the subscription model for books.  From their press release:

ChiZine Publications has announced it is offering subscription packages, allowing customers to buy all seventeen of its 2012 titles at a 40% discount.

The subscriptions come in three options: signed, limited edition hardcovers, trade paperbacks and ebooks. As with individual purchases of trade paperbacks, both the trade paperback and hardcover subscriptions also include the ebook versions. Due to shipping costs, the hardcover and trade paperback packages are only available to customers in Canada and the United States.

"Since we started, we’ve said if you liked one of our titles you'd probably like them all," explains Co-Publisher Sandra Kasturi. "We have a large group of dedicated fans and this makes it simpler for them to get our books. For those who've tried a few, it's is an easy way to try us out at a deep discount."

"At conventions and book fairs, we're constantly being asked if we'd do subscriptions . . . usually by people with an armload of our books," adds Co-Publisher Brett Savory. "We're now at a place as a business to have the infrastructure and staff to make it happen."

Subscribers will receive the hardcover and trade paperback titles in two batches—eight titles in spring 2012 and nine in fall 2012.

Subscriptions will be accepted throughout 2012, though the hardcover package is subject to availability since only a limited number of hardcovers are produced.

Check out their website to order and for more information.

ChiZine Offers Free Ebook for Friday the 13th

For today - up until 2 am (EST), get one free ebook from ChiZine Publications.  Details on their site.  If you're not sure what to request, Eutopia by David Nickle is fantastic.  :)

Genre News

Sea Lion Books signs Patrick Rothfuss to reprint his adult picture book, illustrated by Nate Taylor, entitled: The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed.  From the press release:

THE ADVENTURES OF THE PRINCESS AND MR. WHIFFLE is an odd mix of dark classic storytelling, new age terror, and a macabre sense of wicked humor that leave the reader with three possible endings, each one being darker than the last, letting the reader decide how far they dare to go.

The final ending just might keep your teddy bear awake tonight, or at least start a stuffed animal rebellion. The reprint will include original bonus material and a Q&A with author Patrick Rothfuss.

ChiZine Publications offers free ebook version of trade paperbacks purchased through their website:

Since its founding, CZP has offered 30% off the cover price of trade paperbacks ordered directly from them. It has also been an advocate of the ebook format, performing its own in-house ebook creation and offering them via Amazon, Kobo, Wowio and other online sites. With the recent launch of its online shopping cart system, CZP has decided to bundle an ebook into the price of trade paperbacks.

When the purchase is complete, buyers will be directed to log into the website to download a ZIP file containing the ebook in EPUB, MOBI and PDF formats. The ebook and trade paperback bundles are only available via the CZP site.

This isn't genre news, but it is a fantastic article if you've got kids.  It's time to teach kids how to deal with bullies, and let them know that sometimes swearing is OK.  If you know someone who has (or may have and isn't telling you) a bully problem at school, do something about it.

WBB Presents: Speculative Fiction

The World's Biggest Bookstore's Speculative Fiction event on Sunday June 5th, was a lot of fun. We had 3 ChiZine Publications authors in to read from their most recent works and discuss the business.  David Nickle read from Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism.  Gemma Files read from A Rope of Thorns.  And Brent Hayward read from The Fecund's Melancholy Daughter.

The post reading discussion was led by ChiZine co-publisher Sandra Kasturi.  She asked some interesting questions, like: "Why on earth do you write that weird, terrible dark stuff, like, what's wrong with you?"

Why do you write horror? from Jessica Strider on Vimeo.

And, "What does a short story allow you to do that a novel does not?"

What does a short story allow you to do that a novel doesn't? from Jessica Strider on Vimeo.

Finally, here's the publisher's endcap with lots of signed books.  So if you're in the Toronto area, come on down to the WBB and get yourselves signed copies of some local authors' works.

Publisher Spotlight: ChiZine Publications

In the interests of getting more people reading and discovering some of the smaller presses that publish great genre fiction, I've been doing themed publisher endcaps at work.  My second is for ChiZine Publications, a Toronto press that I first heard of a few years back at Ad Astra.

Like 'em weird?  They do.  In their own words they publish "weird, surreal, subtle, and disturbing dark literary fiction".  Lots of short story collections too.  Check them out sometime when you want something a little outside the ordinary.

ChiZine Conest for Derryl Murphy's novel, Napier's Bones

ChiZine Publications is hosting another contest to showcase a new title, Derryl Murphy's Napier's Bones.

What's the book about?, you ask.  Here's the cover blurb:

What if, in a world where mathematics could be magic, the thing you desired most was also trying to kill you? Dom is a numerate, someone able to see and control numbers and use them as a form of magic. While seeking a mathematical item of immense power that has only been whispered about, it all goes south for Dom, and he finds himself on the run across three countries on two continents, with two unlikely companions in tow and a numerate of unfathomable strength hot on his tail. Along the way are giant creatures of stone and earth, statues come alive, numerical wonders cast over hundreds of years, and the very real possibility that he won''t make it out of this alive. And both of his companions have secrets so deep that even they aren't aware of them, and one of those secrets could make for a seismic shift in how Dom and all other numerates see and interact with the world.

And now that you know if you're interested, here are the contest details from their press release:

To honour the death of Scottish mathematician John Napier and celebrate the release of Derryl Murphy's new novel Napier's Bones, ChiZine Publications has announced the “Napier's Legacy Contest,” which seeks submissions of short stories, jokes and inventions inspired by John Napier.

Launched April 4, the date of John Napier's death in 1617, the contest is looking for creative works related to John Napier's interests, which include mathematics, the occult and alchemy. Winners will receive a limited hardcover for the best “undiscovered” invention by John Napier, a trade paperback for an original short story where numbers play some role in the plot, and an eBook for the best numbers-based joke.

"Derryl's novel presents a world where numbers are the basis of magic," explains co-publisher Sandra Kasturi. "It's such an unusual take on magic that we wanted to run a truly unique contest where people can have some creative fun and enter in different ways. I can’t wait to see what kind of cool stories and wacky fake ‘inventions’ people come up with, not to mention all the terrible jokes!"

Full details are on the ChiZine Publications website at http://chizinepub.com. Entries must be received by May 4.

ChiZine Publications hosts "Imaginary Book" Contest to Promote The Door To Lost Pages

From their press release:

TORONTO, Ontario (February 17, 2011) – Toronto based ChiZine Publications will be holding a contest to promote and give away signed limited edition hard cover copies of Claude Lalumière's new book The Door to Lost Pages. Submitters are encouraged to fabricate a title and synopsis of an imaginary book that would appear in the novella’s titular shop, Lost Pages, which exists across multiple realities and conveys materials about them.

“This is not only a means to increase the interest in the book, but also to promote the importance of interaction with the material,” says CZP author Claude Lalumière. “By encouraging invention on the reader’s part, it gives them more of an involvement with the work and its concepts therein.”

Via the available form on the ChiZine contest page, contestants will submit the title and synopsis of an imaginary book they would think would be found at Lost Pages. Two grand prizes will be awarded—the Author’s Choice Award, selected by Claude Lalumière, and the Reader’s Choice Award, voted by online readers. 

The winners and runners-up will be featured on the CZP website and on Lalumière’s Lost Myths blog. The two grand-prize winners each get a free signed limited-edition hardcover copy of The Door to Lost Pages, as well as ten postcards featuring their winning entry. CZP will also use the postcards of the winning entry as giveaway material at conventions, readings and festivals. Three runners-up will win a free eBook download of The Door to Lost Pages.
 
Submission Guidelines

1. Participants may submit up to three entries each
2. Entries can be up to 150 words, including the header
3. Vote and encourage others to vote on their favourite entries
4. Claude Lalumière will choose his top picks from the submitted entries to be posted on the contest website. Voting for the Reader’s Choice will take place from March 21 to March 31, midnight (EDT).

The contest begins February 17, 2011. Final submissions must be made by midnight (EDT) on March 15, 2011.  Final winners will be announced on April 4, 2011 by ChiZine Publications. 
Entries may be edited in minor ways for publication. To submit, visit the ChiZine Publications website at http://chizine.com/chizinepub/contests/lost-pages/

 If you're wondering what The Door To Lost Pages is all about, here's the synopsis via the Chapters/Indigo website:

 Step through the door to Lost Pages and escape a life you never wanted! On her tenth birthday, Aydee runs away from home and from her neglectful parents. At first, surviving alone on the streets is harsh, but a series of frightening, bewildering encounters with strange primordial creatures leads her to a bookshop called Lost Pages, where she steps into a fantastic, sometimes dangerous, but exciting life. Aydee grows up at the reality-hopping Lost Pages, which seems to attract a clientele that is either eccentric - or desperate. She is repeatedly drawn into an eternal war between enigmatic gods and monsters, until the day she is confronted by her worst nightmare: herself!

ChiZine Publications to Host Online Review Contest

From their press release:

TORONTO, Ontario (February 1, 2011) – Toronto-based ChiZine Publications will begin holding a monthly contest to encourage readers to post reviews on Amazon and GoodReads for the opportunity to win CZP eBooks.

“Reviews are one of the most important ways of getting the word out about our books,” says CZP Marketing Manager Laura Marshall. “We not only want to increase the interest in what we’re doing, but we want to encourage readers to take our stories seriously and join the conversation. Seeing reader responses is what keeps things interesting for us.”

To participate:

1) Write a review of one of our books on Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk or GoodReads—give us an honest assessment of what you think of our book.

2) Submit a copy of your review through the form provided on our contest page at http://chizinepub.com/review-contest/.

3) Keep doing it! You can enter as many times as you like as long as you’re reviewing a different book or posting on a different site.

Reviewers can submit as many reviews as they post on Amazon or GoodReads in order to be entered into the monthly draw for free eBooks. The number of prizes available per month will increase as the number of entries increase. At the end of the year, there will be a draw of all entries over 2011 for an annual eBook Subscription to CZP.

For more information, please read the full contest rules at http://chizinepub.com/reviewcontest/ or contact CZP Marketing Manager Laura Marshall.

I'm a little disappointed they're not accepting the Chapters/Indigo website reviews seeing as they're a Canadian publisher, but it's a nifty opportunity for those of you out there who post reviews on Amazon and/or GoodReads.

ChiZine Publications Starts Monthly Reading Series in Toronto

The Chiaroscuro reading series, sponsored by CZP, runs the second Tuesday of the month, normally at the Augusta House (125 Augusta Ave.) in Toronto.

Their mandate:

at the Augusta House

152 Augusta Avenue, 2nd Floor

(link to google map? or jpeg of google map?)

Toronto, ONery available between 21-24 of this month

 Emerging from early magic realism, mythology and fable, from the work of science fiction authors who cut their teeth during the 1950’s golden age of pulp science fiction, and from the disturbing literary forays of horror writers inspired by Shelley, Poe, and Stoker, Canadian speculative fiction has begun to move in strange and provocative new directions, becoming something altogether different from its American counterpart and wholly itself. 

 We believe that Canadian authors may well prove to be the kind of rejuvenating force necessary to revitalize the “pulp” genres of fantasy, science fiction and horror writing.  As Canadian publications including Neo-Opsis, OnSpec, Ideomancer, Challenging Destiny, the long-running Tesseracts collections, and our own ChiZine Publications become increasingly prominent markets for speculative fiction, we want to establish a dialogue between senior and junior authors, between authors and editors, and between authors and readers in order to encourage the growth of this important literary domain. 

If you're in town, their next event * takes place at Bakka Phoenix Books will be honouring Bakka Phoenix Books (84 Harbord St.) as it features several of their alumni, on Tuesday, February 8th, 8-11pm.  It will still take place at Augusta House.  Here are the authors participating, from the event page on facebook:

ROBERT J SAWYER is one of only seven writers in history (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the science-fiction field's top honors for best novel of the year: the Hugo Award; the Nebula Award; and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

ED GREENWOOD is an award-winning Canadian writer, editor, game designer, columnist, and librarian best known as the creator of The Forgotten Realms® fantasy world. 

LEAH BOBET has a degree in linguistics from the University of Toronto, edits at Ideomancer Speculative Fiction, and moonlights at Bakka-Phoenix Books, Canada's oldest science fiction bookstore.

MICHELLE SAGARA WEST, a 1992 Campbell Award nominee, started her first novel, Into the Dark Lands, in 1986, which was eventually published by Del Rey books at the tail end of 1991. She has also published the House War with DAW and the Chronicles of Elantra.

If you want more information about the reading series or the workships they offer, head on over to their website.

* Thanks to The Quiet One who corrected me on the venue in the comments.

ChiZine Giving Away Free eBooks for Christmas!

Didn't get everything you wanted for Christmas?  Want a horror novel or book of scary short stories?  Then check out ChiZine Publications.  They're giving one free eBook to people who email them before noon December 26th.

From their website:


A Free eBook of YOUR CHOICE

Now that you’ve all unwrapped your shiny new Kindles and Kobos, we wanted to give you a very special present—a free eBook of your choice. Yup, totally free, no strings attached, just-because-we-love-you kind of free. Simply e-mail us at czpmas@gmail.com with a message of good cheer and your eBook request. Really, guys, thanks so much for a fabulous year. We are truly grateful for the support and the good will of the reading community at large. So eat, drink and be merry—we look forward to another spectacular year come January...

Here are all our titles available in eBook format. Go ahead! Pick one!

Remember, this offer runs from noon December 25 to noon December 26, so don’t miss out!

ChiZine Publication's Book Launch at SF Contario

I knew I could only attend one day of SF Contario (due to the WBB's 30th Anniversary sale - remember 20% off ends today!), so I picked Friday, so I could attend ChiZine Publication's book launch. ChiZine has published several short story collections and a few novels - all of high quality - over the last year, and I wanted to see what was to come.

Co-owner Sandra Katsuri ran the prize draw and introduced the readers. She was assisted by 'cigarette girl' and managing Editor Helen Marshall. In total, 4 books were given away, and 3 authors read from their new books: Gord Zajac from Major Karnage, Craig Davidson from Sarah Court, and Gord Zajec from Robert Boyczuk's Nexus: Ascension. Thankfully I videotaped the last one (the first reading of the launch) because Zajec did a fun interpretive reading, with voices and motions. Considering it wasn't prepared in advance (Boyczuk simply turned the floor over to him) it was a wonderful performance. And here it is: (Please be advised there is some adult language.)



If you "like 'em weird", here are their upcoming titles for Spring 2011:

Napier's Bones by Derryl Murphy
Every Shallow Cut by Tom Piccirilli
The Door to Lost Pages by Claude Lalumiere
Eutopia by David Nickle
The Fecund's Melancholy Daughter by Brent Hayward
A Rope of Thorns by Gemma Files
Isles of the Forsaken by Carolyn Ives Gilman
Imaginarium 2011 Edited by Sandra Kasturi and Halli Villegas