David Kernot

Archive for March, 2010

Well, after what seemed like an eternity, I found that the issue I edited was published and has gone off around the world to all subscribers!  I spent a lot of my time last year picking and editing stories and getting the issue ship shape, and ready for publication, which I have to say was a LOT of fun, and a lot of effort too.  I think , no I am convinced that I chose a LOT of brilliant, thought provoking stories, and all the stories submitted were the cream of what is out there at present!

I have got to feel proud after my efforts, and in some ways have achieved something that I set out to do.  Sitting in an Adelaide cafe a couple of years ago, fellow writer, Jason Fischer said to me if I ever get a chance slush for ASIM – check – if I get the chance edit an issue – check! then do so.  So I did, and before i knew it, I had a gig as editor of Issue 47.  Issue 47 ended up being Issue 43, which could not have come at a worse time for me because of my work commitments, but anyway I survived.  And it looks damn fine!

So where to from here…  Obviously, I am going to edit Midnight Echo later this year with Jason and Sydney writer David Conyers, who I am writing a collaboration with.

But getting back to my issue 43, I couldn’t have done it without the firm guidance from fellow cooperative member, Simon Petrie who was awesome at showing me the ropes.

Here is the cover:

Fiction:
Thief of Tears, by Jason Crowe
Instructions for Lighting Candles, by Martin A Reed
From Little Things, by Felicity Dowker
Star, by Aimee Smith
Emergency Rebuild, by David Conyers
Relative to Elsa, by Martin A Reed
By the Banks of the Nabarra, by Daniel Russell
The Prize, by Carine Heidmann
The Painted City, by David Tallerman
Fairy Gothic, by Tracie McBride
Scars that Let the Light Shine Through, by Victorya

Poetry:
My Naked Hand, by Helen Patrice
Higg’s Boson, by Don Webb

Regular Features:
Book reviews

I am sure there will be more than a few nominations for awards from this issue over the following year!  Well done to you writers and to Greg Hughes, whose illustrations are bliss!

Current Mood:  chipper

This is a heads up of an impending future release – don’t submit yet, but get prepared.

Issue #6 of the Australian Horror Writers Association’s magazine Midnight Echo will be edited by David Conyers, Jason Fischer and David Kernot, and the theme will be science fiction horror. Why? Well we just don’t believe there is enough science fiction published in Australia, and dark science fiction is even better.

We are looking for stories that blend the science fiction and horror genres. We are especially looking for stories set on worlds other than Earth, or in deep space, and especially stories in the future. Themes might include contact with alien species that defie explanation, plagues or viruses destined to wipe out humanity, enslavement by an alien race, nanoplagues gone wrong, alien artifacts that are death traps, future totalitarian governments, gothic alien worlds, or enslaving technology are just some ideas. Films like Alien and 28 Days Later are obvious influences. Alternatively imagine what Iain M. Banks, Charles Stross or Alastair Reynolds might write if they got really dark — that’s what we are looking for.

We are not looking for fantasy stories. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons and zombies are unlikely to impress us unless you can deliver something outstanding within these guidelines. We will consider Lovecraftian or Cthulhu Mythos tales provided they meet the theme, and then we are likely only to select one such tale in this style at most. Remember, the key ingredient to getting your story picked up is to write a science fiction tale with horror elements, not a horror tale dressed up with science fiction references.

We are not accepting submissions just yet. We just want to give would-be writers a head’s up that it is coming. Further details on how that will happen will occur later in the year.

Current Mood:  bouncy