Yesterday, as a guest of the Queensland Writers’ Centre, I flew to Brisbane to be a panelist as part of their One Book Many Brisbanes short story masterclass program. Fellow speakers were Overland editor Jeff Sparrow and writer Peter Ball. The audience were newbies; fresh faced and attentive. Tutors included hoary old pros Angela Slatter and Trent Jamieson.I was invited to share my Cosmos fiction editorial insights. I think I did OK and I only got carded once for swearing. Jeff and Peter made some interesting observations about the literary end of the short story universe – I probably learnt as much from them as did the audience.I admit to having to repress the urge to get up on the table and shout GO HOME EVERYONE! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO YOURSELVES? WRITING IS A VAMPYRIC CURSE THAT WILL SUCK THE HOURS FROM YOUR DAYS AND THE MARROW FROM…
very cosmic!
The first Cosmos story chosen and edited by me has just hit the news stands! Issue #37 features Thoraiya Dyer’s awesome ‘Breaking the Ice’, a dystopian tale dealing with refugees, climate change and damn fool crazy schemes worthy of the Bondiest Bond plot ever. To my mind, it’s a perfect fit for the magazine. A talented new writer on the rise.
looks like it’s official then…
news
OK, so here’s that big bit of news I said I was going to get around to announcing sooner or later…As reported by Locus Online already, Damien Broderick is stepping down as fiction editor of Cosmos Magazine and I’m going to be taking his place. Cosmos is an Australian popular science magazine with both glossy print and online news site editions that all up boasts a readership of 400,000.Cosmos publishes speculative fiction stories of up to 4,000 words, both by Australian and international authors. The magazine is a SFWA- accredited market. You can read previously published stories here.A big heartfelt thanks to Damien for recommending me for the job. Big shoes to fill, but I reckon I’m up for the challenge!