Save Crossed Genres Publications!

Crossed Genres Publications, the awesome indie publisher who released "Fat Girl in a Strange Land", are in danger of closing down.

Editors Bart Lieb and Kay T. Holt were so kind to me during the FGIASL publication and release process, and I feel it's time to give something back...even if that is the equivalent of my story fee for their Kickstarter fund raiser. It's a recursive little world in publishing, but we need wonderful indie companies such as CGP as much as they need us.

CGP have plans for themed anthologies such as "Menial: Skilled Labour in SF" and "Winter Well", an anthology of speculative novellas about older women. SFF publishing needs themes like these explored, to continue expanding the conversations about diversity.

If you can help out CGP, please do so by pledging through their Kickstarter campaign. They need $4000 to get through publishing in 2013. For more details from CGP on why they need this campaign, check out their blog post here.

Thank you!

EDIT: WOW! The power of social media has won the day! Crossed Genres met their Kickstarter target in 24 hours! They now have a Stretch Goal - if they can get another $1500 pledged they'll bring back the magazine they had to close down last year due to financial constraints.

What's On My Bookshelf 21/5/2012

Haven't done a Reading List update in a while, so rundown after the jump.

Walking off the anger: SlutWalk Christchurch 2012

**This post is not about writing**

I joined a SlutWalk today.

More crowd funding for awesome projects

• Jef Smith of Geek Radical and PM Press is running a Kickstarter fundraiser for an anthology of Feminist Science Fiction which will be edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer. "The anthology will emphasize women's speculative fiction from the mid-1970s onward, looking to explore women's rights as well as gender/race/class/etc. from as many perspectives as possible." I'm interested in this one because...well, me!
• Anita Sarkeesian, the woman behind Feminist Frequency, is running a Kickstarter fundraiser for a series she wants to create called "Tropes vs Women: Video Games". If you've enjoyed her insights in her Tropes vs Women:Media series she's run previously, why not consider giving her a dollar or two.
• The Future Fire editor Djibril al-Ayad and writer/editor Fabio Fernandes are teaming up to create an anthology of World SF called "We See A Different Frontier". While their Peerbacker fundraiser has met their target, it would be awesome if they could extend their scope and print more fantastic international authors of SF. If you think so too, go give them a leg up.

Sale: "Through The Open Door" to appear in Aoife's Kiss

It's turning into a good month! I'm pleased to announce that my short story "Through The Open Door" has been accepted at Aoife's Kiss (published by Sam's Dot Publishing), and will appear in their June 2013 issue.

TTOD's journey is another tale of persistence. It was the second story I wrote when I first started two years ago, and has racked up 23 - count 'em, TWENTY THREE! - rejections in that time.

Yay!

OMG!!1!

Supporting Women Authors and Presses Doing Interesting Things

• Australian Fantasy Romance author Nicole R. Murphy has started up a crowd funded e-zine called In Fabula-Divinos dedicated to fostering and critiquing new authors work. Nicole is determined to pay each author she publishes at IFD, and to that ends is currently running a fundraising drive through IndieGoGo. If you think it's important that new talent is fostered and given opportunities they deserve in this messy wonderful publishing industry, go give Nicole a leg up.
• Jennifer who runs Luna Station Quarterly, who published my story "The Woman With Flowers In Her Hair" back in September last year, is working to start up an indie press. Not only will the back issues of LSQ be published in print form, but she also plans to publish ebooks and print on demand volumes of "quirky books as well as traditional novels, poetry and essay collections". Another long  term plan is to be able to pay LSQ authors for their short stories published on the site. LSQ now has a PayPal donation button, and if you'd like to see more women's voices heard in speculative fiction, have at!

Sale! "In Bloom" to appear in Fantastique Unfettered

Sometimes you get it right on the first go!

I'm delighted to announce that my genderqueer fantasy story "In Bloom" has been picked up by Fantastique Unfettered for their double November issue. ETA: Here is the official announcement from FU.

FU has also featured another kiwi fantasy author and SpecFicNZ member (and my friend) Lynne Jamneck in their last issue, publishing her Sir Julius Vogel Award nominated story "Azif". FU is also a sister magazine to M-Brane SF, which published my story "Twixt" in July of last year.

I'm also especially happy that this story was picked up on it's first visit to the traps, which tells me I'm starting to "hit the sweet spot" with a story a lot easier and quicker.

And there couldn't be a more appropriate LOLCat for this story:

Every once and a while you have to stop and taste the roses