The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2014 (Volume 5)

by Kaaron Warren

  Coeur de Lion published Dimension6 in several editions in 2014; edited by Keith Stevenson, Dimension6 speculative fiction 1 featured Jason Nahrung’s “The Preservation Society”; Dimension6 speculative fiction 2 included “He Ain’t Dead” by Robert N. Stephenson and “Upon a Distant Shore” by Alan Baxter; Dimension6 speculative fiction included the “New Chronicles of Andras Thorn” by Cat Sparks and “The Shark God Covenant” by Robert Hood.

  disquiet edited by Tracie McBride and John Irvine, was dedicated to dark fiction by Australian and New Zealand authors; published by Finnish publisher Creativia, notable stories include editor Tracie McBride’s stories “Riding The Storm” and “The Truth About Dolphins”; Peter Friend’s “Lightning Ridge”; Charlotte Kieft’s “Chiaroscuro”; Ryn Lilley’s “The Rainbow Effect”; Eileen Mueller’s “The Watch Serpent”; Lee Pletzers “Water”; A.J. Ponder’s “The Collector”; and “Tracks” by Tim Jones.

  Fearsome Magics (Solaris) edited by Jonathan Strahan included the horror stories “The Nursery Corner” by Kaaron Warren and “The Changeling” by James Bradley. Kisses by Clockwork (Ticonderoga Publications) edited by Liz Grzyb had a few darker moments with “The Tic-Toc Boy of Constantinople” by Anthony Panegyres and Angela Rega’s “The Law of Love”.

  Christopher Marcatili saw publication of “The Necrophage”in Site Lines (Xoum); Site Lines is the University of Technology (Sydney) Writers’ Anthology. FableCroft published Phantazein edited by Tehani Wessely; this included dark moments with ‘‘The Seventh Relic” by Cat Sparks and “Kneaded” by S.G. Larner.

  SNAFU: An Anthology of Military Horror (Cohesion Press) edited by Geoff Brown and Amanda J. Spedding; this eight story anthology includes Australian writer Greig Beck’s “The Fossil”. Cohesion Press also released SNAFU: Heroes: An Anthology of Military Horror, again edited by Geoff Brown and Amanda J. Spedding, a supplemental volume to SNAFU, with more short stories and novellas from four military horror writers (no antipodean contributors).

  Black Beacon Books published Subtropical Suspense edited by Cameron Trost. This anthology included a number of very fine stories of supernatural horror or horror-tinged realism, including: “The Deluge” by Gerry Huntman, “Blood on the Ice” by Helen Stubbs, “The Final Cut” by Linda Brucesmith, “Downpour” by Sophie Yorkston, and the compelling “Scarlett Fever” by Alice Godwin.

  Suspended in Dusk (Books of the Dead Press), the editorial debut from Simon Dewar, included notable Australian contributors: S.G. Larner’s “Shades of Memory”, Angela Slatter’s “The Way Of All Flesh”, Tom Dullemond’s “Would To God That We Were There”, and Alan Baxter’s “Shadows of the Lonely Dead”; the latter won the Australian Shadows Award for Best Short Fiction. Dark Continents Publishing released The Sea anthology, edited by Nerine Dorman, with noteworthy dark tales “The Wire Bird” by Simon Dewar and “A Drought of Tears” by Rob Porteous. (Porteous won the Conflux 2014 short story comp with the story “Death Watch”.) Dark Continents, which was run by a team including Australian writer Tracie McBride, closed their doors in 2014. Spineless Wonders published The World to Come edited by Patrick West and Om Prakash Dwivedi; notable antipodean contributions were “When The Birds Come” by Emily Riches, and Leah Swann’s “Of Life Below”. Busybird Publishing released [unititled] 6 including D. Robert Grixti’s “Pretty Birds” and Adrienne Tam’s “The Human Child”. Peggy Bright Books published Use Only As Directed edited by Simon Petrie and Edwina Harvey, with darker tales being Alex Isle’s “The Kind Neighbours of Hell”, Claire McKenna’s “Yard”, Michelle Goldsmith’s “The Climbing Tree”, Janeen Webb’s “Future Perfect”, and Charlotte Nash’s “Dellinger”.

  ANTHOLOGY PUBLICATIONS—INTERNATIONAL

  Antipodean authors saw considerable success with publication of short stories dispersed across a wide array of overseas anthologies in 2014. Paul Mannering’s “The Princess and the Flea” was published in the charity horror anthology At Hell’s Gates: Volume One: Existing Worlds, edited by Monique Happy and James Crawford; all proceeds from sales of this anthology went to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. Lee Pletzers published “SARAH” in the Bellator anthology. G.N. Braun saw publication of “Happy Hour” in Blood Type: An Anthology of Vampire SF on the Cutting Edge (Nightscape Press), edited by Robert S. Wilson; all net proceeds went to The Cystic Fibrosis Trust. David Grigg’s “This Too, Too Solid Flesh” was published in Cadavers (KnightWatch Press) edited by G.P. Stratford. Michael Grey published the irreverent Lovecraftian steampunk tale “1884” in Cthulhu Lives! (Ghostwood Books). The Demonic Visions anthology edited by Chris Robertson saw three in the series published in 2014: Demonic Visions: 50 Horror Tales 3 included from Rebecca Fung’s “Anything for Love”, and Raymond Gates’s “Show and Tell”; Demonic Visions: 50 Horror Tales 4 included Rebecca Fung’s “Snake Season” and Raymond Gates’s “The Mind of an Artiste”; and Demonic Visions: 50 Horror Tales 5 included Raymond Gates’s “Continuity” and Rebecca Fung’s “The Eleventh Piper”. Rebecca Fung also saw publication with “The Mummified Monk” in Daylight Dims: Volume Two (Stealth Fiction) edited by Kristopher Mallory. Angela Slatter published the classic “Let the Words Take You” in Dreams of Shadow and Smoke: Stories for J.S. Le Fanu (Swan River Press) edited by Brian J. Showers.

  Equilibrium Overturned (Grey Matter Press) edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson included Australian contributions—Jay Caselberg’s “Compartmental”, and S.G. Larner’s “Perfect Soldiers”. Chaosium’s Extreme Planets anthology, the follow up to the 2013 Call of Cthulhu anthology, edited by David Conyers, David Kernot and Jeff Harris, featured “The Hyphal Layer” by Meryl Ferguson, and Conyers and David Kernot’s own “Petrochemical Skies”. David Conyers saw publication with “Downsizing in the Technopoly” in Tides of Possibility (Slipjack Publishing) edited by K. J. Russell. Fearful Symmetries (ChiZine Publications) edited by Ellen Datlow included Terry Dowling‘s “The Four Darks”, Garth Nix’s “Shay Corsham Worsted”, and Kaaron Warren’s confronting “Bridge of Sighs”. Barry Rosenberg published “Finding His Roots” in Growing Concerns (Chupa Cabra House), edited by Alex Hurst. Rebecca Fung saw publication of “Everywhere Eyes” in Her Dark Voice (Knightwatch Press); edited by Theresa Derwin, this selection female speculative authors was a fundraiser with the proceeds going to a Breast Cancer charity. Angela Slatter’s “Only the Dead and the Moonstruck” appeared in Letters to Lovecraft (Stone Skin Press) edited by Jesse Bullington. Barry Rosenberg’s “Dread Man Walking” appeared in Life of the Dead (Martinus Publishing). Terry Dowling’s “Corpse Rose” appeared in Nightmare Carnival (Dark Horse Books) edited by Ellen Datlow. The Night Terrors III (Blood Bound Books) anthology, edited by G. Winston Hyatt, Theresa Dillon, and Marc Ciccarone, included “Of The Color Turmeric, Climbing on Fingertips” by Gerry Huntman and “Sailor’s Rest” by Jay Caselberg. Caselberg’s “Bite Marks”, appeared in Noir (NewCon Press), edited by Ian Whates. David Grigg’s “The Miracle Cure” appeared in NovoPulp Anthology Volume 2 (Hermit Studio), edited by H. David Blalock, Emil Hugo, Charles Barouch, Chris Capps, and Zachary Seibert.

  Cameron Trost’s “Lauren” was published in Of Devils and Deviants: An Anthology of Erotic Horror (Crowded Quarantine Publications), edited by Adam Millard and Zoe-Ray Millard. Ron Barton’s “Parent-Teacher Night of the Living Dead” saw publication in Paved With Words. Havva Murat’s “Where Once Were Hearts” appeared in Portals (Roane Publishing). Rebecca Fung’s “Eyes” appeared in Potatoes (KnightWatch Press). Ashlee Scheuerman’s “Dyscrasia” saw publication in the anthology Qualia Nous (Written Backwards). Jeremy Szal’s “Contact Zero” appeared in Quantum Fairy Tales. William Cook’s story “Pretty Boy” appeared in the Serial Killers Quattuor anthology edited by James Ward Kirk (James Ward Kirk Publishing). Kaaron Warren’s “Death’s Door Café” was published in Shadows & Tall Trees (ChiZine Publications), edited by Michael Kelly. Havva Murat’s “Encantado” appeared in Spooktacular Seductions (Roane Publishing).

  G.N. Braun’s “Junksick” wa
s published in Tales from the Lake Volume 1 (Crystal Lake Publishing) edited by Joe Mynhardt. Gerry Huntman’s “The Past Catching Up” appeared in The Badlands (Dead Guns Press). Rick Kennett’s “Dolls for Another Day” was published in The Ghosts & Scholars Book of Shadows: Vol 2 (Sarob Press) in a limited and numbered edition hardcover collecting ‘prequels and sequels’ honouring eleven classic ghost stories of M.R. James, edited by Rosemary Pardoe. “The Optimist” by Kaaron Warren appeared in The Many Tortures of Anthony Cardno, edited by Anthony Cardno for Talekyn Press. Angela Slatter’s “The October Widow” appeared in The Spectral Book of Horror Stories (Spectral Press) edited by Mark Morris. Kaaron Warren’s “The Lantern Men” appeared in Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets (Abbaddon Books) edited by David Thomas Moore.

  “Not as it Seems” by Lee Pletzers was published in the These Vampires Still Don’t Sparkle anthology (Sky Warrior Book Publishing) edited by Carol Hightshoe. “To Not-Be Or To Not Not-Be” by Barry Rosenberg appeared in Vampires Suck: Alternate Hilarities 2 (Strange Musings Press), edited by Giovanni Valentino. “Darkness In The Mountain Of Light” by Gerry Huntman appeared in What Lies Beneath (Horrified Press), edited by Dorothy Davies. Co-authored story “The Bullet and the Flesh” from David Conyers and David Kernot appeared in World War Cthulhu (Dark Regions Press), edited by Brian M. Sammons and Glynn Owen Barrass. Shauna O’Meara’s story “Beneath the Surface of Two Kills” appeared in the competitive Writers of the Future Volume 30 (Galaxy Press). Angela Slatter’s “Red Dust, White Earth” was published in Zombie Apocalypse! Endgame (Constable & Robinson) edited by Stephen Jones. Anthony Ferguson’s “The Ardent Dead” was published in Zom Rom Com: A Zombie Anthology (KnightWatch Press) edited by Stewart Hotston.

  MAGAZINES & JOURNALS—ANTIPODEAN

  Antipodean magazines continued to be a central market for horror short fiction publication in 2014, with one notable year-long publication lapse: Midnight Echo magazine, published by the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) had an intermission to reconsider the viability of the hardcopy print format; during this time of restructure Cassie Britland handed over the role of Midnight Echo Executive Editor to Daniel Miller, and then opted to retain the role. The magazine moved to digital formats only, and the guest editor working with AHWA on Midnight Echo in a pre-production capacity during 2014 was Kaaron Warren. Dan Rabarts story Children of the Tide was published on the Midnight Echo website in January 2014; the story was the winner of the Melbourne Zombie Convention Short Story competition in 2013.

  Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine published some horror fiction in their genre mix. Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 59 included “That Which We Believe” by Steve Cameron (a novelette work-shopped by the late Paul Haines during Cameron’s AHWA mentorship) and Caitlene Cooke’s “The Zombie Haiku”. Michelle Goldsmith’s story “Of Gold and Dust” was published in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 60. Aurealis magazine (Chimaera Publications) also included some darker offerings with David Stevens’s “Avoiding Gagarin” in Aurealis 68, Matthew J. Morrison’s “The Stain on the Lake” in Aurealis 70, Allan Chen’s “Kisses with Teeth” in Aurealis 73, and Leife Shallcross’s “Music for an Ivory Violin” in Aurealis 74.

  The Review of Australian Fiction continued to prove a welcoming market for dark genre fiction, with a number of prominent horror writers contributing; Deborah Biancotti saw publication there twice in 2014, with “No Mercy for the Executioner” in Review of Australian Fiction, Volume 11, Issue 6, and “The Executioner Goes Home” in Review of Australian Fiction, Volume 9, Issue 2. Thoraiya Dyer’s story “Burning the Lady’s Bones” also appeared in Review of Australian Fiction, Volume 11, Issue 6. Lisa L. Hannett’s “The Beat That Billie Bore” appeared in Review of Australian Fiction Review of Australian Fiction Volume 11, Issue 1. Kirstyn McDermott’s novella “By the Moon’s Good Grace” was published in Review of Australian Fiction, Vol.12, Issue 3—a dark feminist retelling of the “Little Red Riding Hood” tale, reflecting the author’s PhD focus on fairy tales. Jason Fischer’s “Percy’s War” was published in Review of Australian Fiction, Volume 12, Issue 2.

  SQ Mag (IFWG Publishing Australia), edited by Sophie Yorkston, had a massive year, publishing six online editions in 2014, a number of which featured Australian horror, including an Australiana Special Edition. The online magazine won an Australian Shadows Award for Best Edited Work. SQ Mag 12 (January 2014) featured New Zealander Lee Murray’s unsettling boarding school vignette “Inside Ferndale”. SQ Mag 13 (March 2014) included the horror story “Keeping an Open Mind” by New Zealander Dan Rabarts, “The Girl in the Glass Bottle” by Brian G. Ross, and “The Church of Asag” by Cameron Trost. SQ Mag 14 Special Edition: Australiana (May 2014) included some stellar Australian fiction—“The Darkness in Clara” by Alan Baxter, “Eleanor Atkins is Dead and Her House is Boarded Up” by Kaaron Warren, “Chasing the Storm” by S. G. Larner, “Bones” by Michelle Jager, as well as an interview with Wolf Creek prequel authors Aaron Sterns and Brett McBean, and an opinion piece feature “State of Play of Australian Speculative Fiction” in two parts, with “The State of Science Fiction and Fantasy in Australia” penned by Tehani Wessely, and “The State of Horror Literature in Australia” authored by Geoff Brown; the latter generated some critical discourse about omissions and balance, a discussion comported in the very civilized manner of Australian genre debate. SQ Mag 15 (July 2014) included “Metempsychosis” by Jason Franks. SQ Mag 16 (September 2014) included “The Nanofabricated Truth” by David Conyers.

  A number of other magazines and journals featured a smattering of horror offerings during the year. Cassandra Downie’s story “The Driver” was published in Dark Matter Zine: Unmasked Special Edition edited by Nalini Haynes. S.G.Larner’s ‘Banned Girl’ appeared in FictionVale Episode 4, edited by Jodi Cleghorn. Jenny Blackford’s poem “I made myself a lover” was published in Melbourne-based new publication Gargouille Literary Journal, Issue 1, December 2014. James Bradley’s creepy “Skinsuit” was published in Island 137. Lucy Sussex published a flash vignette “The Grave of the Barbie Doll” on Nike Sulway’s website perilousadventures.net. David Stevens saw publication of “Good Boy” in Perth-based Regime Magazine of New Writing (Regime Books), edited by Peter Jeffery and Chris Palazzolo. Rebecca Fraser’s “Peroxide and the Doppelganger”, a hallucinogenic punk rock trip to the shadow-self, by was published in The Quarry Journal 4 a student-edited annual journal published with the support of Macquarie University’s Department of English.

  MAGAZINES & JOURNALS—INTERNATIONAL

  Authors continued to look to overseas magazines for publication with great success. The prolific David Conyers saw publication of “The Shaping Man” in Irish magazine Albedo One #45, edited by Robert Neilson. Emma Osborne’s “Zip” appeared in Bastion Science Fiction Magazine, Issue 5, August 2014, edited by R. Leigh Hennig and William Delman. Jeremy Szal’s “The Rainmaker” was published in Bewildering Stories Issue 578, flash fiction edited by Charles C. Cole. Brian G. Ross saw publication of “A Week in the Life Of . . . ” in Dark Moon Digest, Issue 15 (Perpetual Motion Machine) edited by Lori Michelle. Daily Science Fiction edited by Michele-Lee Barasso and Jonathan Laden published “Mephisto”by Alan Baxter in Daily Science Fiction, June 23, 2014 and “Eight Pieces of Losing You” by Samantha Murray in Daily Science Fiction, 2 April 2014. S.G. Larner’s “Labyrinth Hope” appeared in Ontario-based YA magazine Inaccurate Realities 5: Monsters, edited by Christa S.

  Lovecraft eZine, edited by Mike Davis, included Australian works “War Gods of Men” co-authored by David Conyers and David Kernot in Lovecraft eZine #31, June 2014, and “The Eldritch Force” co-authored by an ensemble comprised of Peter Rawlik, Glynn Owen Barrass, Brian M. Sammons. Bruce L. Priddy, Robert M. Price, Rick Lai and David Conyers, in Lovecraft eZine #28, February 2014. Jeremy Szal sold “Without a Trace”to MicroHorror, edited by Nathen Rosen. Ben Peek’s “Upon The Body” was published in Nightmare Magazine #23 (August 2014), edited by John Joseph
Adams.

  Postscripts 32/33: Far Voyager (PS Publishing) edited by Nick Gevers included “A Girl of Feather and Music” by Lisa L. Hannett, “Winter Children” by Angela Slatter, “Thirty Three Tears to a Teaspoon” by Alan Baxter, “Rusalka Salon For Girls Who Like To Get Their Hair Wet” by Angie Rega, and “The Psychometrist” by Suzanne Willis. Willis also saw publication with “The Rattenfänger’s Pipe” in the re-imagined Schlock Magazine February 2014 Issue. Ben Peek published “In The Broken City” in Shimmer 18, guest edited by Ann Vandermeer. Emma Osborne’s “The Box Wife” appeared in Shock Totem: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted 9.

  Brian G. Ross published “The Beast of Broken Rock” at paying market T. Gene Davis’s Speculative Blog. “The Last Door: A Prelude—The Five Arches” by David Conyers was published at the website of independent video game studio The Game Kitchen (Spain). Lee Pletzers published “Two Kinds of Animal” in The Literary Hatchet #10 (Pear Tree Press), short story editor Eugene Hosey. Tor.com, webzine department of the genre book publisher, included Australian contributions with “The Walking-Stick Forest” by Anna Tambour, and “Night-time in Caeli-Amur” by Rjurik Davidson. Lloyd Connor’s “Some Corner of a Dorset Field that is Forever Arabia” appeared in Three-Lobed Burning Eye #25, edited by Andrew S. Fuller. Rebecca Fung’s “Little Nightmare” appeared in Voluted Tales 14 (June-July 2014), edited by Becca Butcher.