Rich Horton summarizes Bull Spec, year one.

Posted on 2011-02-02 at 17:47 by montsamu

In his LiveJournal The Elephant Forgets, Rich Horton summarizes the first year of Bull Spec and gives a statistical roundup along a pair of axes (author gender and story genre). In particular he notes Lavie Tidhar’s “The Story of Listener and Yu-En” (issue #3) and Nick Mamatas’ “O, Harvard Square!” (issue #4) along with mentions for Katherine Sparrow, Melissa Mead, Natania Barron, Don Norum, and Kaolin Fire. So: go read the roundup, and see what else Rich has been reading this year. (Hint: everything.)

Posted in reviews-of-bull-spec

Not quite a year later... video for the John Kessel interview.

Posted on 2011-01-28 at 16:56 by montsamu

Filmed on 25 March 2010 and printed in Bull Spec #2, the video is finally posted. Enjoy:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQzDPqiaCQM&w=480&h=390]

Posted in interviews

Looking for a few good people.

Posted on 2011-01-20 at 20:57 by montsamu

So. Thanks to Dan’s excellent job of completely taking over poetry, and Melinda’s amazing job of completely taking over advertising, I’ve had a few moments to actually think about what else needs doing around here. While that list is long, long, long, I’m ready to start the process of “filling out” the Bull Spec staff. Two right off the top which are big needs are Art Director and Digital Editions Editor. More after the jump.

What do I see an Art Director doing? Primarily: Taking a budget from me and getting cover art and story illustration. If it is someone who wants to get more hands-on with the layout (internal and/or cover), fonts, overall design, we can definitely talk. On the going deeper front, getting away from Scribus isn’t really an option (so that worst case I can take what’s there and work), so if you are married to Adobe it just probably won’t work out for us. But someone who can speak the language of artists and has an eye for covers and illustration… I need it. It’s not something I feel very good at, and I didn’t do nearly the job I wanted to do on it in issue #4 — too many stories left without illustrations. Somebody with a strong vision, even a complete redesign of what Bull Spec looks like for year 2, I’d like to talk.

What do I see a Digital Editions Editor doing? Taking the Scribus file (which has the final copy edits for text) and accompanying art for the issue and producing functional ePub and Kindle and similar versions, and uploading them to the various e-bookstores. It’s something I’ve needed to do since issue #1, and as more and more people are reading on their iPads, Nooks, Kindles, and other devices, the ship is about to sail without Bull Spec on board. This one is definitely more grunt work level, with none of the more fun “spend Sam’s money on art!” or cachet of the first item. I get that. Definitely can work out some kind of revenue sharing here, plus some small flat fee per issue, etc. Update: since I’ve been asked, ideally it would be somebody who’s already experienced in formatting for Smashwords, Kindle, Nook, etc. Or at least somebody with more time to play around with Sigil ePub authoring than I have!

On the horizon is a Podcast Director but the above are higher priority for me, and before I can take on getting any other projects off the ground, I need to either find people who want to help out with the above, or embrace doing it myself. Time will tell! If you are interested in the above, or know somebody I should beg, please let me know at sam at bullspec dot com. An incredibly, incredibly strong preference (if not outright requirement) for local folks.

Posted in help

Bull Spec Teen Writing Contest judged by Ann VanderMeer!

Posted on 2011-01-17 at 01:12 by montsamu

"Imagine two vast armies separated by a plain. Gryphons. Dragons. Mech walkers. Knights. Wizards. Rows of muskets. Rows of laser rifles. Rows of cannons. Velociraptors. Robots. Chariots. Hovercraft. Between these armies stand two teens. Siblings. A brother and sister. They hold outstretched hands, stretching out their other hands toward the armies, willing them to stop..."

.

When: Deadline for entries is high noon EST, Friday, 25 February 2011. So you've got a little less than six weeks. Winner and runners up (if any) will be announced by high noon EST, Friday, 11 March 2011. Update: If this deadline is looming a little too largely and you are working on a story, please let us know and ask for an extension.

Other: Please, spread the word! Libraries, high schools, middle schools, etc. If you've got questions, drop me a line at [sam at bullspec dot com].

Posted in contests, shared worlds

A nice review of Bull Spec #3 in Mark Watson's Best SF.

Posted on 2011-01-11 at 15:08 by montsamu

Mark Watson recently reviewed Bull Spec #3 in Best SF and had some nice things to say, along with introducing me to some British zine terminology like “sides” rather than the pedestrian “pages”, and says, “There’s a lot in the magaze to like.” Thanks, Mark!

Best SF

Posted in reviews-of-bull-spec

A great article on the first year of Bull Spec in today's Independent Weekly.

Posted on 2011-01-06 at 02:28 by montsamu

The Independent Weekly’s Brian Howe has a very nice article in this week’s issue, which is free to pick up all over the Triangle. Somehow he turned 90 minutes of rambling, disorganized nonsense into a no-nonsense article which hits on what speculative fiction is, a year of publishing and getting to know local authors and readers, how the zine has hopefully grown, and I’m really, really thrilled with it.

So, that’s it for me today. Go read the article!

Posted in reviews-of-bull-spec

Hugo pandering, part two: local focus.

Posted on 2011-01-05 at 03:27 by montsamu

In part one, I ran down the stories and writers published in Bull Spec this year which are therefore eligible for the appropriate Hugo (and Nebula!) award categories. In part three, I’ll take a look at the wider world of stories and writers. But this? This is part two, where I’ll try to highlight the local (and regional) novels, stories, and writers who are eligible to be nominated for the 2011 Hugo Awards.

First, the locally-written books eligible in the Best Novel category, alpha by author:

• David Drake, The Legions of Fire
• Kelly Gay, The Darkest Edge of Dawn
• Clay and Susan Griffith, The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire: Book I)
• Mary Robinette Kowal, Shades of Milk and Honey (ex-local alert!)
• Warren Rochelle, The Called (ex-local alert!)
• Lisa Shearin, Bewitched & Betrayed
• Mark L. Van Name, Children No More
• Tim Akers (ex-”deeply rural” NC), The Horns of Ruin
• Note: Richard Dansky’s Firefly Rain is not eligible, as while it did come out from Simon & Schuster last year, it was originally published in 2009

• John Claude Bemis, The Wolf Tree
• Stephen Messer, Windblowne
• Cate Tiernan, Immortal Beloved
• David MacInnis Gill (Wilmington), Black Hole Sun
• Hope Larson (ex-Asheville), Mercury (graphic novel)

• Dale Bailey (Hickory): “Silence” and “Eating at the End-of-the-World Cafe” in F&SF
• Natania Barron: “Sand” in Bull Spec #3, “Dead’s End to Middleton” in Crossed Genres, “Without a Light” in Fantastique Unfettered #1, “A Dear, Lovely Thing” – Faerie Magazine #20, and “The Monastery of the Seven Hands” in Dark Futures
• M. David Blake: “We Don’t Plummet Out of the Sky Anymore” in Stupefying Stories
• Erik Bundy (Tryon): “Einstein’s Last Calculation” in Aiofe’s Kiss and “A Reluctance to Kiss” in Bards and Sages Quarterly
• Monica Byrne, “Five Letters from New Laverne” in Shimmer #12 and “Nine Bodies of Water” in Fantasy Magazine
• Paul Celmer: “Echoes of the Bouncing Ball” in Bull Spec #2 and “A Crowded Place” in Bull Spec #3
• Fred Chappell (Greensboro): “Thief of Shadows” and “Uncle Moon in Raintree Hills” in F&SF
• Gwendolyn Clare: “The Other Lila” in Bull Spec #2, “Driving X” in Warrior Wisewoman 3, and “Uttu’s Garden” and “Prelude to Battle” in Abyss & Apex (Note: while “Ashes on the Water” appeared in Asimov’s on newsstands in late 2010, it has a cover date of January 2011)
• C.D. Covington: “U8 Alexanderplatz (1989) in Retro Spec
• Richard Dansky: “Mad Eyes of the Heron King” in Dark Faith
• Alexandra Duncan (Asheville): “Amor Fugit” and “The Door in the Earth” and “Swamp City Lament” in F&SF
• Jaym Gates: “First Step, Last Breath” and (with Fadzlishah Johanabas bin Rosli) “The Shadow of Phrixos” in Aether Age: Helios
• Joseph Giddings (Greenville, NC): “The Duel” in Golden Visions Magazine
• Rebecca Gomez Farrell: “She Could Be Me” in Flahes in the Dark
• Denali Hyatt: “Cityscape” in Bull Spec #3
• Michael Jasper: “Devil on the Wind” (with Jay Lake) in Black Gate Winter 2010
• Kij Johnson: “Ponies” in Tor.com and “Names for Water” in Asimov’s
• Brenda Kalt: “Cradle Song” in Daily Science Fiction
• John Kessel: “Iteration” in Strange Horizons and “The Closet” in F&SF
• Mary Robinette Kowal: “Ring Road” in Dark Faith, “Salt of the Earth” in Redstone Science Fiction, “Birthright” in 2020 Visions, and so many others that she has a whole journal post just on that!
• Andrew Magowan: “Freedom Acres” in Bull Spec #4
• Rich Matrunick: “Full Circle” in Every Day Fiction
• James Maxey: “Message in a Bottle” in Shimmer #11, “Where Their Worm Dieth Not” in Masked and “Greatshadow” in Blood & Devotion
• Gray Rinehart: “Memorial at Copernicus” at Redstone Science Fiction
• Melinda Thielbar: “You’re Almost Here” in Bull Spec #3
• Mark Van Name: “Lobo, Actually” in Jump Gate Twist
• R.E. VanNewKirk: “Syd’s Turn” in Rigor Amortis
• Henry Vogel: in Stupefying Stories
• Jeremy Whitley: “A Crisis of Purpose” in No More Heroes
• Alex Wilson: “Nervewrecking” in 2020 Visions
• Peter Wood: “Almost a Good Day to Go Outside” in Bull Spec #1

Posted in hugo-2011

Hugo nominations are now open! And now, some pandering, part one.

Posted on 2011-01-03 at 21:38 by montsamu

The nomination period for the 2011 Hugo Awards is open. Folks who either were members (attending or supporting) of Aussiecon last year, or who are members (attending or supporting, and there’s still plenty of time to sign up for either!) of Renovation this year, can nominate up to five persons or works in each category. You have until Saturday, March 26th to do so.

I’m going to run three posts on this. The first will deal with stories and writers published in Bull Spec in 2010. The second will deal with other local authors and artists and their eligible books and stories, etc. The last will deal with the wider world of authors and artists who did amazing work in 2010.

So, first, the list of eligible works of fiction published in Bull Spec in 2010, all in the Best Short Story category, all of which can be found in the pay-what-you-like (even free!) PDF versions or, of course, in print:

Issue #1, March-April-May 2010:

• C.S. Fuqua, “Rise Up”
• Peter Wood, “Almost a Good Day to Go Outside”
• Note: Natania Barron, “Doctor Adderson’s Lens” is not eligible, as it was previously published in Gatehouse Gazette #8, 2009

• Melissa Mead, “Hirasol”
• Uri Grey, “The Sad Story of the Naga”
• Gwendolyn Clare, “The Other Lila”
• Paul Celmer, “Echoes of the Bouncing Ball”
• Note: Kaolin Fire, “By the Dragon’s Tail” is eligible, though it was first published on his blog as part of the Post a Story for Haiti project at Crossed Genres.

• Lavie Tidhar, “The Story of Listener and Yu-En”
• David Steffen, “Turning Back the Clock”
• Denali Hyatt, “Cityscape”
• Katherine Sparrow, “Like Parchment in the Fire”
• Melinda Thielbar, “You’re Almost Here”
• Natania Barron, “Sand” is eligible, though it was first published on WUNC’s The State of Things
• Paul Celmer, “A Crowded Place” is eligible, though it was first published on WUNC’s The State of Things

• Andrew Magowan, “Freedom Acres”
• Nick Mamatas, “O, Harvard Square!”
• David Tallerman, “The Burning Room”
• Don Norum, “A Mathematician’s Apology”
• Erin Hoffman, “City of Shadow and Glass”
• Note: James Maxey, “Tornado of Sparks” is not eligible, as it was previously published in The Solaris Book of New Fantasy, 2007

• Blue Tyson, who contributed a review (and should be considered for his significant efforts at FreeSF and NotFreeSF)
• Charles Tan, who contributed a review (and should be considered for his significant efforts at both Bibliophile Stalker and The World SF Blog)
• Richard Dansky, who contributed several reviews, and also reviews often at The Green Man Review
• Paul Kincaid, who contributed several reviews, and also reviews quite often in a number of semiprozines, such as Interzone, The NYRSF, etc.
• Jason Erik Lundberg, who contributed a review, and also reviews often in a number of semiprozines, such as Strange Horizons, SF Site, etc.
• Note: Technically I guess I’m eligible for the interviews, etc., but, well, that would be silly. (See also Best Editor, Short Form as that would be by leaps and bounds even sillier. Wait until part 3 of this series, where I’ll talk about the real editors of 2010, like John Joseph Adams, Cat Rambo, Ann VanderMeer, Jonathan Strahan, Andy Cox, etc. But not Neil Gaiman, ‘cuz as far as I can tell, he ain’t eligible for that one, yet. Though I could be wrong. More on that, later.)

• Mike Gallagher, who contributed two illustrations (for “Rise Up” and “Like Parchment in the Fire”)
• Jason Strutz, who contributed three illustrations (for “O, Harvard Square!”, “Freedom Acres”, and “The Story of Listener and Yu-En”)
• Joey Jordan, who contributed two illustrations (for “By the Dragon’s Tail” and “Turning Back the Clock”)

• Peter Wood (BS-qualified)
• Uri Grey (BS-qualified)
• Gwendolyn Clare (second year of eligibility)
• Paul Celmer (BS-qualified)
• David Steffen (BS-qualified)
• Denali Hyatt (BS-qualified)
• Deborah Walker

Posted in hugo-2011

Well, BULL SPEC is a quarterly. Issue #4 now available!

Posted on 2010-12-30 at 21:27 by montsamu

While print copies won’t be available until the launch party at The Regulator on Wednesday, January 12th, BULL SPEC #4 is available now for orders and downloads and sample previewing in the usual places.

Again the cover is from Carrboro’s Jason Strutz:

Posted in announcements

Call for happenings, October-March.

Posted on 2010-12-17 at 20:05 by montsamu

I missed far too many “Happenings” in issue 3:

• Erik Bundy, who was part of the 2010 Odyssey Writing Workshop class, had a story in September’s Aiofe’s Kiss, and another in October’s Bards & Sages
• Richard Dansky had an article “Bring on the Bad Guy” in The Escapist
• Monica Byrne had a story “Five Letters From New Laverne” in Shimmer #12 and another story “Nine Bodies of Water” in Fantasy Magazine, and performed in the play “Redghost” (an original adaptation from a Japanese ghost story) put on by Little Green Pig
• Rich Matrunick’s story “Full Circle” was published in Every Day Fiction on September 12th
• Volume 1 of The Raleigh Review was published with editors (among others) Will Badger and Eric Gregory

Posted in happenings