ScaryMinds - Horror's Last Colonial Output

AHWA News Digest Halloween 01.02.2010 - 16.02.2010

The following digest of recent horror news is compiled from pieces published to HorrorScope and the Australian Horror Writers' Association website.

Terra Incognita podcast #016

Terra Incognita SF podcast #016 is now available for streaming and download at www.tisf.com.au, or on itunes! This episode features Matthew Chrulew reading Beast Machine Fableaux and Keith Stevenson reviewing Ian Irvine's The Terminator Gene.

Tin Duck Award nominations

Nominations are now open for the 2010 Tin Duck Awards, the annual Western Australian Science Fiction Foundation (WASFF) Achievement Awards for WA writers and artists. The awards will be presented at Swancon 2010.

The Nameless competition

Are you a writer? Do you have a keen imagination and ten dollars? Then you may be able to assist Paul Haines by completing the enigma that is the Nameless round-robin story. For an investment of 50 to 500 words, your work could be judged by the master of dark fantasy Ramsey Campbell! If you win, your $10.00 (AU) donation will have brought you the $500.00 (AU) cash prize, plus a swag of books and subscriptions. This competition closes on March 13 2010. To read the Nameless story and find out how to enter the competition please visit the AHWA Website.

Melbourne Horror Film Society

The Melbourne Horror Film Society are a not-for-profit film society dedicated to screening the best/worst horror films ever made. The society screens one film on the last Thursday of each month from 8:30pm at Glitch Bar + Cinema in Fitzroy North. Click through for membership types, and to view the 2010 program.

5th International Aeon Award short fiction contest

Albedo One, Ireland's magazine of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, is proud to announce the fifth International Aeon Award short fiction contest. Grand prize is 1000 euro and publication in Albedo One. Second and third place stories win 200 and 100 euro respectively, alongside publication in Albedo One. Click through for more details.

Antipodean SF #140

AntipodeanSF Issue 140 is available for your enjoyment on the net, with another ten fabulous pieces of flash fiction from around the world.

1st Annual Women In Horror Awards

Created in honor of Women in Horror - Recognition Month, the Women in Horror Awards are the first annual awards created by women in horror, for women in horror. The awards are designed to recognise excellence and contributions, and to foster awareness of the growing population of hardworking females within the genre. Preliminary nominations are open to the public for voting through the month of February. To view nomination categories (which includes Best Writer, Best Female-Run Publication, and a range of different screen industry roles), and to make a nomination, visit the website.

Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards

Writer's Digest is searching for the best self-published books of the past few years. Whether you're a professional writer, part-time freelancer, or a self-starting student, here's your chance to enter the only competition exclusively for self-published books! Deadline May 3 2010. For full details of prizes, to view competition rules, and to enter the competition, visit the website. This competition welcomes self-published genre fiction.

Dancing On Your Grave

Described as a Victorian music hall skit gone sour, this ghoulishly entertaining treasure is the brainchild of Lea Anderson, one of the UK's most creative director choreographers. Song, dance and original music combine as vaudevillian zombies vie for our attention, regaling with humorous songs of regret while urging us to celebrate life before it's too late. Perth, February 22 and 23. For more information please visit the Perth International Arts Festival website.

Continuum 6 horror and writing program

Continuum 6 have released the convention program on their website, and there are a number of items of interest to horror writers and aficionados; click through for a selection of highlights. There are many other panels and presentations that may be of interest. Visit the website for the complete program. Continuum 6 are host to the awards night for the Chronos Awards for excellence in Victorian science fiction, fantasy and horror in 2009. 26-28th February, 2010, Melbourne.

2009 Bram Stoker Award preliminary ballot

A record five Australians made the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award 2009 preliminary ballot: Kaaron Warren and Stephen M. Irwin for first novel, Amanda Pillar (Grants Pass co-editor) for anthology, Rocky Wood for non-fiction, and Shane Jiraiya Cummings for collection. The Bram Stoker Award is the peak international horror fiction award, and the preliminary ballot represents the longlist of potential Stoker nominees as decided by the HWA membership. Click through to view the full 2009 preliminary Stoker ballot.

Submitting News
If you have news about Australian and New Zealand Horror publishing and film, or news of professional development opportunities in the field, feel free to submit news to Talie Helene, AHWA News Editor. Just visit HorrorScope, and click on the convenient email link. (International news is not unwelcome, although relevance to Antipodean literary arts practitioners is strongly preferred.)

For information on the Australian Horror Writers' Association, visit australianhorror.com

This AHWA NEWS DIGEST has been compiled, written, and republished in select Australian horror haunts by Talie Helene. Currently archived at the AHWA MySpace page, and Southern Horror ; hosted at the social networking sites Darklands and A Writer Goes On A Journey; and hosted by AHWA members Felicity Dowker, Brenton Tomlinson, Scott Wilson, and Jeff Ritchie (Scary Minds: Horror's Last Colonial Outpost ).

If you would like to support the AHWA News effort by hosting a copy of the AHWA News Digest on your blog or website, contact Talie to receive a fully formatted HTML edition of the digest by email.