“Strange time for an Annual Report”, you say? Maybe so, but I’m not expecting any more work to be published between now and the end of the year, so I thought it was a good time to do a quick summary of what I’ve had published this year – and where you can get our sticky hands on it. (All of my work comes with a non-stick cover just for you.)*
Books
This is the big one! The Stars Like Sand: Australian Speculative Poetry is an anthology of Australian speculative poetry (you guessed that, right?) – science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, surrealism – co-edited by P.S. Cottier and I and available in so many formats you’ll scarcely notice the lack of a T-shirt edition.
The Stars Like Sand includes poetry from the 19th century to the present, and the poets involved include such well-known names as Dorothy Porter, Samuel Wagan Watson, Les Murray, Judith Beveridge, Diane Fahey, John Tranter, Peter Minter, Jan Owen, and many, many more.
Don’t let the grass grow under your feet on your way to buy this book – walk smartly off the grass, and then it will be able to grow more freely.
Short Stories
Building the Tree – it’s Christmas time in a near-future Antarctica, but what happens when the kids want a Christmas tree?Available in The Best Of Twisty Christmas Tales.
Tracks – you’d better keep away from the train tracks if the guy in the kiosk catches your eye. Available in Disquiet.
My Occupation – what’s there to do for an army officer stationed in Gore other than get yourself blown up by the locals whose land you’re occupying? Available in Disquiet.
The Prime Ministers – after he loses a General Election, the Labour Prime Minister is banished to the night house while the National Prime Minister moves into the day house. Till there’s a knock at the door… Available in JAAM 32.
The Big Baby – how would you feel if you were trapped in a cage at Te Papa with kids pulling your levers all day? Available in Lost in the Museum.
Poems
None! Nada, zilch, OK this one on my blog. But true to form, the less of something I’ve had published recently, the more of it I’m now writing, so poems (which will fit either into two collections distinguished by their thematic unity, or one collection with a great deal of dynamic tension) are what I’m working on at the moment.
In Which I Totally Cheat And Include Stories Published in Late 2013
Protein – In a drowning future, fresh protein is the most precious resource there is. Available in Fresh Fear: Contemporary Horror.
Rescuing the Airmen – He fell from the sky. She took refuge in the sea. And there’s a war on. Available in Regeneration.
* Disclaimer: No it doesn’t.
You've been busy! Excellent, Tim.I'm looking forward to reading you in JAAM just as soon as my copy arrives in the mail box. And I think it's perfectly ok to include a few bits and pieces from the end of 2013, seeing as you are ending this year rather prematurely – it all balances out. Can't wait for the next poetry collections – great to hear you're writing more poems!
Thanks, Rachel! I've just got impatient to start posting an interminable sequence of \”What I Listened To In 2014\” posts with links to bands so hip they're almost pelvic – the real highlight of any year!Watch out for paired collections entitled \”Tim's Big Bumper Book Of Cat Poems\” and \”Tim's Big Bumper Book Of Cat Poems 2: The Dog Poems\”.And, since I've prematurely declared 2014 over, all the best for you for an even more successful year than this year has been!