Ancient Wonders: get your submissions in now

A gentle reminder: the submission period for The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders is closing soon -- on the 30th June. Better finish off your stories pronto if you want to be in with a chance of being included in this anthology. I've seen some of the stories so far -- some are very impressive.

Sex Lies & Family Ties

Sex Lies and Family Ties by Sarah J Graham is now available for sale via the Alchemy Press Smashwords page -- a mere $4.99.

Pulp Heroes: ToC announced

Editor Mike Chinn has now announced the ToC for The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes. Now we're into the production stage. All good fun (and exacting work).

Mike Resnick -- Origins
Robert William Iveniuk -- House Name
Anne Nicholls -- Eyes of Day, Eyes of Night
William Meikle -- Ripples in the Ether
Chris Iovenko -- The Perfect Murder
Bracken N MacLeod -- Ivy's Secret Origin
Joshua Wolf -- Crossing the Line
James Hartley -- Jean Marie
Ian Gregory -- Currier Dread and the Hair of Destruction
Amber L Husbands -- The Going Rate
Michael Haynes -- No Way but the Hard Way
Adrian Cole -- The Vogue Prince
Joel Lane -- Upon a Granite Wind
Milo James Fowler -- The Last Laugh
Allen Ashley -- In the Margins
Peter Crowther -- Heroes and Villains
Peter Atkins -- The Return of Boy Justice

Sex, Lies and Family Ties

The Alchemy Press has obtained the rights to Sex, Lies and Family Ties by Sarah J Graham. This is a little out of our usual arena -- but it is a riveting good read of a teenager coming to terms with her family life, and the lies therein. Coming soon.

The cover art is by the talented Steve Upham (see Screaming Dreams Press for more information about Steve).

Pulp Heroes: cover artwork

Here is the cover for The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes, edited by Mike Chinn. The artwork is by Bob Covington.

Ancient Wonders: cover artwork

Here is the cover for The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber. Cover art is (c) Dominic Harman. And don't forget: less than a month to get your submissions in!

Ancient Wonders: reminder

There is just one month remaining in which to write (or finish writing) your stories for The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders. There are so many possibilities to chose from, from burial mounds to pyramids to lost artefacts... Submission details can be found here.

Email problems

Mike Chinn (editor of Pulp Heroes) is experiencing problems with his email. Until they are fixed please send manuscripts, etc, via alchemypress@gmail.com

The British Fantasy Awards

Some good news for Peter Atkins and The Alchemy Press.

Rumours of the Marvellous by Peter Atkins has been short-listed for the 2012 British Fantasy Awards in the Best Collection category. It is up against some stiff competition:

Mrs Midnight by Reggie Oliver

Everyone's Just So So Special by Robert Shearman and

A Glass of Shadow by Liz Williams.

The winner will be decided by a jury and announced at FantasyCon 2012, once again held in sunny Brighton in September.

Taboo words

We’ve received a few enquiries about taboo or swear words: does the Alchemy Press allow the use of them? The short answer is “Yes”. We won’t list all the taboo words here – we seen them all and we’re not easily shocked. Our advice: use such words judiciously and not gratuitously. Most often swear words are found in speech and by extension in stories written in the first person.

Taboo words and phrases may also be of racial or religious nature. In today’s politically-correct environment be sensitive to their use.

No one has yet asked us about the level of violence we allow in Alchemy Press books. Again, when used in context, we have no issue with violent stories. But we do shy away from stories that use excessive violence for its own end, especially those that may be considered misogynistic.  

The final decision whether or not to use the submission is down to the quality of the writing and is not based on the number of “fucks” in the manuscript.