The Fringe Magazine

AHWA NEWS DIGEST - HALLOWEEN BUMPER EDITION

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

Australian Premiere of the Horror-Comedy Blockbuster Zombieland tonight!
This Halloween, October 31 at 7:00pm, A Night of Horror International Film Festival is proud to present the Australian premiere of ZOMBIELAND. The special screening is taking place as part of Fantastic Planet: Sydney Sci-Fi & Fantasy Film Festival, which is invading the screens of Dendy Newtown from October 30 to November 6.

HorrorScope Competitions for Saw VI and The Box closing today!
HorrorScope readers can enter the draw to win double passes to Saw VI and The Box . Closes October 31st! Get those entries in!

Rocky Wood peeks Under The Dome
HorrorScope is delighted to celebrate Halloween with a contribution from very special guest reviewer Rocky Wood, looking at the new Stephen King novel Under The Dome. Wood's review is one of only 200 pre-launch reviews worldwide, and the only such review from an Australian journalist. Melbourne based author Rocky Wood is a Bram Stoker nominated author of non-fiction, and an expert on the works of horror master Stephen King.

Within His Reach from Tasmaniac Publications
Tasmaniac Publications are proud to announce the forthcoming release of Within His Reach by Steve Gerlach!

ScaryMinds review milestone
ScaryMinds has reached the hundred review milestone! Top this off with two recent interviews with celebrated Australian Dark Genre Authors! Shane Jiraiya Cummings talks about writing in Western Australia and turning professional in The Sharp End of Horror, and Rocky Wood welcomes you to the Kingdom!

Eclecticism #10
The Eclecticism E-zine reaches double-digits! It’s a great read, so be sure to clear your schedule – you don’t need those after-work drinks! Download the free online magazine!

Theatre of Blood opening night a sold-out success!
Theatre of Blood is a late-night horror theatre in the tradition of the Grand Guignol. The first performance is already sold out, but tickets are still available for subsequent Friday nights, including a special show on Friday 13th of November... so get booking!

George Ivanoff at Dymocks Southland
Local genre author George Ivanoff will be appearing at Dymocks Southland on Saturday the 2nd November (11.30am), signing copies of his latest book, Gamers Quest.

Share your zombie experiences on ABC Pool
In conjunction with ABC News Online and the Brisbane Zombie Walk, ABC Pool has launched 'The Dead Walk!'. They would like to see your zombie-related photos, video, audio and flash fiction (500 words max). ABC News will also upload footage from Sunday's zombie walk, for you to mash up and remix. The best content will be incorporated into a zombie extravaganza on ABC News Online.

Terra Incognita 012
Terra Incognita Speculative Fiction Podcast #012 is now available for your listening pleasure at www.tisf.com.au; also available on iTunes. This month, Miranda Simienowicz reads her story Aleph Mem Tav, and Keith Stevenson reviews Horn by Peter M Ball (Twelfth Planet Press).

Paul Haines - Slice Of Life
Paul Haines new book Slice Of Life is now available for sale direct from www.paulhaines.com, as well as from the publisher The Mayne Press. Seventeen glistening stories from the decaying mind of the winner of the 2005 Ditmar for Best New Talent.

Severed Press's Zombie Zoology anthology open to submissions
Following the release of Dead Bait, Melbourne's independent horror publisher Severed Press has announced a new anthology, Zombie Zoology: A Natural History of Zombies, which is currently open to submissions. Full submission guidelines are here.

Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Awards
Compete and Win in All 5 Categories! Romance, Mystery/Crime Fiction, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Suspense, Horror!

DigiSPAA Finalists announced
The Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) has announced the finalists for the 2009 DigiSPAA Feature Film Competition; finalists include Australian horror film Family Demons, produced by Sue Brown.

Writers' Retreat in Leura
A speculative fiction writing retreat for 10 participants held at Leura House in the Blue Mountains, NSW. Tutors are Terry Dowling, Robert Hood and Cat Sparks.

Ramsey Campbell to judge the 'Nameless' competition
The AHWA and 'Nameless' competition director Stephen Studach are thrilled to announce that the ‘Nameless’ competition will be judged by multi-award winning master of dark fiction Ramsey Campbell. In honour of Mr. Campbell’s involvement, the competition’s deadline has been extended to the 13th of March, 2010. Read the story here. Come up with a conclusion and a title! Make your $10 donation and enter the competition here. Competition prizes include a $500 winner’s cheque, and a prize pool of horror goodies! All proceeds from this competition go to award-winning author Paul Haines, to assist Paul and the Haines family, while Paul undergoes treatment for cancer.

Dymocks Southland Bestselling Horror Titles for October ‘09
Dymocks Southland is a general bookshop in Cheltenham, Victoria, boasting an extensive range of genre stock. Click through for the top 10 bestselling horror titles. For the first time this year, Stephanie Meyer's 'Twilight' series did not make the Top 10! Has the bubble finally burst?

AHWA Critique Group produces 'horrifying' results
The AHWA Critique Group celebrates its first birthday in October, and it has had a productive 12 months. The AHWA is in the process of forming a second Critique Group, scheduled to commence in late October. Interested writers need to possess a valid AHWA membership, a desire to improve their writing, and a willingness to provide and accept honest feedback. Expressions of interest can be submitted to Mark Farrugia at crits@australianhorror.com

Dead Bait contents announced
The contents for the debut anthology from Melbourne-based publisher Severed Press, Dead Bait, has been announced. Dead Bait is edited by Romana Baotic & Gary Lucas. NZ writer Hayden Williams is amongst the contributing authors. Click through for all contributors.

Midnight Echo #3 is coming
Pre-order Midnight Echo #3 today: http://midnightecho.australianhorror.com (in PDF or print format).

X6 – a novellanthology
Coeur de Lion Publishing is pleased to announce the October release of X6 – a novellanthology, edited by Keith Stevenson. A collection of all-new novellas from six of the most exciting speculative fiction authors working in Australia today – Margo Lanagan, Terry Dowling, Paul Haines, Cat Sparks, Trent Jamieson, and Louise Katz.

Blade Red Dark Pages Volume 1 open to submissions
Australian independent press Blade Red Press has opened to submissions for its first dark fiction anthology, Blade Red Dark Pages Volume 1. Submissions are open until November 30. Full submission guidelines are here.

A Writer Goes On A Journey competition
To celebrate a new-look site and three years online, A Writer Goes On A Journey have cracked open the champagne and are breaking out the prizes with a competition. If you're a writer, you can create a piece of flash fiction. You can also join in by writing reviews! Even if you just blog about the competition, you still can win prizes!



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.