I'll be signing at the Small Press Book Fair, June 19

I'll be signing at the Small Press Book Fair this Sunday at Hart House at University of Toronto, as part of ChiZine Publications presence at the Fair. Come down to sample the best of the small presses, and to meet the CZP staff and other ChiZine authors. The Fair runs from 11am to 5pm, and I'll be signing my collection, Chimerascope (which is on this year's Aurora Award ballot), from 2-3pm. Details on the Fair are here.

Ride to Conquer Cancer update: I did it!

RTCC 2011 - pit stop Day 1I did it! This past weekend, June 11-12, I was one of over 4,600 cyclists who rode in the 2-day major cycling event called The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer. This is the fourth year for the Ride, which this year raised a record $17.5 million for The Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, to support cancer research, treatment, and services. The Princess Margaret is Canada's leading comprehensive institution devoted to cancer research and care.

And with help from many of you who read this blog, I raised $4,185 myself. Thanks to all of you who supported me!

Reading at the eBar in Guelph on June 22

On Wednesday June 22, I'll be reading at the eBar in Guelph, along with friend and fellow writer, Marcy Italiano. The eBar is connected to the bookstore, The Bookshelf, at 41 Quebec Street.

I'll be reading from my collection, Chimerascope, currently a finalist for the 2011 Aurora Awards. The readings run from 8-9pm, and then it's mixing, mingling, and munching. There will be books on hand to buy, and Marcy and I will be signing copies. If you're in the area, please drop by.

My collection IMPOSSIBILIA now available as an eBook!

(November 2012 update:  The PS Publishing ebook version has now been replaced by my new version, in both epub and mobi formats.

I'm very pleased to announce that my first collection, Impossibilia, published in 2008 by the award-winning and most excellent UK press, PS Publishing, is now available in ebook format in both .epub and .mobi (Kindle) formats. You can buy directly from PS Publishing or from Amazon at the following links:

  • PS Publishing ordering link (.epub or .mobi formats)
  • Amazon ordering link (Kindle / .mobi format)

Impossibilia was a finalist for the 2009 Aurora Awards for best long form work. The lead story, "A Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, by Van Gogh," was also a finalist for the 2009 Aurora for best short form work. Another story in the collection, "Spirit Dance," won the Aurora in 2001 for best short story.

From the reviews:

"...stories that are so unusual and beautiful that no other name than Impossibilia could possibly describe this collection."

"Impossibilia is a treasure to be savoured, like gourmet chocolates and fine wine...beautifully written and wondrously imagined."

"The writing is superb. Douglas Smith is an artisan and his stories beautifully crafted. ... In my search for the perfect short story, the three in this volume certainly qualify."

"Each tale was rapture and ecstasy, magical and mysterious, perfect and implausible."

"Highly, highly recommended."

"...echoes of Ellison and Bradbury..."

"There is a certain exhilaration that comes from reading the book’s complex and powerfully emotional stories couched in that deft and smooth prose."

"A fun romp that delivered something different......exhilarating, enjoyable..."

"I loved them all from the first word to the last."

"A book that ably demonstrates what Smith is capable of as a writer..."

"Smith [lays] bare the psychological and emotional fragility that motivates his characters."

"A wonderful book...Each [story] is an example of how a master at the art tells a story."

"An amazing little collection."

"[Smith deserves] to be known to by a very wide audience indeed."

"I don’t know what else to say...except READ THIS BOOK!!!"

And of course, you can still order the signed and numbered, limited hardcover edition (cover at left).

Support The Ride to Conquer Cancer and win a personalized ebook!

Just a reminder that on June 11-12, 2011, I'll be participating in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 2-day major cycling event sponsored by Enbridge and benefiting The Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, one of the top 5 cancer research hospitals in the world.

I'll be cycling over 200 km that weekend, from Toronto to Niagara Falls, with thousands of other riders. All the proceeds will go to The Princess Margaret to support cancer research, treatment, and services.

Edmonton Public Library appearances May 28 & 29

Thanks to an invitation from the nice people at the Edmonton Public Library, I will be in Edmonton this weekend, May 28-29, to do a reading / workshop on Saturday May 28, and a reading on Sunday May 29. The Saturday workshop will be 1:30-4:00pm at the Strathcona Branch (8331 - 104 Street) and will be a joint effort by me and Diane Walton, Managing Editor of the most excellent Canadian speculative fiction magazine, On Spec.

The workshop structure (more of a lecture with Q&A, actually) will follow a finished story from marketing to sale to post-sale, from the perspective of both a writer (me) and editor (yes, you're right, Diane). Here's what Diane and I are planning:

  • Did you know that you never actually "sell" a story?: Licensing rights to fiction, both from a writer's and an editor's perspective
  • So you've written a story. Now what?: How to market short fiction. How to choose markets. How an editor chooses a story. Tips from a writer and an editor.
  • So you've sold a story. What happens next?: Contracts, editing requests, copy edits, getting it noticed, etc.
  • Your story's been published. Is that all there is?: Selling reprints and other rights. Awards. Best of Anthologies. Collections.
  • Ebooks and self-publishing: What this means for the short fiction writer and for a short fiction print publisher.
  • Question and Answer session
  • Reading

On Sunday May 29, I will be doing a reading at the EPL's monthly Writers' Corner at the Stanley A. Milner Library (Downtown). Audrey's Bookstore will be on hand at both events if you'd like to pick up a signed copy of either of my collections, Chimerascope (now nominated for the 2011 Aurora Award) or Impossibilia (a 2009 Aurora Finalist). If you're in Edmonton, it would be great if you could drop by either (or both!) of these events. Hope to see you there. EPL's Writer-in-Residence, Marty Chan, also did an interview with me around the upcoming readings.

Blog Talk Radio interview now available

Fellow writers Susan Wingate and Joshua Miller recently interviewed me on their "Between the Lines" show on Blog Talk Radio about Chimerascope, short fiction, ebooks, foreign markets, and more. You can listen to the archived podcast of the interview here. My interview starts about 9.5 minutes into the show.

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CHIMERASCOPE makes the 2011 Aurora Award final ballot

The finalists for the 2011 Aurora Awards have been announced, and my collection Chimerascope is on the ballot, under the category, "Best English Related Work."

The full ballot is shown below. Congratulations and best of luck to all the finalists.

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

Best English Novel

  • Black Bottle Man by Craig Russell, Great Plains Publications
  • Destiny's Blood by Marie Bilodeau, Dragon Moon Press
  • Stealing Home by Hayden Trenholm, Bundoran Press
  • Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay, Viking Canada
  • Watch by Robert J. Sawyer, Penguin Canada

Best English Short Story

  • "The Burden of Fire" by Hayden Trenholm, Neo-Opsis #19
  • "Destiny Lives in the Tattoo's Needle" by Suzanne Church, Tesseracts Fourteen, EDGE
  • "The Envoy" by Al Onia, Warrior Wisewoman 3, Norilana Books
  • "Touch the Sky, They Say" by Matt Moore, AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review, November
  • "Your Beating Heart" by M. G. Gillett, Rigor Amortis, Absolute Xpress

Best English Related Work

  • Chimerascope, Douglas Smith (collection), ChiZine Publications
  • The Dragon and the Stars, edited by Derwin Mak and Eric Choi, DAW
  • Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead, edited by Nancy Kilpatrick, EDGE
  • On Spec, edited by Diane Walton, Copper Pig Writers Society
  • Tesseracts Fourteen, edited by John Robert Colombo and Brett Alexander Savory, EDGE

Best English Poem / Song

  • "The ABCs of the End of the World" by Carolyn Clink, A Verdant Green, The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box
  • "Let the Night In" by Sandra Kasturi, Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead, EDGE
  • "Of the Corn: Kore's Innocence" by Colleen Anderson, Witches & Pagans #21
  • "The Transformed Man" by Robert J. Sawyer, Tesseracts Fourteen, EDGE
  • "Waiting for the Harrowing" by Helen Marshall, ChiZine 45

Best English Graphic Novel

  • Goblins, by Tarol Hunt, goblinscomic.com
  • Looking For Group, Vol. 3, by Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza
  • Stargazer, Volume 1, by Von Allan, Von Allan Studio
  • Tomboy Tara, Emily Ragozzino, tomboytara.com

Best Artist (Professional and Amateur) (An example of each artist’s work is listed below but they are to be judged on the body of work they have produced in the award year)

  • Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk, "Brekky" cover art, On Spec Fall
  • Erik Mohr, cover art for ChiZine Publications
  • Christina Molendyk, Girls of Geekdom Calendar for Argent Dawn Photography
  • Dan O'Driscoll, cover art for Stealing Home
  • Aaron Paquette, "A New Season" cover art, On Spec Spring

FAN / AMATEUR AWARDS

Best Fan Publications No award will be given out in this category due insufficient eligible nominees

Best Fan Filk

  • Dave Clement and Tom Jeffers of Dandelion Wine for "Face on Mars"
  • CD Karen Linsley; concert as SFContario Guest of Honour
  • Phil Mills, for “Time Traveller” (song writing)

Best Fan Organizational

  • Andrew Gurudata, organizing the Constellation Awards
  • Brent M. Jans, chair of Pure Speculation (Edmonton)
  • Liana Kerzner, chair of Futurecon (Toronto)
  • Helen Marshall and Sandra Kasturi, chairs of Toronto SpecFic Colloquium (Toronto)
  • Alex Von Thorn, chair of SFContario (Toronto)

Best Fan Other

  • Tom Jeffers, Fundraising, FilKONtario
  • John and Linda Ross Mansfield, Conception of the Aurora Nominee pins
  • Lloyd Penney, Articles, columns and letters of comment - fanzines

Best of luck to everyone!

Blog Talk Radio interview today!

A little short notice, but I'm being interviewed today by writers Susan Wingate and Joshua Graham on Blog Talk Radio. Hope that you can tune in!

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By Her Hand movie review: "A new variation on the vampire genre"

By Her Hand movie posterMichael Baron Craze at the Rogue Cinema site recently blogged about last fall's Terror Film Festival in Philadelphia and included a review of "By Her Hand, She Draws You Down."

Here's an extract from his review:

"This film comes from author Douglas Smith’s story of the same name and breathes in Anthony Sumner’s screenplay, transforming into a new variation on the vampire genre. Anthony’s creation contains an incredible haunting feeling, [that] escapes the screen like a hypnotic trance, assisted from Gene Hodsdon eerie music and filming in November at the desolate beachside locations in the historic New Jersey shore. … [A] tale of love, commitment and survival."

You can read Michael's full blog post on the film festival and the full review of "By Her Hand..." here.

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