Edited by Talie Helene (horror) and Liz Grzyb (fantasy).
Ticonderoga Publications is thrilled to announce the contents of the inaugural ‘The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror’ anthology.
2010 was a great year for Australian fantasy and horror, with the World Science Fiction convention held in Melbourne serving as an impetus for many publishers, both large and small, to showcase the breadth and depth of Australian and New Zealand speculative fiction. Several hundred fantasy and horror stories by Antipodeans were published in 2010, contained in Australasian and international magazines, webzines, anthologies and collections. From this plethora of work, editors Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene have selected 33 tales of fantasy, dark fantasy, horror and paranormal romance for this volume.
The stories are (alphabetically by writer):
- RJ Astruc – Johnny and Babushka
- Peter M Ball – L’esprit de L’escalier
- Alan Baxter – The King’s Accord
- Jenny Blackford – Mirror
- Gitte Christensen – A Sweet Story
- Matthew Chrulew – Schubert By Candlelight
- Bill Congreve – Ghia Likes Food
- Rjurik Davidson – Lovers In Caeli-Amur
- Felicity Dowker – After the Jump
- Dale Elvy – Night Shift
- Jason Fischer – The School Bus
- Dirk Flinthart – Walker
- Bob Franklin – Children’s Story
- Christopher Green – Where We Go To Be Made Lighter
- Paul Haines – High Tide At Hot Water Beach
- L.L. Hannett – Soil From My Fingers
- Stephen Irwin – Hive
- Gary Kemble – Feast Or Famine
- Pete Kempshall – Brave Face
- Tessa Kum – Acception
- Martin Livings – Home
- Maxine McArthur – A Pearling Tale
- Kirstyn McDermott – She Said
- Andrew McKiernan – The Memory Of Water
- Ben Peek – White Crocodile Jazz
- Simon Petrie – Dark Rendezvous
- Lezli Robyn – Anne-droid of Green Gables
- Angela Rega – Slow Cookin’
- Angela Slatter – The Bone Mother
- Angela Slatter & LL Hannett – The February Dragon
- Grant Stone – Wood
- Kaaron Warren – That Girl
- Janeen Webb – Manifest Destiny
“We’re pleased with the number of fabulous stories that were published in 2010 that we had to choose from,” said Liz Grzyb.
“You could hold this anthology up against any international collection – Australians rock for diverse voices, imagination, and compelling writing,” enthused Talie Helene.
The editors also present an overview of the genre in Australia in 2010, including noting significant works, events, and the results of the major awards. Together with a recommended reading list this is both a book to be read and a valuable reference work. Published by a leading Australian independent publisher, this first volume of an ambitious annual series documents the exciting realm of fantasy and horror genres throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Format : Hardback Book (ISBN 978-0-9807813-8-0) RRP $55.00 AU
Format : Trade Paperback (ISBN 978-0980781397) RRP AU $35.00
- Finalist – the Aurealis Award for Best Anthology
- Finalist – the Ditmar Award for Best Collected Work
- Finalist – the William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review for The Year In Review preface essay
... So okay the anthology isn't quite as female orientated as I might have thought prior to diving into it's depths, there's plenty of gruesome content that underlines the "horror" in the title. Please note since this is a dark genre site I haven't highlighted any of the superb fantasy tales included ... As stated above, the aforementioned tales of the macabre are some of my favourites from the collection, but then again I could have pretty much mentioned every story Liz Grzyb and Talie Helene choose to include. I had a pretty good time with this overly large book and for sure will be getting my paws on this year's edition ... Full recommendation folks, The Year's Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2010 is the sort of reference any traveller of the dark paths Downunder, or indeed internationally, is going to need close to hand. You get some outstanding stories, a summary of the year in speculative fiction, and the all-important recommended reading list....
