British Fantasy Awards 2015 shortlist (all the squee)

Don't mind me, I'll just be giggling madly in the corner here...  So, this morning the ever lovely Stephen Theaker posted the BF Awards shortlist for this year.... on the BFS website here, in full. 

This is such a fantastic list with some fab people on it (Lightspeed's Women Destroy SF! Jen Williams! Spectral's Book of Horror! Mark West! Holdfast! Lightspeed!) so huuuuuge congrats to all the nominees....

The absolute highlight though is in Best Anthology where Urban Mythic 2 scored a nomination!  To say Jan and I are insanely pleased would be an understatement of epic proportions.  We are INSANELY pleased!

And! Wicked Women copped a sorta mention too as the awesome Gaie Sebold got a Best Short Story nom for 'A Change of Heart' which appeared in it.  Babylon Steel stories for the win!

Did I mention Jan and I are insanely pleased? There is happy dancing.

And! Not only that!  But my beloved Team Alchemy and Team Skulk picked up all manner of noms, namely -

Best artist - 
Ben Baldwin - who did the gorgeous cover for Urban Mythic 1
Les Edwards - who did the equally gorgeous cover for Urban Mythic 2 as well as covers for other Alchemy titles
Sarah Anne Langton - who did the wonderfully gorgeous cover for Wicked Women as well as covers for other Fox Spirit titles
Daniele Serra - who has done lovely covers for both Alchemy and Fox Spirit

Best collection -
Nick Nightmare Investigates, Adrian Cole (The Alchemy Press and Airgedlámh Publications)

Best fantasy novel (the Robert Holdstock Award) -
Breed, KT Davies (Fox Spirit Books)

Best horror novel (the August Derleth Award) -
The Unquiet House, Alison Littlewood (Jo Fletcher Books)  - Who also had a story in Urban Mythic 1.  :-)

Best independent press -
The Alchemy Press (Peter Coleborn)
Fox Spirit Books (Adele Wearing)

Best non-fiction -
Touchstones: Essays on the Fantastic, John Howard (The Alchemy Press)

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday, 25 October 2015, at FantasyCon 2015 in Nottingham, and, obvs, Alchemy and Fox Spirit will be winning alllll the awards.  And getting a joint win in Best Inde Press, just cos.  ;-)

Fab Fic Friday: Littlewood, Tidhar, Bear, El-Mohtar

Goood morning my lovelies.  Here are some of the short fic I've been loving this week -

Wolves and Witches and Bears by Alison Littlewood - Nightmare #34/July 2015
In which Nick and Ella go on holiday to Croatia to try and reconnect, but when Nick's choice of a walking route ends in trouble, Ella must dig deep into herself to come to the rescue. But digging deep brings its own dangers and Ella will be forever transformed by the results.  This is an enthralling tale with as much satisfaction to be found in Nick's suggested fate as there is in Ella's.

Flash by Lavie Tidhar - Daily Science Fiction/June 2015
It's a fun and pointed flash piece, being something of a behind the scenes account of what really happened that time a certain planetary overlord was deposed.

Swell by Elizabeth Bear - Mermaids and Other Mysteries of the Deep, ed. Paula Guran (Prime Books)
Mermaids! Elizabeth Bear! Did you need more? Oh, well, ok then...this one tells of a musician's encounter with a mysterious blind girl and the aftermath of a night spent together.  It's a beautiful tale that weaves finding your own voice with not taking the easy option and is a bit reminiscent of some of de Lint's Newford stories. 

Madeleine by Amal El-Mohtar - Lightspeed #61/June 2015
This is a wonderfully moving story and no description would truly do it justice.  It tells of grief and loneliness and altered mental realities; and there's also something mildly disturbing about the speed with which Madeleine's therapist can get her institutionalised when she speaks about the interactive memory flashes she's experiencing after participation in an Alzheimers drug trial.