Shilling some new publications

Every now and again one has to do a post that is essentially just one big shill. Well, this is one of those posts. I have been meaning to update you for a while now about current and upcoming publications I am involved in. So, here goes.

Crime Scenes Stories

I alerted readers a while ago to a new anthology of Australian short crime fiction, published by Sydney based Spineless Wonders, and edited by Zane Lovett, whose debut crime novel The Midnight Promise won best first crime at the 2014 Ned kelly awards.

Last weekend I took part in the Newcastle Writers Festival, at which the anthology, Crime Scenes, was formally launched. I have a story in this collection called ‘Postcard From, Cambodia’, along side pieces by David Whish-Wilson, Leigh Redhead, Carmel Bird, Peter Corris, PM Newton and my partner, Angela savage.

Seriously, anthologies of Australian crime fiction are a rare thing, which makes this anthology something of a special event. You can order Crime Scenes for your Kindle or in paperback from Amazon here or you can buy it directly from the Spineless Wonders site here.

Crime Factory Issue 18

Issue 18 of the award winning magazine Crime Factory, which I co-edit, is out and contains the usual great mix of fiction, features and reviews. The current issue includes news stories by Patrick Loveland, Michael Koenig, Bobbie Groth; Jay Helmstutler, Sarah M. Chen, Jacqui Horwood, Paul Heatley, J. M. Taylor, Greg Mollin, Jeff Esterhold, Benjamin Welton and Adeola Adeniyi. 

There’s also some wonderful features, including the history of Nic (True Detective) Pizzolatto’s fiction, an investigation of the 2015 Mexican noir film, Days of Grace (Dias De Gracia), and Mark Krajnak shares his New Jersey Noir photo series.

The most criminal thing about this magazine is the price, just $2 or $8.99 if you feel like spinging for the print edition. You can buy it directly from the Crime Factory site here or get it for your Kindle or in glorious hard copy here.

Beat Girls, Love Tribes and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture from the 1950s to the 1980s

I know I have been talking up this publication for a while now and on this site. Believe me, behind the scenes my co-editor, Iain McIntyre, and I have been working hard with our publisher, Verse Chorus Press, to make the book a reality. And it’s close, real close, in fact almost ready to go to printer.

The first comprehensive account of the rise of youth culture and mass-market paperback fiction in the postwar period, Beat Girls, Love Tribes & Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction & Youth Culture from the 1950s to the 1980s is a must-read for anyone interested in retro and subcultural style and popular fiction.

As the young created new styles in music, fashion and culture, pulp fiction followed their every step, hyping and exploiting their behaviour and language for mass consumption. From the juvenile delinquent gangs of the early fifties, through the beats and hippies, on to bikers, skinheads and punks, pulp fiction left no trend untouched. Boasting wild covers and action-packed plots, these books reveal as much about society’s desires and fears as they do about the subcultures themselves.

Featuring over 300 pulp covers, many never before reprinted, as well 70 in-depth author interviews and biographies, articles and reviews, Beat Girls offers the most extensive survey of the era’s mass market pulp fiction. Novels by well-known authors like Harlan Ellison, Lawrence Block, Evan Hunter/Ed McBain, and by filmmakers Samuel Fuller and Ed Wood Jr., are discussed alongside neglected obscurities and contemporary bestsellers ripe for rediscovery. More than 20 critics and scholars of popular culture contributed to this celebration of a fascinating body of work.

So, soon, people, real soon, before it can be yours. In the meantime, you can pre-order it here so that it gets into your hot hands as soon as its available.