We are once more into the last month of our Into the Forest submission call (new closing date: 2nd June 2023). We have been blown away by the amount of submissions we have received thus far and are looking forward to seeing what else you all come up with over the next four weeks.
The programme of panels and readings was extraordinary, with dozens of activities running from dawn to dusk and well beyond. We might have yearned to clone ourselves. But, no need. Thanks to the excellent con-tech, I’ve been trawling through recorded sessions ever since.
When Little Red Riding Hood steps into the forest, we know she is entering a different world. Outside she could see for miles across a patchwork of fields and farms. But in the wild tangle, her view extends for only a few paces beyond the path. When sight is restricted other senses come alive.
We had a brilliant time at our first Eastercon last weekend. The vibe was very friendly and we loved all the panels we attended and chats we had with fellow con attendants. However, we did come home with a dose of the dreaded lurgy, also known as Covid, so this blog is going to be shorter than usual.
What is it about forests that makes them so fecund for our imagination? Last month, I led a creative writing workshop on our Into the Forest theme for the States of Independence festival. We were struck by how many of our oldest and most enduring stories are set in forests. And the rich symbolism of forests as a site of the extraordinary and other-worldly as well as the Unconscious.
I was horrified when I learnt that the city council were proposing to fell 21 of those trees. One of the reasons given was to "cut crime.” But trees don’t commit crimes and I did not want to lose my green lung.
What a delight it was to be back at DMU’s wonderful indie publishing fair, States of Independence, last Saturday. The Clephan Building was humming with hundreds of publishers, writers and book lovers, browsing bookstalls and sampling a packed programme, including Space Cat’s workshop on our new submission theme, Into the Forest.
Mountains are magnificent, of course, but to my mind forests are equally awe-inspiring. It’s just that their beauty is of a quiet, more mysterious kind. Unlike mountains, which are all Oi! Look at me! they keep their magnificence to themselves.
Our big news this week is that we’re opening our porthole for submissions again! Between 10th March and 12th May this year, you can submit writing on the theme of Into the Forest for our 2023 anthology. We’re looking for our usual mix of genres and a wide array of approaches to the theme. So your imagination might turn to Eco-writing, Forest Fables, Urban Jungles or Space Trees. We welcome short fiction, poetry, flash fiction and creative non-fiction.
Nineteen years ago this week, the European Space Agency launched its groundbreaking Rosetta mission. We mark the anniversary by launching the print edition of Siobhan Logan's ROSETTA’S MIDNIGHT BARGE: Crossing the Comet’s Underworld.
Space Cat Press 