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 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.
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.
In the last three years, we’ve published four books, each one blending various genres with an obvious space theme. So we’ve explored the Space Race, rocketeers, Aliens & Otherness, comets and the origins of the solar system, and so on. This year, at first glance, our theme looks Earthlier in nature. We will be inviting writing that moves Into the Forest. But we hope you will be imaginative about where that takes you, including possible off-world adventures. And we look forward to the usual mix of stories of all kinds, poetry, creative non-fiction and flash fiction too.
Happy New Year, Space Cats! The crew’s quarters may still be swagged with tinsel and baubles but that sound you hear is the engine room powering up. This week we’ve been poring over star charts as we plot our course for 2023. And here’s a few juicy kibbles of news to share.
So the nut roast and mince pies are stowed away in our ship’s hold. And so far, the ship’s cat has turned a blind eye to the swags of tinsel. We look forward to seeing you all when we’re back in orbit with news and plans for 2023. Meanwhile, from all of us at Space Cat, have a peaceful and restorative holiday, you lovely people!
We will finally be unveiling the print editions of our first two anthologies TOMORROW! There will be lashings of cake, special launch offers and about an hour of readings so be sure to join us if you can.
Science fiction has long framed narratives of aliens around questions of identity and societal acceptance. To be an alien is to be an outsider, and vice versa. In Severed Souls, humans and exterrestrials alike struggle to survive in worlds that view them as Other. They must fight to defend the fragile barriers of their skin, community, and world while bearing the existential ache of not belonging in any of the above. Defeat is not an option when their very selfhood is on the line.
You are all hereby invited to the launch of the Severed Souls ebook on Sat 29th Oct and the print launch of both our anthologies on Sat 26th Nov.
Space Cat Press 