Short Story Conference: Edge Hill University

I saw this press release today and thought "I'd love to go!":

Edge Hill University will be hosting "The Story Shall Be Changed": Tales and Re-tellings in the Short Story on Saturday 21st July 2007.

The short story is a protean form, encompassing myth, fable, anecdote, tall tales, yarns and literary experimentation. Rooted in oral tradition, storytelling has a special affinity with popular genres such as science fiction and tales of the supernatural.

In this second one-day conference on the short story at Edge Hill, we focus on this multiplicity of forms and genres. We also consider the re-imagining of familiar narratives, themes and imagery; and the invention of new ones. How is the short story being transformed in the twenty-first century?

The conference is linked with the inaugural presentation of the Edge Hill Prize, for a published single author collection from the British Isles. The winner will be announced on the eve of the conference, and it is hoped that writers from the shortlist (announced May 2007) will take part in the conference reading.

Confirmed speakers include:

Professor Alan Wall (Richard Dadd in Bedlam and Other Stories)

Andy Sawyer (Science Fiction Foundation, University of Liverpool)

Cecilia Morreau (Leaf Books)

Call for Papers

Proposals for 20 minute papers are invited from all those writing and researching the short story, whether as practitioners or literary scholars (or both). Practice-based presentations are welcome. Suggested topics:

Genre and sub-genre – crime – horror – the ghost story – fantasy – science fiction – gothic – erotica – autobiography – online writing – multi-media – hybrid genres.

Intertextuality – myth and symbolism – image-based fiction – the epiphany – adaptation - oral storytelling - modernism and postmodernism.

Individual authors – re-readings and reworkings – writing in translation - postcolonial fiction – experiment and innovation – novellas – story sequences – flash fiction – anthologies.

Please email 100 word abstract to Ailsa Cox coxa@edgehill.ac.ukby Friday May 11th 2007.

This is the second annual conference hosted by the North West Short Story Network, supported by Lancaster University, Liverpool Hope, St Martin's Lancaster, University of Chester, Bolton University, Salford University and Manchester Metropolitan University (Cheshire). Following last year's conference, The Short Story, a selection of papers, including A. L. Kennedy's opening speech, will be published by Cambridge Scholars Press in 2008.

Booking Fees: £55/£30 (students, unwaged).

For further information please contact: Dr Ailsa Cox, Department of English, Edge Hill University, St Helens Rd, Ormskirk L39 4QP Email: coxa@edgehill.ac.uk

I confess that I spent a good many years avoiding reading stories that were less than novel-length as I found it frustrating to have the story end so quickly. But in the last two or three years I've really come to appreciate the art of the short form story (whether it's a novella or a genuine short story) - and have rather gone off reading hefty (doorstop) novels (unless they're "Harry Potter" ones). And it's probably just as well that I have come to appreciate the short story form since I now find myself writing novella length stories - which seem perfectly suited to "Doctor Who" fan-fiction - it's about the length of an episode if converted into a visual form (and I can quite often "see" the story unreeling as an episode in my head - which makes writing it easier, I find).

Doctor Who Short Trips: Zodiac - ed. Jacqueline Raynor

The Doctor Who Short Trips: Zodiac short story anthology is edited by Jacqueline Raynor. This was the first short stories volume published by Big Finish in the Short Trips series. Each story has a special, astrological introduction by Jim Sangster and it features 12 stories (as you might expect), each one of which relates to one of the signs of the Zodiac, as follows:

Aries: "The True and Indisputable Facts in the Case of the Ram’s Skull" by Mark Michalowski features the first Doctor, Ian and Barbara
Taurus: "Growing Higher" by Paul Leonard features the eighth Doctor and Fitz
Gemini: "Twin Piques" by Tony Keetch features the second Doctor and Jamie
Cancer: "Still Lives" by Ian Potter features the third Doctor, Liz and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Leo: "Constant Companion" by Simon A. Forward features the second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe
Virgo: "Virgin Lands" by Sarah Groenewegen features the seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice Summerfield
Libra: "The Switching" features Simon Guerrier, the third Doctor, Jo and UNIT
Scorpio: "Jealous, Possessive" by Paul Magrs features K-9 Marks I and II (but no Doctor)
Sagittarius: "Five Card Draw" by Todd Green features the fifth Doctor and Peri (plus some of his other "selves")
Capricorn: "I Was A Monster!!!" by Joseph Lidster features the fourth Doctor and Romana II (Romana is a Time Lady and regenerated once during the original Doctor Who series, "Romana II" refers to her second self)
Aquarius: "The Invertebrates of Doom" by Andrew Collins features the seventh Doctor and Mel
Pisces: "The Stabber" by Alison Lawson features the sixth Doctor and Peri

I particularly enjoyed "The True and Indisputable Facts in the Case of the Ram’s Skull" which features author and poet Edgar Allen Poe; "Constant Companion" which features a tantalising cat-like creature which amplified telepathic abilities; and my favourite was "Five Card Draw" in which the Fifth Doctor responds to a telepathic summons and materialises inside a mediaeval castle where he find his first, second, and third selves. Then a future self, dressed in a loud, colourful coat arrives, and the first Doctor suggests a game of Poker whilst explaining that he has called on his future selves for assistance, all except his manipulative seventh self. The fourth decided not to come, and the confused eighth self did not respond. The first Doctor explains that whilst Ben and Polly were visiting a friend, he came to this castle to do some target practice with a golden bow he has acquired from Gallutia. However, none of his future selves can remember quite what happened on Gallutia. When he lands, he sees a young lady being attacked by bandits, who flee in panic when the TARDIS materialises in their midst. The Doctor rescued her, pulling her into the TARDIS, but when he emerges to see if the coast is clear he is surrounded by a group of angry and frightened knights who accuse him of kidnapping Lady Mary through sorcery. The Doctor flees into the castle and raises the drawbridge, but the knights lay siege to the castle so that he is unable to return to the TARDIS. Hence he summons his future selves to his assistance. This story particularly interested me because it features this meeting between various incarnations of the Doctor. I know that the TV series has done something similar on more than one occasion in order to celebrate an anniversary, but this is the first time I've seen it in a print story.

I confess that the title of the Aquarius story made me laugh - it sounds very Terry Pratchettesque, and the story is quite humorous.

* * * * * *

Talking of Doctor Who, I've just received The Stone Rose Audiobook and The Feast of the Drowned Audiobook both read by David Tennant. Now if you're a regular reader, you'll know I don't "do" audiobooks as a rule - I find them too slow. BUT, these are read by David Tennant and I've already read (and own) the books. So I'm going to try listening to the audiobooks whilst reading along with David to stop me trying to do anything else whilst listening, which would result in me "tuning out" the audiobook ! I'll let you know if it works !

Doctor Who Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors - ed. John Binns

The Doctor Who Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors short story collection edited by John Binns is one of many such anthologies produced by Big Finish, the company that was also responsible for keeping Doctor Who fans supplied with new stories whilst the TV show was off-air with their audio dramas.

This short story anthology, as you might guess from the subtitle, is a collection of horror stories - well sort of. Some of the stories are merely supernatural and unnerving, rather than outright terrifying.

The Exiles by Lance Parkin features the First Doctor and his granddaughter Susan

Mire and Clay by Gareth Wigmore also features the First Doctor and his Companions Ian and Barbara

Ash by Trevor Baxendale features the First Doctor and Susan again.

Face-Painter by Tara Samms 2nd Jamie and Victoria

Losing Track of Time by Juliet E. McKenna features the Third Doctor and his Companion Jo

The Discourse of Flies by Jeremy Daw features the Third Doctor and his Companion Sarah

The Fear by Alex Leithes features the Fourth Doctor and K-9

Mauritz by Jonathan Morris features the Fourth Doctor and his Companion Adric

The Comet's Tail by John Binns features the Fifth Doctor

Long Term by Andrew Campbell features the Fifth

Soul Mate by David Bailey features the Fifth Doctor and his Companions Nyssa and Tegan

Whiskey and Water by Marc Platt features the Sixth Doctor

The Death of Me by Robert Shearman also features the Sixth Doctor

This is My Life by William Keith feautres the Seventh Doctor (and it's a poem)

Gazing Void by Huw Wilkins features the Eighth Doctor

For me, the scariest stories were "Mire and Clay", "Face Painter", "Long Term" and "Mauritz" - very odd, psychological stories that I was glad I'd read in daylight, rather than in bed one night ! I confess to enjoying "Losing Track of Time" the most - but then I'm biased because Juliet E McKenna is one of my favourite living fantasy authors AND the story is set in the Bodleian Library in Oxford ! Doctor Who Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors is also available from Amazon.com.

The Doctor Who Storybook 2007 - ed. Clayton Hickman

The cover art on The Doctor Who Storybook 2007 is by Alister Pearson and it is SO eye-catching; it features a painting of the 10th Doctor and Rose and I encourage you to check out the larger version. This collection has seven fantastic stories written by the finest Doctor Who writers around. It also has illustrations that bring an already fantastic set of stories to life - and this is from someone who normally takes little notice of illustrations - so you know they must be good, if I'm commenting on them !

The seven stories are as follows:

"Cuckoo's Spit" by Mark Gatiss (writer of one of my favourite Season 1 New Who stories, "The Unquiet Dead") and is written in the style of a diary. It's a dark and gripping story with some great one-liners, accompanied by illustrations by Daryl Joyce (which help to add to the eerie atmosphere).

"The Cat Came Back" is by Gareth Roberts which I could easily imagine being made into a TV episode as it features so many strands of "Classic Who" and some good continuity too. Roberts' story is illustrated by Martin Geraghty, whose work manages to bring the poignant moments of the story to life.

"Once Upon a Time" is by Tom MacRae and from the outset it draws the reader into the narrative, in a warm manner. Viewers of the Season 2 two-parter "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel", may be surprised at how stylistically different this story is. Adrian Salmon's line drawings are quite compelling.

"Gravestone House" is by Justin Richards and it's a tale full of intrigue and mystery. There's a bit in the cemetery that was quite chilling and when the Doctor asks Rose "What's got my leg?" I gulped in surprise ! Andy Walker's illustrations are striking and just a bit too realistic if you're reading this one at night !

Robert Shearman's story is the called "Untitled", rather intriguingly. He manages to capture the relationship and dialogue between the 10th Doctor and Rose perfectly. It's a well-paced and imaginative narrative that will make me think twice before I ever visit an art gallery again (and I don't visit them that often, anyway !) Brian Williamson's illustrations are unnervingly good.

Nicholas Briggs is best known to "New Who" viewers as the man behind the voice of the Daleks and the Cybermen, but he's an accomplished author too. His story "No One Died"'starts off with tongue-in-cheek references to some 1960s (off screen) "Doctor Who" history. It's a mystery story and shows that Briggs paid attention to the stories about Poirot and Miss Marple penned by Agatha Christie. Ben Wilsher's illustrations are a fine accompaniment that could be translated fairly easily into an animated version of the story.

The final story, "Corner of the Eye" is by Steven Moffat, writer of some of my favourite "New Who" episodes (the chilling Season 1 episode "The Empty Child" and its triumphant sequel, "The Doctor Dances", and the beautiful Season 2 episode, "The Girl in the Fireplace"). Moffat's story is written in the style of an instant message conversation between two characters. I can't say too much about it without giving everything away, but it's quite a dark story, with an almost sombre tone that made me think about it for some time after reading it. The ending is quite creepy and may just leave you looking over your shoulder. The illustrations are by Daryl Joyce and are quite spooky on their own !

Also included in the Storybook is a comic strip called "Opera of Doom", written by Jonathan Morris and with pencil art by Martin Geraghty. I don't normally "get" comics or graphic novels, but I did read and enjoy this strip, which is conveniently located in the middle of the book, and provided a nice breather between the text-based stories. Morris' narrative is set in Venice and is quite cunning.

This a great book for older children and adults alike and I recommend it.

The Haunting of Chas McGill and other stories - Robert Westall

Robert Westall's The Haunting of Chas McGill and other stories is a collection of eight supernatural short stories. The title story is set before both The Machine Gunners (Review) and Fathom Five (Review). In it Chas has been temporarily evacuated to a local boarding school which is reputed to be haunted. In fact Chas meets the ghost of a WW1 Tommy, who hid at the school and then later hanged himself there. However, Chas interferes in history - somehow and history changes...

The other stories in the collection are "Almost a Ghost story" - about an Abbey which may or may not be haunted by the ghost of a nun.

"The Vacancy" - which is a futuristic SF story that's got quite a gruesome ending.

"The Night Out" - which is a quite sad story about a bunch of bikers.

"The Creatures in the House" - about a creature that feeds on the memories of single women. It's also a story about cats.

"Sea Coal" - which is a time-travel story - also featuring a cat.

"The Dracula Tour" - in which a woman taken on a trip to Bucharest who falls in love with Count Dracula.

and "A Walk on the Wild Side" - about a cat named Rama that can transform itself into a woman.

This is an intriguing collection. I particularly enjoyed "The Night Out", "The Creatures in the House" and "Sea Coal".

A Winter Book - Tove Jansson

Tove's Jansson's A Winter Book is the perfect accompaniment to the earlier The Summer Book (Review). There are 20 stories in this collection, which is aimed squarely at adults, but would probably be enjoyed by older children. The book also comes with an introduction by Ali Smith, and Afterwords by Philip Pullman, Esther Freud and Frank Cottrell Boyce. The collection is divided into three parts: Snow; Flotsam and Jetsam; and Travelling Light - throughout each section Tove ages, so that the first story, "The Stone", features a young Tove, and in the last story, "Taking Leave", the by now elderly Tove is having to move to live on the mainland now she can no longer manage life on the bleak Finnish island she purchased after her Moominvalley books because a big success. Jansson trained as an artist and worked as a cartoonist, before writing the Moomin books in her 30s and 40s. She started writing for adults when she was in her 50s. In one of these stories, "Messages", she simply transcribes some of the bewildering messages that she receives from greedy companies and crazy, each one of whom wants to grab some part of her creation for themselves; one fan writes "Can't you draw me a Snufkin that I can have tattooed on my arm as a symbol of freedom?" whilst a company requests: "We look forward to your valued reply soonest concerning Moomin motifs on toilet paper in pastel shades" (Toilet paper?!)

"Taking Leave", is a short, melancholy, yet beautiful picture of old age. Jansson was 86 when she died in 2001, and I found it easy to imagine her striding energetically across her island until her old bones refused to take another step. In the story, two old women reach the irritating realisation that they have grown too infirm to continue spending their summers on their isolated island. Even worse, though, is the knowledge that "something unforgivable happened: I became afraid of the sea". The initial fury is followed by a calm acceptance and they decide to give away the house, packing up, leaving notes for the next occupant(s) which explain where to find things and how things work, whilst making sure not to explain everything too clearly: "one should not underestimate their natural curiosity." Another writer might have finished the story with a description of leaving the island, or of looking back from the boat for the last time as it heads to the mainland, but Jansson doesn't bother. Instead, she describes an old kite that they find on their last day whilst clearing out the cellar and which carry out into the open air. The wind snatches the kite and takes it away, up into the sky, across the sea, and out of sight, and they're gone.

This is a gorgeous book - the cover is very eye-catching and this is from someone who doesn't tend to take a huge amount of notice of bookcovers ! - and the whole book is packaged beautifully with a number of black and white photos inside.

Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories - Garth Nix

I first learned of Garth Nix's collection, Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories from Amazon.com after The Creature in the Case was published as a World Book Day in the UK; and it's this story which is the first in the Across the Wall collection. I've wanted to own Across the Wall ever since and I was pleased when it was finally published in the UK. My patience was rewarded too, as there are some fabulous pieces in this collection, each one of which is introduced by Garth Nix.

The other 12 stories in the collection are as follows:

"Under the Lake": A tale based on Arthurian legend told from the viewpoint of the Lady of the Lake, who's less nice than so many of those film versions would lead you to believe.

"Charlie Rabbit": A dramatic war story about hope, faith and survival, featuring two small boys.

"From the Lighthouse": A rather different sci-fantasy story of conquest.

"The Hill": A family story set in Australia about property, inheritance and ownership.

"Lightning Bringer": A horror story about power.

"Down in the Scum Quarter": A parody of the Role Playing Game books beloved of my younger brother when he was a child, where the reader chooses their own story based on options at the end of each paragraph.

"Heart's Desire": Another tale based on Arthurian legend, this time about Merlin and his ill-fated love life.

"Hansel's Eyes": A retelling of the classic tale in a modern setting - and quite macabre in its way !

"Hope Chest": A cowgirl takes on a supernatural cult, guns a-blazing. Garth is a fan of Westerns but as he says in the introduction, he cannot write a story without a fantasy element creeping in somewhere. This was my favourite of the shorter stories in the collection - and together with "The Creature in the Case" made the book worth its price.

"My New Really Epic Fantasy Series": A piece originally presented by Garth at a panel session at the 1999 WorldCon; it's completely tongue in cheek and therefore very funny.

"Three Roses": An interesting little tale about love - completely unsentimental.

"Endings": A tale of sorrow and joy with alternate endings - and another one (besides "The Creature in the Case" - that I had read before as it's in the Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales I read and reviewed last November.

In the introductory note to "Hansel's Eyes", Garth mentions that his mother made him a gingerbread house, complete with a witch made of sweets; for his eighth birthday, she made puppets of all Tove Jansson's Moominland Midwinter characters and a puppet theatre, then performed the book as a puppet play. How fantastic is that ?! He notes that

without the influence, example and encouragement of my mother (and my father, whose collection of fantasy and science fiction books supplied me with reading matter for my most formative years), I would not be the write I have become, or indeed, a writer at all. (p. 272)

If you're a Garth Nix fan, this book is a must-have; if you've yet to try any of his books, then this book is a good place to start - you can dip in and out of it, and The Creature in the Case, although it's set after the events of the Old Kingdom trilogy, is still a good introduction to Nix's worlds. As mentioned before, Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories is available from Amazon.com. Garth Nix's website has recently been relaunched and you can sign up for regular news updates. I was pleased to learn this week that he'll be in the UK later this year - I hope he appears somewhere near Oxford as I'd love to meet him !

In the Stacks: Short Stories About Libraries and Librarians - ed. Michael Cart

I picked up In the Stacks: Short Stories About Libraries and Librarians, a short story collection edited by Michael Cart last week in the library, when I was looking for Tove Jansson's A Winter Book, which, being a short story collection, I was looking for amongst the short story volumes. I found both books and brought the Cart collection home with some curiosity.

This is an anthology of short stories in defence of libraries, librarians and reading by some great storytellers, including Italo Calvino, Alice Munro, Ursula Le Guin, Jorge Luis Borges, and H H Munro (better known as Saki).

My favourite stories were:

Italo Calvino's "A General in the Library" which begins:

One day, in the illustrious nation of Panduria, a suspicion crept into the minds of top officials: that books contained opinions hostile to military prestige. In fact trials and enquiries had revealed that the tendency, now so widespread, of thinking of general s as people actually capable of making mistakes and causing catastrophes, and of wars as things that did not always amount to splendid cavalry charges towards a glorious destiny, was shared by a large number of books, ancient and modern, foreign and Pandurese. (p. 13)

If you're not hooked by that first paragraph, then it's probable that you've not been following world news. Can the books reform Panduria ? Well no, this story is too realistic for that, but the long-suffering, ever-dutiful and very clever librarian, Signor Crispino, does succeed in acquiring a number of new patrons at the library as a result of the investigation, whilst the military loses several officers.

Walter R Brooks' "Ed Has His Mind Improved": Ed the horse has learned to read, but when his owner, Mr. Pope, leaves town for ten days, Mrs. Pope has all the books that were kept in the barn for him returned to the library. Ed simply can't bear the idea of being without reading material for 10 days, so he heads off to the public library on his own. His thirst for literature is supported by the librarian, Miss Sigsbee, but is less popular with the library's Trustees !

Ray Bradbury's "Exchange" may be too sentimental for some readers, although I found it touching. This story records a conversation between an elderly female librarian and a former library patron, who's now an Army officer. Here are a few of their lines:

"Don't mind me, Miss Adams. You smell new books? ... Like fresh bread when you're hungry."
"Was I lot of trouble?" "Yes ... a fiend ... But I loved you."
" ... when I was a boy I used to look up and see you behind your desk, so near but far away, and ... I used to think that you were Mrs. God, and that the library was a whole world."
"Most libraries today, too much light. There should be shadows, don't you think? ... So that late nights the beasts can prowl out of the stacks and crouch by this jungle light to turn the pages with their breath."

Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales

The ten "original dark tales" in Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales (which is edited by Deborah Noyes) are as follows:

"Lungewater" – Joan Aiken
"Morgan Roehmar's Boys" – Vivian Vande Velde
"Watch and Wake" - M T Anderson
"Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slave in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire" – Neil Gaiman
"The Dead and the Moonstruck" – Caitlin R Kiernan
"Have No Fear, Crumpot is Here!" – Barry Yourgrau
"Stone Tower" – Janni Lee Simner
"The Prank" – Gregory Maguire
"Writing on the Wall" – Celia Rees
"Endings" – Garth Nix

I read Neil Gaiman's and Garth Nix's first since they were the only two authors with whose works I'm familiar. Gaiman's "Forbidden..." is a tale about a flamboyant young novelist who's in search of a subject more compelling than his own eerie existence - and contains a typically Gaimanesque twist to the tale.

Garth Nix's "Endings" is a quite moving tale of sorrow and joy with alternate endings.

Gregory Maguire's very contemporary offering, "The Prank" is about a female teenage delinquent who is forced to spend a weekend with an elderly aunt who looks as mild as milk but has a sinister secret locked in the attic.

M T Anderson's "Watch and Wake", is very chilling from the moment that young Jim arrives in town, there's a feeling that something is not quite right and it's a feeling that doesn't go away even after the dreadful twist at the end.

Celia Rees' "Writing on the Wall" is about a house that holds within its peeling walls a grotesque secret. It reminded me strongly of E E Richardson's The Intruders (which I reviewed here), which is probably just the result of them both being about a haunted house - and I've so far read very little supernatural/horror fiction, so that Richardson's book has stuck in my mind like a burr !

There's also an excellent introduction by Deborah Noyes that explains the differences and similarities between Horror and Gothic tales.