Tag: publishing

Harvesting the Monstrous Brood

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Monster

noun

    1. 1.a.

c1375–

Originally: a mythical creature which is part animal and part human, or combines elements of two or more animal forms, and is frequently of great size and ferocious appearance. Later, more generally: any imaginary creature that is large, ugly, and frightening.

5.

a1505–

A person of repulsively unnatural character, or exhibiting such extreme cruelty or wickedness as to appear inhuman; a monstrous example of evil, a vice, etc.

(source: OED.com)

I’ve been looking back through my fiction archive and am currently in the process of putting together [cue the obvious drum roll] another collection. This time I plan on moving away from the ghostly theme that I explored in Corpse Road Blues, and celebrate the monster genre from its Gothic roots to modern reimaginings.

As with my previous collection, the idea would be to include both published and original work.

The project is still in the early stages, so we’re no way near a publication date, but I wanted to share the news as I’m stoked to be working on it and look forward to the monstrous volume cursing your bookshelves sometime in the future.

I’d be curious to know what monsters you’d like to see in the new collection, or in fiction generally? Let me know your suggestions in the comments below.

Best,

Nash

Detail view of Jan Van Eyck, The Last Judgment, ca. 1440–1441.

How Important is Genre Fiction?

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I read in The Guardian on Friday that print sales for literary fiction have remained low since they plummeted in 2010. This ‘crisis’, highlighted in a report commissioned by the Arts Council England (ACE), has the same Council considering to fund this publishing genre.

It would be a mistake, I think, to assume that other genres only reflect society rather than examine it, or do not have anything worthwhile to say, and therefore don’t merit support.

Should we not question ACE’s literature director’s reported comment, “… we are saying that there is something so unique and important and necessary and fundamental about literary fiction in particular, that we need to focus on it and support it.”?

Shouldn’t ACE concentrate on promoting literacy in schools, or reading in adulthood, with the aim to allow the reader, not ACE, to support the authors of literary fiction or any other genre?