Niteblade

Posts Tagged ‘poetry’

As of right now, all poetry slush has been cleared, final selections for the March Issue have been made (a strong issue, if I do say so myself).

Three poems are being held for further consideration, and those authors should be able to see that the status of their submissions is listed as In-Progress in Submittable, there should also be a note in the system letting you know that the pieces are still under consideration (though if in doubt, query).

On a related note: it is only February, and there are only 13 spots for poems left to be filled for the rest of the year, that is how strong the competition was this spring, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing more good stuff!

As of today, all poetry submissions have been replied to. If you sent in a poem and haven’t heard back yet, please contact me at alexa@niteblade.com.

All the poetry slots in our December Issue have also been filled which means that any poems that come in now will be under consideration for next year’s issues. Please remember: dark and/or fantastical, powerful, stuff that draws you in. Please send me some!

Back in May, Alexa Seidel agreed be a poetry editor for Niteblade. She and I have worked together on the June and September issues and it’s been painless and fun. Come 2012, however, Alexa is going to take over the poetry editor position. We wanted to do something to celebrate the transition, to look back at some of the awesome poems we’ve included in Niteblade, and include some brand new content too. With that in mind, we decided to do a special edition of Niteblade in December (just in time for Christmas! /sales pitch).

The December issue, tentatively entitled “Looking Back, Going Forward” will only include poetry. Some of those poems will be reprints from back issues of Niteblade, some will be brand spanking new. What’s more, in addition to offering a .pdf version we will also have a limited number of print copies available for sale.

Intriqued? Click here to learn how to submit to the special poetry edition, and keep an eye on this blog for more details as they become available.

I’ve got some great news. Alexa Seidel, who has been reading slush for us for quite some time, has agreed to wear a new title. She will be joining me as a poetry editor for Niteblade.

Alexa blogged back in March about her slush reading expirience (here and other places). One comment from that blog post that stuck out to me was “I only ever see stories, so my poetry slush experience is still non existent”. I thought ‘Huh, well, another set of eyes on these poems would not be a bad thing.’ so I started sending her poetry slush as well. The results have been completely positive and I look forward to working with her to make the poetry section of Niteblade shine even more than it already does.

Please welcome her aboard by sending us all your fantastic poetry to read and fill our pages with 🙂

It’s Rhysling nomination time. The Rhysling award is presented anually by by Science Fiction Poetry Association and any member can nominate poetry for consideration (details for this year’s nomination process are here). Niteblade has a large number of poems which are eligible for nomination this year, check this out:

Short Form

• Winter Wonder (2) by James Dorr
• The Book of Goodnight Stories by F. J. Bergmann
• The Cheater by Stephanie Wytovich
• Baby Doll by Sandy DeLuca
• Finicky by Francis W. Alexander
• Red Star Line by Jennifer Crow
• Dreaming in MSG by Helen R. Peterson
• Better Than The Real Thing by Mark Evans
• Aitvaras by Lee Clark Zumpe
• Mid-City Amusements by Alec B. Kowalczyk
• Flea Market Zombies by Brian Rosenberger
• Star Seed’s Arietta by Linda D. Addison
• Lycanthropia by Simon A. Thalmann
• My Own Ending by Michael Fosburg
• Newport Memorial by Jason L. Huskey
• The Note Found on the Person of the Dead Wizard Skewered From Above by Alexandra Seidel
• Second Chance by James Dorr
• Words of the Unprofound Joseph M. Gant
• The Marionette by Jason L. Huskey

Long Form

• Until the Light Fades by irving
• Goddess in Training by William C. Burns, Jr.
• Daughter by Miguel Lopez de Leon

I loved this book. Not only does Breathers have zombies it’s funny, romantic and has something to say. Mostly it’s just a lot of fun to read and I devoured it.

While at the World Horror Convention, S.G. Browne signed an extra copy of Breathers for me, and I will be giving it away to a lucky Niteblade reader.

The table of contents for the June issue of Niteblade, Of Warmth, Of Dragons, has been finalized and it’s going to be a great one.

Of Warmth, Of Dragons by Michael R. Fosburg
Untitled by Greg Schwartz
Blood Brother by Angel Zapata
Breathless Reunion by Ann K. Schwader
Brain Cookies by Kaolin Fire
Family Jaunt by Lucien E. G. Spelman
He Wanted by Stephanie Smith
The Price by Michael R. Fosburg
These Trees Outside the Window by John Grey
Dead Hands Claw by Anthony Bernstein
Keepsakes by R. J. Walker Miller
Work of Horror by Noel Sloboda
Brad Pitt Sells You His Doppelganger’s Home by Philip Coffeen

The Empty Crib at the End of the World by Beth Cato
A Night With Grimes by Bret Jordan
Cemetery Pet by Marge Simon
Rocky Road and a Dead End by David Flint
The Strawman and a Murder by Jeff Menapace
Monsters by Stephen Graham Jones
Whipped by Paul Ingrassia
Dream Spinner by Robert E. Keller
The Never Fair by Kenneth Schneyer
Giant Killer by Howie Good
The Parts of Justice by Gavin Hughes
Behind Blue Eyes by Sharon Kae Reamer
Copperheads by Catherine Brown

Amber Stults reviews The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines
Kari Wolfe reviews Unabridged, Unabashed and Undead: A Collection of the Best Zombie Short Stories by Eric S. Brown

The online version of the June issue, like the March issue before it, will take the form of a wordpress blog. However, during the month of June any comments left on the blog will be considered entries into a draw for the signed copy of Breathers. Also, purchasing the .pdf version of the June issue will be considered five entries into the draw. A winner will be chosen on July 1st from all the entries.

So a great line up of stories, poems and book reviews, plus a chance to win a signed copy of a fantastic zombie novel. Niteblade is totally the place to be this June! Mark the first on your calendar, you won’t want to miss this.

I learn from my mistakes…sometimes, and one thing I learned from doing the last anthology is that it takes longer than I thought LOL So I’m getting started early on the next one.

The next print anthology (as of right now it’s untitled) will be released on December 1st 2009 (submission deadline is October 1st, 2009).

You can read the details here, but take a peek at the cover.

Illustration by Marge Simon

Pretty sweet, eh?

Submissions to Niteblade have increased greatly over the past few weeks, so I thought it might be a good idea to share the status of submissions right now. Fiction submissions are done up to and including March 7th aside from three stories I’ve held for future consideration. Those authors will hear back from me by tomorrow at the latest, so if you’ve submitted fiction before or on March 7th and haven’t heard from me by tomorrow (March 31st) I didn’t get your email. Sorry.

The oldest poetry submission awaiting my attention right now is from March 1st. If you submitted prior to that and haven’t heard from me, again, I didn’t receive your submission.

Over the next week I hope to make significant progress regarding submits so if you feel like you’ve been waiting a long time, hang in there — I’m working on it. I promise.

Everyone at Niteblade would like to congratulate Chris Burdette on his Rhysling nomination. His amazing poem, The Gnome’s Spectacles has been nominated and will appear in the 2009 Rhysling Anthology. Congrats Chris!

We’d also like to congratulate everyone else with a nomination, especially those of you who have had your work included in Niteblade. You all rock. Congrats and good luck!