News

Short fiction on Unsung Stories

Short story writers of the world, assemble! That's right, in a bold attempt to give this week something even more exciting than the Age of Ultron trailer, Unsung Stories is now open for submissions of short fiction! Hulkbuster armour? Pah.

This is something we've been thinking about all the way back when we didn't even have a name, just a desire to make great books. It's a big part of the reason we're doing this. We want to give new authors a platform for their work to be read, a chance to share their work with the world.

We'll be starting off in November with a story by Aliya Whiteley because, well, what better way to start something? We'll be featuring a story by Ian Hocking in the near future as well.

We'll be aiming at fortnightly publication to start and they'll be sent out to our mailing list as well as posted here on the site. We're after the best we can get our hands on here, so spread the word to all of your talented friends, especially the ones hoping for a break. They're our favourites.

You can get the full, gory details, including the submission forms and some guidance on what we like, from our Short fiction page on the site.

What are you waiting for? Get writing!

Publication: The Beauty

Hot on the heels of our Déjà Vu, Unsung Stories are proud to announce The Beauty has just been published. That's right, twins! (Non-identical) We've got the advances here in the office and they look really rather fine. She's slim, elegant and punches above her weight.

The Beauty is available in paperback with digital formats following later this week. You can get your paperback direct from our store, www.unsungstories.co.uk/store, or order yours in from your local independent bookshop, Foyles, Waterstones, Blackwells, and all the other wonderful retailers out there.

Pre-orders will be going out imminently and you can now go and don't forget to harass your local bookstore until they are compelled to order up our entire stock.

People are saying some very nice things about the book too, with more in that in coming weeks. In fact, on behalf of Aliya and the Unsung scutters, thank you to all those people. In years to come, remember you said it first. 

As to whoever put the novella on the long list for the 2015 British Fantasy Society Awards? We salute you.

Ross, Hugos, tribalism and bringing the outside in

For those of you who missed it this week, the Hugo awards kind of imploded when it was announced that Jonathan Ross would be host. What followed was one of those increasingly common Twitterstorms where people seem to read 50 words of brief, pick a side then start throwing insults around as if their immortal souls depended on it.