Very happy to have received a nomination in Australia’s premier speculative fiction awards, the Aurealis. I was shortlisted in the ‘Best Science Fiction Novella or Novelette’ category for A Vast Silence, which first appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (Nov/Dec 2021). The full list of nominees can be found here. There are some very strong writers on the list, not least of which is Samantha Murray, who is both a first class writer and a friend.
A Vast Silence tells the story of a petty crim on the run, the secret he carries, the bent cops close on his heels, and the terrifying beauty of the Australian Outback.
The Cruise to the End of the World, Craig Cormick (Merino Press)
“The Birdsong Fossil”, D K Mok (Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures, World Weaver Press)
“Problem Landing”, Sean Monaghan (Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact Mar/Apr)
“Preserved in Amber”, Samantha Murray (Clarkesworld #178)
“A Vast Silence”, T R Napper (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Nov/Dec)
This is my fourth nomination, after Horror Short Story (2016), Science Fiction Short Story (2020), and Science Fiction Novella or Novelette (2020) (winning twice – for horror short story, and science fiction novella).
The Aurealis Awards are an important reminder of the strength and diversity of the Australian speculative fiction scene. I’m glad we have credible, juried awards to call our own, and grateful of the opportunity to celebrate Australian stories.
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Other News
I have a new story out in Grimdark Magazine #29, called, The Shapes of Our Fever. The story, at 8000 words, is double the length normally allowed for the publication. The cover picture (right, brilliantly done by Carlos Diaz), is a Kai-Ken – a cybernetic attack dog that you simply do not what to cross in a dark alley. The story is about Fyodor, an android rebel and samurai.
Tangent Online reviewed the issue:
“The Shapes of our Fever” by T.R. Napper takes place at a future time when a small number of elites, who have the privilege of extending their lives indefinitely in artificial bodies, rule over those who do not. A human woman and an android set out on a seemingly suicidal mission to invade the domain of the leader of the elites and destroy him.
This is a greatly simplified synopsis for a story with a complex background and a richly imagined future. The author offers philosophical musings on the results of separating mind and body, without neglecting to create a fast-moving, suspenseful tale. The style is unusually sophisticated for an action-filled adventure story, without becoming pretentious.”
Finally, I have another new story coming out in the cyberpunk anthology, “Night, Rain, and Neon” (2022) ed. Michael Cobley, NewCon Press.
Released on July 1, 2022, timed to coincide with the release date of William Gibson’s Neuromancer (July 1, 1984). The stories are cyberpunk and ‘post cyberpunk (I’m not sure what the latter is, to be honest), and the intent is to provide an updated, revitalised selection of modern punk stories. I’m looking forward to getting my copy.
My story, The Goruden-Mairu Job, certainly involves night, rain, and neon. Though it was written before I’d heard of the anthology, so that connection is coincidental. The tale involves a few of my favourite things: gangsters, gunfights, fast cars, false memories, power, and an unreliable narrator struggling with their own identity.
That’s about it. There are a few other projects percolating in the background. My agent is submitting a new novella on my behalf, which I am excited about, but should really only tell you little.
Finally, the reviews for 36 Streetsare very good. The traditional publishing industry is famously opaque when it comes to sales, and so I really don’t know how it is doing on that count. I will confess to a borderline obsession with checking both Goodreads and Amazon (reviews on the former, rankings on the latter), to get a sense of how it is going. Wiser heads than mine counsel avoiding both, and while they may well be right, if a debut novelist wishes to get a sense of how their novel is doing, because, you know, their career prospects depend on it, then I’d argue that this is fine, as well.
My best guess is that 36 Streets seems to be doing about as well as a debut novel can do in the niche genre of cyberpunk. That is: sales are modest, bubbling on, and driven almost exclusively by word of mouth. So if you, dear reader, have read and enjoyed the novel, do not hesitate in posting a review or telling a friend. It may seem like only a little thing, but it is the manna that sustains the writing career.
confess to a borderline obsession with checking both Goodreads and Amazon (reviews on the former, rankings on the latter), to get a sense of how it is going. Wiser heads than mine counsel avoiding both, and while they may well be right, if a debut novelist wishes to get a sense of how their novel is doing, because, you know, their career prospects depend on it, then I’d argue that this is fine, as well.