Gardner Dozois has called Interzone “the best looking SF magazine,” and it’s hard to disagree. But as good as their design is, the writing is even better. I love their fiction, and find their reviews and nonfiction articles to be the best in the business.

He backs up this view by linking to four sample stories from the magazine – three of which are past winners of the magazine’s annual readers’ poll for best short story of the year.

• Mercurio D. Rivera’s “Longing for Langalana” (PDF download). Also available in a podcast. Winner, 2006 Interzone Readers’ Poll.
• Gareth L. Powell’s “Ack-Ack Macaque” (podcast). Winner, 2007 Interzone Readers’ Poll.
• Jason Sanford’s “When Thorns Are The Tips Of Trees” (PDF download). Winner, 2008 Interzone Readers’ Poll.
• Eugie Foster’s “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast” (reprinted in Apex Magazine).

Read the whole of Jason’s article here: www.jeffvandermeer.com

www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/11/wanna-buy-gareth-powells-the-last-reef-name-your-price/

Take The Elements Of Style for example.  So far I’d have to say it’s been the most useful book I’ve found in terms of day-to-day writing.

First published in 1935 and since revised and updated, this handy pocket-sized book is a first rate field guide to punctuation, grammar, and sentence construction.

It has been criticised in some areas for its championing of the active voice over the passive, but this is a minor quibble, and I’ve personally found it an excellent reference for basic things, such as the correct punctuation of dialogue and the difference between commonly confused words, such as “alternate” and “alternative”.

If you want to find out why this little book has been praised and recommended by generations of authors and professional copywriters, you can pick it up relatively cheaply on Amazon.

The simple fact is, the human animal is not suited to surviving a Northern European winter. Without technologies such as hunting, fire and agriculture, our ancestors would have died out centuries ago.

We evolved in Africa, and it is only our technologies that allow us to live in Europe.  Without them, we cannot survive. There is nothing “natural” about our relationship with the English countryside. In order to survive here, we are as dependent on our technologies as the first settlers on Mars will be dependent on theirs.

We are aliens here. Even the first tribes on these islands had to use furs and fires to stave off the cold. They had to use spears to hunt meat and agriculture to grow crops.

We take it for granted, but living in the UK in 2009, our society – with its power stations, supermarkets, clothes shops – is one big “spacesuit” designed to keep us alive in a hostile environment.

The Last Reef was originally published in hardback and paperback by Elastic Press in August 2008. It contains 15 short stories, and received glowing reviews from Interzone, Prism, Sci-fi Online, and The Fix.

In order to get a PDF copy of the book emailed directly to you from me, simply click on the big yellow button on the right (you may need to scroll up or down a bit).

This will take you to PayPal. All you have to do then is enter your payment details and decide how much you’d like to pay.

Yes, I’m putting the ball in your court. You decide what you think is a fair price for a 60,000 word book, pay me, and I’ll email you a copy.

It’s that simple.

I put a lot of work into this collection and I’m glad to now have the opportunity to make it available to a wider audience.

And as a special bonus, when you order a copy of The Last Reef, I’ll throw in a PDF copy of my short story “What Would Nicolas Cage Have Done?”, which isn’t normally included in the book.

So when placing your order, please remember to include your email address and state whether you’d like me to send you the PDF versions of the book, the short story, or both.

Many thanks!

“For writers, online genre magazines are not only a great way to build readership and name recognition, they also tend to be more accessible than many print magazines, with most accepting electronic submissions, featuring rapid acceptance to publication turn-around times, and a willingness to work with new writers. However, all online magazines are not equal in the exposure they bring to a writer’s story.”

He even includes an up-to-date list of well-read online markets, which you can read here.

Speaking as someone who had stories published online before graduating to printed magazines, I think it’s worth a read.

www.situations.org.uk/commissions_heatherivanmorison_events_october10thforum.htm