NEWS

The South African Science Fiction Society is looking to make contact with SF fans/organisations in the UK. If you're interested in receiving recent copies of the S.A.S.F.S.'s clubzine PROBE, please send an A5 SAE with 39p stamp to Nick Wood, 22 Victoria Road, Mill Hill, London, NW7 4SB (e-mail: NikWood@compuserve.com).

Following the publication of issue B in October 1999 AABYE (formerly NHI Writing) will be closed to submissions until 6 April 2000 (see http://www.nhi.clara.net/conguide.htm for further details). Its offshoot the internet-only ezine AABYE'S BABY has moved to http://www.aabyesbaby.ukpoets.net/, and will be open to submissions from 1 December 1999. Contributors MUST read the guidelines before submitting, and these can be found at http://www.aabyesbaby.ukpoets.net/aaguide.htm or obtained by sending an SAE to: Aabye's Baby Guidelines, 20 Werneth Avenue, Gee Cross, Hyde, SK14 5NL, UK.

ALBEDO 1 #19, A4, 44pp, Ir£2:95 (4/Ir£12; UK 4/£12; Europe 4/Ir£18/$27; r.o.w. 4/Ir£22/$34) from Albedo 1, 2 Post Road, Lusk, Co. Dublin, Ireland (e-mail: bhry@iol.ie; http://homepages.iol.ie/~bobn). The award-winning Irish SF/F/H magazine serves up fiction by Andi Douglas, Denise Dumars, Esther M. Freisner, David Gullen, and D.F. Lewis, plus an interview with Charles De Lint.

BLANKSPACE, A4, 16pp, IR£1 (free to SFI members) from David Stewart, 43 Eglinton Road, Dublin 4, Ireland (e-mail: dstewart@iol.ie). In addition to its regular reviews, news and developments in the SF world, this issue of the Science Fiction Ireland newsletter pays tribute to SFI President James White, who died in August 1999.

THE BORDERLAND #2, A4, 10pp corner stapled, free for large SAE/2 IRCs, or trade for other zines, tapes or CDs, from John M. Peters, 299 Southway Drive, Southway, Plymouth, Devon PL6 6QN (e-mail: john@mpeters77.freeserve.co.uk). An informal magazine that reflects its editor's voracious appetite for popular music in all its flavours. As well as a host of reviews by John himself, this issue features Steve Earles on the thriving 'Stoner Rock' scene, Jeff Downes continues his coverage of recent movie soundtrack releases, and Dorothy Davies remembers good times listening to the blues on the radio.

DRAGON'S BREATH #61, A4, 4pp corner stapled, available for one SAE per issue (12/£2:50; Europe 12/£4; r.o.w. 12/£5:50) from Tony Lee, Pigasus Press, 13 Hazely Combe, Arreton, Isle of Wight PO30 3AJ. This issue features an interview with prolific author Charlee Jacob, as well as the usual spread of capsule reviews of SF/F/H small press and media-related publications from all over the world.

DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES #54, A5, 24pp, $3 (6/$12; outside USA 6/$15) from David C. Kopaska-Merkel, 1300 Kicker Road, Tuscaloosa, AL 35404, USA (e-mail: dragontea@earthlink.net; http://home.earthlink.net/~dragontea/index.html). A poetry magazine that specialises in experimental forms and content, and fantastic horror in particular. This issue features poetry from Wendy Rathbone, Morgan Kopaska-Merkel, Jon Hodges, Ian Watson, Kendall Evans, Joey Froehlich, E.R. Carlin, Nancy Bennett, Michelle Leasure-Firesheets, Scott Nicolay, John Grey, Deborah P. Kolodji, Jamie Wasserman, and D. Crockell, plus short prose work from Jeff Carlson.

EYE #23, A4, 80pp, $3:95 (6/$14; Canada 6/$20; r.o.w. 6/$36) from EYE, 301 S. Elm Street, Suite 405, Greensboro, NC 27401-2636, USA (e-mail: lisa@eyemag.com; http://www.eyemag.com). Articles and underground research on pop culture, music, technology, TV and film, fringe culture, and bizarre science, this time paying homage to Screaming Lord Sutch, interviewing Genesis P-Orridge, cult Canadian comics artist Julie Doucet, and controversial author Michael Moynihan, showing how to set up your own crime-scene clean-up company, and telling the story of prolific pre-War pamphleteer E. Haldeman-Julius.

FRONT&CENTRE #2, A4, 48pp, Can$5 (2/Can$9) from J. Copple, 25 Avalon Place, Hamilton, Ontario L8M 1R2, Canada (e-mail: jcopple@cujo2.icom.ca), or £2:50 (2/£5) from M. Firth, 4-C Alexandra Place, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9XD, UK (e-mail: af11@st-andrews.ac.uk). Published jointly in the UK and Canada, Front&Centre's transAtlantic roots are plain to see in its clean and classy layout. An interview with and fiction by Maxim Jakubowski headlines this issue, which also offers stories by Gregory Santo Arena, Michael Bryson, Dan Buck, Heath Carra, Patricia Cleveland-Peck, Jennifer Footman, Elizabeth de Mariaffi, Colin MacKay, Rob Payne, David Williamson, and Alex Zelenyj.

HANDSHAKE #37, A4, 2pp, free for SAE from J.F. Haines, 5 Cross Farm, Station Road, Padgate, Warrington WA2 0QG. Market information and news of SF-poetry-related events, plus poetry from J. Rogerson, Peter Day, M.A. Bottomley, Geoff Stevens, Bill West, Andrew Darlington, Richard Lung, Kama Garcha, and Phil Nicholls.

KIMOTA #11, A5, 76pp p/b, £2:50 (4/£9) from Graeme Hurry, 52 Cadley Causeway, Preston, Lancs PR2 3RX (e-mail: editor@kimota.co.uk; http://www.kimota.co.uk). Well-rounded selection of SF/F/H from Martin Owton, Paul Finch, Jason Gould, Steven Lockley, Peter Tennant, David Mace, Holly Day, David Howe, Jenny Barber, Riaz Hussain, Catherine J. Gardner, Pamela Stuart, Paul Joyce, David O'Neill, and Simon Woodward.

MASQUE NOIR #3, A4, 56pp, Aus$5 from Rod Marsden, P.O. Box 19, Spit Junction, NSW 2088, Australia. A new "new wave avant-garde publication", Masque Noir embraces high adventure, the glory days of the pulps, mystery, suspense, gumshoe action, horror and SF. There are touching tributes to Rod's friend and colleague Don Boyd, while fiction comes from Keith Rex, Rod Marsden, Jens H. Altmann, Geoff Jackson, Shane Griffin, Lyn McConchie, Richard Reeve, and Neil K. Henderson, plus an appreciation of Lost In Space by Andrew Darlington.

METAL RULES #4, A4, 48pp, and #5, A4, 72pp, $4 (outside USA $6) from Jeff Rappaport, 2116 Sandra Road, Voorhees, New Jersey 08043, USA (e-mail: metaljef@yahoo.com; http://www.haddons.com/metalrules). Loud and ribald newsprint magazine packed full of news, reviews and interviews from the world of metal music scene. Jeff's enthusiasm and good humour positively overflows from the pages whether he's writing about his stag night or chatting to guitar heroes, and he's especially supportive of new bands across the metal/thrash/hardcore/death/black/rock/blues spectrum. Issue #4 talks to Holy Mother, Death Angus, Michael Sweet, Gaffi Sticks, and Xibala, while #5 sees him head-to-head with Stuart Smith, GWAR, Vanilla Ice, Sludge!, Hades, Lunatic Gods, and Overkill.

NAPARTHEID #26, A4, 52pp, 300 pesetas from Napartheid (Kukuxumusu), Marcelo Zelaieta Karrika, 75.AA1 aretoa, 31014 Iruñea, Spain (e-mail: info@kukuxumusu.com). Pro-quality magazine of wry and anarchic comics and features in the Basque language.

NASTY PIECE OF WORK #13, A5, 88pp, £1:50 (4/£5:50; USA 4/$15) from David A. Green, 20 Drum Mead, Petersfield, Hants GU32 3AQ. A well-presented magazine of horror fiction and poetry with work from Paul Finch, Michael Kelly, Alexa deMonterice, Chad Hensley, Gary Greenwood, Tim Lebbon, Simon Logan, Tony Mileman, Helen Kitson, Alec Worley, Nancy Bennett, Mark Astly, Rhys Hughes, Bobbi Sinha-Morey, Marni Scofidio Griffin, John Moralee, Monica J. O'Rourke, Ross Campbell, and Steve Conway.

NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION #132 and #133, A4, 24pp, $3:50 each (12/$32; Canada 12/$37; r.o.w. 12/$45) from Dragon Press, P.O. Box 78, Pleasantville, NY 10570, USA (e-mail: info@nyrsf.com; http://www.nyrsf.com). Essays, reviews and topical comment for the SF field from an eleven-time Hugo award nominee. In #132 Michael Andre-Driussi dissects John Crowley's Beasts, Alice K. Turner gazes into Crowley's The Deep, and Susan Palwick honours the animal in fantasy and science fiction, while #133 offers a 1996 interview with Judith Merril, the first part of an interview with Suzy McKee Charnas, and reviews of Kit Reed, Neal Stephenson, Brian Aldiss and others.

NOTES FROM THE DARKSIDE September 1999, A4, 4pp, enquire to Silver Salamander Press, 4128 Woodland Park Ave N., Seattle, WA 98103, USA (e-mail: jpelan@cnw.com; http://www.horrornet.com/silver.htm). Promo for new and current titles from Silver Salamander, Darkside Press and Midnight House, plus news and reviews of recent releases elsewhere in the trade.

NOT ONE OF US #22, A5, 52pp, $5:50 (3/$13:50) from John Benson, 12 Curtis Road, Natick, MA 01760, USA. Horror and dark fantasy exploring the concept of 'otherness' from every fictional angle with stories by Jeffrey Thomas, Patricia Russo, Shikhar Dixit, Mindy L. Klasky, S.C. Virtes, Thomas Deja, and Leland Neville, plus poetry by Geoff Stevens, John Grey, C.A. Gardner, Karen R. Porter, Stepan Chapman, Cindy Main, Nancy Bennett, and Jamie Meyers.

PROBE #107, A5, 56pp, enquire to Probe, P.O. Box 781401, Sandton 2146, South Africa (e-mail: andriesp@absa.co.za); available in the UK for A5 SAE with 39p postage from Nick Wood, 22 Victoria Road, Mill Hill, London, NW7 4SB (e-mail: NikWood@compuserve.com). Probe is the South African Science Fiction Society's clubzine, and this issue features fiction by two prominent female writers, Liz Simmonds and Yvonne Walus, as well as lively book reviews and an appraisal of the Millennium TV series.

SACKCLOTH & ASHES #5, A5, 80pp p/b, £3 (4/£11; outside UK 4/£15) from Andrew Busby, 8 Woodgreen Close, Hindley, Wigan, Lancs WN2 3JW. Another fine example of the new wave of British horror magazines, Sackcloth & Ashes sports a no-nonsense but quality presentation combined with computer-enhanced photo illustrations. Fiction is provided by Mark Chadbourn, Michael Kelly, Carol Anne Davis, Steve Savile, Tim Lebbon, John Galloway, Jason Gould, Derek M. Fox, Chad Hensley, and Craig Jones, with poetry by Elizabeth Howkins, and Nancy Bennett.

SCAVENGER'S NEWSLETTER #187, A5, 24pp, $2:50 (12/$18; Canada 12/$21; r.o.w. air 12/$27; r.o.w. surface 12/$18) from Janet Fox, 519 Ellinwood, Osage City, KS 66523-1329, USA (e-mail: foxscav1@jc.net; http://www.cza.com/scav/index.html). Monthly newsletter for SF/F/H/mystery writers and artists with an interest in the small press. Market news, letters and reviews from USA, UK and elsewhere, plus Lisa Eagleson-Rover on writing Young Adult mystery/suspense novels.

SCHEHERAZADE #18, A5, 40pp, £2:50 (4/£8:50; outside UK 4/£10:50) from Scheherazade, 14 Queens Park Rise, Brighton BN2 2ZF (e-mail: shez@mistral.co.uk). A magazine of fantasy and science fiction incorporating the gothic, the magical and the mythological, with fiction from Nick Wood, Cherith Baldry, Phillip Mann, John Light, and Peter T. Garratt, plus an interview with Darrell Schweitzer.

TALEBONES #16, A5, 80pp, $4:50 (4/$16; Canada 4/$20; r.o.w. 4/$24) from Talebones Magazine, 5203 Quincy Ave SE, Auburn, WA 98092, USA (e-mail: talebones@nventure.com; http://www.nventure.com/talebones). SF and dark fantasy in a smart digest format with full colour cover, and winner of the Genre Writers Association Award. This issue's fiction comes from Hugh Cook, Leah R. Cutter, Paul Melko, Jennifer Rachel Baumer, and Charles S. Pfister, plus an interview with Ed Bryant.

THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE #21, A4, 68pp, £3 (4/£11; Europe 4/£13; USA 4/$22; r.o.w. 4/£15) from TTA Press, 5 Martins Lane, Witcham, Ely, Cambs CB6 2LB (e-mail: ttapress@aol.com; http://www.tta-press.freewire.co.uk). "Extraordinary new fiction" from Christopher East, Sten Westgard, Glen Dennis, Andrew Hook, Mike O'Driscoll, Pras Stillman, and Yvonne Navarro, plus an interview with Jonathan Carroll, and Tony Lee on Hong Kong genre cinema.

TOUCHPAPER #14, A4, 2pp, 6/£2 (Europe: 6/£2:65; r.o.w.: 6/£3:50) from Tony Lee, Pigasus Press, 13 Hazely Combe, Arreton, Isle of Wight PO30 3AJ. As well as the usual polemic, comment and reviews, David Sivier finds yet another example of SF's perceived lack of literary credibility, Patrick Hudson appeals for more responsibility from the creators in our society, and William Paul Rutherford lauds Third Rock from the Sun.

ZENE #20, A5, 36pp, 6/£12 (Europe 6/£15; USA 6/$24; r.o.w. 6/£18) from TTA Press, 5 Martins Lane, Witcham, Ely, Cambs CB6 2LB (e-mail: ttapress@aol.com; http://www.tta-press.freewire.co.uk). A comprehensive listings magazine for prospective contributors to the independent press. This issue features guidelines from the UK, Canada, and the USA, plus poetry, book and small press news and reviews, and Rhys Hughes debunks vampires as a lazy genre device.

MASON'S RATS by Neal Asher, ISBN 0-9523439-2-4, A6, 40pp, £1:20 from Graeme Hurry, 52 Cadley Causeway, Preston, Lancs PR2 3RX (e-mail: editor@kimota.co.uk; http://www.kimota.co.uk). Pocket-sized chapbook bringing together Asher's triptych of grimly humorous 'Rats' stories in which evolution outruns humanity. The first two episodes first appeared in Orion magazine; the third is original to this collection.

NORTHERN LIGHTS by Anne Colledge, ISBN 1-902628-75-6, A5, 64pp, £4 from Pipers' Ash Ltd, Church Road, Christian Malford, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 4BW (e-mail: pipersash@supamasu.demon.co.uk; http://www.supamasu.demon.co.uk). Thirteen short stories for children aged 8 years or over, concerning the adventures of Matthew, an young deaf boy, and his sister Poppy. All the stories take place in the north of England, which provides a the author with a broad palette of castles, smugglers, dolphins and lifeboat rescues to excite her young hero, and to show Matthew as an excellent role model for children learning to cope with deafness, either themselves or in others.

LONESOME ROADS by Peter Crowther, ISBN 0-9531468-1-2, A5, 145pp p/b, £5:99 from Darren Floyd, RazorBlade Press, 186 Railway Street, Splott, Cardiff CF2 2NH (e-mail: darren.floyd@virgin.net; http://fugazi.net/razor). Three long stories that demonstrate Crowther's effortless mastery of the horror genre. In "Forest Plains" the heady scent of death brings redemption to a forgotten small town; a man unable to cope with the loss of his wife in "Stand-By" discovers a way to bring her back from the other side, but of course there are unforeseen complications; and in "The Space Between The Lines" a man rushing to save his injured wife finds his arcane ability to freeze-frame the entire world carries a high price tag. Introduced by Graham Joyce, with a striking colour cover by Chris Nurse.

CANNABIS 1: GLASGOW CUNT SEZ SHITE U NO LIKE by Gary G. Graham, ISBN 1-873189-10-9, A5, 52pp, plus CANNABIS 2: PSYCHO JOHN AND SHOTGUN JACK, ISBN 1-873189-15-X, A5, 56pp, CANNABIS 3: LIFESTYLES OF THE POOR AND OBSCURE, ISBN 1-873189-20-6, A5, 56pp, and CANNABIS 4: STILL WAITING FOR COLONEL BLIMP, ISBN 1-873189-25-7, A5, 52pp, £5 each from Gary G. Graham, Crushed Anna Books, 34 Rupert Street, Glasgow G4 9AR. Gary's been rather quiet since Eros Lane three years ago, but now he's back with a four-volume stream-of-consciousness narrative that started out as an attempt to promote the medicinal benefits of cannabis. Compiled over two years, its rambling digressions and free-wheeling philosophy bear the hallmarks of chemical assistance, as do the obsessions with food, late-night TV and his 'tomato plants', but there's an undercurrent of wry humour and delightful wordplay that carries the day.

WHITE by Tim Lebbon, ISBN 0-9537000-0-3, A5, 62pp p/b, £5:50 from A. Fairclough, 38 Oaklands Drive, Wokingham, Bershire RG41 2SB (e-mail: andyfair@hotmail.com; http://members.aol.com/andyfair/motpress.html). Having established Masters of Terror as one of the world's leading dark fiction websites, Andy Fairclough has crossed the divide into print with the launch of MOT Press and a brand new novella from BFS Award-nominated Tim Lebbon. With the world in ruin and weather systems gone haywire, Cornwall is plagued with vicious snowstorms. A small group of people take refuge in an old manor house, but when one of their number is brutally killed, it appears that something is hunting them down – something ... white.

MIDIAN MAILER, A5, 24pp, enquire to Midian Books, 69 Park Lane, Bonehill, Tamworth, Staffs B78 3HZ (e-mail: queries@midian-books.demon.co.uk; http://www.midian-books.demon.co.uk). Update to Midian's core catalogue of mythos fiction, erotica, apocalypse culture, comics, crime and occult titles, together with publishing news, reviews, and an interview with actor Knud Romer Jorgenson about his latest role in Lars Von Trier's The Idiots.