Editorial matters

Here Now

Sorry.

We're late again, and it's all my fault. Completely and utterly nobody's fault but mine. I've had all the files sitting around just waiting to be converted to code for some time now, writers waiting with baited breath to see their work in print. Please accept my apology: it's all here now.

By the time many of you read this I won't be in Australia, as I'm heading over to the UK for a few weeks, taking in Interaction, the Glasgow WorldCon. I'm on a panel about SF in the Commonwealth, and in preparation for this I got thinking about short fiction.

There are a lot more genre stories published now than there were 5, 10 or 15 years ago. The genre has gone from the occasional magazine or anthology to regular publications of both. We've also gone from a single set of laughable awards to two sets that at least have defined categories.

While I can't deny the genre down under has become healthier, I can't bring myself to claim that it has got that much stronger. Stories I read 10-15 years ago stand out in my mind; work like Terry Dowling's "Shatterwrack at Breaklight" and "The Robot is Running Away From the Trees"; Leanne Fraham's "On the Turn"; Sean McMullen's "The Colours of the Masters"; Greg Egan's "The Caress"; Lucy Sussex's "My Lady Tongue"; Stephen Dedman's "The Lady of Situations"; among others. I'm stretched to find a recent gem to rival these, even by writers I admire such as Deb Biancotti, Lee Battersby, Brendan Duffy, Martin Livings, writers whose work I actively seek.

Don't get me wrong, there is some good work appearing in print, a quick scan of Year's Bests Recommended Reading will tell anyone that, but I'm not seeing the gems (and neither are the editors of the various Year's Bests; the number of stories by Australians reprinted in these anthologies has remained pretty static over recent years).

Yes, we're publishing more, but is our writing getting better?

I'm not convinced.

Musings aside, this issue brings you two stories on the unusual side, one by seasoned veteran Robert Hood and the other by an emerging talent, Ashley Arnold. Both are well worth taking the time to read. We interview Jonathan Strahan, Geoffrey Maloney interviews Trent Jamieson, and we have reviews galore.

See you in September!

Russell B. Farr

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