Cover Release: The Enclave from NewCon Press

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My first novella-length piece of fiction—The Enclave—will be published by NewCon Press in February 2017, as part of a series of four science fiction novellas. Chris Moore has created a stunning piece of art that spans the series.

theenclavecoverfinal

I’ve lost count of the number of readers who have asked for a sequel to A Calculated Life. I’ve resisted the pressure because the novel feels complete to me! However, last year I mooted the idea of a companion piece that would cut across the world of A Calculated Life, set in the enclave outside Manchester, which featured in the novel.

Well, here it is! The Enclave, a standalone novella. It will be published in excellent company, as follows: Read more

BSFA Announces 2016 Awards Long Lists

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Happy New Year, everyone!

I’m delighted to see that my second novel Sleeping Embers of an Ordinary Mind is included in two categories of the British Science Fiction Awards long lists: Novel and Art. What fabulous company I’m in!

If you are a member of BSFA you might keep my novel in mind when you complete your ballot form.

If you’re not a member of BSFA you’ll still find some great reading recommendations on the long lists. Take a look.

Screen Shot 2016-01-04 at 11.57.18Recent review

Over the holiday season, I was thrilled to read author Nina Allan’s review of Sleeping Embers of an Ordinary Mind on her excellent blog The Spider’s House. In her article “Two for the road—best of British,” Nina assesses both my book and Matthew de Abaitua’s novel If Then.

I’ll be adding Matthew’s book to my reading pile!

Here’s a brief excerpt from Nina Allan’s commentary on Sleeping Embers of an Ordinary Mind:

… this quiet, lovely and exquisitely crafted novel is itself a masterclass in composition … As in her debut novel A Calculated Life, the clarity and refined elegance of Charnock’s prose is a significant achievement.

Read the full review here.

Coming Soon: September Release for Phantasma Stories

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I find myself in splendid company in an anthology of short fiction and verse—Phantasma Stories—edited by J.D. Horn and Roberta Trahan. The release date is 22 September 2015.

My contribution is a near-future science fiction story titled “The Adoption.” Read more

A Conversation With Speculative Fiction Author E.J. Swift

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ejswift_author photo_bw smallI met E.J. Swift last summer when we shared a panel at LonCon 3, with David Hebblethwaite and Adam Roberts, discussing writers who cross the boundary between mainstream fiction and science fiction. Since then, I’ve finished my second novel, Sleeping Embers Of An Ordinary Mind, and E.J. has completed her trilogy The Osiris Project. Not only that…E.J.’s short story “The Spiders of Stockholm” has been long-listed for The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Competition.

We felt it was time for a catch-up chat—about past writing and future plans. Read more

Beyond The Cave: Meeting Readers at BSFA and SF Book Club

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I’ve had a lovely start to 2015! I actually left my writing cave to meet readers.

Author and literary critic Adam Roberts interviewed me at the January meeting of the British Science Fiction Association. He pitched some challenging questions, which led to a lively and wide-ranging conversation. If you couldn’t make it to the meeting, this blogpost by Andrew Wallace gives a good impression of the subjects that Adam and I discussed. Thank you, Andrew, for this detailed commentary. Here’s a brief extract from his blogpost: Read more

My LonCon 3 and Nine Worlds Convention Panels

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It’s a busy August ahead! I’m delighted to be taking part on panels at two science fiction conventions in London:

LonCon 3—The 72nd World SF Convention—is being held at ExCel.

Nine Worlds GeekFest, in its second year, takes place at Heathrow.

So here are my panels and events. Please come along and say “Hello!’ It’s always great to meet readers of A Calculated Life.

Nine Worlds Geek Fest 2014

8th-10th August 2014 at The Radisson Blu Edwardian, Heathrow.

Cyberpunk: exploring society in the corporate machine age (.net)
Saturday 9th August, 10.00am – 11.15am Room: County C&D
Anne Charnock (moderator), Fabio Fernandes, Laurie Penny, Paul McAuley Read more

Norwescon Report — Near-Future Political Science Fiction

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Social change is an important issue for me when I’m writing science fiction. When I look at emerging technologies and science research, I ask myself: What’s going to be the social fall-out from these technologies? How will they affect the way humans interact with one another?

So I was pleased to take part in a panel discussion at Norwescon 37 in Seattle on Near-Future Political Science Fiction. My first thoughts were: What counts as ‘near-future’? Does a story need to be overtly political? And, can I include a story in this particular niche if the setting is ambiguous? I reminded myself of the mantra from 60s feminism: ‘The personal is political.’ Read more

Listen To Extracts Read By Philip K Dick Award Nominees

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If you’re sad that you couldn’t attend Norwescon in Seattle last weekend, have your own stay-at-home experience with this taster of current science fiction writing.

Nominees for the Philip K Dick Award 2013 read extracts from their novels at the Awards Ceremony, with a brief introduction by the charming Gordon Van Gelder Read more

The Philip K Dick Award, His Legacy and His Surrealism

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Philip K Dick Nominees

So here we have, from the left, Ann Leckie’s representative Ellen Brady Wright (Orbit), err…me, Cassandra Rose Clarke, Ben H Winters, Toh EnJoe (special citation), and EnJoe’s translator, Terry Gallagher.

What a thrill to be in this line-up. The lovely Ben H Winters won the Philip K Dick Award 2013 for Countdown City, sequel to The Last Policeman. Ben is a smart and witty writer so make a note of his two titles! This photo was taken at Norwescon in Seattle where the award ceremony takes place every year. Here’s a full list of the nominated works.

Award administrator Gordon Van Gelder (left) and T William Sadorus (right) ceremony coordinator.

Award administrator Gordon Van Gelder (left) and T William Sadorus (right) ceremony coordinator.

Each author read an extract before the award was announced and I have to admit I’m getting accustomed to reading in public, and I definitely enjoy the experience.  The award is administered by Gordon Van Gelder, award-winning editor of the New York based Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

I was delighted to join Gordon on a panel discussion on Philip K Dick’s literary legacy, together with Toh EnJoe, Nick Mamatas (EnJoe’s editor), Jack Skillingstead and Cassandra Rose Clarke. We each talked about our connections with Philip K Dick’s writing. For me, Read more

Update: Norwescon, video trailer, Philip K Dick Award…

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It’s been a hectic and fun time since I last posted so here’s a quick round-up. First, here’s a fabulous video trailer for A Calculated Life. Many thanks to Ian Koviak at theBookDesigners for producing this animated graphic. Video trailers are becoming more common for novels and it’s easy to see why when you watch this great animation.

If you happen to be attending the SF convention Norwescon in Seattle, I hope you’ll catch one or more events I’m involved with including a panel discussion on near-future political science fiction. In addition, I’ll be joining writers talking about the publishing industry and how to find a readership for your fiction.  Read more