News

The Summer Isles & Other Stories

My new collection, The Summer Isles & Other  Stories has recently been published by Hayakawa Publishing in Japan. For more information click here and for a larger cover picture click here.

Appearance at Birmingham SF Group, 9th May 2008

I've been invited as guest to the Brimingham (UK) SF group on 9th May, 2008. The Group meets at the Briar Rose Hotel, Bennetts Hill, Birmingham B2 5RE. Full information on the group website: www.bsfg.freeservers.co.uk

New novella --- ‘The Hobb Carpet’ --- Published

The June issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction, containing my new novella, The Hob Carpet, is available now. Click here for a larger cover picture. You can read an excerpt from the story on the magazine’s website here.

Recent anthology appearances’

My story On the Sighting of Other Islands was published in late March in the BSFA 50th anniversary anthology. You can order using this link. A number of my stories have also been reprinted in anthologies recently: The Master Miller’s Tale in The Year’s Best Fantasy 2008, edited by Rich Horton, Taking Good Care of Myself in Future’s from Nature, Breathmoss in The Mammoth Book of the Best of the Best New SF edited by Gardner Dozois (a retitled UK edition iof an earlier USA anthology) and The Giving Mouth in Steampunk, ed. Jeff & Ann VanderMeer, Tachyon, 2008.

New Stories

My novella The Hob Carpet should be published in the June issue of Asimovs. It's about a world in which Neanderthals survived as human slaves and should (I hope) push at the boundaries of good taste with a fairly high quota of sex and violence, for all that it's essentially a very moral tale. Asimovs have also recently taken another story of mine called The English Mutiny, which is set in an alternate world where the Indian Mughals conquered Europe. They say it should be out this year. Again, some might find this a challenging work, especially in terms of language. It will be interesting to see what (if any) reaction these two pieces receive in these conservative times. From my point of view, I grew up with stories such as A Boy and His Dog, so SF for me has always been about risk.

Utopiales

Utopiales was a very nice convention. Friendly, professional and well run. I don't always find such things terribly encouraging as a writer, but this one was, even though I didn't get the award I was up for, or the money that went with it. I mean, money for an SF award! Peter Hamilton was there, and Greg Benford and Jeff Vandermeer and Jim Morrow.

New novella --- ‘The Hobb Carpet’

My new novella, The Hob Carpet, has sold to Asimovs. It's set in an elaborate pagan world where Neanderthals have survived, and work as human slaves. It should be published around the middle of 2008.

On the Sighting of Other Islands

A new short story called ‘On the Sighting of Other Islands’ will be appearing, along with the work of a great many other British SF writers, in a commemorative anthology which is planned to be issued for next year's Eastercon to celebrate 50 years of the British Science Fiction Association. More information as available.

Story Collections sold to Argentina and Japan

I've recently sold collections of some of my shorter work to Hayakawa Publishing in Japan and to Luis Pestarini in Argentina.

Guest of Honour at Novacon 38 (2008)

I’ve been invited to attend Novacon 38 as Guest of Honour. The convention will be held somewhere in or near Birmingham in 2008. More information as available.

‘The Light Ages’ Shortlisted for Utopiales European Literary Award

I'm pleased to say that my novel The Light Ages has been shortlisted for the The Utopiales European Literary Award, the winner of which will be announced The Utopiales International Science Fiction Festival in Nantes, France. More information here.

‘The Light Ages’ Original Cover Art for Sale

Artist Les Edwards is offering for sale the original cover painting for The Light Ages for a very reasonable £650.00 ($1300) on his website, just follow this link.

The Camping Wainwrights

A new story of mine, The Camping Wainwrights, of which I'm rather proud, will appear in Postscripts Magazine on a yet-to-be determined date. As the title might suggest, it's about the horrors and diversions of camping holidays. Not much sex, not a glimmer of the supernatural, and only the one death. But that's camping for you. Think Mike Leigh meets Steven King on a Haven spring break.

Two 2007 Year’s Best Appearances

I'm pleased to say that my story Taking Good Care of Myself, which appeared in Nature, has been selected for Year's Best SF, edited by David Hartwell, be published in the spring as a mass market paperback original by Harper Eos. Meanwhile, my piece The Bonny Boy, which was published as a "lost" extract from my novel The House of Storms in my collection Past Magic, will be in Year's Best Fantasy, edited by David G. Hartwell & Kathryn Cramer, to be published by Tachyon Publications.

Past Magic - Now Out

My new short story collection Past Magic is now available from Peter Crowther’s PS Publishing. The book is available in two editions, a deluxe, slipcased hardcover limited to 200 copies, and a regular hardcover edition. All copies are signed. The contents are listed below. Order from the PS Publishing website. Introduction by Jack Dann Foreword, Thrasis Past Magic Snodgrass Living in Sin Nevermore The Golden Keeper Returning Two Sleepers Home Time Well-Loved The Bonny Boy Nina-With-The-Sky-In-Her-Hair

New Aether Novella in F&SF, May 2007

A new 20,000 word Aether novella, The Master Miller’s Tale, will be published as the cover story in the May 2007 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Song of Time

My novel Song of Time has been accepted by Peter Crowther of PS Publishing and is scheduled for publication towards the middle of 2008.

New Collection - Past Magic - Due Soon

My new short story collection Past Magic has now been scheduled for mid 2006 publication by Peter Crowther at PS Publishing. The final story line-up and running order is shown below. More information at the PS Publishing website. Introduction by Jack Dann Foreword, Thrasis Past Magic Snodgrass Living in Sin Nevermore The Golden Keeper Returning Two Sleepers Home Time Well-Loved The Bonny Boy Nina-With-The-Sky-In-Her-Hair

The Summer Isles
Wins Sidewise Award -- Again

My novel The Summer Isles (Aio Publishing) has been awarded the 2005 Sidewise Award for Alternate History, an award it last won in 1999 (the Award for year 1998) for the abridged magazine version. Does this second award make the story unique in having won the award in both short and long form?

A New Aether Novella

A new aether novella called The Master Miller's Tale is upcoming in Fantasy and SF. I don't yet have a date yet, but will post here as soon as I know.

Back from Clarion West

Clarion proved as intense as I'd been told and warned, aided in my case by a combination of jet lag, a cold, and a lost laptop. For all that, though, my memories of the whole experience are enjoyable and sunny. Above all, the students and the people involved in the project were incredibly welcoming. It was also nice to be able to talk about books and writing with people who "get" SF, understand your references, and care about it enough to want to write it themselves. I still have my doubts about whether you can teach creative writing at the level to which Clarion students are aiming, but at least I can be frank and say I got to where I am (wherever that is) without taking that route. I guess we all have our own ways, and if I can give people something which helps them improve their work, I'm happy to do do. At the very least, talking about writing makes you realise how frustratingly simple the whole thing can be.

New Short Story in Nature Magazine

A new short story called ‘Taking Care of Myself’, has recently appeared. It's in the magazine’s issue for 4 May 2006, Vol 441, issue 7089.

The Summer Isles Shortlisted for John W. Campbell Memorial Award

The shortlist for the 2005 John W. Campbell Memorial Award has just been announced and my novel The Summer Isles is one of the twelve books included. The jury consists of Gregory Benford, Paul A. Carter, James Gunn, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Christopher McKitterick, Farah Mendlesohn, Pamela Sargent, and T.A. Shippey.

Public Appearances

I'm being interviewed at the BSFA meeting on the evening of Tuesday 25 April, see the BSFA website for more information.
I'll be delivering a workshop as part of the Derby Alt Fiction day on Saturday 8 May. The website appears not to be working at present.

Clarion West Writer in Residence

I am the writer working at Clarion West in Seattle in the first week of July, 2006

John Fowles:
The Collector

I have an piece on John Fowles' The Collector recently out in Horror Another 100 Best Books edited by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman. It's out in the States from Carroll and Graf

MacLeod Mug

You can now buy a limited edition Macleod mug from Aio, publishers of The Summer Isles. More here.

The Summer Isles Wins Books Design Award

Charleston, SC – Aio Publishing Company’s book design for its limited edition of Ian R. MacLeod’s novel The Summer Isles took top honors in its category at the 54th Annual Chicago Book Clinic Book and Media Show on November 10th.
The design won the Award of Excellence in the General Trade Category. The Book and Media Show honors excellence in the planning, supervision, and execution of the physical and visual aspects of publishing media in all genres across fourteen U.S. states. The General Trade Category heads the list of thirteen award categories.
Prior to winning the award, the author and publisher both received compliments from readers about the book’s design. “The book itself is the most elegant thing I’ve seen in a modern novel,” wrote one Chicago book collector in a review of the tale.
Book printer McNaughton & Gunn, Inc., which prints more than 6,000 titles per year and manufactured The Summer Isles, nominated the book for the award.
The design was produced in-house by Aio publisher Tiffany Jonas and art director Patrick Jonas. It was the company’s first book design. The two designed the cover image to accommodate a request by author Ian MacLeod, who approved the final image used.
“Part of our philosophy at Aio is to encourage our authors to take part in discussions about the cover design for their books,” said Tiffany Jonas. “We tend to view fiction as an organic creation and feel the book design should be an extension of that. Since authors conceive and form a story, it follows they should be part of the creative process for the cover—and readers benefit by holding much more of a story’s essence in their hands.”