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All right, okay, hold your horses. So you want a look back over the last 12 months? Fair enough. But wait just a darned minute. There’s some news to give you. And it’s cool news too….
For the last three years, I’ve been a member of Litopia Writers’ Colony, to my mind the best place a writer can spend his or her time while procrastinating on the time thief that is the worldwide web. Run by literary agent Peter Cox, it’s a place for writers – published and unpublished – to shoot the breeze, critique each other’s work, share advice and make plenty of virtual friends. For most of that three years I’ve acted as a moderator on the forums, got involved with the Litopia podcasts and edited the first issue of Muse, an e-zine written by Litopians, which came out in May 2010.
It’s fair to say I’ve invested quite a lot of time in Litopia, and I’m not ashamed to admit it – I’ve learned more in those three years about writing and how the publishing industry works than I did in the preceding 37 years. Hell, I’d learned more in the first six months, never mind three years.
With all that in mind, it’s with great pleasure – and a wee amount of pride – that I can announce that Nemesis is to publish the first ever Litopia anthology, a collection of short fiction from Litopians. Submissions are coming in as we speak, and the aim is to have it printed (and e-booked) and in shops by Christmas 2011.
(A quick proviso – for any Litopians out there, or indeed anyone thinking of joining the Colony, submissions are only open to full members. The Colony operates a tiered system, whereby new members can apply for full membership after a certain period of time. But if you aren’t eligible to enter this time, don’t worry – we’re hoping to make the anthology a regular event, hopefully annual)
If you are a full member of Litopia and not yet submitted a piece for consideration, the deadline is midnight (GMT) on January 31.
There’s more news to let you know about the anthology, but that has to wait just a little while longer. Besides, I know you all like being teased.
So, how was 2010 for you?
It’s been a significant year for us. We finally got up and running, with the publication of our first book, the Steve Joughin autobiography Pocket Rocket, and launched this website. There are many folk to thank – and in no particular order:
Steve and his co-author Richard Allen, for making the path to publication fairly smooth and trouble-free; everyone who has followed us or befriended us on twitter and facebook; all those who have so far spent their hard-earned on copies of Pocket Rocket; the guys at IOM Advertising for bringing this website to life; and finally, my partner-in-crime, Mrs Q, for just about everything.
Here’s to 2011 and continued success for everyone.
Let’s make it a good one.
Cheers
JQ