Ian Whates
Author and Editor
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2006
- Messages
- 1,613
When I first joined the Chrons, back in 2006, I neglected to post anything in 'Introductions', not even realising that part of the forums existed until I'd been here for a while. It seems a little odd to be introducing myself at this late date, but now that I've been allocated my own sub-forum, it occurs to me there may be people scratching their heads and asking, "Ian who?"
So, here we go. Essentially, I'm an author, editor and publisher, having thrown in the day job a year or so before joining the Chrons in order to pursue my ambition to be a writer. To enlarge on the three job titles I've just declared...
Author: To date (as of October 2010), I've had around 40 short stories published in a variety of magazines, anthologies and webzines. These include two in the prestigious science journal Nature (the same venue in which Crick and Watson announced their discovery of the structure of DNA, for example) and two, "The Gift of Joy" (2007) and "The Assistant" (2009) which have been shortlisted for BSFA awards. Many of these are now available in my first collection The Gift of Joy (2009).
2010 has seen the release of my first two novels via two different publishers, each the beginning of a sequence. City of Dreams and Nightmare (Angry Robot, March 2010) is an urban fantasy with strong steampunk and SF elements, and is set in the towering metropolis of Thaiburley, the City of 100 rows. The Noise Within (Solaris, May 2010) is space opera, set in the far future when man has colonised the stars. Sequels to both novels will be released in early 2011.
I've also had published a number of non-fiction pieces, most recently contributing to PS Publishing's Cinema Futura, edited by Mark Morris.
Editor: I've been responsible for editing all of NewCon Press' releases to date (9 anthologies, 5 novels and novellas, 2 single author collections and 1 collaborative story). I also edited the BSFA's Matrix magazine and oversaw it's progression from a print magazine to online publication. With Ian Watson, I co-edited The Mammoth Book of Alternate Histories (which has received largely glowing reviews on Amazon UK and damning ones on Amazon.com... go figure!?) and we're about to embark on a second Mammoth title. I've recently been commissioned to edit the first in a major new SF anthology series to be released in the UK and USA, which I'll say more on elsewhere.
Publisher: In 2006 I established independent publisher NewCon Press... quite by accident. Honest. My intention was to publish a single book, an anthology called Time Pieces, as a fund raiser and leave it there. Never having edited or published anything in my life before, this proved a very steep learning curve. I got such a huge buzz on seeing the finished book and thinking 'I did that' (somehow all the stress, traumas and mishaps were instantly forgotten) that I decided to do another. The rest, as they say, is history.
NewCon Press won it's first award with that very first publication, and has continued to collect accolades for the books' contents and covers ever since, culmination this year in a 'Best Publisher' Award from the European Science Fiction Association. Something of which I'm both amazed and extremely proud.
That's it for now... that's me. Ehm... hello.
So, here we go. Essentially, I'm an author, editor and publisher, having thrown in the day job a year or so before joining the Chrons in order to pursue my ambition to be a writer. To enlarge on the three job titles I've just declared...
Author: To date (as of October 2010), I've had around 40 short stories published in a variety of magazines, anthologies and webzines. These include two in the prestigious science journal Nature (the same venue in which Crick and Watson announced their discovery of the structure of DNA, for example) and two, "The Gift of Joy" (2007) and "The Assistant" (2009) which have been shortlisted for BSFA awards. Many of these are now available in my first collection The Gift of Joy (2009).
2010 has seen the release of my first two novels via two different publishers, each the beginning of a sequence. City of Dreams and Nightmare (Angry Robot, March 2010) is an urban fantasy with strong steampunk and SF elements, and is set in the towering metropolis of Thaiburley, the City of 100 rows. The Noise Within (Solaris, May 2010) is space opera, set in the far future when man has colonised the stars. Sequels to both novels will be released in early 2011.
I've also had published a number of non-fiction pieces, most recently contributing to PS Publishing's Cinema Futura, edited by Mark Morris.
Editor: I've been responsible for editing all of NewCon Press' releases to date (9 anthologies, 5 novels and novellas, 2 single author collections and 1 collaborative story). I also edited the BSFA's Matrix magazine and oversaw it's progression from a print magazine to online publication. With Ian Watson, I co-edited The Mammoth Book of Alternate Histories (which has received largely glowing reviews on Amazon UK and damning ones on Amazon.com... go figure!?) and we're about to embark on a second Mammoth title. I've recently been commissioned to edit the first in a major new SF anthology series to be released in the UK and USA, which I'll say more on elsewhere.
Publisher: In 2006 I established independent publisher NewCon Press... quite by accident. Honest. My intention was to publish a single book, an anthology called Time Pieces, as a fund raiser and leave it there. Never having edited or published anything in my life before, this proved a very steep learning curve. I got such a huge buzz on seeing the finished book and thinking 'I did that' (somehow all the stress, traumas and mishaps were instantly forgotten) that I decided to do another. The rest, as they say, is history.
NewCon Press won it's first award with that very first publication, and has continued to collect accolades for the books' contents and covers ever since, culmination this year in a 'Best Publisher' Award from the European Science Fiction Association. Something of which I'm both amazed and extremely proud.
That's it for now... that's me. Ehm... hello.
