(Photo by David Pollitt June 2010.)
Angela Slatter is a Brisbane-based writer of speculative fiction (that’s in Australia, by the way). Over the years she’s done many things in order to avoid being a writer, including administering an MBA program and studying law – it’s hard to say which was worse. But now she’s given all that up and embraced the writerly and all it entails (poverty, depression, rejection, talking to herself, living on two-minute noodles and generally being an inveterate liar).
For some reason, she has a Masters (Research) in Creative Writing, which produced Black-Winged Angels, a short story collection of reloaded fairytales. In order to further avoid reality, she is now studying (very slowly) for a PhD in Creative Writing. During her daylight hours, she works at a writers’ centre. She has been known to occasionally teach creative writing at Queensland University of Technology. At night, she stalks the darker recesses of her (and other people’s) minds, flensing knives in hand. Except, you know, when she’s not.
Her short stories have appeared in anthologies such as Jack Dann’s Dreaming Again, Tartarus Press’ Strange Tales II, Twelfth Planet Press’ 2012, Dirk Flinthart’s Canterbury 2100, and in journals such as Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Shimmer, ONSPEC and Doorways Magazine. Her work has had several Honourable Mentions in the Datlow, Link, Grant Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies #20 and #21; and three of her stories have been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards in the Best Fantasy Short Story category.
She is working on various short stories and two novels at the moment. Novel the First: an historical fantasy set in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Novel the Second: Finbar’s Mother, a mix of Irish and Norse mythology. She is also working on ways to find more time to write and is trying to stop referring to herself in the third person because it’s just weird. She is also a graduate of Clarion South 2009 http://www.clarionsouth.org/ and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006 http://www.tinhouse.com/workshop/index.htm. In 2010, she will have two short story collections published, Sourdough & Other Stories with Tartarus Press (UK) and The Girl with No Hands & Other Tales (Ticonderoga Publications). This makes her happy.
Hey angela,
thank you for the link to your site,
richness for all, very generous!!
AND
a Lynne Green responded to one of your posts in June about first rule of write club.
She says she lives on the sunshine coast,
I would like to get in contact with her about something like that up here
can you put me in touch?
🙂
margaret
I’ll pass your query on Margaret.
Thanks for the inspiration.
I have created books of non-fiction, which are compilations of a series of short stories on a diverse range of topics.
Writing is easy. Getting published is not.
Your experience with short story writing has grabbed my attention.
I live full-time in a caravan, and tow it around Australia to destinations of my choice. I’m currently parked up in Cairns.
Plenty of writing fodder there. eg the people and the places.
Based on your inspiration I shall push on in my search for an agent and a publisher.
Cheers Chris
Cheers, Chris. Good luck with it! 🙂
Between me and my wife we would have to say this is an awful informative post that needs mentioning elsewhere. This is for 2 types of people: current writers who are considering a new career, and people trying to select to become a writer.
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Hi, nice to meet you !
🙂 *curtsey*
Is there a pub date for Well of Souls and Gate of the Dead?
Thanks.
Hi, Chana. Embarrassingly, they’re neither finished nor sold to a publisher. I am writing between the cracks of my life at the moment and things move slowly there! Best. Angela 🙂