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Non Fiction needed!

Dear Aurealis Contributors (past and present)

Thank you to those who contributed non-fiction for Aurealis in 2022 and earlier.It’s time to look to 2023 – Issues 157-166. So I’d like to formally call for non-fiction submissions for 2023 and hope you will continue to write for Aurealis.Let me know if you’ve got any ideas you’d like to pitch. If you know of any fellow writers who may like to contribute non-fiction to Aurealis, I’d love to hear from them.We already have Gillian Polack continuing to write for Aurealis about early Australian SF, Lynne Green is covering pioneering female SF writers and Amy Laurens is going to dissect Discworld.

So, if you’ve got an idea for an article or even a series of articles, I’d love to hear from you.

Cheers Terry Wood Non-fiction Co-ordinator

Associate Editor, Aurealis

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Apocryphal Australia Podcast

Apocryphal Australia brings you stories from Australia’s past that are outlandish and eye-opening, tales that have been overlooked, forgotten and neglected. We feature fiascos and deal with debacles as well as extol triumphs and acclaim achievements. No achievement is too small, no ignominy too embarrassing for us to bring them to you. Your hosts are Michael Pryor and Stephen Higgins.

https://open.spotify.com/show/3koRXbW5DU1RcIigK89Rjy Available wherever you get your podcasts!
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Stephen Higgins New Album

The latest album of instrumental music from Stephen Higgins is available everywhere now!

‘A Kettle of Different Fish’ is the sixth album from Aurealis Co-Editor Stephen Higgins. It features 8 tracks of instrumental music ranging from the long languid ‘Lake’ to the rockier ‘Three Streets’.

‘A Kettle of Different Fish’ is available on Spotify and all other music streaming sites and is also available from Bandcamp!

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Haven’t read Conquist yet?

What if an army of Spanish conquistadors, the most brutally effective conquerors in history, found their way into a truly new world beyond the New World of the Americas? Conquist tells the story of Captain Cristóbal de Varga whose drive for glory and power leads him to a place from which he can’t escape and a people he can’t conquer. Caught in a war between two eternal enemies that seem at first to be angels and demons, he must choose sides. When he loses everything he holds dear – his command, his Incan princess, his honor, his God – he needs to find a path to redemption by conquering his obsessions.

This time they’ve found a New World that refuses to be conquered.

  • Finalist, Creative World Awards (2020)
  • Finalist, Script Summit (2020)
  • Semifinalist Screencraft Horror Competition (2020)
  • Finalist Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival (2019)
  • Finalist Byron Bay Film Festival (2018)

The only way to read Conquist at the moment was to take out a 2020 Aurealis subscription. (Since this is now no longer possible, you would have to buy each of the ten 2020 Aurealis back issues #127 to #136 individually.)

You have the proof right in your hands, this man can write!… Strasser is a master… enjoy and behold what the fuss is all about.”

– Jack Dann, Nebula and World Fantasy Award-winning author and editor

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Overlooked, Underrated, Forgotten 7

The past is a foreign country, all right, but it’s chock full of great SF&F titles to get us through Corona Days. Here are the latest offerings from the Aurealis Editors, complete with our pithy teasers.

  • Overlooked: Darkfall by Isobelle Carmody (1997). Immersive, transfixing, interwoven.
  • Underrated: The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick (1965). Unsettling, bleak, hallucinatory.
  • Forgotten: Out of the Silence by Erle Cox (1925). Ground-breaking, best-selling, Australian.
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Overlooked, Underrated, Forgotten 6

What better time to read? And, as such, Aurealis is continuing our deep dive into the SF/Fantasy of the past, those books that have been sitting at the back of bookshelves for ages awaiting a re-read. Why not these give a try?

  • Overlooked: The Prestige by Christopher Priest, 1995 . Imaginative, intelligent, gripping .
  • Underrated: Star Gate by Andre Norton, 1958. Engaging, robust, brisk.
  • Forgotten: The Devil’s Elixirs by E T A Hoffmann, 1815 in German, 2009 Oneworld Classics English translation. Macabre, disorienting, labyrinthine.
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Overlooked, Underrated, Forgotten 5

The past might be a foreign country, but there are plenty of excellent Spec Fic reads to be found there, and aren’t good reads what we all need in these difficult times? Try these, and tell us what you think.

  • Overlooked: Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (1963) funny, thoughtful, scary.
  • Underrated: Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (2002) poignant, touching, powerful.
  • Forgotten: And Disregards the Rest by Paul Voermans (1993) quirky, weird, deep.
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Overlooked, Underrated, Forgotten 4

Here are some more Aurealis reading suggestions, goodies from the past, perfect for pandemic reading – or re-reading. Some of these might take some finding, but they’re well worth it.

  • Overlooked: Wormwood by Terry Dowling (1991). Entertaining, Enthralling, Dowlingesqe.
  • Underrated: Deryni Rising, by Katherine Kurtz (1970). Thoughtful, deliberate, intricate.
  • Forgotten: The Sea and Summer by George Turner (1987). Prescient, incisive, Australian.