The short explanation is that I can’t afford to do the anthology the way I’d like. LuLu is a fantastic POD service and it has a lot of uses and puts out a quality product, but since it is a POD system the final book prices are high. That makes them a tough sell and I haven’t actually got the time or the money required to promote the books the way your work deserves. Nor can I afford to print and distribute them myself.

There is good news though. Niteblade doesn’t make money on any issue, but we lose more on the print versions than the electronic ones. What that means is by eliminating the print anthologies for the time being we have been able to increase payouts to our writers. Starting with the March 2010 issue Niteblade will be paying $5 for short stories and $3 for poems.

Lastly, Niteblade now has a Twitter account. It will primarily be used to track submission stats and make announcements about acceptances and all that good stuff. If you have a Twitter account you can follow us at @NitebladeZine if you don’t you can continue to check this blog for updates of more than 140 characters

A teenage couple who will never grow up, and married couples together too long. The epitome of beauty, and a dream of dragons. A unique Christmas tree, and the secret behind the Clauses’ immortality.

Seen in with a not-quite-mad hatter, and out with a wish for the dawn, the tenth issue of Niteblade brings back some of the year’s favourites. Along with tales based on an image by Marge Simon, this collection of stories and poems plays around the edges of naughty and nice.

Nothing to Dread is finished and available for purchase as either a paperback or a download. I’m incredibly pleased with this connection and I hope you will be too.

The upcoming Niteblade anthology, to be released in December, has got a title and an official table of contents.

The title was suggested by BD Wilson and I think it’s perfect. This anthology will be titled Nothing To Dread. It plays with the cover image and is pulled from the poem, “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

Table of Contents:
Dead Again Tomorrow by T.J. Tranchell
Intelligent Designs by Alec Cizak
Alien Beauty by Guy Antibes
Of Warmth, Of Dragons by Michael R. Fosburg
On Its Own by Suzanne Sykora
Whipped by Paul Ingrassia
Blackened Borderland by Peter Diseth
Dead Teenagers at Make-out Point Joe L. Murr
Dream Spinner by Robert E. Keller
A Moment Before, A Moment After by Brian Rosenberger
Unsuitable Replacement by Jonathan Pinnock
Gender Characteristics by F.J. Bergmann
Sentry by Greg Schwartz
Untitled by Greg Schwartz
Family Jaunt by Lucien E.G. Spelman
The Homecoming by Lynette Mejia
Following Rabbits by Gregg Winkler
Anonymous Advice to Prospective Students of the Northern Witch by Donny Wankan
Oh, Christmas Tree by S. Alan Fox
Christmas’ End by Jamie Lackey
The List by Amanda Davis
Bait Worms by Aaron Polson
Night Lights by Aaron Polson
And Yet The Stars Still Existed by Beth Cato
Christmas Bloodbath by Beth Cato

The December 2007 issue of Niteblade is back online (Yes, you really did read that right). That is two months of the pre-2009 archives back up and three to go. Hopefully I’ll get them up at a faster pace than I did the first two.

The table of contents for the new anthology is almost set. Almost. I hope to post the table of contents here in the next week or so, so keep an eye open. If you’ve submitted to it and not yet heard back from me, hang in there, that means your work is on the (very) short list and I’ll get to you soon. I promise.

I’ve fallen a bit behind on reading submissions. The oldest submission in my fiction inbox is from August 4th and in the poetry inbox is September 7th. I sincerely apologise for my delay in responding and as soon as I firm up the TOC for the anthology I will make a concerted effort to read the submissions. If you submitted before those dates and you haven’t heard back from me, I didn’t get it. Please re-submit.

I think that covers all the updates I have for the moment, though like I say, keep your eyes on this spot for the table of contents for the next anthology.

Anthology Guidelines

Everyone with work accepted for the print anthology will be paid $10 + a .pdf copy of the book.

If you’ve any questions, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email.

The next print anthology (as of right now it’s untitled) will be released on December 1st 2009 (submission deadline is October 1st, 2009).

You can read the details here, but take a peek at the cover.

Illustration by Marge Simon

Pretty sweet, eh?