Janna is a German writer sitting in Wellington, unable to decide on just one fantastical subgenre. She writes in German and English, publishing modern fairy tale retellings and Buffy-esque Urban Fantasy, while also venturing out into reality for some contemporary slice-of-life stories. [ Web | FB | Twitter | Insta | Pinterest ] Q: You’re a high-performing hobbyist, which either means you’ve got a multicore brain or you’re hitting the Ritalin hard. How did you get into … circus arts? Like, the world needs to hear this story. A: I’ll go with the multicore brain. I mean, no one looked at my brain yet, so it might as well be true. In any way it does feel like I have some sort of superpower, which is being able to complete tasks almost twice as fast as everyone else, which in Read More …

Depending on the weather and the alignment with The Void, AJ Fitzwater is 1000 tiny unicorns in a blazer, velociraptors peddling furiously inside a three piece suit, a dragon in a meat suit, or a capybara in Ten’s trenchcoat. They write from their secret lair in Christchurch, New Zealand. Their ability to word was well moulded by the Clarion workshop in 2014, and has been celebrated by two Sir Julius Vogel Awards. You’ll find their stories in venues of repute such as Clarkesworld, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer Magazine, Giganotosaurus, and GlitterShip. The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper from Queen of Swords Press will be out April 6, and No Man’s Land from Paper Road Press June 8. @AJFitzwater. Q: You and I share a love for Fury Road, because Furiosa, right? But I want to dig a little deeper into Read More …

Melanie Harding-Shaw is a speculative fiction writer, policy geek, and mother-of-three from Wellington, New Zealand. Her short fiction has been published all over the place, including at Daily Science Fiction, The Arcanist, and newsroom. Her slightly longer fiction is available as a series of novelettes on Amazon and Book Depository. [ Would She Be Gone | Web | Twitter | FB ] Q: You’re a living, breathing Worldcon bible at the moment. You’ve managed to wrangle an exceptional scholarship programme. How’d you manage this? How can people get involved and/or apply? A: Lol. I’m not religious, but I love the idea of being a living, breathing book! The great thing about Worldcon is you don’t have to take my proselytising on faith. It’s the 78th time the convention has been held and you can already see a bunch of exciting Read More …

Andi C. Buchanan lives among streams and faultlines, just north of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. Winner of a Sir Julius Vogel Award for their short story “Girls Who Do Not Drown” (Apex, 2018), their fiction is also published or forthcoming in Fireside, Kaleidotrope, Glittership, and more. Their 2019 novella From a Shadow Grave (Paper Road Press) uses a historical murder as a launching point into narratives of multiple possible futures, deploying urban fantasy, historical fiction, time travel and more. You can find Andi on Twitter @andicbuchanan, at www.andicbuchanan.org, or insta. Q: You’ve adopted two snails, Laon and Cythna. I’m not sure if I want to put my hand in this fire, but: what? A: Laon and Cythna are my blue mystery snails who occupy a very comfy tank next to my desk. Their names are a SHELLey joke, but frankly Read More …

Sascha Stronach is a creature of unknown origin, said to dwell somewhere in the forests of the Wellington region. He is an exceptionally hairy hominid, believed to be a distant relative of mankind. Every year, hunters gather at the top of Ohiro Road for “StronaChon” and sell plush animals and cheap beer before charging into the park, whereupon they spend a pleasant afternoon accidentally tranquilising each other. His first novel, The Dawnhounds, was found in a small shrine made of sticks and castoff cans of VB. A team at Victoria University have stated it was in “remarkable condition”, and have passed it onto the experts at Unity Books for further study. [ The Dawnhounds | Twitter | Insta | Bonus Twitter ] Q: You help an author co-op in our fair city. How did you come to be a part Read More …

Isa Pearl Ritchie is a Wellington-based writer. As a child, she loved creating imaginary worlds. She grew up in the Waikato as a Pākehā child in a bicultural family, and Te Reo Māori was her first written language. She has completed a PhD on food sovereignty in Aotearoa. Her second novel, Fishing for Māui, was selected as one of the top books of 2018 in the New Zealand Listener and was a finalist in the NZ Booklovers Award for Best Adult Fiction Book 2019. Into the Labyrinth is her second book for young readers and is a follow-up to 2019’s Awa and the Dreamrealm. [ Web | Twitter | Insta | FB ] Q: You’ve described yourself as a recovering academic. Is this a kind of sickness, an addiction like alcoholism, or something else? Is there hope for long-term remission? Read More …

We’re meeting new people, and unlike parties where it’s awkward, you can do this from your desk, drinking rum, and wearing your best underwear. Here’s what’s coming: Isa Pearl Ritchie Sascha Stronach Andi C. Buchanan Melanie Harding-Shaw A.J. Fitzwater [BONUS] Janna Ruth We’re talking books, murder, and Disneyland. What’s not to like?