Ian McHugh
Excerpt:
The blackfellas brought the body down to the town gate in the grey of morning, when the mist was lifting but hadn’t yet burned off. There were four of them and they carried the remains up on their shoulders, on a stretcher made of branches and plates of paperbark.They left the body outside the gate, wouldn’t pass between the posts carved with English runes - couldn’t, with the dreams of the land mapped all over their bodies. They turned around without a word and jogged back into the bush, not hurrying, just because that’s the way they preferred to move.
Bio:
I attended Clarion West in 2006. My story excerpt here is from the opening of the first story I wrote at Clarion West, "Bitter Dreams." Writing it was one of the pivotal moments in my writing career. That story went on to win grand prize in the Writers of the Future contest in 2008, making me the first Australian to achieve that. Another story set in the same alternate Australia won Australia's Aurealis Award in 2010.Since Clarion West I've had stories published in markets including Asimov's, Analog, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, GUD, Clockwork Phoenix 2, and Cosmos, as well as completing the Escape Artists podcast trifecta. I currently have a couple of forthcomings in Daily SF and GigaNotoSaurus.I live in Canberra, Australia, I'm a member of the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild, and I support my writing habit by working for the Australian government.
Publications:
My prior publications are all available to read or hear free online at or through my website (below). They include:"Boumee and the Apes," Analog (May 2011)"The Godbreaker of Seggau-li," Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine (March 2011)"Interloper," Asimov's (January 2011)"Red Dirt," Beneath Ceaseless Skies (December 2010)"Rust Night," Cosmos (September 2010)"Annicca," GUD (September 2010)"Songdogs," Beneath Ceaseless Skies (October 2009)"Once a month, on a Sunday," Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine (September 2009)"Sleepless in the House of Ye," Asimov's (July 2009)"Angel Dust," Clockwork Phoenix 2 (June 2009)"Stiletto," GUD (April 2009)"Bitter Dreams," Writers of the Future XXIV (August 2008)
Writing Description:
Secondary-world fantasy and near future science fiction, all of which tends to turn out dark, and I sometimes accidentally write horror. Writing Australian stories is a preoccupation, but not an exclusive one.
Writing Goals:
Goal 1: I'll have a new short story ready for critique at my local writers group by Wednesday 6 July.Goal 2: The first draft manuscript for my first novel, set in the alternate Australia that started at Clarion West week 2, 2006, has been languishing untouched for about 2 years now. I will have a redraft completed and submitted to my group's novel crit circle on Wednesday 13 July.Goal 3: While that's being read, I'll write another new short story by the end of July.
Fundraising Goals:
I'll match any donations to me, up to $200.
Website:
ianmchugh.wordpress.com
