Fantasy Short Stories is a new publication established with the aim of publishing the best short stories in Heroic, Epic, and High Fantasy, and with plenty of Swords and Sorcery thrown in. The publisher states: “Although many of our authors may be unknown to you, we aim to set high standards for publication, and to discover some great new talent in the world of fantasy fiction.

Fantasy Short Stories will provide a safe haven for all lovers of proper fantasy: we wave garlic maces in the face of all urban vampires. If you want tales of magic, dragons and sword-play then Fantasy Short Stories is for you. We love the work of writers such as George R.R. Martin, Michael Moorcock, Lord Dunsany, J.R.R. Tolkien, Gene Wolfe, Jack Vance, Roger Zelazny, Joe Abercrombie, Ursula Le Guin, Robin Hobb and David Gemmell, and hope that you do too.”

The stories contained in Fantasy Short Stories Issue 1 are described HERE. Fantasy Short Stories Issue 1 is available on Smashwords for $4.99; via Amazon for Kindle, and Amazon.co.uk.

If you would like to contribute to Fantasy Short Stories, they are looking for fantasy stories up to 10,000 words, offering token payments of $10. Guidelines HERE.

‘Zeno Agency is now representing US author Ian Tregillis in the UK, Commonwealth and translation markets on behalf of his head agent Kay McCauley at  Pimlico/Aureous Inc in New York.

Rights to Ian’s Milkweed Trilogy – comprising of Bitter Seeds, The Coldest War and Necessary Evil – have been acquired by Orbit in a deal negotiated by John Berlyne.

This alternative version of 20th-century events sees Nazis engineering scientifically-enhanced supermen with powers of telekinesis, invisibility and fire-manipulation, whilst British troops resort to dark magic and even darker tactics to hold back the German invasion. The novel has received widespread praise since its release in the US last year, being described by Cory Doctorow as having “a white-knuckle plot, beautiful descriptions, and complex characters” and leading George R. R. Martin to dub Tregillis “a major talent.”

Orbit Commissioning Editor Anna Gregson says “We’re delighted to have acquired this thrillingly sinister, clever and compelling tale that melds real-life events with occult forces and weird science. Its vivid atmosphere and supernatural twist make this a deeply mesmerising and entertaining novel, with great appeal for any fans of alternate histories, dark fantasy and superhero comics. Think Inglourious Basterds crossed with X-Men!”.

Bitter Seeds is scheduled for publication in December 2012, with the second and third titles following respectively in February and April 2013.’