Brimstone Press was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

independent publisher A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. However, when a distinction ...

of dark fiction (

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

and

dark fantasy Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combine horror fiction, horror ...

). Brimstone Press was established in 2004 by

Shane Jiraiya Cummings Shane Jiraiya Cummings (born 24 April 1974) is an Australians, Australian Horror fiction, horror and fantasy author and Editing, editor. He lives in Sydney. Cummings is best known as a short story writer. He has had more than 100 short stories ...

and was based in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. The first publication from Brimstone Press was Shadowed Realms, an online

flash fiction Flash fiction is a brief fictional narrative that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the For sale: baby shoes, never worn, six-word story; the 280-character story (also kn ...

magazine that was active from 2004 to 2007. Authors published in Shadowed Realms include

Terry Dowling Terence William (Terry) Dowling (born 21 March 1947), is an Australian writer and journalist. He is primarily a writer of speculative fiction but refers to himself as an "imagier" – one who imagines, a term which liberates his writing from th ...

, Richard Harland,

Robert Hood Robert Hood (born 1965) is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of the group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister of Information' with Mad Mike Banks and Jeff Mills. He is often considered to be one of the fo ...

Poppy Z Brite William Joseph Martin (born May 25, 1967), formerly Poppy Z. Brite, is an American author. He initially achieved fame in the gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s by publishing a string of successful novels and short story collecti ...

Stephen Dedman Stephen Dedman (born 1959) is an Australian writer of dark fantasy and science fiction stories and novels. Biography Dedman's short stories have appeared in ''Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'', '' Year's Best SF'', and ''The Best Australian Sci ...

, Kurt Newton,

Martin Livings Martin Livings (born 1970) is an Australian author of horror, fantasy and science fiction. He has been writing short stories since 1990 and has been nominated for both the Ditmar Award and Aurealis Award. Livings resides in Perth, Western Austr ...

, Lee Battersby, Paul Haines,

Steven Cavanagh Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

and

Kaaron Warren Kaaron Warren is an Australian author of horror, science fiction, and fantasy short stories and novels. She is the author of the short story collections ''Through Splintered Walls'', ''The Grinding House'', and ''Dead Sea Fruit''. Her short sto ...

. Shadowed Realms gained professional status from the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...

(SFWA) in 2005 and was nominated for the Best Collected Work

Ditmar Award The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise ...

in 2006.Inkspillers Ditmar Awards archive.

Retrieved 16-9-2007. Brimstone Press also published HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Web Log, a

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

and

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

webzine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to an online only magazine was the computer ...

. In December 2006, Brimstone Press moved into book publication. Among their published anthologies are ''Shadow Box'' and the ''Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror'' series. Brimstone Press produced a newsstand-quality horror magazine, ''Black: Australia's Dark Culture'' magazine which ran for three issues in 2008. Many of Australia's best-known horror writers including

Rob Hood Robert Maxwell Hood (born 24 July 1951) is an Australian writer and editor recognised as one of Australia's leading horror writers, although his work frequently crosses genre boundaries into science fiction, fantasy and crime. He has publishe ...

Leigh Blackmore Leigh (David) Blackmore (born 1959) is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist, musician and proponent of post-left anarchy. He was the Australian representative for the Horror Writers of America (1994–95) and served as the ...

and others appeared in its pages. Several stories and projects published by Brimstone Press have won, or been nominated for, Australian and international literary awards.Convergence 2 official 2007 Ditmar winners announcement (June 2007).
Retrieved 16-9-2007.
Retrieved 6-3-2011.

Publications

* Shadowed Realms online magazine, ed. Angela Challis (2004 to 2007). ISSN 1832-0651 * HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Web Log, ed. Shane Jiraiya Cummings et al. (2005 to present). *''Shadow Box'', ed. Angela Challis & Shane Jiraiya Cummings (2005). *''Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2006 edition'', ed. Angela Challis & Shane Jiraiya Cummings (2006). *''Book of Shadows Volume One'', ed. Angela Challis (2006) *''Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2007 edition'', ed. Angela Challis (''December 2007'') *''Black Box'', ed. Shane Jiraiya Cummings (''March 2008'').Black Box e-anthology

Awards

Wins

*2007

Fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

: HorrorScope (ed. Shane Jiraiya Cummings et al.) *2006

Aurealis Award The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...

, Horror short story: "Pater Familias" by Lee Battersby (Shadowed Realms #3)

Nominations

*2010

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

: ''Macabre: A Journey through Australia's Darkest Fears'' (edited by Angela Challis and Marty Young) *2010 Bram Stoker Award, Long Fiction: "Monsters Among Us" by Kirstyn McDermott (Macabre) *2010 Australian Shadows Award, Edited Publication: ''Macabre: A Journey through Australia's Darkest Fears'' (edited by Angela Challis and Marty Young)2010 Australian Shadows Awards: Finalists
Retrieved 6-3-2011. *2010 Australian Shadows Award, Short Fiction: "All The Clowns In Clowntown" by Andrew J. McKiernan (Macabre) *2008 Ditmar Award, Fanzine: HorrorScope (ed. Shane Jiraiya Cummings et al.) *2008 William Atheling Jr Award: "'' The Spiraling Worm'' review" by

(HorrorScope) *2007 Ditmar Award, Short Story: "Surrender 1: Rope Artist" by

Deborah Biancotti Deborah Biancotti is an Australian writer of speculative fiction. Biography Biancotti was born in 1971 in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Her first work was published in 2000 with her short story "The First and Final Game" which was featured in ...

(Shadowed Realms #9) *2007 Ditmar Award, Short Story: "Cold" by Kirstyn McDermott (Shadowed Realms #9) *2007 Ditmar Award, Short Story: "The Bat's Boudoir" by Kyla Ward (Shadowed Realms #9) *2007 Ditmar Award, Professional Achievement: Angela Challis (for Brimstone Press) *2007 William Atheling Jr Award: "Paraspheres review" by Miranda Siemienowicz (HorrorScope) *2006 Ditmar Award, Collected work: Shadowed Realms (ed. Angela Challis) *2006 Ditmar Award, Fanzine: HorrorScope (ed. Shane Jiraiya Cummings et al.) *2006 Australian Shadows Award: ''Shadow Box'' (ed. Angela Challis & Shane Jiraiya Cummings) *2006 Australian Shadows Award: "Pater Familias" by Lee Battersby (Shadowed Realms #3)

Reviews

ASif! reviews of Shadowed Realms issuesASif! reviews of Brimstone Press anthologiesTangent Online review of ''Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2006''Tangent Online review of ''Shadow Box''Tangent Online reviews of Shadowed Realms issues

References

External links

Brimstone PressShadowed Realms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brimstone Press Book publishing companies of Australia Horror book publishing companies Small press publishing companies Publishing companies established in 2004