Thanks to everyone for their wonderful Bad-Fic entries to the first ever annual Byzarium Bad-Fic contest!  We received so many great entries that we've decided to split them up into 2 issues -- the first batch will appear in the April issue (going online this Friday, the 4th), and the second batch will appear in the July issue.  Without further ado, here's the list of winners:

Patricia E. Canterbury - Red Storm

Val Cunningham - The Lone Tower

Gloria Weber - Love in the Hovering Garden

Kevin James Miller - Leftovers: Luncheon of Souls (The Saga Continues)

Laura Loomis - The Stars Like Flying Toasters

Donald B. Edwards - Love in Bloom

Theresa Tschetter - The Purple Fairy Squid Teaches Aiethalynne-Bethe a Lesson

Thanks again to everyone who entered!  I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of entries we received.

This leads in to the next order of business I wanted to discuss. Byzarium is going to have to be run on auto-pilot for the entire summer. I have already selected stories to fill those issues. It's getting to be con season and, between my freelance work, day job, and private creative projects, my life is about to go into over-drive. The summer issues WILL appear online, but we are going to have to remain closed to submissions until at least September.

It's spring-time! Time for asparagus, young onions and lettuces...and more Byzarium stories! In this month's issue we have:

The Sorceress of Avalo
by Therese Arkenberg
Rebirth, time-worn.

The Wolf Maiden
by Megan Arkenberg
Promises, promises.

Enter the Komodo
by Elizabeth Hopkinson
Love transcends all...even species? I dunno about that one...

One Winter Day
by Gloria Weber
Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

Silent Skies
by Katherine Shaw
It can take a lifetime to discover a civilization's past.

Submissions for the Byzarium Bad-Fiction Contest have CLOSED! There will also be no new Flash Fiction Contest image this month, because Barbara and I will be reading through the Bad-Fic contest subs. Thanks to everyone who submitted! We can't wait to read through all your stories.

The March issue of Byzarium will go online Monday, March 3.

I am still digging through the slush pile!  I apologize for the amount of time it's taking me.  My husband and I were bused to Reno to celebrate his job's 10 year anniversary, and I thought I'd be able to take the kitty and bunny free time to read through the slush.  Well, surprise surprise, the hotel we stayed at charged 10 cents a minute for wiFi, so I didn't get a chance to work on anything.  As soon as we got home on Sunday, I discovered that one of my interior walls needs to be shimmed a bit, so we spent most of the evening moving everything out of that room.  So, in short - ARGH!

Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to 2008. This marks the beginning of Byzarium's fourth year. We wish everyone an auspicious (and creative!) year.

In this month's issue we have:

The Moon is Shattered
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Sometimes the poisoned fruit looks the sweetest.

Under the Apple Tree
by Val Cunningham
Eternal devotion, as advertised.

Too Hot To Handle
by Sandra Panicucci
Not every prisoner's spirit can be broken.

There's also a new Flash Fiction Contest image!

The entries are rolling in! You have until Feb 29th to submit your Bad-Fic Contest entry.

Except for the Flash contest and the Bad-Fic Contest, Byzarium will be closed to submissions for the time being. We've got stories selected through to April, and I'm going through the slush pile. Please hold off on novella submissions, as well, since I'm reading through several as well. We'll let you guys know when we open our submissions back up!

The February 2008 issue of Byzarium will go live on Monday, Feb. 4th.

Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to 2008. This marks the beginning of Byzarium's fourth year. We wish everyone an auspicious (and creative!) year.

In this month's issue we have:

La Belle Dormant
by Genevieve Valentine
Sometimes we take our prisons with us.

You Broke It, You Bought It
by Nancy Nivling
Good deals aren't the only thing you can find at a flea market.

The Life and Undeath of Urban Fantasy
by Jennifer Crow
An article exploring the current state of the urban fantasy genre.

Commitment
by Frank Schury
Vows mean something to some people.

There's also a new Flash Fiction Contest image!

And remember, you have until Feb 29th to submit your Bad-Fic Contest entry.

We have a super-sized issue for you this month, featuring a bunch of Byzarium alumni! First up, in Tolga Bilgen's dark fantasy story Three Humors, an innkeeper's daughter dreams of her lost brother. The aliens arrive on Earth in Mark Allan Gunnell's humorous Take Me To Your Cheerleader. And in Tamara Wilhite's Repeating History's Mistakes, a teacher is forced to watch his student attempt to pass a test with only one possible out-come.

Don't go running off just yet, though! We also have an interview with Liz Dejesus, the author of Nina, a story about a woman who's painting comes to life, AND a review of the book Mélusine by Byzarium editor Barbara J. Webb.

The December issue of Byzarium will go live on Monday the 3rd. We've got a special surprise planned for everyone, so I hope you'll come back on Monday to check it out!

Happy Halloween, everyone! So, you may be thinking, what have we got for your reading enjoyment during the month of November? No horror, surprisingly enough! Instead, we have a great non-fiction article: Transitive Verbs: Language in Motion, by Daniel C. Smith; Learning Curve, a very sci-fi-ey look at what could-have-been if modern science had been arrived at via a VERY different path; and In The Home of the Gods, a fantasy story about what the gods do on rainy days to pass the time.

Also, as you may have seen if you hang out at Ralan.com, we've extended the deadline for our Bad-Fic Contest out until the end of February 2008! A complete rules page has been added to the guidelines. The top three stories will be published on the site, and their authors will receive $10 PLUS a year's free subscription to our Archives!

Thanks again, Ralan.com!