ANTHOLOGY UPDATE

20th January 2005: Here it is, at last! The official contents list.

12th January 2005: We are close to finalising the anthology's contents at this point, very close -- just haggling over the final few stories to be included, in fact. This process should be completed soon, so please be patient just a bit longer. In a week or so, we should be sending out contracts to authors along with proofs of their stories, edited already!

The anthology is looking very very strong.

14th December 2004: Only a few stories to go before we've finished reading the last of the new submissions. We are already working our way back through the shortlisted stories and have made a firm decision on about five that are now definitely IN! I will be announcing them on the site sometime in early January, once we've contacted authors, so keep an eye out.

Frankly, this anthology has produced better stories than I anticipated when we first had the idea to do it. The subject -- Giant Monsters -- has inspired writers experienced and inexperienced at a level that is quite remarkable. I feel for all those dedicated and talented souls whose work won't get in, often simply because we don't have enough room. The e-anthology will make up for some of this, but there will still be some regretable omissions. I guess that's the nature of the game.

1st December 2004: That's it! The anthology is officially closed to submissions. We now have a large shortlist and a 6-inch thick pile of recent (and hence unread) submissions to go through... and go through again... until we've narrowed it down to however many words the publisher will let us get away with.

When we first started this anthology we were not sure we would get enough stories at the quality level we need to make the anthology really special. Well, no worries there! We're received lots of great stories and the interest level has been huge.

Keep coming back here for news of the anthology as it happens.

And expect a publication date in March 2005!

22nd November 2004: Nine days left for submissions. And are we ever glad of that! It's been a long haul and we're getting rather exhausted -- even though the intensely hard bit is still to come. Authors whose stories were shortlisted early in the piece must be legitimately champing at the bit -- it's a long time to wait to find out if your story made it in! Sorry for the wait, people, but hopefully it will be worth it.

We did an inventory of shortlisted and "on hold" stories the other day, and there's rather a lot of them. More than can be included in the book itself. And they're still coming! So many great stories! Still, one of the reasons we've decided to do a supplementary e-anthology is precisely because of this fact. The decision-making process is going to be difficult indeed -- and we're very conscious that there is going to be disappointment. This anthology has generated a lot of interest -- and a lot of passionate interest. It has really brought out the fan in many writers... and the writer in many fans. It's a shame we can't make EVERYONE happy by including their work. Naturally, however, it can't be done, though we've gone as far as we can to bring universal joy to the kaiju-writing masses.

But the result promises to be magnificant! So, keep your ear to the ground listening for the pounding tread of those giant feet! They're coming soon!

15th October 2004: Phew! It's all go. So many stories, so little time. Actually the volume of submissions has slackened off again over the past two weeks (which is just as well), but I reckon there is going to be an even bigger surge than the last one next month -- the final month for submissions!

Our latest decision involves another great kaiju artist, Todd Tennant of American Kaiju fame. We asked Todd if he would consider doing an internal pseudo cover to appear at the beginning of a special supplementary section of the anthology... and he agreed! If you don't know Todd's work then you should, so go to the American Kaiju site right now to check it out. Having a original piece by Todd in DAIKAIJU! gives another great reason for acquiring the book once it's out.

As for the special supplementary section... well, you'll have to wait for news of that one.

16th September 2004: We are receiving so many stories now, our response time is getting very lethargic. In fact, given how close the deadline is (Nov. 30), you can probably assume that any story sent to us from this point won't get responded to until after that date. We're sorry about that but, you know, we're not doing this full-time (more's the pity!) and just can't keep up. As well, we're getting so many good stories, the balancing act of choosing between them is getting very tricky! We really want to see what we've got at the end before we get too carried away...

The big news, however, is that the cover of the book is to be painted and designed by Bob Eggleton, multi-Hugo Award-winning artist. Bob has made a career out of painting Godzilla (on numerous book and magazine covers) and big monsters in general (in particular see his wonderful book, The Book of Sea Monsters ... fantastic work!). For a taste of his excellent monster art, visit his website. Daikaiju! Giant Monster Tales is going to be a must-have just for Bob's own kaiju on its cover!

19th August 2004: Still going strong, though response times aren't improving much. Sorry. Meanwhile, length is becoming an issue, so if your story is as gigantic as the monster that features in it make sure the story is a bloody good one! And remember to put a clearly relevant header on any email you send to us, to avoid being lost in the spam...

28th June 2004: A flood of submissions has opened up now that the deadline has appeared on the horizon. We're still in need of lots of good stories though, so don't give up now! If your ambition is to write the Great Giant Monster tale, this is the best market in town!

18th June 2004: We're running a bit behind in getting back to authors. Please be patient and forgiving. The process can sometimes take some time, especially as I'm over one side of the country and Robin's over the other -- and the submissions are really pouring in now!

28th May 2004: We're still collecting stories. There's been some beauties -- and some very weird stuff. Keep 'em coming! The worse part about this is the ones we have to reject for one reason or another. I hate disappointing such obviously enthusiastic people.

Spam is a continuing problem. Contributors, please remember to make it clear in your email header that yours is a legit message: "Submission:..." or "Daikaiju anthology enquiry" -- that sort of thing. And if we don't get back to you there's a chance your message was accidentally deleted, so send a follow-up.

Latest reason for rejection: plot-lines that are simply too commonplace. The writing may be fine, but we've seen the story many times before! You may have developed a unique-looking monster, but if all it does is kill, destroy and get killed in a straightforward fashion, the story probably won't get onto the shortlist. (Though if it's particularly good, it might!)

February 2004: We're still reading for the Daikaiju! anthology. Some fascinating work has come in, particularly considering that this is virtually a new sub-genre that requires writers to start from scratch in defining its parameters. If there was a single comment to be made in regards to rejected stories, it would be that some stories -- though they may include a Big Thing -- simply don't come over as daikaiju stories. The size relativities don't play a significant enough part in the story or its themes. A few times we have rejected decent stories, regretfully, simply on this ground.

Another common reason for rejection is that the monster is simply there, without a STORY to draw the reader along. The monster destroys things and then gets destroyed. This is not enough.

More soon!