New quarterly anthology, Murky Depths, launching September : UK SF Book News

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Aug

14

New quarterly anthology, Murky Depths, launching September

Posted in: Press Room on 14th August 2007 by UKSFBN admin

'Murky Depths #1' ed. by Terry Martin The first issue of brand new genre 'zine Murky Depths is due out in September. The mag offers a blend of comics and prose fiction as well as poetry and issue #1 features the first part of a graphic story written and illustrated by Richard Calder.

Murky Depths editor-in-chief Terry Martin says: "For those familiar with Calder's work the title 'Death and the Maiden' will hold no surprises, but perhaps his illustrating will. This is to be a continuing story with five-page episodes and heads up a total of four graphic tales to appear in this hybrid magazine that bylines with 'The Quarterly Anthology of Graphically Dark Speculative Fiction.'"

The short fiction content of issue #1 includes a total of eleven tales of science fiction and horror short stories, headlined with 'State Your Name' by recent BSFA Best Novel Award winner Jon Courtenay Grimwood. Work by acclaimed digital fantasy artist Steve Stone features on the cover.

The 84-page first full issue (Murky Depths has already put out a 16-page Promo Issue #0 with a Les Edwards favourite on the cover) can be pre-ordered from www.murkydepths.com for £6.99 inc p&p and there is also a special offer an annual four-issue subscription for £24.

Intrigued by the concept of a 'zine that features such a wide array of story-telling styles and media, we dropped Terry Martin a line to find out a bit more background info on the project.

UKSFBN: Murky Depths is casting its net wide, with a mixture of illustrated graphic strips, prose and poetry; is the strategy to keep hitting as many audience segments as possible, or do you plan to refine the offering once feedback starts coming in?

Terry Martin: "We intend to keep a broad net in the belief that we can hook a new audience into what we are offering. Initial reactions have been very favourable, but they have been from people who already appreciate all forms of story-telling genres."

UKSFBN: Do you think it's this mix of presentational forms that gives Murky Depths its unique selling point, given that most other magazines tend to focus on just one or maybe two forms of story-telling?

Terry Martin: "The mix of story-telling genres (the dark comic strips and prose stories each with their own unique commissioned illustration) is what sets Murky Depths apart, along with its obvious quality. The poetry has to be special, and Ed Norden's "I Bleed Light" in Issue #1, in effect a poetry comic strip, proves that straddling the boundaries is indeed possible."

UKSFBN: What sort of response have you had to the promo issue? Has it gone down better with comics fans or prose readers, or have reactions been similar?

Terry Martin: "Fans of each genre have probably focussed more on their favoured story-telling technique although prose fans have also made favourable comments about the strips too. Generally it seems to have pleased both types of reader."

UKSFBN: Why did you choose to launch a print magazine in this age of electronic publication and distribution? And do you have any plans to offer earlier issues as downloadable editions further down the line?

Terry Martin: "There are plans to offer individual stories online and even podcasts, but Murky Depths is, and always we be, a print magazine. When photography was invented they said that painting was defunct. Print is just another medium and I don't believe it will ever disappear entirely.

"For me though it has the additional advantage that I can control the finished product and a number of early reviews of Issue #1 have called it a work of art. It could never have been that as a PDF download."

UKSFBN: You've set a limit for prose submissions of 5,000 words - do you think this represents the ideal short story length, or is it purely to do with space considerations within the magazine?

Terry Martin: "Personally I prefer very short stories. If I want a long story I will buy a novel. In a short story magazine you need to offer variety so space is a consideration. Five thousand words is plenty long enough and you will notice in Issue #1 that only a couple get anywhere near that.

"However, if a story is episodic I am happy to serialise it and to partly answer the next question we are offering a two-part sci-fi / horror story from well known UK fantasy writer Stan Nicholls starting in Issue #2 and Luke Copper begins a new graphic series called 'The Dark Gospel' in the same issue."

UKSFBN: You've got a great line-up for the first full issue of the mag; can you tell us who you've accepted for future issues, or is that all under wraps at the moment?

Terry Martin: "Geoff Taylor's artwork gives Issue #2 a retro feel with Stan Nicholls headlining the short stories. Apex Digest editor Jason Sizemore will have a short story appearing too. The rest of the line-up and contributors for future issues is still under wraps. We like to retain a little mystery!"

Visit the Murky Depths website for more information on the first issue.

Source: Terry Martin, Murky Depths

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