SNAFU | Author, editor, caffeine-addict, wannabe ninja

With the launch of SNAFU: PUNK’D just weeks away, Cohesion Press would like to take this opportunity to not just thank our authors but to shout their names from the rooftops. As such, in the lead up to publication, we’ll be promoting our storytellers with an author spotlight that not only gives you insight into their imaginariums (brace, brace, brace!) and a tease of their story but promotes their other writerly exploits as well.

So to kick-off this promotional party… <raises bullhorn>… please welcome ALAN BAXTER to the stage!

Alan Baxter is a multi-award-winning author who This Is Horror podcast called “Australia’s master of literary darkness” and the Talking Scared podcast dubbed “The Lord of Weird Australia.” He’s also a martial artist, a whisky-soaked swear monkey, and dog lover.

He has penned many a SNAFU tale, and one of those—In Vaulted Halls Entombed—appeared in season 3 of Tim Miller’s Emmy-winning animated series Love Death + Robots. Think monsters, elder gods, and much weaponry… and horror. There is much horror.

For SNAFU: Punk’d, Alan has breached the cyberpunk network with his gritty tale, CLEAN-UP CREW: Someone’s gotta do the dirty work…

You can find Alan online at: www.alanbaxter.com.au, and his socials here: https://linktr.ee/alanbaxter

Keep an eye out for our next author spotlight. Coming soon to a theatre near you…

First, I want to give a shout-out to all the authors who subbed to SNAFU: Dead or Alive. *SHOUT-OUT TO ALL THE AUTHORS!*

Penning a story is an accomplishment in and of itself, and something for which you should be immensely proud. Sending said story out in the world can sometimes be a terrifying thing, but send it out you did and I am truly thankful for having read some great stories. But as is the way with slush, cuts need to be made. The first round of rejections have started going out, and if you’re on the receiving end of one of those, know that I read your story in full and appreciated the effort and time that went into sending us your work. Thank you. Thank you for showcasing the talents of the authors in this writing community. Keep up the amazing work!

Which brings me to the next round of the slush process: longlist.

Over the next week or so, all stories that have made it through to the longlist will be read again, and from this a shortlist will be made. While this may seem like a tedious process, it’s the process that works for me. It’s a lot of reading, it’s a lot of note-taking, it’s a lot of angst. Stories don’t just have to grab me by my ear and drag me in but curating an anthology requires stories to work together to make a kick-arse whole, and I don’t take this responsibility lightly.

As I move through the longlist-to-shortlist, the process does become quicker as the stories cement in my mind and the ToC starts to take shape.

Part of this process does mean that I’ll have to reject excellent stories, and that’s always a difficult and painful part of curating anthologies. It really is the shittest of shittest parts of the process—every editor will tell you the same.

So if you find yourself on the receiving end of a rejection, please know you wrote a great story, and keep on putting pen to paper… or fingers to keyboard. You are the reason publications can keep putting out anthologies.

For those of you who have moved through to the longlist, bear with me as I work through—you haven’t made this easy!

Thanks again to all the authors who subbed to Cohesion Press. You rock!