NEWS

Aug 31, 2010
The second review of issue #2 is in, courtesy of the lovely Sarah Jahier at the horror zine Fatally Yours. You can read the review here. It's another winner!

Aug 28, 2010
The men have returned. We'd intended to have some podcasts to post, but as it turns out—like every topic on our forum—conversation topics veered wildly by the minute. Apparently we're a bunch of goofballs—all the time.

That said, we did manage to concoct a plan for our first publication outside of the magazine. We're looking at a release around the midway point between issue #3 and #4. We'll discuss it more in the coming months.

Anyway, that's the news.

Aug 22, 2010
Mercedes is in charge!

The manly men of Shock Totem, along with Kurt Newton, are heading down to the backwoods of Pennsylvania—Orbisonia, to be exact, pop. 398 as of July '09—to read, write dark tales, grill meaty things (squirrel, mmmm), and wrestle wild bears. We'll return next week.

Anything that needs immediate assistance, please send Mercedes an e-mail. And for those interested, the last flash fiction contest of 2010 will begin on Sep 1. Sign up here.

Aug 13, 2010
Some of you may have noticed that you were unable to order issue #2 for two days. That problem has been resolved. All should be fixed now.

Aug 9, 2010
Issue #2 is also now available from Barnes & Noble. Check the Shop page for the link.

Aug 9, 2010
The first review of issue #2 has come in. You can read it at here. It was kindly written by Robert J. Duperre, author of The Fall. Hopefully we'll receive more along those lines in the weeks to come.

If you are a reviewer and would like to review issue #2, please contact us.

Aug 8, 2010
So far, our new submission management system has been working great. However, there's a problem.

It seems that because there are multiple categories to choose from, authors feel that it's okay to submit something to ALL OF THEM! Please don't. We will allow up to three poetry submissions at a time, but that allowance does not extend to fiction. Only ONE fiction submission at a time, please. If you submit more than one, we will withdraw all of them.

We highly encourage reading our full submission guidelines, which is only posted on this website.

Beyond that, all is going smoothly. And issue #2 is selling well. In fact, issue #1 is selling just as many copies, so we're still going strong. Awesome!

Aug 1, 2010
And now we're open. GO!

July 29, 2010
And we're back! Almost.

We reopen for submissions on August 1. Make note, however, that our submission process is changing. We will be using a new submissions management system. You'll have to create an account, but it'll be much easier for everyone.

Our guidelines have been updated, so please check them out. And in the meantime, if you're interested in creating an account now, you can do so here. Submission categories will go live on Sunday.

In other news, July's flash fiction contest is over. As always, a good turnout, great stories and great feedback. First Place went to Damien Walters Grintalis. She won a copy of Dark Faith, edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon. At the end of the year, her story will be in the running to appear in a future issue of Shock Totem. This is her second win!

Second Place went to Megan R. Engelhardt, and Third Place came down to a tie between Jaym Gates and Amanda C. Davis, who took First Place in May's contest. Congrats to all!

Remember. August 1, new system! And issue #2, check it out. Thanks!

July 10, 2010
Finally! Issue #2 can be purchased through Amazon.com. You can find it here.

We have also added a Paypal option for issue #2 on the Shop page. You may order copies that way, but please note there will be a continued delay due to our shipment that is currently MIA. It has shipped to us, however, so the wait shouldn't be very long at all.

We appreciate your patience. Thank you!

July 9, 2010
Issue #2 is still not appearing with online retailers. Rather annoying, to say the least. Hopefully it appears soon.

As an aside, UK-based author Simon Marshall-Jones invited us to run amok on his blog, Ramblings of a Tattooed Head. You can find us blathering on here. Check it out, say hello.

July 8, 2010
In preparation for our reopening, when we'll be introducing a new submissions management system, I have deleted our old submission e-mail addresses. If you have questions about submissions (we still have some to respond to), please send queries to our general e-mail address.

July 5, 2010
Issue #2 is now available from our printer. You can order it here. I'll be honest, while we make more money in royalties from orders placed there, it's not the best option for readers.

The shipping costs are somewhat normal if a bit inflated ($3.61) for economy shipping, but it nearly doubles for standard shipping. We all know it doesn't cost almost $7 to ship a light 6x9 book. Express shipping is over $20, which is absurd. And for overseas readers...well, plan to sell a child or something because those shipping costs are unbelievable.

And don't get me started on the nonsensical estimate arrival dates, which tend to be two to three weeks! They arrive quicker than that, but it's not very enticing seeing those dates on the screen.

So why use them? Well, aside from the silly shipping costs, they are a great printer. So you're very welcome to order from them, but you may want to wait until we get our copies—which you can order through Paypal—or it shows up on Amazon and other online sellers. Soon, I hope.

July 1, 2010
Well, it's here! Sort of.

Issue #2 is officially released today. Unfortunately, it's not appeared online yet. The moment it does—which should be any day now—we'll let everyone know. I will add links to purchase it from us later today, though our shipment has also not shown up yet.

Also, our flash fiction contest for July officially started at midnight. If you'd like to participate, please see the Scheduled Events section of our forum.

June 5, 2010
Steven "Seven" Pirie, author of Digging Up Donald and all-around good egg, has posted an interview with our resident murderess, Mercedes M. Yardley.

It's her first interview—the first of many, I predict. You can check it out here.

June 3, 2010
Duotrope has been making some cool changes to their website lately. Among them are editor interviews. The interviews should help authors get a better idea of what kind of publication they're looking at.

The Q&A with us is up now. You can view it here.

The good people over at Duotrope do a wonderful thing for writers and publications, and I don't think many people that use their service understand just how much time and effort they put in. For free!

Less that 6% of Duotrope's subscribers donate. So if you use their service, consider donating a little bit.

June 1, 2010
We are now CLOSED to submissions. All submissions sent after this date will be deleted. We will reopen on August 1.