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Grant Stone’s fiction has been published all over the place, including Strange Horizons, Shimmer, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine and Island. He is a two-time recipient of the Sir Julius Vogel Award and has appeared in several year’s best anthologies.
His novella The Last is available from Paper Road Press. Everything Is Fine, a collection of his shorter work is available on Amazon.
Grant lives in Auckland and spends far too long fighting with his 3D printer. https://grant-stone.com/
1. Tell us about your recent publications/projects?
I know I’m skipping ahead a couple of questions, but if you’re wondering where to start with Kiwi speculative fiction, Year’s Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction & Fantasy, edited by Marie Hodgkinson is the place. My story “A Brighter Future” is included and I’m fiercely proud to be in such great company.
I’ve mainly published short stories in the past, but I’ve been working on a number of larger projects over the past year or so. I have no idea when anyone’s going to see them, but each one has brought me joy and heartbreak in equal measure for quite a while.
2. What has been the best publishing or SF community experience of your career so far?
The best thing about the SF community is – the SF community. I’m an introvert by nature, but getting together with fellow writers and fans is fantastic. I’ve served on the committees behind several New Zealand Science Fiction conventions and I’m currently one tiny cog in the epic machine that is CoNZealand.
Last year’s NZ Convention was Geysercon in Rotorua. A particular high point was helping to run an epic role-playing game. I was one of the DMs for a game that spanned three tables, multiple sessions and far more explosions than you’d expect. The players ranged from veterans to people who had never picked up a D20 before. It was a huge, chaotic challenge, and if I get the chance, I’ll do it again.
3. Which recent Australian/NZ work would you recommend to international fans interested in expanding their Antipodean spec fic knowledge?
Andi Buchanan’s From a Shadow Grave is absolutely spectacular. I don’t want to say too much more – I think it’s the kind of tale you’re best to approach knowing nothing at all. But it’s a story that’s far larger on the inside and I suspect the opening section will stay with me for a long time.
“Joy is a form of resistance”, A.J. Fitzwater writes in the introduction to The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper and then proceeds to tell stories so full of joy you can’t help but smile. I know, you’ve probably read thousands of stories about dapper lesbian capybara pirates before. But make time for Cinrak. It’s winter in this part of the world and we need all the sunshine we can get.
Australian SF Snapshot Project 