Twin siblings Jack and Jaide discover they are pivotal to a secret supernatural organisation that protects the earth from marauding Evil! Portland might seem like a quiet coastal town, and their grandmother is perhaps no dottier than anyone else's, but it soon becomes apparent that the strange things going on around them are anything BUT ordinary.

It's all very well discovering that you suddenly have magical powers, but when you don't know exactly what they are, or how to use them, then facing impending peril doesn't seem like a very good idea at all...

Armor up for a metal-pounding feast of action, adventure and amazing speculation by topnotch writers (including Nebula-award winner Jack McDevitt, Sean Williams, Dan Abnet, Simon Green, and Jack Campbell) on a future warrior that might very well be just around the corner. Science fiction readers and gamers have long been fascinated by the idea of going to battle in suits of powered combat armor or at the interior controls of giant mechs.

It's an armor-plated clip of hard-hitting tales featuring exoskeleton adventure with fascinating takes on possible future armors ranging from the style of personal power suits seen in Starship Troopers and Halo to the servo-controlled bipedal beast-mech style encountered in Mechwarrior and Battletech.

Trust Me Too!, Ed. Paul Collins (Ford Street)

Ollie is lost. The world he came from is just one of many. Some of them are almost identical to his. Others contain cyborg pirates, living castles, talking cats - and now, hungry vampires too. Getting back home is proving surprisingly difficult.

Fleeing from the eerie Fixers, Ollie lands in a village cursed by blood-sucking neighbours. It's easy to take sides. But does Ollie choose the wrong one, this time? And if so, how can he possibly put it right?

Andromeda Spaceways In-Flight Magazine 50, April 2011.

(This is my attempt at an eight-word short story. And it rhymes!)

Kaaron Warren posted a series of interviews with authors concerning the spark behind their stories. Here’s mine, in which I reveal the inspiration behind The Crooked Letter and the First Church of the Cataclysm.

Ollie really has his work cut out for him this time. Getting safely to the Fixers' home world is just the first step. Then he has to find out what their plan is, seal up the holes in the multiverse, and get home again, all before his parents wake up and find him gone.

Psychic typewriter - check. Telepathic TV - check. Wicked widget - check.

He needs every advantage imaginable-and all the help from himself he can get.

100 Stories for Queensland is a charity anthology to assist the victims of the Queensland floods. Stories are donated by writers from across the globe.

100% of the profit from the sale of the anthology will be donated to the Queensland Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal.

Buy 100 Stories for Queensland here!

Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Suspense, Eds. Jack Dann & Nick Gevers

Godlike Machines, Ed. Jonathan Strahan

In science fiction, nothing says sensawunda like a Big Dumb Object—a colossal, extremely powerful machine of unknown purpose and origin. It’s that feeling that editor Jonathan Strahan was after when he asked six of today’s finest authors to write for Godlike Machines. And they succeed brilliantly!

Made from the pure stuff of SF, these unique, all-new adventures are nothing less than awesome.

(This is a "Structure" story. See FAQs for more info on other stories set in this universe.)

As ruthless apprentice to Darth Vader, Starkiller was mercilessly schooled in the ways of the dark side, commanded to exterminate the last of the purged Jedi Order, and groomed for the ultimate Sith power play: assassination of the Emperor. He served without question, killed without remorse, and lost his heart without warning to beautiful Imperial fighter pilot Juno Eclipse, never suspecting that he was just a tool in the schemes of his masters—until it was too late to escape their lethal betrayal.

Juno mourned Starkiller as dead...but now he is back, purged of all memories and programmed to kill. And as fate brings Juno and Starkiller closer to reuniting, with Darth Vader determined not to lose his assassin a second time, they will both have to make a stand. The prize is freedom. The punishment for failing will be eternal enslavement to the dark side of the Force...

Arthur J Rees published The Shrieking Pit in 1918. Chimaera Publications reissued it as part of their Classic Australian SF series to coincide with the Melbourne WorldCon of 2010. Little did I know what a complicated backstory I would uncover when I started researching for my introduction . . . .

This is a work commissioned by the Adelaide Zoo and the Environmental Institute at Adelaide University as part of the inaugural Adelaide Water Forum, the theme of which was "water is life". The work is a recoding of multiple voices combined with sound-effects that form the backbone of a soundscape welcoming visitors as they visit the zoo.

You can see the full text here, and an early version here.

Eo's Castle was just the beginning of Ollie's troubles. Armed with nothing but a psychic typewriter, Ollie resumes his quest to get back home to the street where nothing works quite right, and the sinister Fixers are breaking holes in much more than the sidewalk.

Instead he finds himself on a rescue mission in deep space, fighting pirates who are more machine than human, with a cat who wishes he was human . . .

From across the galaxy they’ve come: agents of both the Republic and the Sith Empire, an investigating Jedi Padawan, an ex-trooper drummed out of the Republic’s elite Blackstar Squad, and a mysterious Mandalorian. An extraordinary auction has drawn them all together—in quest of a prize only one can claim. Each is prepared to do what he must to possess the treasure, whose value may be the wealth of a world itself. None intend to leave empty-handed. All have secrets, desires, and schemes. And nothing could ever unite them as allies—except the truth about the deadly danger of the object they covet. But can Sith and Jedi, Republic and Empire—enemies for millennia—join as one against the certain doom of the galaxy?

Legends of Australian Fantasy, Eds. Jack Dann and Jonathan Strahan

Celebrate the legends of Australian fantasy. Extraordinary voices ... extraordinary worlds.

These eleven short novels will take you on amazing new journeys with favourite characters from the worlds you know and love.

Ollie Jolson has stumbled across a secret so big no one will ever believe him. He's fallen into a world where walls can literally have ears - and eyes, and brains, and stomachs too. The despicable Lord Wight wants to take over everything and everyone, and only a couple of kids stand in his way. One of them is still in his pyjamas.

When you're lost in a space-time continuum, getting home is much harder than it sounds.

The Tangled Bank (Tangled Bank Press), November 2009, Ed. Chris Lynch

This is a chapter-by-chapter haiku remix of Charles Darwin's famous book. And here's an interview in which I talk about it.

Invited to contribute to 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists, what else could I write about but how Doctor Who killed my naive infatuation with God?

The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters Of Modern Fantasy, Ed. Gardner Dozois & Jack Dann

Whether portrayed as fire-breathing reptilian beasts at war with humanity or as noble creatures capable of speech and mystically bonded to the warriors who ride them, dragons have been found in nearly every culture's mythology. In modern times, they can be found far from their medieval settings in locales as mundane as suburbia or as barren as post-apocalyptic landscapes-and in The Dragon Book, today's greatest fantasists reignite the fire with legendary tales that will consume readers' imaginations.

With original stories by New York Times bestselling authors Jonathan Stroud, Gregory Maguire, Garth Nix, Diana Gabaldon, Tamora Pierce, Harry Turtledove, Sean Williams, and Tad Williams as well as tales by Naomi Novik, Peter Beagle, Jane Yolen, Adam Stemple, Cecelia Holland, Kage Baker, Samuel Sykes, Diana Wynne Jones, Mary Rosenblum, Tanith Lee, Andy Duncan, and Bruce Coville.

Ros is heading for the coast with Adi and Know-it-All the camel, hoping to drop the crystal containing the Golem of Omus to the bottom of the ocean.

Arriving in Samini, a small town on the outskirts of the Strand, the friends meet Quirk, who tells them outrageous stories about Ros's 'heroic' adventures. Ros doesn't suspect Quirk's treachery until he disappears - along with Varis, Adi's kinsman and bodyguard.

Ros and Adi use the Change to track Varis down, but now they're up against the Scarecrow, a lethal amalgamation of man and material who will do anything to get hold of the power contained in the crystal Ros holds.

Six hundred thousand years after Imre Bergamasc's abdication, the Host rules the supposedly peaceful galaxy. But revolution is fomenting - and Imre's unexpected return may be all it takes to light the final fuse.

Exactly what it says it is. It arose out of a light-hearted conversation with Angela Slatter, who had lots of excellent suggestions. So did many other people. I'm not sure what value it is, but it was a fun exercise and I think the world is better for having it.

Here's the link to the original LiveJournal page.

Through the Clock’s Workings (Sydney University Press), Ed. Amy Barker

These are remixes of Kim Wilkins's short story "Dreamless", inspired by Remix My Lit.

Terra Incognita (podcast), Ed. Keith Stevenson

Excerpt from Geodesica: Descent.

New Space Opera 2, Eds. Jonathan Strahan & Gardner Dozois

(This is a "Structure" story. See FAQs for more info on other stories set in this universe.)

Hope 2, Ed. Grant Watson (first publication)

Hope, Ed. Karen Henderson/Sasha Beattie (Kayelle Press) (2011) (blurb below)

Youth suicide is a growing concern in Australia. Six people take their own lives each and every day. Each one of those deaths affect dozens or even hundreds of people as family and friends attempt to deal with the grief, the guilt and the nagging questions as to why it happened. Often suicide sets off a chain reaction, which causes family members and close friends to suffer depression and suicidal thoughts.

In an effort to help raise awareness, Australian authors are donating stories to the Hope anthology. All profits from sales of the book will be donated to charities offering help to those in need of it and to foundations who are conducting research into why our youth are affected in the first place.

Adi′s body has been borne away across the desert by her Clan, but her spirit remains Ros′s constant companion. If he can′t find the travellers in time, Adi will be presumed dead and her body cremated, leaving her a ghost forever.

But Ros is not prepared for the dangers lurking in the shifting sands. Rescued from bandits and Dust Devils by a boy named Yury, he takes refuge in Yury′s home - an extensive network of tunnels known as Dunetown - and learns that Yury in turn needs Ros′s help. His family has been kidnapped by the sand bandits, a ruthless gang led by a psychopath obsessed with treasure and power.

Ros must learn to trust again, and to overcome those who cannot ever be trusted. Darker things lurk in the desert than Dust Devils and sand bandits. And, all the while, Adi′s voice is a constant reminder that time is running out ...

Over 132,000 words of the best fiction by best-selling writer Sean Williams.

(Contains "Ghosts of the Fall" (revised version), "A Map of the Mines of Barnath", "White Christmas", "The Soap Bubble", "Reluctant Misty & the House on Burden Street", "A View Before Dying", "The End of the World Begins at Home", "Entre les Beaux Morts en Vie", "Passing the Bone", "Atrax", "Evermore", "Rare Justice", "Team Sharon", "The Butterfly Merchant", "The Girl-Thing", "The Magic Dirt Experiment", "Night of the Dolls", and "The Seventh Letter" plus notes on every story and an introduction by John Harwood.)

Purchase here.

The overthrow of the Republic is complete. Absolute power now rests in the iron fist of Darth Sidious–the cunning Sith Lord better known as Emperor Palpatine. But more remains to be done. Pockets of resistance in the galaxy must still be defeated and missing Jedi accounted for . . . and dealt with. These crucial tasks fall to the Emperor’s ruthless enforcer, Darth Vader, who in turn has groomed a lethal, nameless Sith apprentice to secretly dispatch the last of his masters’ enemies. This acolyte’s journey will take him across the far reaches of the galaxy and test him with shattering revelations that strike at the very heart of all he believes, stirring within him long-forgotten hopes of reclaiming his name . . . and changing his destiny.

Imre Bergamasc is the First Prime of the Returned Continuum, ruling Earth and the far-flung regions of the galaxy. But dissidents and saboteurs threaten to bring his reign to an end.

Ros is in real danger. His family are so desperate to save their drought-stricken farm that they′ll sacrifice anything - even him - for rain. His only friend is Escher, an unseen entity with a voice that whispers in Ros′s head, continuously warning him to leave before it′s too late.

Escaping from his vengeful family astride a stolen camel, Ros decides to try his luck in the desert, discovering along the way a power he never knew he had. Through Escher, Ros learns to control the Change, a magical force that taps into the land, the water, fire and the air. He also meets Adi, a girl from a travelling clan of nomads, who asks him to save her from a future she′s desperate to avoid.

When tragedy strikes, Ros seeks help from a powerful Stone Mage, but when even she can′t save him, he starts to question everything that has happened on his journey. He must decide who is telling the truth, and who his real friends are.

In the forty-third millennium of human history, Imre Bergamasc awakens after two hundred years to the realization that he has been the victim of an elaborate murder plot-a plot that also destroyed the intergalactic transport milieu known as the Continuum. But now that Imre has been reborn, he will stop at nothing to help bring forth the rebirth of the galaxy.

Re:Collections: The Best of Short Trips, 2009

Destination: Prague, Ed. Steve Savile (Big Finish) (first publication)

It is believed that there are magnetic energies whose lines intersect in Prague at several spots. Astronomical, astrological, numerological, and magnetic forces have all played a role in building the city—but how will they influence its future? This is the city rich in history, and full of potential—how will it adapt over the centuries to come? Will it have a glamorous rebirth or wallow in a dystopic nightmare? And what will be the role of the old superstitions in the new world? For the Doctor and his companions, the answers to these questions are only just the start of further mysteries.

Light Bodies Falling, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

Seed story for The Crooked Letter.

Not a terribly serious publication, but poetry nonetheless! More in the comments to the original contest post. This came second for "creative abuse of the English language":

She cried, “Look out there. I see Mothra!”
From the bed he sighed, “I can't be bothred.
With monsters gargantuan,
from King Ghidorah to Rodan,
this city is perpetually smothred.”

In the far future, in the aftermath of a mysterious galactic catastrophe, a false prophet comes face to face with his greatest adversary yet: a man who thinks he's god, and might very well be right.

While the battle for Earth rages around them, they face off, one wanting to conquer the world and the other to redeem it, and the victory may well decide the future of the galaxy, and of humanity itself.

(Astropolis 1.5)

(Contents: The Jackie Onassis Swamp-Buggy Concerto", "Ghosts of the Fall", (revised version), "Going Nowhere", "A View Before Dying", "New Flames for an Old Love", "On the Road to Tarsus", "Light Bodies Falling", "Dissolution Days", "Signs of Death" (original), "Love and Mandarins", "Mary's Blood", "In the Eye of the Octopus", "The Land Itself".)

The Bulletin: Summer Reading Edition, December 2006 (first publication)

Pevnost (Czech) as “Čtvrté písmeno” (“The Fourth Letter”), 2008

Concept Sci-Fi eZine, November 2008

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Tales For Canterbury, Ed. Cassie Hart and Anna Caro (Random Static)

I'm asked a lot for advice either from or on behalf of new writers. How to get started, how to succeed--that kind of stuff. I find this difficult because (a) there are no rules (despite there being plenty of opinions) and (b) usually I'm being asked in the context of an interview or an email exchange in which an exhaustive reply is neither expected nor, I suspect, wanted.

Here's a link to my attempt at a short answer that covers every important issue in as brief a time as possible. It's a LiveJournal page that contains lots of conversation, the text of a speech I give every now and again, and links to related topics.

Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 23, June 2006

Cowritten with Simon Brown.

Kurt von Trojan was a South Australian science fiction writer, one of the first Australian SF writers I ever really engaged with, both on the page and in the person. It was a great tragedy when he died of cancer in 2006, and I was touched to be asked to show my appreciation in a collection of fiction published to honour him.

The system of Bedlam has been devoured by a surge of nanotech. Believing that an artificial intelligence from Sol, the Archon, was behind the destruction, three unlikely allies begin plotting their revenge.

Human rebel Melilah Awad has fled deeper into the ancient labyrinth of Geodesica than anyone has ever dared, searching for its secrets. Isaac Forge Deangelis-former Exarch of Bedlam and guardian of Geodesica-will betray everything he believes in to see the Archon defeated. And pilot Palmer Horsfall, inhabited by another rogue Exarch, will risk her not-so-human life to avenge her sister's death.

Three Davids, against one Goliath. And whoever controls Geodesica controls the universe.

Haunted by a ghost from the future, Shilly and her man’kin allies are drawn into the snowbound mountains on a mission to save the world.  Yod, trapped by the Castillo twins in the Void Beneath, may finally be close to breaking free.  Hard on Shilly’s heels are Sal and his father, and an uneasy alliance of Sky Wardens, Panic and foresters.  The stakes are high.  Strange and ancient forces struggle for ascendancy, including the glast and a dragon with its own agenda.

If the Goddess rises from her Tomb the fate of the Ice Eaters will be sealed, and they will kill anyone who tries to get in their way...

Elemental, 2006, Eds. Alethea Kontis & Steve Savile (Tor) (first publication)

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

In the winter of 2005, after the horrifying natural disaster of the tsunami in Southeast Asia, Steve Savile and Alethea Kontis joined forces to raise money to help the distressed survivors and have created Elemental. They solicited SF and fantasy stories, all new and never published elsewhere, from many of the top writers in the genres today, and received immediate responses in the form of the excellent stories here in this book. Elemental has an introduction by Arthur C.Clarke and more than twenty stories by Brian Aldiss, David Drake, Jacqueline Carey, Martha Wells, Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman, Eric Nylund, Sherrilyn Kenyon writing as Kinley MacGregor, and a Dune story by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and many others. They created in Elemental one of the most important genre anthologies of the year, but more than that: in giving real value for the purchase price, everyone who sells this book can be proud, and everyone who buys it will be richly rewarded for supporting the tsunami relief effort.

Excerpt from Geodesica: Descent.

When the Homunculus emerges from the Void Beneath, Sal and Shilly are enticed out of hiding to help track it down. In return, the Sky Wardens will not prosecute them for dabbling in arcane secrets. But just what is this strange creature? What is its connection to the world’s fragmented history? And what is the connection to Highson Sparre, Sal’s missing father?

Family secrets and political manoeuvring, live ghosts and dead bodies ... Sal and Shilly will have to deal with all these things to discover the truth about the Void Beneath, and about the mysterious Divide ...

The Divide is flooded.  Habryn Kail and the Homunculus are missing, presumed dead.  Sal and his companions seek the source of the flood in the legendary Hanging Mountains, hoping to head off a crisis that was put into motion a thousand years ago.  As conflict erupts between two long-forgotten civilisations, the outsiders find allies are hard to come by.  Taken captive and separated, they uncover uncomfortable truths about the world and how it relates to the one that came before--our world.

Something dark and deadly is stirring in the heart of the mountains.  And the closer it comes to waking, the more certain it seems the Homunculus may not have been the enemy at all...

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Daikaiju! Giant Monster Tales, March 2005, Eds. Robert Hood & Robin Pen (Agog! Press) (first publication)

A popular performance piece, this poems combine the very small and the very large: haiku and giant monsters.

Consensual A Trois, eds. Cathy Cupitt, Stephen Dedman and Elaine Kemp

(published anonymously)

The year is 2388.  Humanity has spread to the stars, but the far-flung Arc Systems chafe under the tight control of the Exarchs, post-human AIs whose domination of faster-than-light technology7 gives them unsurpassed power.  Then the discover of an alien artefact--dubbed Geodesica--changes everything.  Promising rapid transfer between systems, it could give humans the advantage they need to bring down the Exarchs.

Now, a handful of men and women--including the VOIDship pilot Palmer Eogan, who is no longer quite human, and the revolutionary leader, Melilah Awad--are about to risk everything to unlock the secrets of Geodesica.  And what they find will be far more dangerous than anyone--human or AI--could imagine...

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Mitch? 4: Slow Dancing Through Quicksand: Short Stories From Aussie Writers Who Should Know Better (ed Mitch?), March 2005 (first publication)

Earth has been destroyed, and the natural order of things destroyed with it.  What little remains of humanity is caught between the Spinners and the Starfish, unsure whether to run, hide, or fight back.  None of the options is particularly attractive, none offers much hope for survival.

The mysterious aliens known as the Spinners brought great gifts to humanity--and those Gifts brought great destruction in their wake.  Now, the Spinners are gone--and the genocidal Starfish who came after them are continuing their reign of destruction.  Time is running out for the handful of surviving humans, their engram brethren, and the newfound alien species that has allied itself with them.  Faced with almost certain annihilation, Caryl Hatzis, Peter Alander, and a crew of desperate beings hatch a last-ditch plan--they will take one small ship and attempt to penetrate the very heart of the Starfish fleet...

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Borderlands, April 2004 (first publication)

Journeys of the Mind (Double Dragon eBooks)

Star Wars: Insider, March 2004

Cowritten with Shane Dix.

Hadrian's mirror twin, Seth, is dead, stabbed in front of him, and the woman he and his brother both loved has seemingly disappeared.  As Hadrian searches for her, the cityscape becomes more nightmarish by the second.

Figures from legend swirl around him to help and hinder.  These figures give darks hints of secret histories and sleeping gods stirring.  Was everything he ever knew about the world a lie?

Caught between ancient forgotten magic and an uncertain future, Hadrian must learn to trust in the only person he has left: himself.

Visions, January 2004

This speech was first presented at Brisbane Writers’ Festival. The title was the brief, and this is how I chose to explore it.

Click here to see the text of that speech.

The harrowing search for Zonama Sekot is finally over for Luke Skywalker, Jacen Solo, and the others aboard the Jade Shadow. But joy turns to alarm when the living planet sends a defiant message: it refuses to follow them back to a galaxy full of war, exploitation, and misery.

While Luke works feverishly to persuade the elusive planet to reconsider, the Yuuzhan Vong launches a full-scale attack aimed at the heart of the new alliance. Sent to defend a major communications base, Han and Leia find themselves hopelessly outnumbered. Reinforcements are just too far away to help before everything is destroyed. So the courageous pair must now fight an unrelenting battle against staggering odds. Whether they actually survive is another matter. . . .

From the ashes of the New Republic—torn to shreds by the savage Yuuzhan Vong forces—the newly formed Galactic Alliance has risen, determined to bring peace to the entire galaxy. But first the Yuuzhan Vong must be contained once and for all. And so Luke Skywalker seeks a world long lost to legend: Zonama Sekot, a sentient planet believed to have repelled an invasion by the Yuuzhan Vong decades ago. Deciphering the enigmatic secrets of Zonama Sekot just might turn the tides of a relentless war.

Aboard the Jade Shadow, Luke, his wife Mara, Jacen Solo, and other Jedi head off into the Unknown Regions, where rumors and clues suggest Zonama Sekot might be found. Yet the mission has barely begun when the searchers stumble into a horrific battle. The Imperial Remnant, in retreat from the mighty Yuuzhan Vong, is about to be destroyed. It would seem those aboard the Jade Shadow have little choice but to leave the Empire to its fate. But these are no ordinary space travelers, they are Jedi. . . .

Rife with hostile cultures and outright enemies, the Unknown Regions holds many perils for Luke Skywalker and the Jedi, searching for Zonama Sekot, the living planet that may hold the key to dealing once and for all with the Yuuzhan Vong.

Meanwhile, on the edge of the galaxy and in the heart of a trusted ally, old enemies are stirring. The Yuuzhan Vong have inflamed long-forgotten vendettas that are even now building up to crisis point. And as Han and Leia journey on their quest to knit the unraveling galaxy back together, betrayal and deception await them. . . .

Southern Blood, July 2003, Ed. Bill Congreve (Sandglass Enterprises)

In the wake of Earth's demise, true human Caryl Hatzis and human engram Peter Alander have but one goal: to warn the surviving colonies of a coming menace--deadly alien ships, seemingly intent on the destruction of everything in their path.  The only way to defend against them is to use the Gifts, advanced technological devices given to humanity under mysterious circumstances.  But no one really understands the Gifts--and there is mounting evidence that it is their very use that attracts attack.

With time running out, Hatzis and Alander are desperate to find a way to save the scattered orphans of planet Earth.  And then help arrives--from an unexpected and unwelcome source...

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Agog! Terrific Tales, April 2003, Ed. Cat Sparks (Agog! Press)

(Excerpt from The Stone Mage & the Sea.)

Antipodean SF #65 (archived by Pandora), October 2003

When the three runaways--Sal, Shilly and Skender--finally arrive at the remote island of the Haunted City, home of the Sky Wardens, Sal's great-aunt, the Syndic, is determined to keep them under control.  And if that means imprisonment, so be it.

But the Syndic isn't the least of Sal's worries.  The ghost that live behind the ancient glass of the city are restless and no one know why or what they can do.  The golem will force Sal to do its bidding by whatever means necessary...even murder.  And it seems that the Weavers have their own plans for the three of them--but what and who are they?  Few people believe they exist, and those who do keep their knowledge close to their chests.

Whichever path Sal chooses, it seems the price to pay is very high for those closest to him.  But he must decide...or submit to a future not of his making.

In the early 22^nd century, humans have shed their bodies to travel through space.  Produced through nanotechnology, their electronic reproductions, known as engrams, have been sent on fact-finding missions throughout the known universe--searching for signs of alien life.

As the crew of a survey ship watches, ten orbital towers are constructed around an uninhabited planet's equator--by unidentifiable, spindle-shaped entities.  Then, without any attempt at communication, the spindles withdraw.  Cautiously exploring the towers, Peter Alander finds what appear to be gifts from a technologically-advanced race, including a faster-than-light ship.  But when Alander pilots the shop back to Earth with news of the unprecedented event, he may be giving humanity a gift it can't afford to accept...

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Mitch? 3: Hacks to the Max (ed Mitch?), April 2002 (first publication)

Adapted for the stage by the University of Adelaide Theatre Guild, 2009, director Michael Allen.

Devil Dolls & Duplicates in Australian Horror, 2011, Ed. Anthony Ferguson (Equilibrium)

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Nowa Fantastyka (Polish translation, as “Lalka”) August 2004

eidolon.net, December 2002 (first publication)

Sal's life has been thrown into turmoil.  Homeless and haunted by a past he never suspected he had, he is unsure where he is running to -- but Shilly is very clear on what she wants.  She wants to find Lodo's old teacher and learn from him.  To search for the Mage Van Haasteren they must head north to the Interior, where Sal's mother was born.  But even if they reach the Interior there is guarantee that the Stone Mages will help them.

The journey over rugged mountainous country on the Old Line is dangerous and the Sky Warden, Shom Behenna, is in hot pursuit.  It will take all their ingenuity and courage to reach the Divide and get across to the other side...

I was excited to be one of the Guests of Honor at Convergence 2002: The 41st Australian National Science Fiction Convention. But what to talk about during my GOH speech? I chose to reminisce about how music had influenced my writing, and why 1981 was the best year of all (so far).

Click here to see the text of that speech.

In a world where the huge, red-sanded deserts are ruled by Stone Mages and the vast coastlines by Sky Wardens, any child with magic ability is taken away to the Haunted City to be trained in the Change.

Fundelry is a small town much like any other in the Strand.  The people have little tolerance for anyone who stands out, and Sal and his father are strangers, running from someone ... or something.  Sal is rescued from the local bully by Shilly and her teacher Lodo, a mysterious tattooed man who seems to know more about Sal than Sal himself.  And, strangely, Sal's father seems to want to say put for a while.

But soon the Sky Wardens will come to Fundelry -- before then Sal must uncover the connection between Lodo and the mother he never met, in order to escape a fate that seems to have been chosen for him before he was even born ...

aurealisXpress, December 2001

Mitch? 2: Tarts of the New Millennium, April 2001

In the Sol System, Earth is no more.  But aboard the various starships and space stations orbiting the still-burning sun live the remnants of mankind -- unaware of the danger they're in from an army of genetically enhanced warriors determined to destroy all humanity.

Renegade intelligence agent Morgan Roche has been charged by the High Humans to protect mankind from the threat of the clone warriors.  Pursuing one such warrior into Sol System, she strives to learn the true identity of the enemy, and how to defeat them.

It is here, in the light of the star called Sol, that Morgan will learn the truth -- about the artificial intelligence known as the Box, about the man who calls himself Adoni Cane, about the High Humans, and about her destiny.

For the special Stephen King double edition of French magazine Ténèbres, I was asked to write a review/homage to my favourite Stephen King novel. I chose Carrie. Here it is in English for the first time.

Joint winner of the inaugural Sydney Writers' Festival haiku competition, this haiku was displayed on giant banners across the city of Sydney and printed on a pair of Y-fronts.

Long before the Commonwealth of Empires, long before the Dato Bloc rebellion, the Sol Apotheosis Movement created a group of super-soldiers to spread their agenda throughout the galaxy.  But something went dreadfully wrong, and entire solar systems ceased to exist.

Morgan Roche had been an intelligence agent for the Commonwealth of Empires.  But she turned renegade to determine the truth about a man named Adoni Cane.  The answer -- that he was the last of the genetically enhanced warriors called the Sol Wunderkind -- shook the foundations of her world.

Now Roche is faced with an even more frightening fact: Cane may not be the last of his kind.  A star has vanished, leaving only a terrible emptiness in space.  Word spreads across the galaxy: The Sol Wunderkind have returned.

Roche finds herself at the centre of the coming conflict, as she struggles to penetrate the layers of deception surrounding the origins of the super-soldiers -- and the even deeper mystery concerning the artificial intelligence called "the Box" -- an entity that seems to have a sinister agenda of its own...

SwanCon 25 Souvenir Book, April 2000

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

Fictionwise.com, July 2000 (electronic issue of Eidolon)

Eidolon Vol.8 #1 (30), May 2000 (first publication)

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

(Cowritten with Simon Brown)

Stephen Dedman's first collection contains some of the best stories to come out of this country. The brief for the intro came at the very last minute (almost literally), however, so the question of what to write and how to write it was a critical one. Thus, with the help of Simon Brown (channelling the spirit of a dead race horse called Mark Radium) and lots of bad puns, "Flogging a Dead Horse" came into being.

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

In the far future, humanity has colonised the outermost reaches of the galaxy, and society has evolved into a variety of castes, from the godlike High to the barely sentient Low.  In between are the mundanes, both Pristine and Exotic.  Empires have risen and fallen, and the Dato Bloc has just seceded from the Commonwealth of Empires.

Morgan Roche is a commander in the intelligence arm of the Commonwealth of Empires.  Her mission is to escort the artificial intelligence unit known simply as "The Box" to her superiors.  But en route her ship is attacked by Dato Bloc raiders, forcing Roche to escape to the surface of the prison planet Sciacca's World with the help of Adoni Cane -- a genetically enhanced warrior whose past is a mystery even to him.

Marooned and hunted, Roche must protect the Box at all costs.  But what about Cane?  Who created him and why?  The answers may be the salvation of the human race -- or its damnation...

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Science-Fiction 2007, Editions Bragelonne, 2007 (French translation)

Bli Panika (webzine), April 2002 (Hebrew translation, as “LE’OLAMIM”)

RH Audio (Random House), 2000 (spoken word)

The Year’s Best Science Fiction 17, June 2000, Ed. Gardner Dozois (St. Martins Press, USA)

Altair 4, September 1999 (first publication)

(Contents: "A Map of the Mines of Barnath", "Reluctant Misty & the House on Burden Street", "The Jackie Onassis Swamp-Buggy Concerto", "White Christmas", "Entre les Beaux Morts en Vie", "Passing the Bone", "The Soap Bubble", "Dark Gardens", "Atrax", "Going Nowhere" and "Ghosts of the Fall" (revised version))

HarperCollins Voyager Website, April 2000

Ticonderoga On-Line, May 1999

SwanCon 24 Souvenir Book, April 1999 (first publication)

Twenty3, April 1998, Eds. Anna Hepworth, Simon Oxwell and Grant Watson (Infinite Monkeys)

(Cowritten with Shane Dix)

AustrAlien Absurdities, 2001, Eds. Chuck McKenzie & Tansey Rayner Roberts (Agog Press)

Cannibals of the Fine Light, April 1998, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

(Cowritten with Simon Brown)

Imagine you could teleport to anywhere in the world.  A common procedure, guaranteed totally safe.

All you need is the right money, the right job, or the right software.

So how can anything go wrong?

(Contents:  "New Flames for an Old Love", "A View Before Dying" and "On the Road to Tarsus".)

An essay co-written with Simon Brown and published in the debut issue of Altair.

Adelaide Advertiser Weekend, “Just Fifty Words”, January 30, 1998

The year is 2069.  D-mat offers fast, cheap travel, plus the potential to turn humanity into a race of godlike starfarers.  But new technology has a dark side: d-mat allows a killer to perpetrate a series of vicious attacks without leaving a victim.  Detective Marylin Blaylock is on the case ... a case where the murdered women all resemble her.

Jonah McEwen, a P.I. and Blaylock's ex-partner, is the prime suspect.  But Jonah's alibi is watertight.  He's been in a tub of maintenance gel, unconscious for three years.  Yet, in a bizarre twist, he could still be guilty.

(aka “Among the Beautiful Living Dead”)

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Dreaming Down-Under, January 2000, Eds. Jack Dann & Janeen Webb (Tor, US)

Dreaming Down-Under Volume One, September 1999, Eds. Jack Dann & Janeen Webb (HarperCollins Australia)

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Dreaming Down-Under, November 1998, Eds. Jack Dann & Janeen Webb (HarperCollins Australia) (first publication)

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

The Year’s Best Australian SF & Fantasy 1997, May 1998, Eds. Jonathan Strahan & Jeremy G. Byrne (HarperCollins Australia)

Eidolon Vol.7 #1/2 (25/26), December 1997

Bloodsongs #8, 1997

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Troy, 2007 (Ticonderoga Publications)

Hayakawa’s SF Magazine (Japanese translation)

Nowa Fantastyka (Polish translation), 2004

Eidolon Vol.7 #3 (27) , August 1998

The Year’s Best Science Fiction 15, June 1998, Ed. Gardner Dozois (St. Martins Press, USA)

The Year’s Best Australian SF & Fantasy 1997, May 1998, Eds. Jonathan Strahan & Jeremy G. Byrne (HarperCollins Australia)

Eidolon: SF Online, December 1997 (first publication)

(Cowritten with Simon Brown)

Eidolon Vol.5 #4 (20), 1996 (first publication)

The Year’s Best Australian SF & Fantasy 1996, April 1997, Eds. Jonathan Strahan & Jeremy G. Byrne (HarperCollins Australia)

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008,Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Australis Imaginarium, 2010. Ed. Tehani Wessely (FableCroft)

Eidolon Vol.6 #1 (21), April 1996 (first publication)

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

Prequel to Metal Fatigue.

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

A View Before Dying, June 1998, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga)

Eidolon Vol.6 #2/3 (22/23), October 1996 (first publication)

In a dystopic world after a devastating world war, the American city of Kennedy has walled itself off from the decline of the former USA.  Determined to continue as a functioning metropolis, Kennedy strictly patrols its boundaries and struggles to maintain the semblance of a modern city.

Now, forty years after the end of the war, Kennedy is in crisis.  Technologies are failing and replacements and repairs are not forthcoming.  It is within this atmosphere of slow death that news of Re-United States of America emerges -- a RUSA which wants Kennedy to join.

But not everyone in Kennedy agrees with reassimilation, and a series of political assassinations and data thefts begin.  As the deadline for union looms, Phil Roads, the investigator assigned to solve the killings and robberies, is under pressure.  Caught between murderous opposing forces, with dangerous secrets emerging from his past, he needs to find out who's behind the crimes - and fast.

StarShipSofa (podcast)

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

The Wonder Years, 2003, Ed. Bill Congreve, Selected Peter McNamara (MirrorDanse Books)

The Best Science Fiction of the Nineties, 2002  (Hayakawa, Japanese translation), Hayakawa’s SF Magazine, April 2000  (Japanese translation)

Centaurus, 1999, Eds. Damien Broderick & David Hartwell (Tor Books)

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Eidolon: SF Online, 1997

Eidolon Vol.4 #4 (16), March 1995 (first publication)

(This is a "Structure" story. See FAQs for more info on other stories set in this universe.)

Eidolon: SF Online, 1997

Eidolon Vol.5 #1/2 (17/18), June 1995 (first publication)

Seed story for The Grand Conjunction.

Eidolon Vol.5 #3 (19), November 1995

StarShipSofa Stories, Volume 2,2010. Ed/ Tony C. Smith

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

The Best Australian Science Fiction Writing: A Fifty Year Collection, December 2004, Ed. Rob Gerrand (Black Inc.)

Nowa Fantastyka, March 2000 (Polish translation)

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Alien Shores, June 1994, Eds. Peter McNamara & Margaret Winch (Aphelion Publications) (first publication)

(Adapted into a sci-fi musical by Sean Reilly, Cathy Adamek, Phil Spruce and Sean Williams, with the financial assistance of Arts SA, and performed as a reading in 2006.)

Alien Shores, June 1994, Ed. Peter McNamara (Aphelion Publications)

(As E.W.Story.)

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

Ticonderoga On-Line, January 2004

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Eidolon Vol.4 #2 (14), April 1994 (first publication)

Three never-before-published novelettes by Australia's rising young SF writer.

Marcus de Barrow wants to save the world, while his ex-lover becomes more and more terrified.

Beth can't stop herself from visiting an old Adelaide house only she can see.

Amanda Carmichael's daughter wreaks havoc on the interior of their house, night after night, until Amanda has no choice but to call for help.

(Contents: "New Flames for an Old Love", "Reluctant Misty & the House on Burden Street" and"Doorway to Eternity)

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Doorway to Eternity, July 1994, Ed. Bill Congreve (MirrorDanse Books) (first publication)

Daarke Worlde #5, May 1994

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

A View Before Dying, June 1998, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Eidolon Vol.4 #3 (15), September 1994 (first publication)

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

A View Before Dying, June 1998, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

The Leading Edge #31, September 1995 (revised for Mormon readers)

Doorway to Eternity, July 1994, Ed. Bill Congreve (MirrorDanse Books) (first publication)

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

Bloodsongs #1, February 1994 (first publication)

Doorway to Eternity, July 1994, Ed. Bill Congreve (MirrorDanse Books)

Daarke Worlde #4, November 1993

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Ticonderoga Online, Summer 2006, Eds. Russell B. Farr & Liz Grzyb

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

Altered Voices, 1999 (revised for teenage readers), Ed. Lucy Sussex (Scholastic US)

Aboriginal Science Fiction, Christmas Issue, 1997

The Lottery, June 1994 (revised for teenage readers), Ed. Lucy Sussex (Omnibus Books)

Eidolon Vol.3 #3 (11), January 1993 (first publication)

Magic Dirt: The Best of Sean Williams, 2008, Ed. Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga)

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications) (revised version)

Writers of the Future Vol.IX, September 1993, Ed. Dave Wolverton (Bridge Publications) (first publication)

Eidolon Vol.4 #1 (13), July 1993

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

Eidolon Vol.3 #1 (9), July 1992 (first publication)

Canberra SF Society Newsletter, August 1992

(As Bradley MacMillan)

The Mentor #76, September 1992

Eidolon Vol.2 #3 (7), Summer 1992

Canberra SF Society Newsletter, May 1992

HongCon92, June 1992

Aurealis #8, June 1992

Nemesis #16, March 1992

(Seed story for Metal Fatigue.)

The Mentor #75, July 1992

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

Tenebre, November 2000 (French translation)

New Adventures in Sci-Fi, April 1999, Ed. Russell B. Farr (Ticonderoga Publications)

The Oxford Book of Australian Ghost Stories, Nov 1994, Ed. Dr Ken Gelder (Oxford University Press)

Intimate Armageddons, September 1992, Ed. Bill Congreve (Five Islands Press) (first publication)

Mitch?: Short Stories for Short Attention Spans, April 2000 (complete & revised)

TLS #2‑3 (serialised) March‑April 1992 (first publication)

The Mentor #77, December 1992

Esoteric Order Of Dagon Magazine #6, May 1992

Daarke Worlde #1, June 1992

(As Erick T. Ladd)

Esoteric Order Of Dagon Magazine #3, July 1991

Esoteric Order Of Dagon Magazine #2, May 1991

Tenebre, November 1999 (French translation)

Terror Australis, June 1993 (revised), Ed. Leigh Blackmore (Hodder & Stoughton)

Esoteric Order Of Dagon Magazine #5, December 1991 (first publication)

Canberra SF Society Newsletter, October 1991

Esoteric Order Of Dagon Magazine #2, May 1991

Light Bodies Falling, 2005, Ed. Robert N Stephenson (Altair Australia Books)

The Aurealis Mega Oz SF Anthology, February 1999, Eds. Stephen Higgins & Dirk Strasser (Chimaera Publications)

Aboriginal Science Fiction 35/36, Winter 1992

Aurealis #6, December 1991

Dragon’s Whisper #4, December 1991