Short story author and critic Tamsin Hopkins kindly asked Tyler to do an interview about setting and place in the short form, with a particular emphasis on his collection, Burrard Inlet. Her piece was recently published on The Short Story website. It is part article, part interview, and includes her own insightful musings on the importance of place, and how to evoke it, followed by the Q&A with Tyler (who manages to sound semi-lucid, for a change). It is available to read in its entirety here, and the other articles and resources on the site are well worth exploring, too. Tamsin's own collection, Shore to Shore, has recently been released by Cinnamon Press.
The latest issue of Black Static has come out in the post-Christmas lull, and it features the work of Ray Cluley, Georgina Bruce, VH Leslie, Tim Casson, Gary Budden, and also Tyler - who's dredged the dark depths of his brain once again to produce a disturbing story about (let's just check our press release here): parenthood, paranoia, nationalism, and... Scottish witches? Well, it's good to see Tyler expanding his range. We on his publicity team haven't actually read the story yet but we trust the editors at Black Static, so we can assume Tyler didn't drop the ball on this one (unlike that other story he was working on, about the purple elephant, and the magic dagger - which was way off base). So if you're sick of Christmas cheer, and want to feel a little fear in your bones, why not support Black Static by picking up a copy?
This weekend, Tyler will be heading down to Cardiff to join the Parthian team for its Festive Book Fair at Chapter Arts Centre. On Saturday there are readings from Mark Blaney and Susie Wild, as well as a buffet (and beverages, of course). Tyler will feature on the Sunday (3.30 pm), alongside fellow short story writers Carole Burns and Rebecca John, recent recipient of the Pen International New Voices Award. The buffet and Saturday evening event is a fiver, and the rest is free - so come along and kick off the holiday season with fine wine, good company, and some great readings.
