Shane Jiraiya Cummings
Encyclopedia
Shane Jiraiya Cummings (born 24 April 1974, Sydney
, Australia
) is an Australian horror
short story
writer
and editor
. He lives in Perth, Western Australia
with his partner Angela Challis. Born Shane Cummings, he has used "Jiraiya
" as his part of his legal name since his Iga-ryu Ninjutsu and Sports Chanbara sensei
Kazuo "Crando" Saito bestowed the name to him in the early 1990s.
Cummings is a member of the Australian Horror Writers Association
, the Horror Writers Association
(US), and a graduate of the Clarion South writers workshop (2005). He has had more than sixty short stories published in Australia, USA, and Europe, and his stories have been translated into Spanish, Polish, and French.
In 2004, Cummings co-founded Australian independent publisher Brimstone Press
and Shadowed Realms
online magazine with partner Angela Challis. In 2005, Cummings founded HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Blog
, a news and review blog. He has edited the fiction anthologies Shadow Box, Black Box, Robots and Time, and Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2006 edition, and the co-edited the magazines Midnight Echo (issue 2) and Black: Australian Dark Culture.
Cummings has won two Ditmar Awards and has been nominated for more than twenty other genre awards for his writing and editing including Spain's Premio Ignotus
.
In 2007, Cummings was the Convenor of the Horror judging panel in the Aurealis Awards. He was a judge for the Australian Shadows Award
in 2007 and 2008. Cummings continued on with the Australian Shadows Award as Director from 2009.
Shane Jiraiya Cummings served as Vice President of the Australian Horror Writers Association
from September 2008 to Sept 2010 .
Cummings self-published seven e-books simultaneously in January 2011.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) is an Australian horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
. He lives in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
with his partner Angela Challis. Born Shane Cummings, he has used "Jiraiya
Jiraiya
Jiraiya , the title character of the Japanese folktale Jiraiya Gōketsu Monogatari , is a ninja who uses shapeshifting magic to morph into a gigantic toad. The heir of a powerful clan in Kyūshū of the same name, Jiraiya fell in love with Tsunade, a beautiful young princess who masters snail magic...
" as his part of his legal name since his Iga-ryu Ninjutsu and Sports Chanbara sensei
Sensei
' is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another." In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher," and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority...
Kazuo "Crando" Saito bestowed the name to him in the early 1990s.
Cummings is a member of the Australian Horror Writers Association
Australian Horror Writers Association
The Australian Horror Writers Association is a non-profit organisation that commenced in 2003 with the goal of providing a unified voice and sense of community for Australian writers of dark fiction and to further the development of dark fiction in Australia.-History:The AHWA built to some extent...
, the Horror Writers Association
Horror Writers Association
The Horror Writers Association is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark Fantasy writers. It was formed in the 1980s with the help of many of the field's greats, including Joe Lansdale, Robert...
(US), and a graduate of the Clarion South writers workshop (2005). He has had more than sixty short stories published in Australia, USA, and Europe, and his stories have been translated into Spanish, Polish, and French.
In 2004, Cummings co-founded Australian independent publisher Brimstone Press
Brimstone Press
Brimstone Press was an Australian independent publisher of dark fiction . Brimstone Press was established in 2004 by Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings and was based in Western Australia....
and Shadowed Realms
Shadowed Realms
Shadowed Realms was a dark flash fiction online magazine produced by Australian independent publisher Brimstone Press and edited by Angela Challis. A number of stories published in Shadowed Realms have won, or been nominated for, several speculative fiction awards. -Publication history:The first...
online magazine with partner Angela Challis. In 2005, Cummings founded HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Blog
HorrorScope (webzine)
HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Web Log is a news and review webzine dedicated to horror literature and movies. The zine was created by Australian independent publisher Brimstone Press in August 2005...
, a news and review blog. He has edited the fiction anthologies Shadow Box, Black Box, Robots and Time, and Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2006 edition, and the co-edited the magazines Midnight Echo (issue 2) and Black: Australian Dark Culture.
Cummings has won two Ditmar Awards and has been nominated for more than twenty other genre awards for his writing and editing including Spain's Premio Ignotus
Premio Ignotus
Premios Ignotus are annual Spanish literary awards that were created in 1991 by the Asociación Española de Fantasía, Ciencia Ficción y Terror . The awards, which are in the genres of science fiction and fantasy, are voted on by members of Hispacon, the national science fiction convention of Spain...
.
In 2007, Cummings was the Convenor of the Horror judging panel in the Aurealis Awards. He was a judge for the Australian Shadows Award
Australian Shadows Award
The Australian Shadows Award is an annual literary award established by the Australian Horror Writers Association in 2005 to honour the best published work of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian...
in 2007 and 2008. Cummings continued on with the Australian Shadows Award as Director from 2009.
Shane Jiraiya Cummings served as Vice President of the Australian Horror Writers Association
Australian Horror Writers Association
The Australian Horror Writers Association is a non-profit organisation that commenced in 2003 with the goal of providing a unified voice and sense of community for Australian writers of dark fiction and to further the development of dark fiction in Australia.-History:The AHWA built to some extent...
from September 2008 to Sept 2010 .
Cummings self-published seven e-books simultaneously in January 2011.
Books
- Requiem for the Burning God, 2011.
- The Smoke Dragon, 2011.
- Apocrypha Sequence: Deviance, 2011.
- Apocrypha Sequence: Divinity, 2011.
- Apocrypha Sequence: Inferno, 2011.
- Apocrypha Sequence: Insanity, 2011.
- Shards (e-book edition), 2011.
- Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves, Damnation Books, 2009. ISBN 978-1-6157205-5-2
- Shards: Damned and Burning (illustrated by Andrew J McKiernanAndrew J McKiernanAndrew J McKiernan is an Australian speculative fiction writer and Illustrator. He currently lives on the Central Coast with his wife and two children....
), Brimstone PressBrimstone PressBrimstone Press was an Australian independent publisher of dark fiction . Brimstone Press was established in 2004 by Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings and was based in Western Australia....
, 2009 - Shards (illustrated by Andrew J McKiernan), Brimstone Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-9805677-2-4
Publications Edited
- HorrorScopeHorrorScope (webzine)HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Web Log is a news and review webzine dedicated to horror literature and movies. The zine was created by Australian independent publisher Brimstone Press in August 2005...
, Brimstone PressBrimstone PressBrimstone Press was an Australian independent publisher of dark fiction . Brimstone Press was established in 2004 by Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings and was based in Western Australia....
, 2005 to present - Medical Forum (Managing Editor), Health Publications, 2006 to 2009
- Midnight Echo Issue #2 (with Angela Challis), Australian Horror Writers AssociationAustralian Horror Writers AssociationThe Australian Horror Writers Association is a non-profit organisation that commenced in 2003 with the goal of providing a unified voice and sense of community for Australian writers of dark fiction and to further the development of dark fiction in Australia.-History:The AHWA built to some extent...
, 2009 - Black: Australian Dark Culture Magazine (Managing Editor), Brimstone Press, 2008
- Black Box, Brimstone Press, 2008
- Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2006 edition (with Angela Challis), Brimstone Press 2006. ISBN 978-0-9802817-0-5
- Shadow Box, (with Angela Challis), Brimstone Press, Nov 2005.
- Robots & Time (with Robert N. Stephenson), Altair Australia Books, 2004. ISBN 0-9577238-4-9
Wins
- 2007 Ditmar AwardDitmar AwardThe Ditmar Award has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in Australian science fiction and science fiction fandom...
, FanzineFanzineA fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
: HorrorScopeHorrorScope (webzine)HorrorScope: The Australian Dark Fiction Web Log is a news and review webzine dedicated to horror literature and movies. The zine was created by Australian independent publisher Brimstone Press in August 2005...
(ed. Shane Jiraiya Cummings et al.) - 2006 Ditmar Award, Fan Writer
Nominations
- 2010 Tin Duck Award, Best Professional Production, Shards (Brimstone PressBrimstone PressBrimstone Press was an Australian independent publisher of dark fiction . Brimstone Press was established in 2004 by Angela Challis and Shane Jiraiya Cummings and was based in Western Australia....
) - 2009 Premios Ignotus, Best Foreign Short Story, "The Autopsy Room" (Paura 4)
- 2009 William Atheling Jr AwardDitmar AwardThe Ditmar Award has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in Australian science fiction and science fiction fandom...
: "Dark Suspense: The End of the Line" in Black: Australian Dark Culture Magazine #3 - 2009 Ditmar Award, Fanzine: HorrorScope (ed. Shane Jiraiya Cummings et al.)
- 2008 Ditmar Award, Novella/novelette: "Yamabushi Kaidan and the Smoke Dragon"
- 2008 Ditmar Award, Fan Writer
- 2008 Ditmar Award, Fanzine: HorrorScope (ed. Shane Jiraiya Cummings et al.)
- 2008 William Atheling Jr Award: Review of David ConyersDavid ConyersDavid Conyers writes predominantly science fiction and Lovecraftian horror.Most of his childhood was spent in the Adelaide Hills, before moving to Melbourne. There he achieved a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at the University of Melbourne in 1993...
' & John Sunseri'sJohn SunseriJohn Sunseri is a horror writer from Portland, Oregon in the United States. As well as writing traditional horror fiction he also writes Lovecraftian horror. John spent two years at Yale University studying a major in English. Today he manages a restaurant.Writing since 2001, John has published...
The Spiraling WormThe Spiraling WormThe Spiraling Worm is a science fiction and Lovecraftian horror novel written in the style of a spy thriller, by authors David Conyers and John Sunseri and published in 2007. The novel went on to receive an Honourable Mention for Best Australian Horror Novel in the 12th Annual Aurealis Award and...
on HorrorScope - 2008 Aurealis AwardAurealis AwardAurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award.-History:...
, Young Adult short story: "Yamabushi Kaidan and the Smoke Dragon" - 2007 Ditmar Award, Best New Talent
- 2007 Ditmar Award, Fan Writer
- 2007 Tin Duck Award, Professional Short Fiction: "Colossus of Roads" (Ticonderoga OnlineTiconderoga PublicationsTiconderoga Publications is an Australian independent publishing house founded by Russell B. Farr in 1996 and now run by Farr and Liz Grzyb. The publisher specialises in collections of science fiction short stories.-History and current:...
#9) - 2007 Tin Duck Award, Professional Short Fiction: "Prescience" (Borderlands #8)
- 2006 Ditmar Award, Fanzine: HorrorScope (ed. Shane Jiraiya Cummings et al.)
- 2006 Ditmar Award, Fan Writer
- 2006 Australian Shadows AwardAustralian Shadows AwardThe Australian Shadows Award is an annual literary award established by the Australian Horror Writers Association in 2005 to honour the best published work of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian...
: Shadow Box (with Angela Challis) - 2006 Tin Duck Award, Professional Short Fiction: "IanIan"Ian", "Iain", or "Eian" is the Scottish Gaelic version of the name John. It is a very common name in much of the English-speaking world...
" (Ticonderoga Online #5) - 2006 Tin Duck Award, Professional Short Fiction: "Hear No Evil" (Borderlands #4)
- 2006 Tin Duck Award, Professional Production: Shadow Box (with Angela Challis)
- 2006 Tin Duck Award, Fan Production: HorrorScope (edited by Shane Jiraiya Cummings et al.)
- 2005 Tin Duck Award, Professional Fiction: "Sobek's Tears" (AurealisAurealisAurealis is a Australian speculative fiction magazine published by Chimaera Publications. The magazine was launched in September 1990 to provide a market for speculative fiction writers, with a particular emphasis on raising the profile of Australian authors.In 1995 the magazine instituted the...
#33-35)
Honourable mentions
- 2006 Aurealis AwardAurealis AwardAurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award.-History:...
, Horror short story: "Revision is Murder" (Simulacrum #11)
Reviews
- ASif! reviews of Cummings' work
- Tangent Online review of Australian Dark Fantasy & Horror 2006
- Tangent Online review of Shadow Box
- Ticonderoga Online review of Robots & Time