CityLife

Comma Press scoops fantasy award

Daleks, Shearman-penned episode

COMMA Press author Rob Shearman was awarded the prestigious World Fantasy Award for Best Collection at an awards ceremony held at the World Fantasy Convention in Calgary, Canada on Sunday evening (November 2).

Tiny Deaths, the debut short story collection from the Dr Who writer, was published by Manchester independent Comma Press last November and launched at last year's Manchester Literature Festival.

The awards are well respected in the genre and have a history of putting the spotlight on high-quality work from small press publications which are often overlooked by other awards.

Critical acclaim notwithstanding, Shearman is no sleeper hit. He wrote the acclaimed 'Dalek' episode of Doctor Who and has had several plays broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

Ready to go stellar

Tiny Deaths has also been shortlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize the longlist for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.

The collection came about after Comma commissioned him to write a one-off story for their first horror anthology, Phobic.

The resulting story, 'Mortal Coil' was so strong Comma snapped him up for a full collection, and a good thing too, as his career looks ready to go stellar.