Bryce J. Stevens

B. J. Stevens
Born Bryce John Stevens
10 September 1957
Christchurch, New Zealand
Pen name David Kuraria
Occupation Writer, artist
Nationality New Zealand/Australian (dual citizenship)
Period 20th/21st century
Genre Horror, Dark Fantasy,
Notable works "Sisters of the Moss"

Bryce John Stevens (born 1957) is a horror writer/, illustrator and editor. He grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand and moved to Sydney in the mid-1980s. From childhood he was fascinated with the supernatural and terrifying consequences of events from stories such as "The Tinderbox", a predilection which continued through his high school years and beyond. [1]

Editorial Career

Between 1987 and 1992 he co-edited (with Chris G.C. Sequeira and Leigh Blackmore), Terror Australis: The Australian Horror and Fantasy Magazine (1987–92). A column by Stevens, "Every Time the Candle Burns", appeared in Issues 1 and 3 of Terror Australis, and he reviewed books under both his own name and the pseudonym of David Kuraria for the magazine's "In the Bad Books" column. Stevens was the basis for the character 'Doc Martin' as drawn and photographed in various of Christopher Sequeira's occult detective graphic novel series, Deadlocke and Doc Martin (in Pulse of Darkness and elsewhere).

Stevens contributed interior art to numerous horror magazines in the 1990s in Australia and also cover art for issues of E.O.D, Shoggoth and Bloodsongs.

In the mid-1990s Stevens moved to Melbourne, where he was a key figure (with Steven Proposch and Chris A. Masters) in the Melbourne Horror Society (later known as The Australian Horror Writers) - a forerunner to the Australian Horror Writers Association) - where he helped produce Bloodsongs (1994–95) magazine. From 1996 through 1998, Stevens was President of the Australian Horror Writers. He edited issues 5-11 of its official newsletter Severed Head[2]

Writings and Art

In 1999 he held his solo art show, the "Screw the Millennium Bug Exhibition" at Melbourne's Blue Velvet Lounge. His story of the same year, "Rookwood" (Aurealis No 24, 1999) is a collaboration with Rick Kennett and is currently available in the e-book Forbidden Texts (ed. David Bain (CreateSpace, 2013). In the late 1990s he produced several issues of a personal zine, Choking Dog Gazette. Originally a hardcopy zine, the title was revived in 2012 as an online zine; later issues were distributed through the SSWFT amateur press association.

Stevens has published several small press collections of horror stories (see below).

His short stories have also appeared in Black Moon, Bloodsongs, Cold Cuts, Dead By Dawn, E.O.D, Forbidden Tomes, Cthulhu and the Co-Eds: Kids & Squids, Midnight Echo, Misanthrope, Octavia, Outside, and Terror Australis. (magazine and book anthology). Stevens is noted for his hard-edged and uncompromising horror content; however he often delves into black humour and amongst his most reprinted stories are a Lovecraftian parody called "The Diary of Howard Clark Long Phillips"and "Payday" . Some of his horror stories show a black humour reminiscent of a cross between Ben Elton and Joe R. Lansdale. One of his most acclaimed stories is "Sisters of the Moss", most recently reprinted in Orb No 8 (The Best of Orb 1-7).

In 2001 Stevens compiled an encyclopedic reference book on Australian dark fantasy and horror writers and artists, which was released on CD-ROM only.[3] In a lengthy review of this work, Rick Kennett concluded: "In later days The Fear Codex will be the work from where research into Australian horror and dark fantasy will start." [4]

Stevens lived again in Sydney from 2004 to 2008. His artwork of that period includes work for the metal band Inslain (see Sadistik Exekution).

Recent career

He relocated to Johns River City of Greater Taree NSW in 2009 where he works as an on-call handler of venomous reptiles. He continues to draw and paint, and holds regular exhibitions of his work in different cities in Australia. He has controversially used his own blood in some of his paintings which he refers to as "blood works". His novel in progress is The Malign Comedy.

Collections

Uncollected works

Magazines edited or co-edited

Other works

References

  1. ↑ Hanson, Donna Maree. Australian Speculative Fiction: A Genre Overview. Murrumbateman NSW: Aust Speculative Fiction. 2005, p. 115
  2. ↑ Severed Head (subtitled The Newsletter for the Melbourne Horror Society from Issue 1 to Issue 4 (April 1994; subtitled The Australian Horror Society Newsletter from Issue 5 (Nov 1994) to issue 11 (March 1995); subtitled The Journal of the Australian Horror Society on issue 12 (Oct 1996); subtitled The Journal of the Australian Horror Writers from issue 13 (Feb 1997) to the final issue, No 16 (Jan 1998).
  3. ↑ Hanson, Donna Maree. Australian Speculative Fiction: A Genre Overview. Murrumbateman NSW: Aust Speculative Fiction. 2005, p. 115
  4. ↑ Rick Kennett, review The Fear Codex. www.asif.com 6 Sept 2006
  5. ↑ S.T. Joshi, H.P. Lovecraft: A Comprehensive Bibliography, Tampa FL: University of Tampa Press, 2009, item III-G-iii-2 (p. 593)

External links

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