Noel Chidwick
I’ve had this idea for a few years now, but it was only when I found a printer who could produce what I wanted at high quality could I bring this dream to reality – a complete story on a mug.
And it so happened we were about to publish a short story from Ian Watson:
“Where would our eternal Roman Empire be without coffee?”
This story is a jaunty 285 words, including title, and what a title it is. Jackie Duckworth had already created the artwork for the story, so the question is: would it work?
It took a couple of trial runs, but in the end we were very pleased with the result. I sent a mug to Ian Watson, and as you can see, he was very pleased.
Ian posted this picture in Facebook, and his pal christened it the ‘mugazine.’
I emailed Ken MacLeod, and asked if he would be up to the challenge. This time, we came up with a brief:
- Must be a complete story
- Science Fiction, fantasy or horror themed
- Beverage based - what is inside the mug?
- 285 words max, including title
Ken, pretty much by return of email, sent us:
Cyber-squatters of 2021: A Thrilling Vision of the 21st Century!
We combined it with the front cover image of Shoreline of Infinity 2 by Sara Julia Campbell, and our second story mug was created. Ken obliged with a selfie; the jury is out - who looks the most chuffed?
Both mugs are available from www.shorelineofInfinity.com
We’re off to ‘mug’ our next writer, meanwhile you can read Ken MacLeod’s story on the next page.