About Kyla Ward

Kyla Ward

This page is archived. Check out my new website at kylaward.com.

© Evan Paliatseas
I was born (or so they tell me) in New South Wales, Australia, and have lived in various parts of it ever since. I gained a BA Communications. Hons. At the University of Technology, Sydney, and my work history demonstrates the interesting variety so often associated with such degrees. Presently a freelance writer and actor, and associate of James Adams Historic Enterprises.

An active member of the Horror Writers Association and the Australian Horror Writer's Association, the New Weekly magazine once called me a stereotype of what a female horror writer should look like.

My interview with Eye of Fire magazine is reprinted here.

Writing: Fiction

I am a co-author of the novel Prismatic, under the name Edwina Grey.

I have had short fiction published in Weirdbook, Hear Me Roar, Gods, Memes and Monster: A Twenty-First Century Bestiary, Schemers, The Lion and the Aardvark: Aesop's Modern Fables, The New Hero Volume I, Shotguns vs Cthulhu, Macabre, Scary Kisses, Ticonderoga Online, Shadowed Realms, Borderlands, Gothic.Net, Agog!, Agog! 2, Passing Strange and Aurealis.

My poetry has appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer, Mythic Delirium, Spectral Realms, Avatars of Wizardry, Bloodsongs, Abbadon and gothic.net, together with various fanzines, and my collection The Land of Bad Dreams.

I have made Ellen Datlow's Year's Best honours list four times and been reprinted in The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror by Ticonderoga Press.

My stories 'Kijin Tea' and 'The Bat's Boudoir' have been shortlisted for Ditmar and Aurealis Awards, and my poems 'Lucubration', 'The Kite' and 'The Soldier's Return' all received Rhysling nominations.

Writing: Non-fiction

During its lifespan, I contributed many articles to Burnt Toast. This association led to my becoming co-editor, with David Carroll, of Tabula Rasa. This in turn led to us co-writing the Australian entry to the BFI Companion to Horror, ed. Kim Newman, Cassell, 1996.

I also have non-fiction in various issues of Strange Horizons, Black Magazine, Art Monthly Australia, Black Gate, Bloodsongs, Viewpoint and QW magazines. My interview with Robert Hood appeared in his anthology Immaterial. My article in Midnight Echo #12, "A Shared Ambition--horror writers in horror fiction" was a finalist in the Australian Shadow awards.

Writing: Gaming

The first piece of writing I ever sold was an article to Australian Realms magazine. I have since added Dragon Magazine, Pyramid and d20weekly.com to the list.

I contributed to White Wolf's Demon: The Fallen game line. I also worked on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game from Eden Games Studio, and have Unisystem material in Eden Studios Presents III.

Of course, I wrote and ran my own LARPs or freeform games at Sydney clubs and conventions for years. The Masquerade, a 50-player game set in 18th century France, was run as a charity fundraiser in 1993.

Acting:

I am the variously-named Guide to Deadhouse: Tales of Sydney Morgue. I was a member of the Theatre of Blood repertory company, for which I also wrote. My roles included the Curator in The Guillotine, Annie in The Torture Garden and Gatea Criollo in my own Chocolate Curses. Other outings include Mad Max: Fury Road, Suckers (Short & Sweet 2011), the miniseries Mary Bryant, the educational video A Page In History a very strange ad for Connex and the "festal follies" of the Medieval and Renaissance Society. As well as playing the lead, I wrote and produced the short film Bad Reception, which premiered at A Night of Horror 2009 and screened at the Vampire Film Festival in New Orleans.

Other Things:

In 2010 I programmed the horror stream at the 68th World Science Fiction Convention (Aussiecon 4) featuring among other things Why Australia Is More Horrifying Than Anywhere Else and the Vampire vs Zombie Smackdown. I also conceived and directed the Nightmare Ball, the official function for the Australian Horror Writers Association during the same event.

I have worked on a number of short films in crew roles ranging from Assistant Director to Sound Recordist.

My artwork has appeared in Fables and Reflections, on the cover of Epiphanies of Blood -- Tales of Desperation and Thirst (MirrorDanse, 1998), in Southern Blood (Sandglass, 2003), Borderlands, Bloodsongs, Tabula Rasa and Burnt Toast.

I dabble in historical reenactment and combat sport, feasting and sparring with the Black Ravens medieval martial arts group.

In 1995 and 1996 I organised and ran 'The Great Escape', a publicity event for Australian speculative fiction at the Sydcon roleplaying convention. It featured displays, sales, signings and writer's workshops, plus Bill Congreve, Terry Dowling, Richard Harland, Rob Hood, Kate Orman, Sean Williams and the giant brain slug from The Roly-Poly Man.

Between 2005 and 2007 I was an active member of the NSW Greens party, filling the roles of Media Officer and Secretary to my local branch.

And that's pretty much it to date. More to follow.