CAUTION:

You have reached the personal webspace of Steve Stanton,
the publisher of Skysong Press.

This is a picture of my brother, Andy, and me holding the camera,
with our parents barely visible in the background.

Stories Currently In Print:

"Trickster" is now available in On Spec, the Canadian Magazine of the Fantastic.

"Snow Angel" is now available in the Australian print anthology Crossroads.

"Timestealer" is now available in Sci-Fi Magazin (Romania), Evvéa (Greece), and Hub Issue 40 - Flash Special in the United Kingdom. The authentic Canadian print version is available in the Premiere Issue of Neo-opsis. First published in 1990 in Rampike, Tenth Anniversary Issue, "Timestealer" is now featured online at the SF Canada website.

"Perhaps the best story is 'Timestealer', by Steve Stanton, about a man who records short experiences from other people, at the cost of their memory of the experience, and his search for truly novel material." (Locus Magazine, 2004, Reviewed by Richard Horton.)

"In four short pages, he takes the reader into the character of a man who makes his living stealing experiences, memories, from people, and selling them to others. It is a huge comment on humanity, and no doubt, if we possessed the technology to steal and package memories, there would be shops in malls from coast-to-coast. Stanton takes virtual reality a step further and makes the point that people want to escape to something more exciting, and in this future world, nothing is sacred. No doubt the tabloid press has been driven out of business by this new industry—who needs pictures when you can live the memory." (Kamikaze Magazine, Reviewed by Blaine Howard.)

"On the Edge of Eternity" is now available online at MindFlights, USA, and is available in print form in the Canadian anthology Divine Realms, edited by Susan MacGregor. "Too much science fiction these days isn't about anything important; it's just escapism. Not Susan MacGregor's anthology Divine Realms. It deals with the most important question of all: Is there a God? This is a book of wonderful explorations; it's deeply moving and profoundly enlightening." Robert J. Sawyer, Book jacket, 1998.

"The Writing on the Wall" is now available in the anthology Tesseracts Nine; New Canadian Speculative Fiction, Aurora Award Winner 2006, edited by Nalo Hopkinson and Geoff Ryman. "Tesseracts is the premiere book-format showcase for Canadian speculative fiction. The current volume in this wonderful series demonstrates just how varied both SF and Canadian fiction can be." (Storyteller, 2005)

"Steve Stanton's story 'The Writing on the Wall', is one of the stories on the science fiction side of the speculative fiction spectrum. After a visit at age eight from his future-self, a man spends his life obsessed with figuring out time travel; yet while he struggles with mathematics and physics, social interaction rules manage to elude him."(Monday Magazine, 2005, Reviewed by Karl Johanson.)

"'The Writing on the Wall,' by Steve Stanton, tells the tragic tale of the unexceptional midlife crisis of an exceptional man." (Quill & Quire, 2005, Reviewed by Tracey Thomas.)

"I was also impressed by Steve Stanton's 'The Writing on the Wall,'—in which good characterization carries an otherwise simple tale of a mathematician determined to prove the possibility of time travel." (SF Site, 2005, Reviewed by Donna McMahon.)

"Steve Stanton contributes a time-travel story about a child who becomes a mathematical genius after meeting his future self." (Booklist, American Library Association, 2005, Reviewed by Carl Hays.)

"'The Writing on the Wall' by Steve Stanton, unlike many of the other stories in this genre, does provide a moment of hope for humanity...yet it isn't technology that offers hope, but emotion." (The Harrow, 2005, Reviewed by Dru Pagliassotti.)

"Perfect Match" first appeared in 1992 in On Spec, The Canadian Magazine of Speculative Writing, Issue #9, and is now available in Sky Songs. "Stanton's writing is dark, his vision seems to be one of pointing to humanity's need for a savior by showing a stark, barren world without Jesus. In his strange futuristic creations, Stanton works with the language of science and technology to present men and women as beings on a sort of conveyor belt to doom. The most striking aspect of these stories is their incredible lack of sentiment. The reader is required to inject his or her own emotional reactions, and the effect is weighty. In 'Perfect Match,' Stanton portrays a future so uncaring that body parts are bought and sold by living recipients and donors. It is a world common to Stanton's vision, where money is tight and people remain in tight family units because no one else will offer any help at all. There is a sliver of hope in this story, as the family love shared among a husband, wife and their child is powerful enough to warrant the selling of an eye. It is apparent, however, that the whole world is in trouble, because this familial love does not hold the promise of eventual triumph over adversity. Rather, this family is staving off destruction." (Reviewed by Blaine Howard, 1994)

"In Defense of Angels" first appeared in 1989 in the American fanzine Churchyard #1, An Anthology of Christian Weird Tales. It was reprinted in Dragons, Knights and Angels, and was a Finalist for The Word Guild Canadian Christian Writing Award in 2004. It is archived online at The Sword Review. "Steve Stanton's 'In Defense of Angels' is a light, uplifting story designed to make you smile, and that in itself is recommendation enough." (Tangent Online, 2005, Reviewed by Alasdair Stuart.)

Professional Memberships:

SF Canada: Canada's National Association for Speculative Fiction Professionals

The Word Guild: Canadian Association of Writers and Editors who are Christian

Speculative Literature Foundation

The Boring Personal Stuff

Steve Stanton was born in Brampton, Ontario in 1956. He was educated at University of Toronto and took post-graduate studies with The Society of Management Accountants of Ontario before starting several small business ventures. He has been married to Wendy Kathleen (Smith) since 1976, and they have three grown daughters, Angela, Kara and Rachel, and one granddaughter, Olivia. Wendy and Steve now live on their riverfront retreat in Central Ontario near the village of Washago (which means "sparkling green water" in the Ojibway tongue.) They are members of First Baptist Church in Orillia, Ontario and regularly support Canadian Bible Society, World Vision and Amnesty International.

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