#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway #15: A Prize Pack from JournalStone/Trepidatio

 First, a reminder that these giveaways will be running every week, on Thursdays, for the foreseeable future. And here is the best part, if you enter any week, you are eligible for ALL weeks.

The only rule is that you need to be affiliated with a public library in America or Canada. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.

Okay now how to enter. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.

Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm will be considered.

If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Why I am doing this? Well, one of the parts of my job that has gone away for the time being is my visits to libraries, library conferences, and library systems to provide general RA training. On all of those visits, I would  fill my suitcase with giveaway titles and they were mostly horror. It not only gave me a chance to give away books as prizes, but it also allowed me the opportunity to book talk horror even if that wasn't on the agenda.

Now that my services have transferred to 100% virtual, for the time being, I have an overflow of books in my house and less of chance to promote horror to the unsuspecting masses of library workers.

And thus my #HorrorForLibraries giveaway is born. This will be going on indefinitely, so the sooner you enter the better your chances.

Click here to see giveaway #14. Our winner was Sarah from the Carol Stream [IL] Public Library.

This week I am giving away a prize pack of 4 finished paperbacks from one of my most trustworthy and easy for libraries to acquire publishers- JournalStone-- and their slightly more "literary" imprint, Trepidatio.

Before I get to the titles, why are they among my most trusted publishers? [who are all listed here on the blog on my "Best Independent Horror Publishers for Libraries" page]. First and foremost, JournalStone publishes well crafted books that hold up to multiple checkouts, they are available for order through your regular sources. Second, they mix established horror authors with new voices. Every year, multiple books they have published end up being nominated for awards, especially in the first novel categories. In other words, you can  trust their editors and production team to put out books that are of high quality from the physical item to the content on the pages. 

Third, they offer a full range of horror-- from diverse voices, in different formats [story collections and poetry as well as novels], and scares from subtle to full out gore. Finally, they also invest in professional cover artists. Their books have interesting and inviting covers that help announce the appeal of the book to a potential reader

Here is the list of titles I am offering with a little about each book. You can go to Goodreads for more information [titles are linked to the full record]. Remember, these are final products NOT arcs, You can immediately add these to your collections. 

• Murder Ballads and Other Horrific Tales by John Hornor Jacobs: This collection follows on the heels of the two novellas collection Jacobs had last year, a collection I put on the Library Journal 2019 Best Horror List. [Click here for my thoughts on A Lush and Seething Hell.] There are ten stories here, two never before in print, including the sequel to his popular Southern Gods. Jacobs is on  of the best creating Cosmic Horror today. His works can be handed out to fans of Lovecraft Country right now; and because they are novellas and stories, I think they make for an easy transition from the visual media to the written word.
• Dark Blood Comes From the Feet by Emma J. Gibbon: "a strange and eclectic collection of  seventeen stories." Gibbons uses words in lyrical ways to describe situations that range from unsettling to weird to visceral. Her stories have a bit of the whimsy you find in fantasy, but they are not "light." These are relatable and immersive stories that a wide  range  of patrons will enjoy.
• A Season of Loathsome Miracles by Max D, Stanton: This one is an easy sell to library workers-- Stanton is a librarian and D&D nerd. But seriously, this is an impressive debut collection, and remember above when I said this publisher has quite a track record with new voices. Pay attention!
• Cries to Kill the Corpse Flower, poetry by  Ronald J. Murray: In general poetry is growing in popularity. [I wrote about it recently on the regular blog here.] Horror poetry in particular is growing at an even faster rate. I think it has to do with the genre's emotional punch. Horror is all about how it makes you feel and horror poetry takes that up about 10 notches. This debut collection contains 40 poems. They are short and accessible yes, but they are also thought provoking. You can feel them-- literally-- with all 5 of your senses. These are dark poems that are extremely personal and immersive. The characters, situations, and feelings jump off the page into your head, heart, and body. They will literally haunt you. It is pretty cool, at least that is cool for horror fans.

Thank you to JournalStone for sending these along so I could pass them on to one of you. Even if you don't win, consider adding these titles to your collections.

Good luck!