My 2022 Horror Book Highlights via The Lineup and News About More To Come

For the last two years, I have been hired to do a look back from the Horror fiction perspective by The Lineup. Here is a link to my 2022 Horror Book Highlights. It is organized into 4 major trends with 4 books in each category. Click here for the full article with annotations for each title, but for your immediate purposes, here are the 4 trends:

1. Short Scares Are Going Strong
2. Retellings: Everything Old is New Again
3. Verisimilitude is Terrifying
4. The Most Breathtaking Debuts are By Women

For context, here is 2021's Horror Book Highlights where the trends I presented were:

1. Queer Horror Moves Front and Center
2. Horror Fiction Framed as True Crime
3. Final Girls Fight Back
4. Marginalized Voices Reclaim the Troops of Old

Just like with awards and best lists, it always important to include a peek further into the past than just the immediate year in order to see larger trends emerging. Yes, I am talking once again about the backlist because the backlist is ALWAYS key to everything we do. It is not a shiny and sparkly as the new books, bit it is key to serving readers.

I have another announcement that involves The Lineup. As you can see here, I have written a column for The Lineup sporadically over the last year. But as of yesterday, I have agreed to a formal contract to write 4 pieces for them in 2023 as part of my "From the Haunted Stacks" column. The agreed upon topics for 2023 are:

• Middle Grade Horror for Adult (March)
• Stoker Awards Wrap-Up (June)
• Horror Cover Artists (September)
• 2023 Horror Trends and Highlights (December)

We are also still discussing another series of posts which focus on.....you guessed it....backlist titles!

I am very excited about  my formal arrangement to be a part of what editor Lisa Quigley is doing with this website. It is reader focused, and they love promoting the backlist, so the content is extremely useful for you as you help patrons. The Lineup covers True Crime, Horror, and the Paranormal, so the reach is broad and popular.

Please consider signing up for their newsletter as well.

Until Thursday when the #HorrorForLibraries giveaway returns with a chance to win a hotly anticipated 2023 title from Nightfire.