Use the links below to get to each participating sites reviews. And check them throughout the month.We here at MonsterLibrarian.com are pleased to announce the fourth annual “Halloween Horrors!” horror book review event. Starting on October 1, 2011, outstanding horror fiction review sites will come together to create a virtual guide to titles that will keep readers up at night.“Halloween Horrors!” is an excellent way for librarians to get acquainted with horror genre titles both mainstream and small press. The event provides a tool to help librarians with reader’s advisory and collection development as well as become familiar with online review resources for what can be a challenging genre.
Each participating review site will have a project page dedicated to reviews of horror genre books that links to the other participating sites’ review pages. We will also be including a list of book recommendations that can be paired with horror movies to promote reading horror.
Participating sites in this year’s project include MonsterLibrarian.com, Horrorworld, Hellnotes, Horror Fiction Review, and Spooky-Reads. Each site will be updating their page and reviews throughout the month so remember to visit often.
Click here for their Halloween Haunts page.
The Horror Fiction Review's Halloween Horrors! page is here.
Horror World's contribution is coming soon 
Spooky Read's Halloween Horrors! page is here.Call for Submissions |
Slices of Flesh HORROR FLASH FICTION ANTHOLOGY My name is Stan Swanson and I am editor/publisher of Dark Moon Books, a small press currently publishing Dark Moon Digest (a quarterly literary horror magazine/anthology) as well as other collections and novels. My priority over the next few months is to collect flash fiction horror pieces (1500 words or less) to launch as an anthology at the 2012 World Horror Conference. The collection, although published under the Dark Moon banner, would be a non-profit project with proceeds going to a combination of programs with the Literacy Project of America being our primary charity. Although we are still early in the process of gathering authors, Jack Ketchum, Graham Masterton, Joe McKinney, Tim Lebbon, David Dunwoody, Simon Clark, Jonathan Maberry and Ramsey Campbell have already signed on to participate in the project. Mike Mignola (of Hellboy fame) has also agreed to provide cover artwork. THE PROJECT IN A NUTSHELL: Project: Horror Flash Fiction Collection Working Title: Slices of Flesh Submission Deadline: November 31, 2011 Publication Date: March 2012 Book Launch: 2012 World Horror Convention Story Length: Between 250 and 1500 words (flash fiction) Category: Subject matter open as long as it falls into the horror category. Rights: Authors retains all copyrights; the collection will be available in print and electronic format. Editing Process: Dark Moon Books currently has four highly-skilled editors on staff. Your story will be lightly edited by one of these editors, then returned for your approval. Payment: Authors accepted into the collection will receive an e-version of the book in either PDF, Kindle or Nook format; net proceeds will go to charities to be determined by participating authors and Dark Moon Books. (Primary charity at this time is the Literary Project of America.) Other: Dark Moon Books reserves the right to use the author’s name for promotional and advertising purposes. All authors should also submit a short bio, (up to 100 words), which will appear with their story. Questions? E-mail DarkMoonDigest@gmail.com I would love to have you on board as one of the potential authors and look forward to hearing from you. Stan Swanson Editor/Publisher Issue #5 of Dark Moon Digest is now available at Amazon and other online bookstores. |
It seems like everywhere you turn these days, there is another zombie, vampire, or werewolf popping up in books, on television, or at the movies. It is hard for the average person to keep up with the sheer volume of horror-related material available to the public. When you add the haunting Halloween season into the mix, it is easy to see how librarians might be overwhelmed by hordes of readers, shambling in mass to the library, hungry for some tales of terror.
With so many choices, it is actually more difficult for us to help match our horror readers with their next good read. How do you sift through it all, from classics to old favorites and from new stars to paperback-only gems in order to find the correct book for the reader craving a good scare? All you need is a little preparation. By increasing your understanding of why readers are looking for horror and arming yourself with the right questions to ask these patrons, even the most horror-averse librarian can tame the monsters and save the day. In this article, I will break down the appeal of horror, gently leading you down the dark trail of terror, and escort you safely back to the desk fully prepared for the Halloween rush.
Back in 2000 Mark Danielewski released his first book, House of Leaves
, to great acclaim. Although originally marketed as a literary fiction title, this is really one heck of a scary horror novel. With its book within a book frame, House of Leaves tells the story of a home under the control of the Devil through the manuscript that its former inhabitants left behind. This is a creepy, thrilling, and intelligent novel. The apprehension and unease are bolstered by the book’s odd construction: footnotes, askew text, pages with only a word or two. There are real demons here, too, but it is the ones Danielewski puts in your mind as you read that are going to make you keep the lights on.I cannot stress enough how the novel's physical construction adds to the anxious atmosphere Danielewski creates here. You need to open this book and page through it a bit to understand what I mean. Luckily, most public libraries own this great backlist title. Check it our for yourself.
