#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates

Today I have an ARC from a USA Today Bestselling Author and Library Patron Favorite (she's also the sweetest human). Details below but first, the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. 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.
2. 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.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. 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.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Michael from Oak Park [IL] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

Darcy Coates is one of the most popular novelists in Australia and since Poisoned Pen Press have been releasing them here in American she is among the most popular Horror authors here as well. Her next American release is Ghost Camera coming July 30th. It is a collection featuring the novella that gives the book it's title and new stories.

From NetGalley where this titles is at the top of the most requested books list (as of 2/28 at 4:30 pm central at least):

When Jenine finds an abandoned polaroid camera, she playfully snaps a photo without a second thought. But there's something wrong with the image: a ghostly figure stands in the background, watching her.

Fixated on her.

Moving one step closer with every picture she takes. Desperate, Jenine shares her secret with her best friend, Bree. Together they realize the camera captures unsettling impressions of the dead. But now the ghosts seem to be following the two friends. And with each new photo taken, a terrible danger grows ever clearer… 

DISCOVER CHILLING NEW BONUS STORIES, INCLUDING:

• A woman survives a plane crash in a remote arctic tundra, accompanied only by a stranger who seems fixated on something moving through the blinding snow. 

• A house stands empty. Hungry. Waiting for the children drawn to it like moths to a flame. 

• A woman finds a shoebox filled with old VHS tapes. They have a note attached: "Don't watch. You'll regret it." And more!

Thanks to Sourcebooks and their awesome library marketing team, I have an ARC to giveaway to one of you. 

Enter now and you are entered going forward.

And reminder, if it has been more than 4 weeks from when you won, you are also eligible to reenter. 

Good Luck! 

2023 Bram Stoker Awards Final Ballot Announced

 

Click here to enter the website for the awards

The official nominees for the 2023 Bram Stoker Awards® are now live. You can see the press release here or over on RA for All where I have added direct links to my reviews where applicable.

You need to update your horror collection? Want to get some displays or lists up to take advantage of the huge boom and interest in Horror? All you need is the Bram Stoker Awards® website. You can use that to see a database of every single nominee and winner all with one click here. [Well and here, of course.] 

Use the entire homepage to identify critically acclaimed authors and titles of Horror for all ages. Consider adding the anthologies, collections, and novels from the last few years to your collections as well.

One of the best things about the Bram Stoker Awards® is the process that is involved to get to the nominees. Each category has a jury made up of all levels of HWA members, each jury has a chair and an alt chair, and all members have a portal to recommend titles. It is a hybrid nomination process ensuring a diverse (in every way) mix of options on the ballot. Only Lifetime and Active members can vote but everyone has a say up to the vote.

Also jurors are limited to 2 years on a jury before they have to cycle off and either stop or go to another category, meaning, the categories don't get stuck in a rut. I just finished my second year as Jury Chair for Middle Grade and am very happy with our 5 finalists. I am awaiting my assignment for next year; it is still a mystery but I have been notified it is coming soon.

Sadie Hartmann-- a nominee in Nonfiction this year herself-- had this great interview with the Bram Stoker committee a few years ago where they explain the entire process, including the fact that the awards are not for BEST books, but rather award for SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT. I love that distinction as well. We used that distinction throughout our deliberation process for the MG jury this year. Click here to read that interview.

 I wish all genre awards were this transparent. But alas, I can only control the awards with which I am affiliated. See the full nominee list here or on RA for All (with links to my reviews where applicable).

I am going to have some hard choices in a few categories when my ballot arrives later this week.

2024 Splatterpunk Awards Nominees Announced

Due to the fact that I am traveling (see tomorrow's post on RA for All), there is no #HorrorForLibraries Giveaway today, but I do still have a great post for those of you who expect something new here each Thursday. It is the full list of the 2024 Splatterpunk Awards nominees which were released earlier this week.

Click here to read all about it.

And remember, awards lists are one of my favorite RA Resources, and you can click here to learn more through my ongoing series, "Using Awards Lists As a RA Tool." 

Click here to see all the nominees

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

Today I have an ARC from a book that I I called "a gift" in the January 2024 issue of Library Journal; a title that along with the first two books in the trilogy will be read for generations; a trilogy destined to become a classic ala The Stand by King. Details below but first, the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. 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.
2. 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.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. 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.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Kristin from Flat River [MI] Community Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

I am giving away another copy of The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones in honor of the title landing on the Hall of Fame on the March 2024 LibraryReads list. Unlike the last giveaway of this title, this copy is not signed, but also unlike the last giveaway, this is a proper ARC so it is formatted like a book.

Click here for my draft review or see below:

Three Words That Describe This Book: heartbreakingly beautiful, thought provoking, perfect ending

 This book is destined to become an epic Horror classic ala The Stand, read for generations to come. I also dare you not to cry at the end. Can't do it.

Draft Review: It’s October, 2023. Four years have passed since the Dark Mills South Massacre and eight years since the Lake Massacre both which sent Jade to prison. Now, thanks to her best friend Lethe, she is back as the high school history teacher just as Proofrock is about to face another massacre, its most devastating and deadly night yet. This Halloween, will be Proofrock’s final stand against the secrets that have been hidden under the pristine waters of the lake at the center of this cursed town for generations. Readers will get wrapped up in the action, as the bodies pile up, but it will be Jade who leads them through as she comes to terms with traumas both personal and historical, relies on her knowledge of slashers, and learns to trust herself and her renewed connection to her Native heritage. It is the perfect conclusion to this story of ghosts and monsters, both real and supernatural and of secrets that must finally be brought to the surface. A story masterfully told, allowing every detail to matter, but most of all one that provides a final girl to cherish, the angel its center, the one who believes it is all worth saving.

Verdict: Jones has given the world a gift, an epic tale for the ages, one that is both a violent, high octane slasher and a frank, thought provoking indictment of America, past and present. For any reader but especially those who love when Horror stays true to its genre roots while always striving to let readers see themselves and their reality in its terror such as written by Due, Moreno-Garcia, and Tremblay.

You know you want to win this one. Enter today and you are entered going forward.

After clearing out a lot of names back in October, the roster of people in the running to win is building back up again. Get yourself entered. There is a VERY busy season of great Horror coming your way in the coming months. You do not want to miss out.

Good luck. 

Summer Scares 2024 Title Announcement

In celebration of National Library Lover’s Day, the Horror Writers Association (HWA), in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, Booklist, and NoveList®, a division of EBSCO Information Services (EBSCO), is delighted to announce the sixth annual Summer Scares reading list, which includes titles selected by a panel of authors and library workers and is designed to promote Horror as a great reading option for all ages, during any time of the year.

This year, Summer Scares welcomes author Clay McLeod Chapman as the 2024 spokesperson. “Our bookshelves are getting haunted this summer!” exclaims Chapman. “Every last one of the books selected for this year's Summer Scares is a beautiful little nightmare just waiting for the right reader to come along and crack it open. The outright honor of amassing this awesome roster of authors cannot be overstated. I love each and every last one of these books and I can't wait to shout about how terrifying they are all summer long.”

Each year, three titles are selected in each of three categories: Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade. For 2024 those selected titles are:

Adult Selections:

Jackal by Erin E. Adams (Bantam, 2022)

Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison (Berkley, 2022)

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno (MCD x FSG Originals, 2021)

Young Adult Selections:

• 
  

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake (Quill Tree Books 2011)

Dead Flip by Sara Farizan (Algonquin Young Readers, 2022)

#MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil (Hyperion, 2018)

Middle Grade Selections: 

Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland (Balzer + Bray, 2021)

The Nest by Kenneth Oppel (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2015)

My Aunt Is A Monster by Reimena Yee (Random House Graphic, 2022) 

The goal of Summer Scares is to introduce Horror titles to school and public library workers in order to help them start conversations with readers that will extend beyond the books from each list and promote reading for years to come. In addition to the annual list of recommended titles, the Summer Scares Programming Guide, created each year by the Springfield-Greene County (MO) Library–and free for libraries anywhere to access, is back with the tools libraries need to connect with their patrons. 

“The 2024 guide is packed with ideas that library workers can use to engage their communities with these great titles, whether they're putting up book displays, hosting author events, or planning an entire Summer Scares program series,” states Konrad Stump, co-creator of the programming guide. The guide will be available beginning March 1, 2024 on the Summer Scares Resource page at http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/p/summer-scares.html

Along with the guide, the Summer Scares committee will work with both the recommended list authors and Horror authors from all over the country to provide free programming to libraries. Any library looking to host horror-themed events anytime of year is encouraged to email libraries@horror.org to get started.

Once again, Summer Scares will be included as part of iRead, a summer reading program that is used by libraries in the United States and across the globe by the Department of Defense for libraries on military bases. “While there is nothing scary about Summer Reading, there is no better time than summer to scare up some great books. iREAD is thrilled (and chilled!) to partner once again with Summer Scares to introduce Horror titles to school and public library workers in order to help them start conversations with readers that perfectly align with our mission to bridge the summer gap while inspiring literacy and life-long learning,” shares iREAD Content and Development Manager Becca Boland.

Booklist is helping to kick off Summer Scares 2024 in March with a series of three, free webinars with this year’s featured authors in conversation with the committee members: 

• Monday, March 11, 2024, at 4pm Eastern, featuring our Middle Grade authors and moderated by Sarah Hunter (register here)
• Thursday, March 21, 2024, at 2pm Eastern, featuring our Young Adult authors and moderated by Yaika Sabat (register here)
• Monday March 25, 2024, at 2pm Eastern, featuring our Adult authors and moderated by Clay McLeod Chapman (register here)

Each webinar lasts one hour. Anyone may register to participate for free at https://www.booklistonline.com/webinars. Recordings will be available for on-demand viewing after the live events at https://www.booklistonline.com/webinars-archive.

All are welcome to join the Summer Scares committee and featured authors at the HWA’s Librarians’ Day, taking place in person on May 31, 2024, in San Diego as part of StokerConⓇ. Details at: https://www.stokercon2024.com. 

The HWA is a non-profit organization of writers and publishing professionals and the oldest organization dedicated to the Horror/Dark Fiction genre. One of the HWA’s missions is to foster an appreciation of reading through extensive programming and partnerships with libraries, schools, and literacy-based organizations.

The 2024 Summer Scares program committee consists of author Clay McLeod Chapman, HWA Library Committee Co-Chairs Becky Spratford and Konrad Stump, as well as Academic Librarian Carolyn Ciesla, Book Riot Editor and YA specialist Kelly Jensen, Booklist Editor and Middle Grade specialist Julia Smith,  and Manager of Readers Services at NoveList Yaika Sabat

For more information about the Summer Scares reading program, including committee member bios and how to obtain promotional materials and schedule events with the authors/committee members, please visit The Summer Scares Resource Page (http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/p/summer-scares.html)(http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/p/summer-scares.html) or email HWA Library Committee Co-Chairs Becky Spratford and Konrad Stump at libraries@horror.org.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo

Today I have an early ARC from a book that I gave a star to in the January 2024 issue of Library Journal. Details below but first, the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. 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.
2. 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.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. 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.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Nanci from Hopkinton [MA] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo is the third book in her linked series set in Chicago, framed by fairy tales and fables. While the books are linked, you do not have to read them in order to understand what is going on because each is its own story as well. 

Forgotten Sisters is also Pelayo's first book in the series to be with a major publisher-- Thomas & Mercer. So this one will have even bigger buzz and distribution. But good news, it is also the best in the series so far-- and I have loved all of them. Click here and here for my reviews of the first two titles.

Here is my draft review:

Three Words That Describe This Book: pervasive unease, strong sense of place, gorgeous prose that enhances the story.

Draft Review: Early in Pelayo’s novel Anna remarks, to the listeners of her podcast about the haunted history of Chicago, that all good ghost stories are based in fact. Anna knows this all too well as she and her sister Jennie live alone in a meticulously maintained, but clearly haunted, historic home on the banks of the Chicago River. The same river that took the lives of their parents in a tragic accident, the same river where the bodies of missing young men have been turning up with alarming frequency, but also the same river that has been her comfort since childhood, alongside her Gradmother’s copy of the Little Mermaid fairy tale. But as Anna struggles to keep the house and its ghosts happy and watch after her sister, who is suffering from troubling spells and wanders the banks of the river each night, detectives also come knocking with questions about the bodies, Jennie, and Anna’s new boyfriend. Overflowing with as much love as anguish, as much hope as death, a compelling mystery told with gorgeous prose that mimics the rhythmic flow of the river itself and sympathetic, complicated characters that feel as if they will materialize off the page, this is a haunted house story unlike any readers have encountered, one that will strike fear, while it also eulogizes the ghosts of a city, no longer to be forgotten.

Verdict: Marked by its pervasive unease and riveting storyline, Pelayo has given readers another can’t miss entry in her Chicago Saga. For fans of ghost stories that mine memory, fairy tales, and/or mystery resulting in immersive, heartbreakingly beautiful stories such as those written by Simone St. James, Jennifer McMahon, and Helen Oyoyemi.

Today, I am giving away the ARC I read for review. This is a VERY early ARC. I got it in June at ALA Annual. 

Good luck!