#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: New Edition of Night of the Mannequins and a Bonus Novella (for a great cause)

Today on the giveaway I have two finished novellas for 1winner. The first, a re-release of a Stephen Graham Jones novella (out next week); the other, a title by a Chicago author whose books are great for public libraries. Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American 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.

Last week's winners were in order: Allison from OH, Nikki from ME, and Cait from WA Now on to this week's giveaway. 

The "why" behind the reason I have been doing this giveaway weekly since April of 2020 and have had over 300 distinct winners is not just as simple as I have ARCs and books that I don't need anymore. Now that is part of it, to be sure. When I am done with the books, I want to pass them on to someone else in the library world so that they can find more readers.

However, I also see this giveaway as a way I can use my platform as a trusted resource about adult horror to get more titles in front of you all. Yes I am giving these titles away, but these posts are more about promoting titles that you should pay attention to. Some I review formally, others informally. But every post in the #HorrorForLibraries giveaway is meant to put these titles on your radar.

I did collection development and worked a desk for 15 years (and supervised staff for many of those years as well). I know how busy we all are. I know how hard it is to make time to find the best titles for our collections. I know how tempting it is to just be lazy and order what the publishers tell us to order. 

But I also know how rewarding it is to add titles by authors that our readers would love if they only knew about them. That feeling of adding a lesser known title or building a solid genre collection before that genre goes mainstream-- whatever it is-- knowing that I brought joy to my patrons because I did the work, that is what kept me going more days than not.

And that is exactly what I am doing this week. I am purposely pairing a BIG title which will grab your attention with a smaller one. Both are great reads. Both are novellas. Both can be added to your library's collection. ALL of your libraries collections. Whether you win or not, I have these giveaway posts to alert you to titles so ALL of you can consider adding them to your library's collections.

Here are the details about this week's titles. 

First that big name title, a novella I reviewed when it first came out in the June 2020 issue of Library Journal-- Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones. To the left is the brand new cover, releasing from Nightfire next Tuesday (2/24/26). From my original review (snippets of which are in the opening pages of this new edition): 

Three Words That Describe This Book: intensely unsettling, unreliable narrator, stream of consciousness style 

Draft Review: A prank on a friend, involving a mannequin, turns deadly after the mannequin “wakes up” and begins a killing spree. But don’t worry, Sawyer has a plan to save the day. All he has to do is kill each of his friends before the mannequin gets to them first. Told entirely through Sawyer’s unreliable eyes, in a stream of consiousness confession, as he plans and executes each murder, constantly looking over his shoulder for signs of the real monster, this is an unsettling tale with an oppressive atmosphere that never lets up. Readers will be simultaneously drawn to and repulsed by Sawyer, engaged in the quirky narrative, and entertained by the pervasive dark sense of humor. This is a fast paced novella that will be very hard for readers to shake off even after turning the final page, but they will also love every minute of the experience.

Verdict: A hotter voice in horror would be hard to find these days, and Jones does not disappoint, delivering yet another genre masterpiece. Give to fans of slasher tales and serial killer stories who are looking for an original take on either trope such as found in the graphic novel series Something is Killing the Children by Tynion or My Sister the Serial Killer by Braithwaite.

The winner of the SGJ novella will also get a copy of Matthew Salinas' Real Television. From the book description:

The rules are simple: Survive or Die Trying. Five strangers wake up in a cold, industrial warehouse in the heart of the entertainment district. Each contestant is forced to compete in a brutal, life-or-death game broadcast live to millions. The games are violent, grotesque, and twisted beyond imagination.

The diabolical host, Chet Steazle, a charming yet sadistic showman, orchestrates the madness with a smile. As the blood flows, humanity shows its true colors and the line between entertainment and atrocity blurs.

Settle in and join the million others watching. In the words of Chet himself, "Don't touch that dial!" 

I know Matthew personally. He is a good writer and this title is perfect for all public library audiences. Extreme horror is hot. Social and political commentary horror is hot. Squid Games style reality competitions are hot. This book has all of it. And it is super entertaining. What more do you need?

Well what about this? From Salinas--  This book is dedicated to Lisa Salinas. All proceeds from Ebooks and Paperback copies sold will be donated to the American Cancer Society in her honor, so that hopefully one day no one will have to experience the pain of losing a loved one to cancer.

So what about giving this book an order now? Seems worth it to me. 

I will draw one winner this week and send them both titles. Good luck!

There will be no giveaway next week as I will be taking a blogging break to spend time with family. But get your entries in now because I have a lot of ARCs that need to find a home in the coming months. 

Remember, if you have won in the past, you may re-enter after a 4 week break.