Summer Scares Resources

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Thursday, November 20, 2025

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: 2 winners of Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao, Edited by Aaron J. French

Today I have two finished copies for two winners of a volume featuring many authors whose work you have on your sleeves, presented by a trusted editor, and part of a series of books which I have reviewed titles from in the past. 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 winner was Jessica from INNow on to this week's giveaway.

Today I want to talk about author and editor, Aaron J. French, specially his work taking Lovecraftian Gods and asking a diverse group of today's authors to write new and original to him stories for his anthologies.

I have read and reviewed (for Booklist) The Gods of H.P Lovecraft and The Demons of King Solomon. Click through to read my reviews of each anthology and to see the impressive contributors.

Book cover of  Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao, Edited by Aaron J. French. Click the image for more details
This Fall, French released Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao. From the publisher description:

The first in a series of anthologies devoted to the Lovecraftian gods, Ordo ab Chao follows the highly successful The Gods of HP Lovecraft (published in 2015 by JournalStone Publishing). We begin our series with the primal origins and the god Azathoth, who represents primordial chaos in the Lovecraftian Mythos. H.P. Lovecraft described Azathoth as a demon king ruling from a dark throne in the middle of the fiery cosmic void, out of which all created things emanated. Surrounding this orbiting spiral of infinite chaos and creation sounded the repetitive notes of an incessant flute, a reference to the Greek god Pan and the symbol of chaos behind the orderliness of nature. Taking this as our departure, the stories in this volume approach Azathoth through the concept of "order out of chaos" (or Ordo ab Chao in Latin). Ordo ab Chao includes new work from some of the most talented and respected authors in horror and dark fantasy, featuring stories from T. Kingfisher, Ruthanna Emrys, Adam L. G. Nevill, Kaaron Warren, Brian Evenson, Donald Tyson, Richard Thomas, Richard Gavin, Matthew Cheney, Erica Ruppert, Jamieson Ridenhour, Maxwell I. Gold, Lena Ng, Nathan Carson, Samuel Marzioli, Lauri Taneli Lassila, Akis Linardos, and R. B. Payne.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • ORDO AB CHAO: TOWARD THAT ENDLESSNESS by Maxwell Ian Gold
  • “Agent of Chaos” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
  • AGENT OF CHAOS by T. Kingfisher
  • “Expatriate” illustrated by Yves Tourigny
  • EXPATRIATE by Jamieson Ridenhour 
  • “...And Peer Aloft to Glimpse Some Fragment” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar .
  • ..AND PEER ALOFT TO GLIMPSE SOME FRAGMENT by Ruthanna Emrys
  • “Making a Difference” illustrated by Ayham Jabr
  • MAKING A DIFFERENCE by Brian Evenson
  • “The Recreationist” illustrated by Ayham Jabr 
  • THE RECREATIONIST by Kaaron Warren
  • “The Blind God’s Game” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
  • THE BLIND GOD’S GAME by Matthew Cheney
  • “In the Grove” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
  • IN THE GROVE by Erica Ruppert
  • “Church of the Void” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
  • CHURCH OF THE VOID by Donald Tyson
  • “Upon an Iron Bed, Under the Eyes of Chaos” illustrated by Sofiya
  • UPON AN IRON BED, UNDER THE EYES OF CHAOS by Richard Gavin
  • “The Root King” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
  • THE ROOT KING by Lauri Taneli Lassila
  • “The Infinite Beat” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
  • THE INFINITE BEAT by Nathan Carson
  • “The Door at 21 Bis Rue Xavier Privas” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
  • THE DOOR AT 21 BIS RUE XAVIER PRIVAS by R. B. Payne
  • “An Unusual Pedigree” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
  • AN UNUSUAL PEDIGREE by Richard Thomas
  • “Dust-Clotted Eyes” illustrated by Ayham Jabr
  • DUST-CLOTTED EYES by Samuel Marzioli
  • “The Revelations of Azathoth” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
  • THE REVELATIONS OF AZATHOTH by Lena Ng
  • “Primordial Jack” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
  • PRIMORDIAL JACK by Akis Linardos
  • “Respect Your Elders” illustrated by Yves Tourigny
  • RESPECT YOUR ELDERS by Adam L. G. Nevill

Look at the TOC! These are names you know, some of your most popular horror voices, and plenty that will be new to you and your patrons.

While that TOC alone is enough for you to add this book, what I really love about all of the anthologies French has edited is that he introduces today's horror readers to the Lovecraftian Gods, allowing us all to see why they are enduringly terrifying, and making sure their horrible human of a creator is paired with a diverse group of today's voices (which I hope is making Lovecraft roll over in his grave).

It is the responsible way to present this man and his work. We cannot ignore that Lovecraft is responsible for creating some of the best horror of the 20th Century. We cannot also ignore that his work has inspired and continues to inspire many of today's authors-- especially many who come from he marginalized communities who Lovecraft actively and publicly expressed his hate for. Take The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle and House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias for example. These are two works that have been nominated for major awards and both actively grapple with Lovecraft's racism in their works.

Thanks to JournalStone I have 2 finished copies that 2 winners will be able to add to their collections. But everyone should check out all three anthologies mentioned in this post and consider adding them to your horror collections.

Good luck!

The giveaway is off next week for Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, October 22, 2024

31 Days of Horror: Day 22: Reminder of Becky's Original Backlist Content All Archived in One Place

During 31 Days of Horror I spend so much of my time pointing you to everyone else's resources that I sometimes forget to remind you that I have a treasure trove of backlist info archived all on one page. So below I have reposted my permanent page: Archive of Becky's Lists, Articles, and Presentations [updated October 2024]

Below you can find the content of that page today and any other day in the right gutter pr with this link.

Add to this post today, this link to all of my reviews with one click and you have no excuse not to help readers even as your Horror stock is dwindling. 

Archive of Becky's Lists, Articles, and Presentations [updated October 2024]

Over the years I have created many annotated lists of horror books worth your time. This page will serve as an archive of those pre-blog lists and as a repository for any new lists.

I used to take over the now defunct, Library Journal Readers Shelf Column:
Here are some of the articles I have written:
I have a column in The Lineup at least 4x a year. You can click here to see all of my content on that site.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Best Horror of the Year So Far via Library Journal

Well lookie there, 9 of these 15 were my STAR reviews. Also, Chlorine, I gave that a STAR in Booklist. 

Glad to see Library Journal giving Horror their own list for mid-year to match the end of he year list as well. Order all of these for your libraries today!




Castro, V. The Haunting of Alejandra. Del Rey: Ballantine. Apr. 2023. 272p. ISBN 9780593499696. $28.

Due, Tananarive. The Reformatory. Gallery/Saga. Oct. 2023. 576p. ISBN 9781982188344. $28.99.

Fracassi, Philip. Boys in the Valley. Tor Nightfire. Jul. 2023. 352p. ISBN 9781250879035. $26.99.

Fracassi, Philip. Gothic. Cemetery Dance. Feb. 2023. 408p. ISBN 9781587678400. pap. $18.99.

Kerin, Liz. Night’s Edge. Tor Nightfire. Jun. 2023. 288p. ISBN 9781250835673. $26.99.

Khaw, Cassandra. The Salt Grows Heavy. Tor Nightfire. May 2023. 112p. ISBN 9781250830913. $21.99.

Kingfisher, T. A House with Good Bones. Tor Nightfire. Mar. 2023. 256p. ISBN 9781250829795. $26.99.

LaRocca, Eric. Everything the Darkness Eats. CLASH Bks. Jun. 2023. 202p. ISBN 9781955904278. pap. $16.95.

McGill, C.E. Our Hideous Progeny. Harper. May 2023. 400p. ISBN 9780063256798. $32.

Pelayo, Cynthia. The Shoemaker’s Magician. Agora. (Chicago Saga, Bk. 2). Mar. 2023. 306p. ISBN 9781957957104. $27.99.

Song, Jade. Chlorine. Morrow. Mar. 2023. 256p. ISBN 9780063257603. $30.

Tingle, Chuck. Camp Damascus. Tor Nightfire. Jul. 2023. 256p. ISBN 9781250874627. $25.99.

Tremblay, Paul. The Beast You Are: Stories. Morrow. Jul. 2023. 368p. ISBN 9780063069961. $30.

Warren, Kaaron. Bitters. Cemetery Dance. May 2023. 80p. ISBN 9781587678707. pap. $10.99.

Thursday, April 14, 2022

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 78: Screams from the Dark

Today I have a copy of the latest anthology of all new stories, edited by Ellen Datlow courtesy of Tor NightFireDetails including  my Library Journal review below, but first, 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 giveaway #77Our 2 winner was Kelly from the Orange County [CA] Library System.  Now on to today's giveaway.

Today I have an early, bound manuscript of an upcoming, Ellen Datlow edited, anthology. Here is my draft review: 

Datlow, Ellen, ed. Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters

and the Monstrous 

Much like she did in the award winning anthology Echoes for the ghost story, Datlow turns her focus to monsters, this time collecting original stories from 29 authors, like bestsellers Stephen Graham Jones and  Joyce Carol Oates as well as emerging voices like Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ and Priya Sharma. The result, a book that lays down the gauntlet, redefining this classic and much beloved subgenre for a 21st Century audience  with stories that actively explore the monsters that surround us, both supernatural and human. With so many talented authors represented, there is also a satisfyingly wide arc of writing styles, settings, type of  monster, and range of fear induced from psychological dread to visceral terror to darkly humorous, with all stops in between. Two stories that stood out are Kaaron Warren’s "The Smell of Waiting,” a compelling and creepy tale of a young girl with a gift (or is it a curse?) and John Langan’s mesmerizing, "Bloedzuiger,” another one of his “fishing stories,” a tale that is both innocuously mundane and terrifyingly disturbing– all at once.


Verdict: This epic volume, with its impressive table of contents, will satisfy the hordes of readers looking for new takes on the monster trope and pairs nicely with the Bram Stoker nominated Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities, & Other Horrors. Edited by Murano and Bailey. 

Three words that describe this book: range of scares, original stories, well known authors

Get your hands on this copy by entering today. Thanks to Tor Nightfire for the review copy. Now it is being assess for someone else to enjoy. 

Good luck!

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

New Book Bonus Annotations: Chapter 4- Ghosts and Haunted Houses

When I was writing the Third Edition of the Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, I originally had over 20 annotated choices per subgenre appearing in chapter 4-13. However, for word count sake, I had to reduce each lists to a well packaged dozen. Obviously making the cuts was hard, but I was able to include the tittles of those deleted annotations in an appendix at the end of the book with a promise that the annotations would run here on the blog.

And that promise begins today. Each list will be posted on the blog over a series of 10 weeks, every Tuesday, beginning June 1, 2021 and running through August 3, 2021. This weekly series will serve to promote the book's upcoming release in August of 2021, but I have also created an archive of all of the lists that will live here. That page is the official index of this bonus content.

In the book, my top three choices in each list are marked to denote Becky's Picks. I will also do that in these lists to give you a place to begin as you suggest. Just like the titles in the print book, every title appearing here is a great options for all public libraries. You can use these lists for collection development, displays, lists, and suggestions. Each subgenre has an essay discussing its history and appeal in the book which you can order here

Bonus Annotations

Chapter 4: Ghosts and Haunted Houses

[+] Denotes Becky’s Picks



Chizmar, Richard and Billy. Widow’s Point. 2018.

Thomas Livingston, bestselling author about the supernatural, is spending three days locked inside Widow’s Point Lighthouse, one of the most haunted places in North America, for his newest book. But even a well prepared expert like Livingston is no match for what lives there. A quick, immervie read with a well developed and eerie found footage frame of recordings, which are all that is left of Livingston and creepy pen and ink drawings scattered throughout, this is a cinematic tale that will have readers looking over the shoulders for days after completing it, even if they live thousands of miles from the shore.

Goodwin, Gail. Grief Cottage. 2017.

After the death of his parents, 11 year old Marcus is sent to live with his reclusive and troubled Aunt. As Marcus navigates his grief and his new life, he learns of the empty cottage nearby, where 50 years before a hurricane swept through and the family who lived there were never seen again, alive or dead. Marcus, drawn to a similar story of lives unended, heads to the cottage, making contact with a ghost boy, but he may not be a friendly ghost. This sad, introspective tale told with spare language by a National Book Award nominee, expertly walks the fine line between life and death at the heart of every ghost story. A great pick for book clubs. 

+Hill, Joe.  Heart-Shaped Box. 2007.

Jude Coyne, an aging rock-star obsessed with the supernatural, buys an old suit, said to come with a ghost, from an Internet auction site. Thinking it is a joke, Coyne ends up getting much more than he bargained for as the ghost has a personal vendetta against him. This is the novel that introduced Hill to the world, and employs his trademark, award winning, and bestselling storytelling style featuring extremely flawed but sympathetic protagonists who are forced to confront their dark side as they battle a supernatural evil in a compellingly paced story.

+Kozeniewski,  Stephen and  Young, Wile E. The Perfectly Fine House. 2020.

Imagine, ghosts not only exist, but they live side by side among the living and thousands of people like Donna run businesses based on the ghost economy. Needing a break from the stress of work, Donna’s ghost brother insists she spend a weekend off the grid at a non-haunted house. What begins as a relaxing getaway, unleashes a force set upon consuming every ghost in the world, destroying the world as everyone knows and loves it. Hooking readers with a gimmick, this novel then delivers with an all too prescient and thought-provoking plot, contemplating how the world as we know it can change in the blink of an eye  An unsettling, compelling and intriguing tale with excellent world building, that will fill readers with existential dread even as they race to see what happens next.


Little, Bentley. The Handyman. 2017.

Daniel, real estate agent, recounts the story of his family’s encounters with Frank, the handyman who built their vacation home back in the 1980s, who is at best a con artist, at worst a man connected to an otherworldly evil. After hearing a client mention the problems with his “Frank” home, Daniel goes on a crosscountry search to try to understand the truth behind Frank. Told in three parts, each with a distinct style and an intensifying terror- a supernatural investigation, a series of impressions of Frank from multiple points of view over the years, and finally, the horrifying and disoteinting conclusion that unites the entire novel- this is a unique take on the trope.


McMahon, Jennifer. The Invited. 2019.

Helen and Nate buy a large tract of land in Vermont, hoping to build their dream home, land the locals say is cursed by the spirit of a witch, Hattie, hanged there almost a century ago. As the couple builds the home, strange things happen including Hattie’s ghost appearing to Helen and encouraging her to look into Hattie’s daughter’s fate, leading Helen down a tragic path of violent deaths in the generations of Hattie’s female descendants. This is a compelling and crowd pleasing supernatural thriller with unease and scares lurking around every corner and a subgenre bending twist. The Winter People is also in this subgenre.


Miskowski, S.P. I Wish I Was Like You. 2017.

Talk about an unsettling opening, it’s 1994 in Seattle and Greta returns home from work, to see herself, dead on the floor. Now she haunts the city, bitter and angry, contemplating her place in the narcissistic world of “cool” grunge culture surrounded by the city's numerous ghosts. Less about its plot and more about the time and place, with a direct and snarky first person narration by Greta who is constantly pointing out the dark humor of her situation and its place in the pantheon of crime fiction and ghost stories, this is a nostalgic, unique and thought provoking chiller. I Wish I Was Like You was a 2017 finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.


Nevill, Adam. Apartment 16. 2010.

A young American woman, Apryl, inherits a posh London apartment from her Aunt Lillian who died under suspicious circumstances. Many said Lillian was mad, but after some investigating, Apryl finds that the truth may be more complicated, involving an evil force trapped in the building. This fast paced, plot driven tale follows most of the established conventions of the subgenre but adds a well built, menacing atmosphere and a third act plot twist, that will satisfy hardcore fans of this subegnre.


Niffenegger, Audrey. Her Fearful Symmetry. 2009.

Identical twins Edie and Elspeth grew up in London until Edie married and moved to the Chicago suburbs and had twins of her own, Julia and Valentina. When Elspeth dies, her ghost is stuck in her flat, but after leaving it to her nieces, Elspeth finds she can still communicate with the girls who have come to enjoy their inheritance. But what begins as a creepy and atmospheric adventure quickly twists into a dark and sinister ghost story. A complex, character-centered, Gothic tale told in a modern setting with a focus on death, family betrayal, mental illness, and cemeteries, this novel is shrouded in a darkness of tone and mood that rarely lifts. But it is also filled with lyrical language, beautiful scenes, and amazing passages that beg to be read a second, or even a third time. 


Pyper, Andrew. The Damned. 2015.

20 years ago, teenagers Danny and Ash died in a house fire. Danny was resurrected, and as an adult has made a career writing about life after death, but what he hasn’t shared with the world is that the ghost of his sister has been with him, and wreaking havoc on his life ever since. Now that Danny has found the love of his life, Ash is determined to destroy the relationship, but Danny is willing to do anything to stop her, even if it puts his own life in mortal danger. The compelling pace and an immersive sense of menace that is established immediately combined with an eerie feeling that this book could be true, makes this a solid subgenre entry. Also, a great suggestion for true crime fans who are willing to suspend some disbelief. 


+Read, Sarah. The Bone Weaver’s Orchard. 2019.

This engrossing Gothic tale framed by the creepy Old Cross School for Boys in the North of England circa 1920 focuses on misfit student Charley. As his classmates begin going missing, Charley knows they did not run away and that the grey figure he has seen in the halls at night is not a figment of his imagination. With the help of his pet insects and the school gardener, Charley begins searching for answers in the tunnels under the school, but is he ready for the horrific truth? A tale that combines the haunted school trope with a compelling character driven story of friendship, bravery, and coming of age that is filled with both nightmares and hope. The Bone Weaver’s Orchard won the 2019 Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.


Shipp, Jeremy C. The Atrocities. 2018.

A novella that puts a unique twist on a trope first explored in The Turn of the Screw, teacher Ms Valdez is invited to a mansion to tutor the young daughter of its owners. There is one problem however, her pupil is dead, and a ghost. With reservations, Valdez agrees to help the family, but things get even more surreal from there. Part haunted house Gothic, part fever dream, this is a creepy psychological tale filled with atmosphere and great descriptions of the terrors that Valdez encounters. 


St James. Simone. The Sun Down Motel 2020.

In 1982, Carly’s Aunt Viv disappeared from the rundown, isolated roadside Sun Down Motel in upstate New York where she worked as a night clerk to save enough money to move to NYC. 35 years later, Carly travels from Illinois to try to solve the mystery. Told in alternating narratives, readers learn of the terrifying murders that plagued the town and fully inhabit the nefariously haunted motel in both timelines. A terrifying and suspenseful tale of small town horror that will appeal to supernatural thriller readers and haunted house fans alike.


Warren, Kaaron. The Grief Hole. 2016.

Grief holes are everywhere. They suck in those who are in despair. A well known singer sends a young artist into a grief hole to capture the faces of young girls who have disappeared into it. When she dies her cousin, someone who can see ghosts, is determined to stop the singer and figure out what is going on. A well paced, character driven story, written so that it deliberately wrings every last drop of emotional responses from the reader; a combination chilling ghost story and a contemplation of the horrors of real life; in equal turns moving, disturbing, and yet utterly beautiful. The Grief Hole won Australia’s Aurealis Award for Best Horror Novel in 2016. Slights is also in this subgenre.



Thursday, September 17, 2020

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway #18: Things That Never Happened

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 #17. Our winner was Yolanda from Scott County [KY] Public Library.


This week I have a story collection and a link to a live book release party for said collection-- Things That Never Happened by Scott Edelman. [ARC is courtesy of Cemetery Dance.]


This is a collection of 13 of his best horror stories from his 40 year career, a career where he has been nominated for dozens of awards as a writer and editor across the entire spectrum of speculative fiction. For this volume he handpicked the stories and has excellent notes about each and his career in general at the end. 


I cannot say enough nice things about Edelman as a person and a writer. First, his stories are ALWAYS inventive, original, and compelling. I have never read an Edelman story that did not engage me emotionally, and that is the entire point of horror. 


Second, he is a national treasure-- that is not an exaggeration. He was involved as a very young man in the earliest days of DC and Marvel. He was the creator and writer behind some of the most seminal comics. He worked for the SyFy channel for over a decade, and has been a huge force in the SF/F/H community for decades. Edelman is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge for the entire comics and speculative fiction industries. 


His Eating the Fantastic podcast is a must listen, for you, yes, but you should also be passing it on to your SF/F/H loving patrons. The premise is that he has a meal with a speculative fiction author and records their conversation while they eat. The results are fascinating.  He gets his interviewees to open up and really look deeply into their own work. He also has one of the most inclusive and diverse rosters of interviewees I have ever seen in a book centric podcast. [And he has found ways to continue throughout the pandemic.] 


Edelman is a tireless champion for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, going way back. Click here to see his amazing speech at a recent World Fantasy Convention where he address his privilege, looks back at his own his career, and asks us all to do better. [Click here for my comments on that address]


And finally, his sense of humor is legendary [see below for just one example, of many].


Please go here to see more about Edelman, his career, and his huge influence on the SF/F/H and comics world. 


Edelman's presence is in every one of your libraries already, you just may not realize it. Fix that by adding this collection to your collections. You can also celebrate the book's release this coming Tuesday with a virtual book launch.


Click here or on the image below to  join Tuesday evening, but I did get the inside scoop. This launch party will include Edelman interviewing the cover artist, Lynne Hansen. Then horror author Kaaron Warren will interview Edelman about his career and the book. Cemetery Dance is offering 3, $50 gift cards to their store during the event-- effectively making this post a double giveaway chance!


But the kicker, is that famous sense of humor. Throughout the entire event he is promising to nibble on a bag of  "zombie skittles." They are supposed to taste disgusting. He is hoping his reactions to the taste will add to the fun of the event.


Ironically, I cannot attend because  I will be recording one of my panels for Librarians' Day, but all of you should watch. I will catch the recording.


Good luck this week!






Monday, April 20, 2020

2019 Bram Stoker Awards Results

The 2019 Bram Stoker Award winners were announced in a virtual presentation on HWA’s YouTube channel on April 18, 2020

I am posting the winners here on the horror blog so that the titles are searchable. Please go to the Bram Stoker Awards Homepage for more details on the awards, current winners, past winners, and more.
Superior Achievement in a Novel
Winner: Goingback, Owl – Coyote Rage (Independent Legions Publishing)
Also nominated:Malerman, Josh – Inspection (Del Rey)Miskowski, S.P. – The Worst is Yet to Come (Trepidatio Publishing)Murray, Lee – Into the Ashes (Severed Press)Wendig, Chuck – Wanderers (Del Rey)
Superior Achievement in a First Novel
Winner: Read, Sarah – The Bone Weaver’s Orchard (Trepidatio Publishing)
Also nominated:Amor, Gemma – Dear Laura (Independently Published)Guignard, Eric J. – Doorways to the Deadeye (JournalStone)Lane, Michelle Renee – Invisible Chains (Haverhill House Publishing)Starling, Caitlin – The Luminous Dead (Harper Voyager)
Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel
Winner: Nzondi – Oware Mosaic (Omnium Gatherum)
Also nominated:Bérubé, Amelinda – Here There Are Monsters (Sourcebooks Fire)Dávila Cardinal, Ann – Five Midnights (Tor Teen)Gardner, Liana – Speak No Evil (Vesuvian Books)Marshall, Kate Alice – Rules for Vanishing (Viking Books for Young Readers)Salomon, Peter Adam – Eight Minutes, Thirty-Two Seconds (PseudoPsalms Press)
Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel
Winner: Doran, Colleen & Gaiman, Neil – Neil Gaiman’s Snow, Glass, Apples
(Dark Horse Books)
Also nominated:Bunn, Cullen – Bone Parish Vol. 2 (BOOM! Studios)Liu, Marjorie – Monstress Volume 4: The Chosen (Image Comics)Manzetti, Alessandro – Calcutta Horror (Independent Legions Publishing)Tanabe, Gou – H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness Volume 1 (Dark Horse Manga)
Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
Winner: LaValle, Victor – Up from Slavery (Weird Tales Magazine#363) (Weird Tales Inc.)
Also nominated:Manzetti, Alessandro – The Keeper of Chernobyl (Omnium Gatherum)Taborska, Anna – The Cat Sitter (Shadowcats) (Black Shuck Books)Tantlinger, Sara – To Be Devoured (Unnerving)Warren, Kaaron – Into Bones Like Oil (Meerkat Shorts)
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
Winner: Kiste, Gwendolyn – “The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt from Lucy Westenra’s Diary)” (Nightmare Magazine Nov. 2019, Issue 86)
Also nominated:Chapman, Greg – “The Book of Last Words” (This Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Stories) (Things in the Well Publishing)Landry, Jess – “Bury Me in Tar and Twine” (Tales of the Lost Volume 1: We All Lose Something!) (Things in the Well Publishing)O’Quinn, Cindy – “Lydia” (The Twisted Book of Shadows) (Twisted Publishing)Waggoner, Tim – “A Touch of Madness”(The Pulp Horror Book of Phobias) (LVP Publications)
Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection
Winner: Tremblay, Paul – Growing Things and Other Stories (William Morrow)
Also nominated:Chiang, Ted – Exhalation: Stories (Knopf)Jonez, Kate – Lady Bits (Trepidatio Publishing)Langan, John – Sefira and Other Betrayals (Hippocampus Press)Read, Sarah – Out of Water (Trepidatio Publishing)
Superior Achievement in a Screenplay
Winner: Peele, Jordan – Us (Monkeypaw Productions, Perfect World Pictures, Dentsu, Fuji Television Network, Universal Pictures)
Also nominated:Aster, Ari – Midsommar (B-Reel Films, Square Peg)Duffer Brothers, The – Stranger Things (Season 3, Chapter Eight: The Battle of Starcourt) (Netflix)Eggers, Robert and Eggers, Max – The Lighthouse (A24, New Regency Pictures, RT Features)Flanagan, Mike – Doctor Sleep (Warner Bros., Intrepid Pictures/Vertigo Entertainment)
Superior Achievement in an Anthology
Winner: Datlow, Ellen – Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories (Gallery/Saga Press)
Also nominated:Brozek, Jennifer – A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods (Pulse Publishing)Golden, Christopher and Moore, James A. – The Twisted Book of Shadows (Twisted Publishing)Guignard, Eric J. – Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror (Dark Moon Books)Wilson, Robert S. – Nox Pareidolia (Nightscape Press)
Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction
Winner: Kröger, Lisa and Anderson, Melanie R. – Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction (Quirk Books)
Also nominated:
Beal, Eleanor and Greenaway, Jonathan – Horror and Religion: New Literary Approaches to Theology, Race, and Sexuality (University of Wales Press)Earle, Harriet E.H. – Gender, Sexuality, and Queerness in American Horror Story: Critical Essays (McFarland)Heller-Nicholas, Alexandra – Masks in Horror Cinema: Eyes Without Faces (University of Wales Press)Kachuba, John B. – Shapeshifters: A History (Reaktion Books)
Superior Achievement in Short Non-Fiction
Winner: Kiste, Gwendolyn – “Magic, Madness, and Women Who Creep: The Power of Individuality in the Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman”
(Vastarien: A Literary Journal Vol. 2, Issue 1)
Also nominated:Liaguno, Vince A. – “Slasher Films Made Me Gay: The Queer Appeal and Subtext of the Genre” (LGBTQ+ Horror Month: 9/1/2019, Ginger Nuts of Horror)Renner, Karen J.“The Evil Aging Women of American Horror Story” (Elder Horror: Essays on Film’s Frightening Images of Aging) (McFarland)Robinson, Kelly – “Film’s First Lycanthrope: 1913’s The Werewolf” (Scary Monsters Magazine #114)Weich, Valerie E. – “Lord Byron’s Whipping Boy: Dr. John William Polidori and the 200th Anniversary of The Vampyre” (Famous Monsters of Filmland, Issue #291)
Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection
Winner: Addison, Linda D. and Manzetti, Alessandro – The Place of Broken Things
(Crystal Lake Publishing)
Also nominated:Cade, Octavia – Mary Shelley Makes a Monster (Aqueduct Press)Lynch, Donna – Choking Back the Devil (Raw Dog Screaming Press)Scalise, Michelle – Dragonfly and Other Songs of Mourning (LVP Publications)Simon, Marge and Dietrich, Bryan D. – The Demeter Diaries (Independent Legions Publishing)Wytovich, Stephanie M. – The Apocalyptic Mannequin (Raw Dog Screaming Press)