Big News for the Summer Scares Authors Panels

I can finally announce this! 

In past years, the Summer Scares committee has hosted panel discussions with the authors-- one panel per age group-- and we posted them on the HWA You Tube channel for free.

This year, however, we have coordinated with our Summer Scares partner, Booklist to take advantage of their robust, regularly scheduled, FREE webinars, and have scheduled all 3 panels to be offered live with easy, free on-demand access.

The first one features the Middle Grade authors and is Friday, May 12 at 1 pm CT. Julia Smith, from Booklist and our Summer Scares MG expert will be moderating.

By working with Booklist for these webinars we can now give the Summer Scares program a larger reach. The webinar announcements will end up on the radar of thousands of library workers. We also have gotten more buy in from the publishers than we ever have before, again, because they trust Booklist webinars. And we can take advantage of the archiving of past programs which Booklist does so well. Library workers already know to go to that archived webinars page to look for training of any kind, on demand, and for free.

Sign up for the MG panel today with this link. Or pass it on to your YS staff. The YA panel will be later in May and the Adult in early June. I will announce them all on both blogs just as I am doing this MG announcement today.

I will also add the link to the archived webinar after it happen to the Summer Scares Resources page. And those Summer Scares pages get archived as well here. Which means, not only can you watch this year's panels after they happen at this link, but also, you can still easily access those old YouTube discussions at this link.

I hope you join us!

Summer Scares Middle-Grade Panel  

Date & Time: May 12, 2023 01:00 PM CT

Description: Gather ‘round the campfire for a spine-tingling discussion of this year’s middle-grade horror selections for the Summer Scares Reading Program, a program designed for libraries by the Horror Writers Association, in partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, and Booklist. Books for Youth senior editor Julia Smith will gab with Summer Scares authors Katherine Arden (SMALL SPACES), K. G. Campbell (A SMALL ZOMBIE PROBLEM), and Dan SaSuWeh Jones (LIVING GHOSTS & MISCHIEVOUS MONSTERS) about all things horror and why scary stories belong on children’s shelves, both at home and at the library. This free, one-hour webinar will take place on Friday, May 12th at 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET. Register now, or the banshees will haunt you forever. 

Click here to register-- FOR FREE-- now!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 119: 2 FINISHED Copies of a New Story Collection

This week I have 2 FINISHED copies of a brand new story collection that is from one of my most trusted small presses and has praise from Gwendolyn Kiste. Details below, but first, here is 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 #118. Our 2 winners were Chris from Hardwood Creek [MN] Library and Kelly from Boston [MA] Public Library. Now to this week's giveaway.

This week I have TWO FINISHED COPIES of Constellations of Ruin: Stories by Andrew S. Fuller. Why the capitalization? Because, I normally give away ARCs which you cannot add to your collections. This book however, I highly suggest you  add if you win, and consider ordering is you don't. Here is the back cover copy including praise from Gwendolyn Kiste:

An octopus chosen for a secret mission; generations march through a mycelial tunnel in space; spirits visit a post-apocalyptic fishing village; houses revel when no one is home; a lifetime of seeing invisible monsters; the world begins granting unspoken wishes—these are only a few of the encounters in Constellations of Ruin. In this short story collection, Andrew S. Fuller explores growth and loss, survival and resistance, on a tour from lost neighborhoods to cursed cities to strange futures. Each tale contains wonder and horror, crafted in a stirring and unforgettable manner. 

“The 26 diverting speculative shorts of Fuller’s collection prove entirely transporting.”—Publishers Weekly 

“These strange and heady tales will take you into worlds of dreams and nightmares, carrying you along with vivid and immersive prose that will take hold of you and not let you go. Put this collection at the top of your reading list.”—Gwendolyn Kiste, three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals

And here is more about the author as well:

Andrew S. Fuller writes stories that have appeared in magazines, anthologies, comics, and short films, and his debut fiction collection Constellations of Ruin coming April 2023. Since 1999, he has served as Editor of Three-Lobed Burning Eye magazine, publishing stories by many authors. He grew up Nebraska and other places, climbing trees and reading books, dabbling in archery and metal music, and now lives in Portland, Oregon with his spouse and pets, not far from rivers and forests and a few extinct(?) volcanoes. Find him online at andrewsfuller.com, and on social media as @andrewsfuller.

As I mentioned above, JournalStone/Trepidatio is one of my most trusted independent publishers. They put out books by a huge range of authors, including NYT bestsellers. Their books stand up to multiple checkouts. And, most importantly, their editors have an eye for talent. 

Get on the Fuller bandwagon now by entering this week's giveaway.

Please note, these books will come directly from the author as soon as he receives his author copies. The book is coming out this week. I will send your addresses to the author after confirming with you. 

I am asking you, the winners, to add these to your collections and get them into your horror reader's hands. And if you are not the winner, consider visiting their website and ordering one (or other books by JournalStone/Trepidatio) for your collection.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 118: 2 copies of No One Will Come Back For Us: Stories

This week I have 2 copies of an excellent dark speculative collection by an up and coming author courtesy of one of my favorite independent Horror presses, one you will be hearing more about in the coming days. Details below, but first, here is 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 #117. Our 2 winners were Kevin from Ruth Hughes Memorial District Library [MI] and Christina from Thayer Public Library [MA]. Now to this week's giveaway.

My April 2023 Horror Review Column is now live [you  can access it all on the general blog here] and in that column I have a glowing review of No One Will Come Back for Us: Stories by Premee Mohamed:

Three Words That Describe This Book: confident, full spectrum of dark speculative, reclaiming Lovecraft 

Draft Review: Mohamed’s debut collection contains 17 stories that span the entirety of today’s dark speculative landscape and present a vision of its emerging future. Many of tales use a Lovecraftian frame, set in the author’s “real gods” universe, exploring the well trod cosmic concepts of hopelessness and fear with a fresh vision, often incorporating parent-child relationships such as in the Pushcart Prize nominated story “Willing” featuring a farmer and his beloved younger daughter who is summoned by the gods to be sacrificed and the eco-Horror tinged “The Evaluator,” presenting a possessed child in a landscape where the old gods have been destroyed by pollution. No matter the plot or setting, however, each story is marked by a strong narrative voice, confident world building, and an unease that seeps into every corner. leaving readers unsettled but also looking at their world from a new perspective. 

Verdict: Introducing an exciting new voice, this collection will be enjoyed by fans of Cassandra Khaw and Lucy Snyder, but more importantly, it presents another stellar collection by Undertow Publications, making the independent publisher a not to miss player in the Horror marketplace.

This is an author you need to know about now. Thank you to Undertow Publications for sending me 2 advanced copies of this collection to give away to 2 of you. 

Enter once and you are entered going forward. I have some HUGE authors coming to the giveaway including Daniel Kraus, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Isabel Cañas, Clay McLeod Chapman, Paul Tremblay and MORE! Don't miss out. Enter today. 

Good luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 117: 2 Winners of the Hottest Debut Novel of 2023

This week I have 2 copies of the hottest but of the year courtesy of Clash Books. Details below, but first, here is 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 #116. Our winner was Nicole from Queens [NY] Library. Now to this week's giveaway.

My April 2023 Horror Review Column is now live [you  can access it all on the general blog here] and one of my STAR reviews is Eric LaRocca's debut novel, Everything the Darkness Eats. I LOVED this book. Clash Books sent me 2 ARCs, which means, we will have 2 winners this week.

Here is my draft review with 3 words from Goodreads:

Three words that describe this book: emotionally resonant, cosmic twist on small town horror, strong characters 

Draft Review: Adding a cosmic twist to the small town horror trope, LaRocca introduces readers to Henley’s Edge, where everyone knows each other, but also, a place where evil, both human and supernatural, has taken hold. Senior women have been disappearing without a trace. The local cop, Malik, is unable to find any leads, while simultaneously facing violent, homophobic attacks in his own home. Heart Crowley is a rich, funeral plot salesman who wants to help people find everything they are looking for in this life, if only they will go into his basement first. And then there is Ghost, an unlikely hero, a young man grieving a huge loss, literally stalked by guilt. Beginning with a terrifying prologue that makes the evil all are up against abundantly clear, and continuing to enhance the dread with scenes of palpable fear, deep-seated trauma, and visceral villainy, this remarkable debut will move readers through every possible emotion, with language that is in equal turns brutal and beautiful, and expertly built, messily realistic characters. Undeniably a tale filled with shock and disgust, but like the very best Horror, it is a story that seeks to elevate love and allow humanity to shine through. 

Verdict: LaRocca has seen viral success with his shorter works, but this novel demonstrates their growth as a writer. A perfect example of how the influx of writers from historical marginalized communities are actively mining the horror of their personal experiences to create terrifying, original and emotionally resonant works that speak loudly to all readers much like Hailey Piper, RJ. Joseph, and V. Castro.

Good luck. Remember if you enter once you are entered going forward, and there are a lot of good titles coming. Don't miss out. 

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 116: The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror

Today in honor of the impending release of my friend and colleague, Robin Bradford's, Reader's' Advisory Guide to Romance, I am giving away a finished copy of my Horror book from the same series. Details below, but first, here is 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 #115. Our winner was Kelsey from the W. Anne Gibson-Esmond Station  Library [AZ]. Now to this week's giveaway.

Click on the image
for more info

As I mentioned on the general blog today, I am celebrating Robin's Romance book release by giving away a copy of my book from the series, The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, Third Edition,

There isn't much more to say here on about this book because this blog is literally the online home for this book, your free update to the print copy. I even have a page for the overflow titles I had to cut from the book here for free.

I believe that this book, and every book in the series (well the up dated ones at least), should be owned by every library in America. They are written to be used both as an equational tool for yourself AND as a go to resource to suggest books to readers on the fly. 

Enter today. This is a $65 value for FREE.

This giveaway is courtesy of me. But if you don't win, I highly suggest you order a copy of both my guide to Horror and Robin's guide to Romance. I promise you, they will help you to help your readers immediately.

And stay tuned because next week I will have 2 winners of one of the most anticipated books of the year, Eric LaRocca's debut novel. My STAR review will be appearing in the April 2023 issue of Library Journal. You don't want to miss  this one.

Good luck this week and every week going forward. 

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway This Week is Free to ALL

I am interrupting my weekly giveaway of a book to a single winner to offer you all something awesome.

The 2023 Summer Scares Programming Guide! You can click here to have full access to this beautiful, full color PDF courtesy of the Konrad Stump and his colleagues at the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

It is FREE. Every program idea, every book discussion question, each readalike, they are all FREE for you to use with your patrons all year long.

Click on the image below or here to enter the guide. You can also always find more information about Summer Scares at our Resource page here.

And finally, don't forget past year's program guides are just as awesome as this one. You can use any of them to promote Horror to all ages of readers today, tomorrow, this summer, next winter...all year long. We simply use summer as the hook, but these books and the programming ideas work any time of year. With 4 years of guides no available that is 36 titles, plus the 4 readalikes per title that gives you 144 titles vetted horror titles that you could use to build out a display tomorrow, one that will serve all ages of Horror fans. (And that doesn't even take into consideration other books by our chosen authors and the titles that are part of larger series). Links to past guides:

• 2022 Summer Scares programming Guide
• 2021 Summer Scares Programming Guide 
• 2020 Summer Scares Programming Guide

Horror is for all ages, anytime of year, and Summer Scares is here to help you suggest scary titles with confidence. Prepared book talks included.

If you have any questions or you want to book a Summer Scares author for a virtual visit to your library, email libraries at horror dot org.

Click here to access the guide

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 115: Novellas by Lee Mandelo and Carson Winter

After taking a break from the giveaway last week so that I could head to Disney World and watch my kid lead the marching band thought the Magic Kingdom, I am offering you all l2 books. 2 upcoming novellas, one from a major publisher and one from a smaller one, both good. Details below, but first, here are the details 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 giveaway #114. Our winner was Crystal from Bear River [CA] Library. Now to this week's giveaway.

First up, a SF-Horror novella from Tor.Com by Lee Mandela whose novel, Summer Sons I really enjoyed in 2021. This new novella is entitled Feed Them Silence and it is chilling. From the cover copy:

Lee Mandelo dives into the minds of wolves in Feed Them Silence, a novella of the near future. 

What does it mean to "be-in-kind" with a nonhuman animal? Or in Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon’s case, to be in-kind with one of the last remaining wild wolves? Using a neurological interface to translate her animal subject’s perception through her own mind, Sean intends to chase both her scientific curiosity and her secret, lifelong desire to experience the intimacy and freedom of wolfishness. To see the world through animal eyes; smell the forest, thick with olfactory messages; even taste the blood and viscera of a fresh kill. And, above all, to feel the belonging of the pack.

Sean’s tireless research gives her a chance to fulfill that dream, but pursuing it has a terrible cost. Her obsession with work endangers her fraying relationship with her wife. Her research methods threaten her mind and body. And the attention of her VC funders could destroy her subject, the beautiful wild wolf whose mental world she’s invading.

My friend and colleague Anna Mickelsen reviewed Feed them Silence for Booklist here. From that review:

"Mandelo deftly illustrates the disintegration of a marriage while addressing serious questions: can a profit-driven company ever truly fund conservation? How much self-sabotage can a relationship sustain? Climate-fiction readers, Sarah Gailey fans, and folk-horror aficionados should all take note."

This is a great genre blend title by an upcoming author from the industry leader in speculative novellas. 

But wait, there's more.....

This past October, I featured a new and promising Horror Indie press during 31 Days of Horror, Tenebrous Press. You can click here to read more about them and their mission. 

They also have a SF-Horror novella coming later this month called Soft Targets by Carson Winter. This one is chilling both for the speculative aspects and because it feels way too real. Here is the cover copy:

You know that office bromance: two of a kind, always taking their lunch together, always wearing the same sly grin. Only ever a hair away from a cold joke about how spreadsheets are a living hell; about taking a bullet if it means going home early on Friday. Sometimes in these fantasies, they’re heroes being hauled out on a stretcher. 

Sometimes they’re the ones pulling the trigger. 

Now, say these guys discover a loophole that makes some days less real than others—less permanent—and start to act out their violent fantasies without fear of reprisal. Why shouldn’t they? Tomorrow, everything will go back to normal, with no one the wiser but them. 

They’ll always remember what it felt like to act on their basest impulses. They’ll know how it could feel to do it again. 

Maybe you don’t know these guys. Maybe you don’t want to. 

Soft Targets is a reality-bending novella about malignant malaise; the surrender to violence; and the addictive appeal of tragedy as entertainment. 

Contains graphic depictions of gun violence in the workplace; caution recommended.

Soft Targets is terrifying, a thought provoking title that takes our current reality and pushes it up just another notch to make it even more scary, which ultimately makes the world outside the book even more full of dread. You cannot read this book and not think about it. 

It has a Groundhog's Day feel, but more sinister. I would give this book to Blake Crouch fans without hesitation. That author readalike comp alone is why you should buy this book and have it for all of your Crouch fans. 

However, it's not just about the readalike, on its own this is a solid book. The direct narration makes the reader complicit in the story in a way that increases the terror, much like Anybody Home? by Michael Seidlinger (which I loved and am still thinking about the way it made me feel) or the upcoming Maeve Fly by CJ Leeds (for which I have a glowing review dropping in the April 2023 issue of LJ. 

Soft Targets is violent; the publisher has even included that content warning in the cover copy above. But it is also extremely thought-provoking. Like the very best SF-Horror combos, it keeps you hooked on the story while reading it, but then it makes you take a deeper look at your real present after.  

Get this book and Tenebrous Press on your radar. 

Enter to win this 2-Pack of SF-Horror novellas right now. And remember, you enter once and you are entered going forward. Good luck.