31 Days of Horror: Day 31-- Guest Post by Lisa Morton

Happy Halloween! We have hit the final day of 31 Days of Horror and today I have a treat.  Lisa Morton, author of the brand new Trick or Treat?: A History of Halloween is our guest poster today.  As I wrote about this book in Library Journal:

"Finally, for nonfiction fans, Lisa Morton’s Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween (Reaktion, dist. by Univ. of Chicago. 2012. ISBN 9781780230474. $29) covers the history of Halloween from its ancient Celtic roots to its stunning growth in global popularity in the 21st century. Morton is an accomplished horror short story writer, and her ability to draw readers in quickly and keep them turning the pages shines through in her nonfiction as well. Lavishly illustrated, this solidly researched and concise work is fun to read and a great choice for readers who want to know why we seek out the scary each October. Lisa is joining us today to talk about her love of Halloween."

Lisa also posted this list of "Ten Classics of Halloween Fiction" over on Monster Librarian's blog this week. 

Before I go though, just a quick note to tell you I will be back tomorrow with a very special bonus 32nd day of 31 Days of Horror.  Until then, enjoy the holiday.  I will be out with my little Indian Jones and zombie rocker scamming for candy.

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Why I Keep Writing Books About Halloween
By Lisa Morton


Back in 2011, when an editor at the fabulous Reaktion Books approached me about doing a Halloween book for them, I was ecstatic. Not only was I fan of Reaktion Books’ beautifully-designed and slightly irreverent pop culture histories – I’d gobbled up everything from Spiders to Ice Cream – but I’d also just finished work on the 2nd edition of my Halloween Encyclopedia. I’d spent hundreds of hours poring over everything from eighteenth-century folklore collections to modern websites, and had crafted the most comprehensive collection of Halloween facts ever published. I thought I surely knew everything it was possible to know about the holiday. It’d be a breeze to write a narrative history, right?

I wasn’t just wrong – I was wrong in a way that meant I was in for a long string of surprises.

Here’s one of the (many) things I love about Halloween: It’s what folklorist Jack Santino calls “polysemic”, meaning it was many meanings. Look, for example, at the decorations that line store aisles every October, and you’ll see Halloween connected with harvest, with candy, with death, with comedy and whimsy, with children, with teenagers, with adults, with animals, and of course with fear. What started thousands of years ago as a Celtic New Years’ celebration called Samhain has transformed from that three-day festival (complete with feasting and spooky stories) to a somber religious observance of the dead to a raucous night for young people to party and tell fortunes to polite Victorian gatherings to an evening of destructive prank-playing to a “masked solicitation ritual” for young children called trick or treat to a night when adults challenge their fears in the relative safety of large-scale haunted attractions.

I knew all of this when I started work on Trick or Treat?: A History of Halloween, and given how Halloween seems to constantly shift and change, I expected to find a few new facts that had appeared in just the brief time since I’d finished work on The Halloween Encyclopedia.

What I didn’t anticipate was a veritable explosion in Halloween’s global popularity.

When my editor at Reaktion suggested broadening the book’s examination of the global celebration, I thought, Well, that’ll be easy, because it’s really an American holiday. Outside of its past in the British Isles and All Saints’ Day observances, I didn’t expect to find much else.

What I did find was that Halloween had become a gigantic U.S. export just since 2006. Here a few of the amazing facts I came across:

* One major British supermarket chain (Waitrose) reported a whopping 676% increase in sales of large pumpkins from 2009 to 2010.

* Another British supermarket chain (Tesco) didn’t even start stocking adult Halloween costumes until 2009.

* In 2007, the popular Belgian amusement park Walibi added Halloween “Fright Nights” (converting amusement parks to Halloween attractions has proven hugely successful throughout Europe over the last few years)

* A sociologist has stated that, as of 2009, Halloween has “become part of the cultural capital (and hence of the identity) of a generation of young Germans.”

* In Ukraine, where a pumpkin traditionally symbolized a woman’s rejection of a suitor (to “hand you a pumpkin” still means turning down a deal), Halloween is celebrated by large dance performances to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

* Despite being condemned by both the Moscow Department of Education and priests from the Russian Orthodox Church, a 2010 Russian newspaper article described Halloween as “growing exponentially” there.

* Halloween is not celebrated in the Middle East, but a 2009 WikiLeaks document detailed a decadent Halloween celebration among wealthy young Saudis, complete with costumes and drinking.

* A 2006 article in China Daily suggested that young Chinese people were starting to prefer Halloween to their own Yue Laan – the “Hungry Ghost Festival” – because Halloween was more “fun” and lacked the genuinely frightening elements of the native festival.

By the way, Halloween hasn’t been universally embraced – major French newspapers declared the holiday there “pretty much dead” in 2006, thanks to anti-American sentiments and a preference for the quieter, traditional observance of All Saints’ Day (which is celebrated with visits to cemeteries). But that rejection of the holiday is definitely the exception, not the rule.

So…why is the world suddenly embracing Halloween? The answer seems to be mainly split between two factors: 1) American retailing, as worldwide chains like McDonald’s and Disney employ Halloween merchandising; and 2) American culture, as movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Halloween episodes of American television series (especially sitcoms – the world seems to love American sitcoms) are viewed around the globe.

I would argue that Halloween speaks to something deeper in us as well, and that those exports just served as the gateway drugs. Halloween inaugurates that time of year when we’ve brought in the harvest but secretly dread the arrival of long winter nights; it tells us that we can survive the darkest months by treating our fears in a playful manner (the fact that Halloween has found very
little support in the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed, I think lends credence to this notion).

At this point I’d like to think I’m done with writing about Halloween (in the non-fiction sense, at least), but something tells me that it’ll change again in a few years, and some publisher will make me an offer I can’t refuse, and I’ll be pulled back in. I’ll probably think, Hey, piece of cake – I know everything about this holiday, right?

And I will forget again how often I’ve been wrong about that very thing.

copyright © 2012 Lisa Morton
lisa@lisamorton.com
http://www.lisamorton.com

31 Days of Horror: Day 31 A Holiday Reading List for Libraries by Lisa Morton

Happy Halloween! We made it. See and you didn't get too scared this month.

This year I have asked Lisa Morton, international Halloween expert, author, and the current President of the HWA back to the blog to help us celebrate [click here for her past appearances].

She wanted to share with you six Halloween titles that she feels are perfect for public library collections. She made sure they were in paperback [to save us money] and in print. She also included the link for you to order them directly from the publisher. Thanks to Lisa and HAPPY HALLOWEEN to you all.

I will be back tomorrow with a 31 Days wrap up post, but remember, just because Halloween is today that doesn't mean you cannot suggest great scary reads all year long.

☠☠☠☠☠☠☠☠☠☠☠☠

Six Halloween Books Every Library Should Have 
By Lisa Morton 

As a Halloween expert, I’ve been known to refer to my favorite day of the year as “the most misunderstood holiday.” I encounter a lot of misconceptions about the holiday, everything from the notion that it’s based on a day when ancient Celts worshipped a Lord of Death (it’s not), to “trick or treat is centuries old” (again – it’s not), to concerns that anonymous psychos tampering with candy is a real problem every year (surprise answer: it’s not). 

Fortunately, over the last twenty years a number of excellent books about Halloween have been published, so I consider it my civic duty to let librarians know that they can assist in countering these mistaken notions of Halloween by putting these titles on their shelves. 
Plus, they’re all really fun books that patrons will enjoy, and will likely want to check out even when it’s not October. 

Here are six that are still in print as trade paperbacks and are all worthwhile additions to any collection: 

A Halloween Reader: Poems, Stories, and Plays from Halloweens Past, edited by Lesley Pratt 

Bannatyne, published by Pelican Publishing. Bannatyne is one of the world’s leading authorities on the holiday, so you know this anthology of stories, poems, and articles was chosen with knowledge and care. The book includes classic works (Robert Burns’s poem “Hallowe’en”), pieces by great authors (James Joyce, Edith Wharton, Edgar Allan Poe), and lesser-known but equally wonderful entries. It works as either a reference volume or just an enjoyable, casual reader. Younger readers will find plenty to scarf down here, too. 

The Mammoth Book of Halloween Stories, edited by Stephen Jones, published by Skyhorse Publishing. 

Halloween fiction has become immensely popular over the last twenty years, and there are a number of fine anthologies out there. This one, just released two months ago, packs twenty-six stories into nearly 500 pages, so every reader is sure to find new seasonal favorites in this “mammoth book.” Authors include such genre luminaries as Ramsey Campbell, Jane Yolen, Neil Gaiman, Joe R. Lansdale, Nancy Kilpatrick, and many more. Be aware that these stories are not intended for very young readers. 

Drawn to the Dark: Explorations in Scare Tourism Around the World, by Chris Kullstroem, published by Pelican Publishing.

This is the only title on this list that’s not 100% about Halloween (although it has a wonderful chapter on playing a monster in a Halloween haunted attraction), but I’m recommending it because it offers a compelling examination of similar festivals and attractions around the world and makes us realize why the things we love about Halloween are universal. Don’t be surprised if you want to book some airline tickets after reading this!

The Halloween Encyclopedia (2nd edition), by Lisa Morton, published by McFarland and Co., Inc. 

Although this book is really intended for either academics or serious Halloweenaholics, it’s also illustrated throughout and written in an accessible style that makes for fun, enlightening browsing. 

Halloween and Other Festivals of Life and Death, edited by Jack Santino, published by the University of Tennessee Press. This is the one truly academic title on this list, but the papers assembled here have made it the classic for Halloween scholars. Santino is a folklorist who is without peer in the field of serious Halloween studies, plus the selections offer up some wonderful takes on Halloween (like the importance of noisemakers in the past) that you won’t find elsewhere. 

Halloween: The History of America’s Darkest Holiday, by David J. Skal, published by Dover Publications. Originally released under the title Death Makes a Holiday, this is an entertaining pop culture history by the always-reliable Skal. Dover has reprinted it in an affordable paperback with a kickin’ new cover. 

Happy Halloween, everyone! 
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BIO: Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of non-fiction books, and award-winning prose writer whose work was described by the American Library Association’s Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror as “consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening”. She is the author of four novels and more than 130 short stories, a six-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award®, and a world-class Halloween expert. She co-edited (with Ellen Datlow) the anthology Haunted Nights; other recent releases include Ghosts: A Haunted History and the collection The Samhanach and Other Halloween Treats. Forthcoming in 2019 is an anthology of classic ghost stories, co-edited with Leslie Klinger, and short fiction in books including Odd Partners, edited by Anne Perry. Lisa lives in Los Angeles and online at http://www.lisamorton.com .

Bram Stoker Preliminary Ballot

The preliminary ballot came out for the Bram Stokers and many of the books I reviewed and the authors who joined me here on the blog were honored for their great work.

Click here for the full preliminary ballot.

But here is the list (with links) of books and authors who appeared on this blog.

• Ethridge, Benjamin Kane – Bottled Abyss (Redrum Horror) 
• Everson, John – NightWhere (Samhain Publishing)
• Faherty, JG – Cemetery Club (JournalStone)  [Also click here for posts from the staff at JournalStone]
• Jordan, Lee F. – Coronation (Black Rose Writing) 
• McKinney, Joe – Inheritance (Evil Jester Press) 
• Wood, Rocky, and Lisa Morton – Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times (McFarland) [Please click on Wood's and Morton's names separately as each appeared on the blog in separate posts]
• Morton, Lisa – Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween (Reaktion Books)

Congrats to all of those on the prelim ballot, but a special good luck to these friends of RA for All: Horror.  I am happy to help you to spread your excellent contributions to horror literature and am honored that you took the time to talk to my readers.

WiHM Guest Post by Lisa Morton

If I had to pick a single favorite woman in horror today it would be Lisa Morton.  I went out on a limb back in 2012 by putting her in my book as one of the top women in horror.  I am so glad the rest of the world is starting to agree with me.

Lisa has always been generous with her time, and this WiHM is no different.  She is spreading the gospel of women in horror EVERYWHERE, including here.

Below Lisa writes about how she creates female protagonists.

But before you get to that I especially want to mention her newest novel, Netherworld, which I will be featuring in my Halfway to Halloween list coming in the April 15, 2014 issue of Library Journal.  It is a compelling blend of historical fiction, horror, and adventure led by one badass Victorian lady.  Think female Indian Jones battles supernatural evil.  This is a dark fantasy series to keep an eye on and is perfect for most public library collections.

Now, here’s Lisa...

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GUEST BLOG BY LISA MORTON

Since February is “Women in Horror Month,” I thought I’d take up a little of the space Becky has so kindly provided here to talk about how I craft female protagonists in my horror novels. I’ve written four novels now (The Castle of Los Angeles, Malediction, Netherworld, and the forthcoming Zombie Apocalypse: Washington Deceased) and all four of my novels have centered on women leads. Just to assure everyone that I’m not writing the same character over and over, these women have been (in order) a theater director, a teacher, a nineteenth-century British noblewoman, and the Director of the Secret Service. Two of my novels – The Castle of Los Angeles and Malediction – also feature feminine antagonists.

Too often in horror, women serve as victims or mere slaughter fodder. If I ask you, “Quick, off the top of your head: What do female characters usually do in horror?,” I’m betting you’ll go right to the movies and think of the screaming damsel in high heels fleeing through the woods who trips just as the monster or slasher is closing in on her (and I don’t blame you for that, by the way – it’s such a stereotypical image that it’s hard to escape!). In the more extreme end of horror fiction, women might serve primarily as the objects of rape, mutilation and murder. 

Even in middle-of-the-road horror (as in many other forms of fiction), the women in the cast of characters are often defined by their relationship to the strong male leads – they’re somebody’s wife/girlfriend/sister/mom. Their physical characteristics might read more like an ad at a dating service; I was recently e-chatting with a group of women writers who were commenting on how often breast size was mentioned in regards to female characters.

A lot of women authors tend to write male protagonists, but personally I find it more interesting to get into a woman’s head, maybe because I’ve already spent a lot of time there. With something like The Castle of Los Angeles, using a woman as my lead character was never a question, partly because I was basing the novel’s story and structure on the traditional Gothic tale, and partly because I gave my lead character Beth Ortiz a job I’ve held myself (directing and producing small theater). For Malediction, I wanted to explore destruction versus creation, and it just seemed obvious to make my nurturing, healing lead a woman. With Zombie Apocalypse: Washington Deceased, I was hired to create a tie-in novel to a successful anthology series, and the editor (Stephen Jones) asked me to create a strong central woman in the White House.

I approached Netherworld with a more deliberate attempt to subvert gender and genre. I had been working on a story involving Van Helsing, the original vampire slayer, and I began to imagine how much more interesting he’d be had he been female. Next, I imagined moving the age back and making my female Van Helsing young and (for the nineteenth century) hip, kind of like a Victorian version of Emma Peel from The Avengers. I wanted her to travel the globe fighting evil, so I created a series of mystical gateways scattered around the world that she must close; and to give her adventures a dynamic raison d’etre, I made her a young widow (as Mrs. Peel was) searching for clues to the murder of her husband. 

However, since she would be British and traveling the globe in 1879-1880, there was one more thing I wanted to do with her: Have her experience and react to the horrors of that century’s British imperialism, which included The Raj in India and the opium trade with China. She might be an adventurous, passionate heroine, but she would also experience a political awakening…even while she was fighting off monsters. 

Lastly, I wanted to give her a name that would be a nod to a fantasy novel that I think is an underrated gem, and so I stole “Furnaval” from Charles Williams’ All Hallows’ Eve (although I altered the spelling slightly from the original “Furnival”). Her first name references both the legendary goddess of the hunt and, of course, the brilliant actress who played Mrs. Emma Peel. 

Once I had Lady Diana Furnaval’s character locked down, it was easy to create situations to put her into. I had tremendous fun traveling the world with her, and I’m already looking forward to her next book, when she’ll travel into another world that I won’t give away yet. 

And not once did I mention her breast size. 

Upcoming Book About Horror and its Appeal-- Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modern

Today I have a press release about an upcoming book that is great for all public library collections AND I wrote the afterward. Specifically my afterward is about the importance of libraries in cultivating horror collections both the literature and the books about horror. It's titled, "Guardians of the Damned: Horror Scholarship and the Library." That afterward will not be reprinted here on the blog. It is ONLY in the book. 

Here are all the details via the Horror Writers Association press release:

Horror Writers Association (HWA), the premier organization of writers and publishers of horror and dark fantasy, announces a new release in the Fall 2019 from McFarland Books.

Horror Literature from Gothic to Post-Modernism: Critical Essays.

Click here to pre-order

These essays were initially presented at Ann Radcliffe Academic Conferences during StokerCon® events. All scholars and academics were invited to submit presentation abstracts related to Horror Studies for consideration.

The book is edited by Michele Brittany and Nicholas Diak, with a Foreword by Lisa Morton, six-time Bram Stoker award-winning author and former President of HWA, and an Afterword by Becky Spratford. From the back cover:

“This collection of new essays explores a gamut of topics ranging from historic works such as Ann Radcliffe’s Gaston de Blondeville to contemporary novels, including Max Brooks’ World War Z, as well as essays on weird fiction, Stephen King, Richard Laymon, Australian-Indigenous monster mythology, and horror in picture books for young children.”

The Ann Radcliffe Academic Conferences have been a tremendous success, with many presentations covering a wide range of Horror studies. The co-chairs, Michele Brittany and Nicholas Diak, are looking for completed research or works-in-progress: art, cinema, comics, literature, music, poetry, television, and video games.

The next conference will be held during StokerCon® 2020 at the Royal and Grand Hotels in Scarborough, United Kingdom.

Michele Britany is an independent popular culture scholar. She is the editor of the Bram Stoker Award® nominated Horror in Space: Critical Essays on a Film Subgenre, and James Bond and Popular Culture: Essays on the Influence of the Fictional Superspy, both published by McFarland Books. Michele is the book review editor for the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, and she is the co-chair of the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference held in tandem with the Horror Writers Association’s annual conference, StokerCon®. In addition, she is the editorial manager and contributing writer for Fanbase Press, and she is a regular guest on the “Voice of Olympus” podcast series. She has presented at the SWPACA annual conference and at Wondercon Anaheim as part of the Comic Arts Conference series. Michele often moderates panels at conventions held in Southern California where she resides.

Nicholas Diak is the editor of The New Peplum: Essays on Sword and Scandal Films and Television Programs Since the 1990s (McFarland Books). He earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from DeVry University. Later, he returned to school at the University of Washington (Tacoma) and earned a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, where he did his thesis on Italian genre director, Antonio Margheriti and his film Castle of Blood. Currently, he resides in Orange, CA and has been working to establish himself as a scholar in different fields of pop culture, including Italian genre films, post-industrial music, synthwave music and outrun culture, and H. P. Lovecraft studies. He has contributed essays, chapters, and reviews to various academic anthology and pop culture websites.

Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of non-fiction books, and award-winning prose writer whose work was described by the American Library Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror as “consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening”. She is the author of four novels and more than 130 short stories, a six-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award®, and a world-class Halloween expert. She co-edited (with Ellen Datlow) the anthology Haunted Nights; other recent releases include Ghosts: A Haunted History and the collection The Samhanach and other Halloween Treats. Lisa lives in Los Angeles.

Becky Spratford is a Readers’ Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All, and is on the Steering Committee of the Adult Reading Round Table. She is under contract to provide content for EBSCO’s NoveList database and writes reviews for Booklist. Becky is also known for her work with horror readers as the author of The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror, Second Edition [ALA Editions, 2012] and is a proud member of the Horror Writers Association. You can follow Becky on Twitter @RAforAll.

The Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference is part of HWA’s Outreach Program. Membership to the HWA is not required to submit or present. If interested in applying to the Horror Writer’s Association as an academic member, please see www.horror.org/about/

31 Days of Horror: Day 30-- Halloween Eve Odds and Ends

I always save the post for the 30th as a catch all of all of the things I could not fit into the planned posts.

So here are a few odds and ends for this Halloween Eve:

• Some people like to celebrate Halloween without candy. If you are looking for a way to mark the day by giving back, might I suggest a charity that I have personally given money to-- Scares that Care. It is a horror community charity [501c3] that gives money to seriously ill children, women fighting breast cancer, and burn victims. Click here for more information.
• Rue Morgue is a great magazine both in print and online. You can click here to see what they have to offer. I especially like The Week in Horror reports that run down everything in the genre of note for every week. It is a great quick stop for library workers to stay up to date.
• Speaking of magazines, I also highly recommend Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Lamplight Magazine [specifically the Horror 101 columns], and Cemetery Dance Magazine.
• This list of Halloween reading from Boston.com is great because it hits at all age levels of readers, plus it “thinks outside the box,” offering books like Candy Freak to adults who want to get in the spirit but don’t want to read horror. Well done Boston.com. I’m impressed.
• University Press of Mississippi is counting down the final days before Halloween with curated reading lists. From their site:



Click here for all of the posts.

• What do the Brits think of Halloween? The Guardian has an entire Halloween archive. You could spend hours going through this.
• Don’t forget about Lisa Morton’s fantastic nonfiction book on the history of Halloween which I posted about here back in 2012 when it came out; including a Why I Love Horror pice by Morton herself.

Women in Horror Month X: Becky's Women in Horror Suggestions

As part of my celebration I thought it would be helpful if I pulled out my reviews of female horror writers into a single post.

• Baker, Jacqueline.  The Broken Hours: A Novel of H.P. Lovecraft (2016)
• Chesterton, R.B.  The Darkling (2013)
• DeMeester, Kristi. Everything That’s Underneath (2017)
• Fallon, Amber.  Fright Into Flight (2018)
• Garza, Michelle and Melissa Lason.  Those Who Follow (2017)
• Grant, Mira.  Blackout: Newsflesh Trilogy Book 3 (2012) 
• Grant, Mira.  Deadline: Newsflesh Trilogy Book 2 (2011)
• Grant, Mira. Feed: Newsflesh Trilogy Book 1 (2010)
• Katsu, Alma. Hunger. (2018)
• Kiernan, Caitlín R. Black Helicopters (revised edition 2018) 
• Kiernan, Caitlín R.  The Very Best of Caitlin Kiernan (2019)
• Kiste, Gwendolyn.  The Rust Maidens (2018)
• Littlewood, Alison.  A Cold Season (2013)
• Lukavics, Amy.  The Women in the Walls (2016)
• Merbeth, K.S. Bite (2016)
• Merbeth, K.S. Raid (2017)
• Morton, Lisa.  Netherworld (2014)
• Muchado, Carmen Maria.  Her Body and Other Parties: Stories (2017)
• Oates, Joyce Carol. The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror (2016)
• Ohno, Nuzo. The Sleepless (2016)
• Owen, Lauren.  The Quick (2014)
• Pessl, Marisha.  Night Film (2013)
• Schweblin, Samanta . Fever Dream (2017)
• Sokoloff, Alexandra. The Unseen (2009)
• Stratford, Sarah Jane. The Midnight Guardian (2009)
• Walters, Damien Angelica. Cry Your Way Home (2018)

Also, here is a list of women whose books I have included in my LJ Annual Columns [if not above] in reverse chronological order:

• Lye, Harriet Alida.  The Honey Farm (2018)
• Stage, Zoje. Baby Teeth (2018)
• Bulkin, Nadia. She Said Destroy (2017)
• Ferris, Emil. My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (2017)
• Cateneo, Emily B. Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories (2017)
• Sylvia, Morgan.  Abode (2017)
• Wilson, Kea. We Eat Our Own (2016)
• Howard, Kat. Roses and Rot (2016)
• Sisters of Slaughter. Mayan Blue (2016)
• Wohlsdorf, Gina.  Security (2016)
• Lukavics, Amy.  Daughters Unto Devils (2015)
• Conner, Lesley.  Weight of Chains (2015)
• Egan, Jennifer.  The Keep (2007)
• Pinborough, Sarah.  Mayhem (2014)
• Morton, Lisa.  Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween (2012)

And of course, my post from back in the early days of this blog on Tananarive Due.

See that's a lot of Becky vetted women in horror for your library.

Bram Stoker Finalists Announced

Although I had seen the list already, I was waiting for the official press release to post it.  Good luck to all of the nominees.  It is a great bunch this year.

Horror Writers Association announces:

2010 Bram Stoker Award Nominees

Each year, the Horror Writers Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in the field of horror writing, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work /Dracula./ Since 1987, the approximately 500 members of the HWA have recommended, nominated and voted on the greatest works of horror and dark fantasy of the previous calendar year, making the Stokers the most prestigious award in the field of horror literature.

Currently the awards are presented in eight categories: Novel, First Novel, Long Fiction, Short Fiction, Fiction Collection, Anthology, Non-fiction, and Poetry Collection The organization's Active members will select the winners from this ballot, and the awards will be presented this year at a gala banquet as part of HWA’s Stoker Weekend, held June 16-19, 2011 in Long Island.

This year’s nominees in each category are:


SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

HORNS by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
ROT AND RUIN by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster)
DEAD LOVE by Linda Watanabe McFerrin (Stone Bridge Press)
APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle)
DWELLER by Jeff Strand (Leisure/Dark Regions Press)
A DARK MATTER by Peter Straub (Doubleday)


SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FIRST NOVEL

BLACK AND ORANGE by Benjamin Kane Ethridge (Bad Moon Books)
A BOOK OF TONGUES by Gemma Files (Chizine Publications)
THE CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES by Lisa Morton (Gray Friar Press)
SPELLBENT by Lucy Snyder (Del Rey)


SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN LONG FICTION*

THE PAINTED DARKNESS by Brian James Freeman (Cemetery Dance)
DISSOLUTION by Lisa Mannetti (/Deathwatch/)
MONSTERS AMONG US by Kirstyn McDermott (Macabre: A Journey through Australia’s Darkest Fears/)
THE SAMHANACH by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
INVISIBLE FENCES by Norman Prentiss (Cemetery Dance)


SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FICTION

RETURN TO MARIABRONN by Gary Braunbeck (/Haunted Legends/)
THE FOLDING MAN by Joe R Lansdale (/Haunted Legends/)
1925: A FALL RIVER HALLOWEEN by Lisa Mannetti (/Shroud Magazine/ #10)
IN THE MIDDLE OF POPLAR STREET by Nate Southard (/Dead Set: A Zombie Anthology/)
FINAL DRAFT by Mark W. Worthen (/Horror Library IV/)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN FICTION COLLECTION

OCCULTATION by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
BLOOD AND GRISTLE by Michael Louis Calvillo (Bad Moon Books)
THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY by Stephen Graham Jones (Prime Books)
FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King (Simon and Schuster)
A HOST OF SHADOWS by Harry Shannon (Dark Regions Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN ANTHOLOGY (EDITING)

DARK FAITH edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon (Apex Publications)
HORROR LIBRARY IV edited by R.J. Cavender and Boyd E. Harris (Cutting Block Press)
MACABRE: A JOURNEY THROUGH AUSTRALIA’S DARKEST FEARS* edited by Angela Challis and Marty Young (Brimstone Press)
HAUNTED LEGENDS edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas (Tor)
THE NEW DEAD edited by Christopher Golden (St. Martin's Griffin)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION

TO EACH THEIR DARKNESS by Gary A. Braunbeck (Apex Publications)
THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE by Thomas Ligotti (Hippocampus Press)
WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE by Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman (Citadel)
LISTEN TO THE ECHOES: THE RAY BRADBURY INTERVIEWS by Sam Weller (Melville House Publications)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN POETRY COLLECTION

DARK MATTERS by Bruce Boston (Bad Moon Books)
WILD HUNT OF THE STARS by Ann K. Schwader (Sam's Dot)
DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN DIABOLIST by Robin Spriggs (Anomalous Books)
VICIOUS ROMANTIC by Wrath James White (Needfire Poetry)

31 Days of Horror: Day 12-- Local Libraries Celebrating the Spooky Season

One of the great things about October at the Library is that many libraries provide Horror programming. Below are 3 completely different options from different places around the country and one (the final one) is available for anyone with an internet connection to participate. 

The point of this post is to showcase three library examples as either an inspiration for you to try something similar at your library next year and to inspire you to check out libraries near you to see if they are doing something.

If you follow the main blog, you will know that I was at the Illinois Library Association Conference most of this past week, and one of the things I learned there is about how to find programming ideas and presenters. The advice was simple. Search your area for ideas on what kind of programs there are doing, or, if you have an idea and need presenters, search for your specific topic and either go to those programs yourself to see how they are, or if they are past, ask the library how it went and for the presenters' contact info. [Thank you Miss Rosie for the learning]

All of this is to say that the 3 people I have included below, all of them, I have worked with and encourage you to contact them for advice and ideas for your Spooky Seasons to come.

We will start with the biggest event, organized by my co-chair for the HWA Library Committee, Konrad Stump-- Oh, the Horror! Now in it's 8th year. From Konrad:

The Springfield-Greene County Library in Springfield, MO, is celebrating its 8th annual Oh, the Horror! series this year. Started in 2017 by HWA Library Committee Co-Chair Konrad Stump and Katie Hopkins, Springfield-Greene's Planning & Development Librarian, Oh, the Horror! is a month-long celebration of the horror genre each October with author events, local history programs, movie screenings, and more. Centering on themes like "Ghosts & Gothics" and "Myths & Monsters" in past years with celebrated authors like Grady Hendrix, Silvia Moreno Garcia, Alma Katsu, and many more, this year's Oh, the Horror! series celebrates "Horror for the Holidays" with a jam-packed line-up that runs through November with appearances by USA Today bestselling (and Summer Scares 2024) author Rachel Harrison and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McMahon. With October dedicated to Halloween and November to Yuletide terrors, Springfield-Greene will be extending the terrifying fun into December with a special "Ghost Stories for Christmas" live performance by award-winning voice actor and audiobook narrator Matt Godfrey. Providing a space for horror fans in the Greene County community to celebrate the genre, while also creating discussion about the appeal of horror to those who are not sure it is for them, Oh, the Horror! has proven to be Springfield-Greene's most popular program series.

Here are the graphics with Oh, the Horror details: 

They have a trivia fundraiser tonight and visits from Rachel Harrison and Jennifer McMahon (both authors are appearing in my book as well). And look at these SoThirsty drink kits of the first place trivia team.

Now Konrad's program took years to build into the regional must attend event it has become. But you don't have to go all out to make an impact. 

The Chicago Chapter of the HWA is presenting an event today for the Fox River Valley Libraries entitled-- Meet Your Not-So-Scary Local Horror Author"

Join us for an afternoon hanging out with several prominent horror authors from the northern Illinois area. Hear our panel discuss the horror genre and various part of the writing and publishing process. 

Books will be available for purchase and signing. In collaboration with the Horror Writers Association.

Authors appearing:

• S.A. Barnes
• Donald J. Bingle
• Lauren Bolger
• John Everson
• Christopher Hawkins
• James Kennedy
• Brian Pinkerton
• Michael Allen Rose
• Damian Serbu

Click here or on the flyer to register.

 

Now these are all in person, but I have that promised event that is virtual and free for any and all-- you can even pass it on to your patrons.

It is a Zoom presentation on the History of Halloween with author and Halloween expert, Lisa Morton. You can click here for more details and to register. 

It is being put on by the Wake County Libraries in NC. Regular readers of 31 Days may remember that I helped Wake County Libraries organize an entire month of programming last year. It was entitled Nightmares Not Included and you can still visit the LibGuide they made to go along with it.

I have seen Morton's presentation before. It is excellent and you have time to resigner because it isn't until 10/28. Let your patrons know as well. I was told by the organizer to spread it far and wide. The more the merrier, no matter where you live. 

So there you have it. A sampling of programming for Spooky Season by 3 libraries who approach October in different ways for their different audiences. I hope this inspires you to check out a library near you to see their programming options this October and/or to think about organizing an event at your library next year.

Remember, the HWA's Library Committee is here to help connect you to your local horror communities. Simply email libraries@horror.org to get in touch with me and Konrad (and our team on the Library Advisory Council). We are ready and eager to help get more Horror programming and authors into our libraries. 

Back tomorrow with my weekly links round-up. 

Bram Stoker Finalists

Hot off the presses. Congrats to all the nominees.  I am especially happy to see many of the authors I championed in the new book showing up here.  Also, remember that this is a great list for collection development at your library.  This is the consensus list of the best of the best in horror from 2011.  You should at least consider carrying these titles if you have horror readers.

So thanks to my membership in the HWA, here is the official press release:


Contact Lisa Morton, HWA Bram Stoker Awards Event Organizer
lisa@lisamorton.com

Horror Writers Association announces
2011 Bram Stoker Award™ Nominees

Each year, the Horror Writers Association presents the Bram Stoker
Awards™ for Superior Achievement in the field of horror writing, named in
honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work Dracula. Since
1987, the approximately 700 members of the HWA have recommended, nominated
and voted on the greatest works of horror and dark fantasy of the previous
calendar year, making the Bram Stoker Awards the most prestigious award in
the field of horror literature. For the first time in 2011, half the
nominees were chosen by juries.

The awards are presented in eleven categories: Novel, First Novel, Young
Adult Novel, Graphic Novel, Long Fiction, Short Fiction, Screenplay,
Fiction Collection, Anthology, Non-fiction, and Poetry Collection. The
organization's Active and Lifetime members will select the winners from
this list of nominees; and the Awards will be presented at a gala banquet
on Saturday evening, March 31, at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake
City, Utah.

This year’s nominees in each category are:

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL

A Matrix Of Angels by Christopher Conlon (Creative Guy Publishing)
Cosmic Forces by Greg Lamberson (Medallion Press)
Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi (Medallion Press / Thunderstorm Books)
Flesh Eaters by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle Books)
Not Fade Away by Gene O’Neill (Bad Moon Books)
The German by Lee Thomas (Lethe Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FIRST NOVEL

Isis Unbound by Allyson Bird (Dark Regions Press)
Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs (Night Shade Books)
The Lamplighters by Frazer Lee (Samhain Horror)
The Panama Laugh by Thomas Roche (Night Shade Books)
That Which Should Not Be by Brett J. Talley (JournalStone)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Ghosts of Coronado Bay, A Maya Blair Mystery by J. G. Faherty
(JournalStone)
The Screaming Season by Nancy Holder (Razorbill)
Rotters by Daniel Kraus (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster Books for Young
Readers)
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Candlewick / Walker)
This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor
Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel (Simon & Schuster / David Fickling Books)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A GRAPHIC NOVEL

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol (First Second)
Locke & Key Volume 4 by Joe Hill (IDW Publishing)
Green River Killer by Jeff Jensen (Dark Horse)
Marvel Universe vs. Wolverine by Jonathan Maberry (Marvel)
Baltimore Volume I: The Plague Ships by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
(Dark Horse)
Neonomicon by Alan Moore (Avatar Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN LONG FICTION

7 Brains by Michael Louis Calvillo (Burning Effigy Press)
“Roots and All” by Brian Hodge (A Book of Horrors)
“The Colliers’ Venus (1893)” by Caitlin R. Kiernan (Naked City: New
Tales of Urban Fantasy)
Ursa Major by John R. Little (Bad Moon Books)
Rusting Chickens by Gene O’Neill (Dark Regions Press)
“The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine” by Peter Straub (Conjunctions: 56)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SHORT FICTION

“Her Husband’s Hands” by Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed Magazine,
October 2011)
“Herman Wouk Is Still Alive” by Stephen King (The Atlantic Magazine,
May
2011)
“Graffiti Sonata” by Gene O’Neill (Dark Discoveries #18)
“X is for Xyx” by John Palisano (M is for Monster)
“Home” by George Saunders (The New Yorker Magazine, June 13, 2011)
“All You Can Do Is Breathe” by Kaaron Warren (Blood and Other Cravings)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A SCREENPLAY

True Blood, episode #44: “Spellbound” by Alan Ball (HBO)
The Walking Dead, episode #13: “Pretty Much Dead Already” by Scott M.
Gimple (AMC)
The Walking Dead, episode #9: “Save the Last One” by Scott M. Gimple
(AMC)
Priest by Cory Goodman (Screen Gems)
The Adjustment Bureau by George Nolfi (Universal Pictures)
American Horror Story, episode #12: “Afterbirth” by Jessica Sharzer
(20th Century Fox Television)


SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A FICTION COLLECTION

Voices: Tales of Horror by Lawrence C. Connolly (Fantasist Enterprises)
Red Gloves by Christopher Fowler (PS Publishing)
Two Worlds and In Between: The Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan (Volume One) by
Caitlin R. Kiernan (Subterranean)
Monsters of L.A. by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)
The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares by Joyce Carol Oates (Mysterious
Press)
Multiplex Fandango by Weston Ochse (Dark Regions Press)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN AN ANTHOLOGY (EDITING)

NEHW Presents: Epitaphs edited by Tracy L. Carbone (NEHW)
Ghosts By Gaslight edited by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers (Harper Voyager)
Blood And Other Cravings edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor Books)
Supernatural Noir edited by Ellen Datlow (Dark Horse)
Tattered Souls 2 edited by Frank J. Hutton (Cutting Block Press)
Demons: Encounters with the Devil and his Minions, Fallen
Angels and the Possessed edited by John Skipp (Black Dog and Leventhal)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN NON-FICTION

Halloween Nation: Behind the Scenes of America’s
Fright Night by Lesley Pratt Bannatyne (Pelican Publishing)
Reflections in a Glass Darkly: Essays on J. Sheridan Le Fanu edited by Gary
William Crawford, Jim Rockhill and Brian J. Showers (Hippocampus Press)
Starve Better by Nick Mamatas (Apex Publications)
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Zombies by Matt Mogk (Gallery
Books)
The Gothic Imagination by John C. Tibbetts (Palgrave Macmillan)
Stephen King: A Literary Companion by Rocky Wood (McFarland & Company,
Inc., Publishers)

SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A POETRY COLLECTION

How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend by Linda Addison (Necon
Ebooks)
At Louche Ends: Poetry for the Decadent, the Damned & the
Absinthe-Minded by Maria Alexander (Burning Effigy Press)
Surrealities by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions Press)
Shroud of Night by G. O. Clark (Dark Regions Press)
The Mad Hattery by Marge Simon (Elektrik Milk Bath Press)
Unearthly Delights by Marge Simon (Sam's Dot)


###


More information on the Horror Writers Association is at www.horror.org.
More information on the 25th Anniversary presentation of the Bram Stoker
Awards is at http://www.stokers2012.org

31 Days of Horror: Day 19-- My 2012 Reading Suggestions as Published in Library Journal

I was very honored to be asked to take over Neal Wyatt's popular Reader's Shelf column in the October 15, 2012 issue of Library Journal.  My piece, entitled, "New Horror for the Haunting Season" highlights some new horror titles that might appeal to nontraditional horror readers who are looking to sample the scary this Halloween.

I will also be featuring guest posts by 3 of the authors included in the column on the blog.  But you will have to keep following 31 Days of Horror to find out who and what they have to say.  One of them has even offered a collection of books for giveaway.  Oooh, the suspense is killing me.

Here is the direct link, but you can also find the entire column posted below.  It's like I wrote a guest post on my own blog.

*****************************************************************

Halloween is coming, and so are many readers who do not normally enjoy the horror genre but who want to give it a try. Of course, there are the “old standby” authors like Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Peter Straub and new best sellers like Joe Hill and Jonathan Maberry. But if you are only relying on these writers to help your once-a-year horror readers, you may be missing a better match for their specific tastes. Consider these six 2012 titles that illustrate how easily horror can cross over into other popular genres.

Brett J. Talley’s The Void (JournalStone. 2012. ISBN 9781936564439. pap. $16.95) harkens back to the sf-tinged horror of H.P. Lovecraft. Enter a world where people easily travel through space while sleeping. There is a catch: travelers are held hostage to their nightmares while in flight. When six travelers encounter an abandoned aircraft, bad things begin to happen, but is it a dream, paranoia, or a monster? Talley creates a creeping sense of unease from the start, an anxiety that continuously builds, leaving readers to look over their shoulders while frantically turning the pages to the end.

For literary horror, Victor LaValle’s The Devil in Silver(Spiegel & Grau. 2012. ISBN 9781400069866. $27) might be described as Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest meets Frank Peretti’s Monster. Unjustly committed to a mental hospital, Pepper quickly realizes that not only are the inmates more sane than the staff but that an animal-headed monster is killing the patients at night. Character is king here as the action comes in quick spurts between Pepper’s interactions with others and his internal struggles. This novel is terrifying, but it also asks you to ponder larger societal questions of race, class, and madness; just keep the lights on while thinking about it all.

What about mystery lovers? Steer them directly to Gregory Lamberson and his “Jake Helman Files” series about a New York City police officer–turned–PI specializing in supernatural crimes. These are gory and horrific novels, but they are also imaginative and original, with a strong investigative story line. InTortured Spirits (Medallion. 2012. ISBN 9781605424064. pap. $14.95), Jake’s quest to save a colleague who has been turned into a raven by a witch doctor leads him south, where he uncovers an army of zombie slaves harvesting drugs for evil mastermind Malvado.

Speaking of zombies, readers remain hungry for the shambling undead. Joe McKinney has successfully parlayed his experience as a police detective and disaster migration specialist into his terrifyingly realistic and award-winning zombie plague novels. InMutated (Pinnacle: Kensington. 2012. ISBN 9780786029297. pap. $7.99), Ben has survived in a zombie-infected world by staying alert and avoiding trouble. When a nasty leader begins to gather the living, Ben decides to trade his solitude for refuge on an abandoned farm. Things are tough, but manageable, until Ben notices that the zombies are getting smarter and faster. How can this be? McKinney fills his thriller with realistic details of how the plague spreads, convincing dialog, superior characterization, and, of course, awesome zombie battle scenes.

Almost as popular as zombies these days are novels by Nordic authors. Not to be left out is John Ajvide Lindqvist, also known as Sweden’s Stephen King.Little Star (Thomas Dunne: St. Martin’s. 2012. ISBN 9780312620516. $27.99) begins with a family raising a young girl they found abandoned in the woods, until horrible circumstances lead her brother to take her to Stockholm. After he enters her in a TV show similar toAmerican Idol and another young girl sees her performance, a frighteningly evil team is born. As in his previous novels (Let the Right One In), Lindqvist uses compelling YA characters to portray the horrors that lurk in the shadows of the everyday world. It is scarier because it seems so normal.

Finally, for nonfiction fans, Lisa Morton’s Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween (Reaktion, dist. by Univ. of Chicago. 2012. ISBN 9781780230474. $29) covers the history of Halloween from its ancient Celtic roots to its stunning growth in global popularity in the 21st century. Morton is an accomplished horror short story writer, and her ability to draw readers in quickly and keep them turning the pages shines through in her nonfiction as well. Lavishly illustrated, this solidly researched and concise work is fun to read and a great choice for readers who want to know why we seek out the scary each October.

This column was contributed by Becky Spratford, a Readers’ Advisory Librarian, Berwyn Public Library, IL, and Adjunct Faculty, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Dominican University, River Forest, IL, She is the author of The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, 2d edition (ALA Editions, 2012; LJ 9/15/12). For more horror suggestions from Becky, visit raforallhorror.blogspot.com.

Bram Stoker Preliminary Ballot Announced

Here is the link.  Details below.

For each category (Novel, First Novel, etc) there are potentially TWO ballots: one for the works that proceed from the recommendations (‘Recs’) ballot and one for the works that proceed from the Jury ballot.
A short explanation of the system for determining for the Bram Stoker Awards™ ballots appears at: http://www.horror.org/stokers.htm. As the preliminary ballot is designed to produce three works for the final ballot in a category from each of the “Recs” and “Jury” ballots, if there are three or less works qualified in a category, they proceed directly to the final ballot.
If you see four, five or six works in a “Rec” or “Jury” ballot below, that ballot will proceed to be voted on by Active and Lifetime Members and they are marked ‘Ballot Required’.

NOVEL:

RECS:

Ballot Required
• Lamberson, Greg — Cosmic Forces
• Longfellow, Ki — Houdini Heart
• Malfi, Ronald — Floating Staircase
• O’Neill, Gene — Not Fade Away
• Warner, Matthew — Blood Born

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Conlon, Christopher — A Matrix Of Angels
• Dunbar, Robert — Willy
• McKinney, Joe — Flesh Eaters
• Oliver, Reggie — The Dracula Papers, Book 1: The Scholar’s Tale
• Thomas, Lee — The German

FIRST NOVEL:

RECS:

Ballot Required
• Bird, Allyson — Isis Unbound
• Lee, Frazer — The Lamplighters
• Reynolds, Graeme — High Moor
• Talley, Brett J. — That Which Should Not Be
• Wagner, Jeremy — The Armageddon Chord

JURY:

No ballot required, the following works will proceed directly to the Final Ballot. Please note these works may not be described as Nominees until the Final Ballot is formally announced.
• Jacobs, John, Horner — Southern Gods
• Roche, Thomas — The Panama Laugh

YA NOVEL:

RECS:

Ballot Required
• Faherty, J. G. — Ghosts of Coronado Bay, A Maya Blair Mystery
• Holder, Nancy — The Screaming Season
• Maberry, Jonathan — Dust & Decay
• Matthews, Araminta Star — Blind Hunger

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Blake, Kendare — Anna Dressed in Blood
• Kraus, Daniel — Rotters
• Ness, Patrick — A Monster Calls
• Oppel, Kenneth — This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein
• Roth, Veronica — Divergent

GRAPHIC NOVEL:

RECS:

Ballot Required
• Hill, Joe — Locke & Key, Volume 4
• Maberry, Jonathan — Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher
• Maberry, Jonathan — Marvel Universe vs. Wolverine
• Mignola, Mike and Golden, Christopher — The Plague Ships
• O’Reilly, Sean; Nassise, Joe; Weick, Halston — Candice Crow

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Brosgol, Vera — Anya’s Ghost
• Fialkov, Joshua Hale — Echoes
• Jensen, Jeff — Green River Killer
• Moore, Alan — Neonomicon
• Smith, John — Cradlegrave

LONG FICTION:

RECS:

Ballot Required
• Breaux, Kevin James — Dark Water: Beaming Smile
• Calvillo, Michael Louis — 7Brains
• Little, John R. — Ursa Major
• O’Neill, Gene — Rusting Chickens
• Schwamberger, Ty — The Fields

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Hodge, Brian — Roots and All
• Kiernan, Caitlin — The Colliers’ Venus (1893)
• Lindqvist, John Ajvide — The Music of Bengt Karlsson, Murderer
• Shearman, Robert — Alice Through A Plastic Sheet
• Straub, Peter — The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine

SHORT FICTION:

RECS:

Ballot Required
• Bailey, Michael — “It Tears Away” (The Shadow of the Unknown)
• Lillie-Paetz, Ken — “Hypergraphia” (The Uninvited, Issue 1)
• O’Neill, Gene — “Graffiti Sonata” (Dark Discoveries)
• Palisano, John — “X is for Xyx” (M is for Monster)
• Warren, Kaaron — “All You Can Do Is Breathe” (Blood and Other Cravings)

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Ausubel, Ramona — “Atria” (The New Yorker Magazine, April 4, 2011)
• Ballingrud, Nathan — “Sunbleached” (Teeth: Vampire Tales)
• Castro, Adam Troy — “Her Husband’s Hands” (Lightspeed Magazine)
• King, Stephen — “Herman Wouk Is Still Alive” (The Atlantic Magazine, May 2011)
• Saunders, George — “Home” (The New Yorker Magazine, June 13, 2011)

SCREENPLAY:

RECS:

No ballot required, the following works will proceed directly to the Final Ballot. Please note these works may not be described as Nominees until the Final Ballot is formally announced.
• Ball, Alan — True Blood: Spellbound (Episode #44)
• Goodman, Cory — Priest
• Nolfi, George — The Adjustment Bureau

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Gimple, Scott M. — The Walking Dead, episode 13: “Pretty Much Dead Already”
• Gimple, Scott M. — The Walking Dead, episode 9: “Save the Last One”
• Noxon, Marti — Fright Night
• Ovrehahl, Andre and Havard S. Johansen — Troll Hunter
• Sharzer, Jessica — American Horror Story, episode 12: “Afterbirth”

ANTHOLOGY:

RECS:

No ballot required, the following works will proceed directly to the Final Ballot. Please note these works may not be described as Nominees until the Final Ballot is formally announced.
• Carbone, Tracy L. — NEHW Presents: Epitaphs
• Hutton, Frank J. — Tattered Souls 2
• Skipp, John — Demons: Encounters with the Devil and His Minions, Fallen Angels, and the Possessed

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Dann, Jack and Nick Gevers — Ghosts By Gaslight
• Datlow, Ellen — Blood And Other Cravings
• Datlow, Ellen — Supernatural Noir
• Datlow, Ellen and Terri Windling — Teeth
• VanderMeer, Jeff and Ann — The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities

COLLECTION:

RECS:

Ballot Required
• Burke, Chesya — Let’s Play White
• Connolly, Lawrence C. — Voices: Tales of Horror
• Gresh, Lois — Eldritch Evolutions
• Haines, Paul — The Last Days of Kali Yuga
• Morton, Lisa — Monsters of L.A.
• Ochse, Weston — Multiplex Fandango

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Fowler, Christopher — Red Gloves: The London Horrors
• Kiernan, Caitlin R. — Two Worlds and In-Between
• Llewellyn, Livia — Engines of Desire
• Oates, Joyce Carol — The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares
• Oliver, Reggie — Mrs. Midnight and Other Stories

NON-FICTION:

RECS:

No ballot required, the following works will proceed directly to the Final Ballot. Please note these works may not be described as Nominees until the Final Ballot is formally announced.
• Bannatyne, Lesley Pratt — Halloween Nation: Behind the Scenes of America’s Fright Night
• Mamatas, Nick — Starve Better
• Mogk, Matt — Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Zombies

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Crawford, Gary William, Jim Rockhill, and Brian J. Showers, Eds. — Reflections in a Glass Darkly
• Rupe, Shade — Dark Stars Rising
• Shultz, David E. and S.T. Joshi, Ed. — Letters to James F. Morton
• Tibbetts, John C. — The Gothic Imagination
• Wood, Rocky — Stephen King: A Literary Companion

POETRY:

RECS:

Ballot Required
• Alexander, Maria — At Louche Ends: Poetry for the Decadent,the Damned & the Absinthe-Minded
• Clark, G.O — Shroud of Night
• Borski, Robert — Blood Wallah and Other Poems
• Simon, Marge — The Mad Hattery
• Ward, Kyla Lee — The Land of Bad Dreams

JURY:

Ballot Required
• Addison, Linda — How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend
• Boston, Bruce — Surrealities
• Marshall, Helen — Skeleton Leaves
• Schwader, Ann K. — Twisted in Dream
• Simon, Marge — Unearthly Delights

31 Days of Horror Day 3-- Revamped and More Useful Review Index

This first week of October I am focusing the blog-a-thon on how to get the most out of me and my expertise now and all the year through.

Today I am focusing on my long standing and constantly updated Review Index which I have made even more useful. Here is the direct link to the NEW AND IMPROVED Horror Review Index, but I have also attached it below.

There is nothing more important for me to do than make sure you know about as many books as possible. Over the years I have heard from library workers, readers, and authors that my professional reviews, in official library journals, have gotten those titles on library shelves. I have seen data that shows that before I reviewed a book it was in 10 libraries nationwide and then after my review.... 50 the first month after, and hundreds more a few months out.

I am not writing this to brag, not at all. In fact, I am writing this to let you know I wish I could give you more options, but I am only 1 person and reviewing horror is only part of my job. I already do 3-6 titles a month. However, I can give you more official and professional options for reviews both to develop your collections AND to give you as many suggestion options at your fingers tips as I possibly can.

That is what I have done with the Horror Review Index. Today’s post is to remind you to use it to find suggestions and to let you know I have made it even more useful by quickly routing you to many more titles by reviewers I trust. They have the Becky seal of approval.

Now get out there and start suggesting scary reads. It’s October 3rd already. I know they are just beginning to shamble in.  Soon, the hordes will be descending. I’ve got your back though.

HORROR REVIEW INDEX:

Here is an author index to all of the reviews appearing on this blog (or before this blog began on RA for All) with the links leading you to the review itself.

But, because I am only 1 person, and I cannot possibly get to every book that could be a good fit for your patrons, I also offer the following links to Becky approved horror reviews:

• This Is Horror’s review archive: This British based site is the best regular review source for horror. Sometimes their titles overlap with mine, but because all they do is horror, they are able to get to many more than I can.
• Tor.Com’s Horror coverage contains many reviews and not just about books they have published. This link will also lead you to essays about horror, essays that also will give you more titles to suggest.
• LitReactor’s Bookshots reviews are amazing, and while they are not all horror per se, they are almost all titles with an oppressive atmosphere. Most of the reviews here are horror or horror -adjacent. But these reviews are also super useful to you, the library worker because they directly address who the title is best for by using a question and answer form. You can literally read the review to your patron in 2 minutes or less and decide together if it is a good choice. Bookshots are also a great conversation starter if you don’t know how to talk to your horror patrons. Try it out for yourself.

Between this index of my reviews [below] and the links to the others [above], you have thousands of choices of excellent terrifying reads for your patrons. No more excuses that you just don’t know what to suggest. I have given you plenty of options for every type of potential reader.

And remember, it doesn’t matter how old the book is. A great title from 5 years ago is still a good read for someone. Dig through the backlist. Here’s an example.

BECKY’S REVIEWS

• Adams, John Joseph and Douglas Cohen, eds. What the #@&% is That?: The Saga Anthology of the Monstrous and the Macabre (2016)
• Anderson, Kevin J.  Death Warmed Over (2012)
• Baker, Jacqueline.  The Broken Hours: A Novel of H.P. Lovecraft (2016)
• Barker, Clive. Scarlet Gospels (2015) [guest post by Jack Phoenix]
• Barlow, Toby. Sharp Teeth (2008) ed note: scroll to middle of post for review 
• Barron, Laird. Swift to Chase (2016)
• Bell, Alden. The Reapers Are the Angels (2010) 
• Boone, Ezekiel.  Skitter (2017)
• Brogden, James.  Hekla's Children (2017)
• Browne, S. G. Breathers: A Zombie's Lament (2009) 
• Browne, S.G.  I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus (2012)
• Burke, Kealan Patrick.  Kin (2012)
• Chesterton, R.B.  The Darkling (2013)
• Chizmar, Richard.  A Long December (2016)
• Colon, Christopher, ed. He is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson (2009)
• Cronin, Justin.  The City of Mirrors (2016)
• Cronin, Justin. The Passage (2010)
• Cutter, Nick.  Little Heaven (2016)
• Cutter, Nick.  The Troop (2014)
• Davidson, Andy.  In the Valley of the Sun (2017)
• Datlow, Ellen, ed. Black Feathers: Dark Avian Fiction (2017)
• Datlow, Ellen, ed.  Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror (2016)
• Datlow, Ellen and Lisa Morton, eds. Haunted Nights (2017)
• Deady, Tom.  Haven (2016)
• Donohue, Keith.  The Motion of Puppets (2016)
• Dunbar, Robert.  Wood (2012) 
• Duncan, Glen.  The Last Werewolf (2011) 
• Ethridge, Benjamin Kane.  Bottled Abyss (2012)
• Everson, John.  NightWhere (2012)
• Faherty, JG.  Ghosts of Coronado Bay (2011)
• Farris, John. High Bloods (2009)
• Ford, Jeffrey. A Natural History of Hell (2016)
• Forry, Lauren.  Abigale Hall (2017)
• French, Aaron, ed. The Gods of HP Lovecraft (2015)
• French, Aaron.  The Time Eater (2017)
• Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book (2008)
• Garza, Michelle and Melissa Lason.  Those Who Follow (2017)
• Girard, Geoffrey.  Mary Rose (2017)
• Girard, Geoffrey.  Project Cain (2013)
• Golden, Christopher.  Ararat (2017)
• Grant, Mira.  Blackout: Newsflesh Trilogy Book 3 (2012) 
• Grant, Mira.  Deadline: Newsflesh Trilogy Book 2 (2011)
• Grant, Mira. Feed: Newsflesh Trilogy Book 1 (2010) 
• Gout, Leopoldo. Ghost Radio (2008)
• Hill, Joe. Horns (2010) 
• Hill, Joe. The Fireman (2016)
• Hill, Joe. Strange Weather (2017)
• Hill Joe, and Gabriel Rodriguez. Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft (2008) 
• Hill, Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez. Locke and Key: Head Games (2009)
• Hill, Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez. Locke and Key: Crown of Shadows (2010) 
• Hill, Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez.  Locke and Key: Keys to the Kingdom (2011) 
• Hill Joe and Gabriel Rodriguez.  Locke and Key: Clockworks (2012)
• Hill, Joe.  NOS4A2 (2013)
• James, Russell. Q Island (2015)
• Janz, Jonathan.  Children of the Dark (2016)
• Jodan, Lee F.  Coronation (2012)
• Keene, Brian. Castaways (2009)
• Keene, Brian.  Pressure (2016)
• Kenyon, Nate. The Bone Factory (2009) 
• Kenyon, Nate. Sparrow Rock (2010) 
• King, Stephen.  Doctor Sleep (2013)
• King, Stephen.  Full Dark, No Stars (2010) 
• King, Stephen.  Joyland (2013)
• King, Stephen and Richard Chizmar. Gwendy's Button Box (2017)
• Klinger, Leslie S. The New Annotated Frankenstein (2017)
• Kozeniewski, Stephen.  Hematophages (2017)
• Kraus, Daniel.  Rotters (2011)
• Lansdale, John L.  Zombie Gold (2016)
• Littlewood, Alison.  A Cold Season (2013)
• Limbus Inc. (2013)
• Lukavics, Amy.  The Women in the Walls (2016)
• Maberry, Jonathan.  Dead of Night (2011)
• Maberry, Jonathan. Ghost Road Blues (2006) ed note: scroll to bottom of post for review
• Maberry, Jonathan. Patient Zero (2009) ed note: scroll to bottom of post for review 
• Maberry, Jonathan.  Rot and Ruin (2010)
• Maberry, Jonathan and George A. Romero.  Nights of the Living Dead (2017)
• MacLeod, Bracken.  Come to Dust (2017)
• Malerman, Josh.  Bird Box (2014) 
• Mamatas, Nick.  I Am Providence (2016)
• Manderino, John.  But You Scared Me The Most (2016)
• Marion, Isaac. The Burning World (2016)
• Marion, Isaac.  Warm Bodies (2011)
• Masello, Robert. Blood and Ice (2009) 
• Masterton, Graham. Basilisk (2009)
• Masterton, Graham.  The Devils of D-Day (1978)
• McCammon, Robert.  The Last Train From Perdition (2016)
• Merbeth, K.S. Bite (2016)
• Mitchell, David.  Slade House (2015)
• Morris, Keith Lee.  Travelers Rest (2016)
• Morton, Lisa.  Netherworld (2014)
• Oates, Joyce Carol. The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror (2016)
• Ohno, Nuzo. The Sleepless (2016)
• Owen, Lauren.  The Quick (2014)
• Percy, Benjamin.  The Dark Net (2017)
• Percy, Benjamin.  Red Moon (2013)
• Pessl, Marisha.  Night Film (2013)
• Phoenix, Jack.  The Tormentors (2013)
• Rawlik, Pete.  Reanimatrix (2016)
• Rector, Jeani.  What Fears Become: An Anthology From the Horror Zine (2011)
• Roux, Madeleine.  Allison Hewitt is Trapped (2011)
• Seeley, Tim and Mike Norton. Revival Vol 1 (2013)
• Seeley, Tim and Mike Norton.  Revival Vol 2 (2013)
• Silverberg, Robert, ed. This Way to the End Times: Classic Tales of the Apocalypse (2016)
• Snyder, Scott, Stephen King and Rafael Albuquereque.  American Vampire (2010)
• Snyder, Scott.  American Vampire 2 (2011)
• Sokoloff, Alexandra. The Unseen (2009)
• Stratford, Sarah Jane. The Midnight Guardian (2009) 
• Trombetta, Jim.  The Horror! The Horror! (2010)
• Vandermeer, Jeff.  Annihilation (2014)
• Whitehead, Colson.  Zone One (2011)
• Wilson, F. Paul.  The Tomb (1998, edited reprint) 
• Wilson, Jeffrey.  The Donors (2012)
• Wilson, Jeffrey.  Fade to Black (2013)
• Wolff, Nicholas. The Binding (2016)
• Wynne, Douglas.  The Devil of Echo Lake (2012)
• Zeltserman, Dave.  The Caretaker of Lorne Field (2010)