Richard Gavin's Blog, page 22

The H Word: Nightmare Horror

Nightmare, edited by John Joseph Adams, is an all-around excellent digital magazine and website. Each month their column "The H Word" features a guest columnist discussing an aspect of the Horror genre. I was delighted to be invited by John to write their August installment.

The topic I chose was "Nightmare Horror"; Horror fiction that is more akin to a transcription of an actual nightmare than a constructed narrative with convenient metaphors and intact waking life logic.

My short essay can be read here.

PUPPETS reviewed in the Seattle Post Intelligencer

S.P. Miskowski, one of the most talented writers in the genre today, has penned a very favourable review of The Grimscribe's Puppets  for her excellent Shock Room column in The Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Of my contribution, "After the Final", S.P. wrote the following:

 "Weird fiction doesn’t get much better than this. Gavin achieves a miraculous sleight of hand here, turning a deranged psyche inside out with a masterful shift in perspective." The complete review can be viewed here.

BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR

The Best Horror of the Year Volume Five is now available for pre-order. This year's edition features my story "The Word-Made Flesh" along with tales by Ramsey Campbell, Ian Rogers, Gemma Files, Laird Barron and many other greats. It will be released in early September by the fine folks at Night Shade Books.

Copies may be pre-ordered here.

[nameless] Magazine reviews AT FEAR'S ALTAR

Don Webb has written an excellent review of At Fear's Altar for [nameless] magazine, which can be read .

NecronomiCon 2013 Schedule

The complete schedule of panels, readings, and lectures for NecronomiCon 2013 is now available and may be viewed here. It is a cornucopia of interesting events.

I'm looking forward to taking part in "The New Weird" panel on Saturday, August 24th at 1pm in The Garden Room of the Biltmore Hotel. While this is the only programming event I'm participating in, I will be lurking about all weekend. I look forward to catching up with many old friends as well as meeting many new ones there.

Recent Publications

A pleasing flow of recent publications...

Issue 5 of Shadows & Tall Trees, Michael Kelly's excellent journal of quiet horror, is now available. It features my story "A Cavern of Redbrick" along with excellent tales from Gary Fry, Claire Massey, and others. Copies can be ordered here.
Shadows Edge, an anthology of numinous horror that deals with the concept of "thin places", contains my story "Tinder Row" as well as stories from a who's who of contemporary weird authors. The book is edited by my friend Simon Strantzas and is available here. 
Fresh off Miskatonic River Press is a project of great importance to me: The Grimscribe's Puppets. Edited by the singular Joseph S. Pulver Sr., this anthology features stories in the spirit of and in tribute to Thomas Ligotti. Those of you who have read my work will likely be aware that Ligotti has long been a major inspiration of mine, so I was very proud to contribute the tale "After the Final" to this book. The Grimscribe's Puppets can be ordered here.
Late last year Miskatonic River Press (a truly wonderful publisher) also released A Season in Carcosa, which is comprised of tales in the spirit of Robert W. Chambers' landmark collection The King in Yellow; a book that is no doubt familiar to fans of weird fiction. My story "The Hymn of the Hyades" is in this anthology. Copies are available here.
In other news, it seems that the unfortunate financial predicament that was plaguing Night Shade Books has reached a resolution. The publisher is now forging ahead with its 2013 titles. I hope to have a firm release date on Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year Volume 5 soon. This year's edition features my story "The Word-Made Flesh" from At Fear's Altar.
I've learned from S.T. Joshi that his anthology Black Wings III: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror is moving forward in production as well. My tale "The Hag Stone" will be included. More details as they become available. 
As always, I am slowly writing new tales of esoteric horror, so there will hopefully be yet more publications to announce in the coming days. In the meantime, I am also enjoying spending time gardening flowers and vegetables with my wife, reading, and sitting in the shade, watching the trees in our yard sway. A simple life breeds a nuanced awareness and subtle chills. 

Echoes from Hades: Coins for the Ferryman

The latest installment of my Teeming Brain column "Echoes from Hades" is now online. Entitled "Coins for the Ferryman: Horror as the Key to Our Dark Inner Depths" I examine the interesting, if occasionally dysfunctional, relationship between critical theory and Horror.

The new column may be read here. As always, I am indebted to the Teeming Brain's mastermind Matt Cardin for his insights and continual support.

Interview on Teleread

Paul St. John Mackintosh was good enough to interview me on Teleread. We discuss books, e-publishing, and The Darkly Splendid Realm.

The interview may be viewed here.

THE DARKLY SPLENDID REALM is almost gone...

My 2009 collection The Darkly Splendid Realm was released for Halloween 2009 by one of my favourite publishers on the planet, Dark Regions Press. It was initially published in three editions: a Deluxe slipcased edition, a Limited Edition hardcover, and a trade paperback edition.

Move ahead to May 2013 and we have a book that is now very close to becoming but a memory. Yes, The Darkly Splendid Realm is almost entirely sold out. As of this posting there are less than twenty Limited Edition hardcovers left in stock and only nine trade paperbacks. This is your final opportunity to own a book that is very dear to me. The book features thirteen tales of supernatural Horror, as well as an Introduction by the one and only Laird Barron and stunning cover art by legendary weird artist Harry O. Morris.

Once these copies are gone, they are gone. I urge any interested readers to venture here and purchase from the last handful of copies before this book returns to the darkness from whence it came...

BLACK WINGS II &c.

The ballot for the 2012 Shirley Jackson Awards was announced last week and I was pleased to learn that Black Wings II: New Tales of Lovecraftian Horror , edited by S.T. Joshi, has been nominated in the Anthology category. This book includes my story "The Abject" as well as a number of other excellent supernatural tales by some of the genre's best and darkest, including Caitlin R. Kiernan, Melanie Tem, Don Webb, and more. Well done, all. As usual, the Shirley Jackson Awards ballot exhibits some of the finest writing in Horror and dark fantasy.
S.T. Joshi has informed me that the Table of Contents for his forthcoming anthology Searchers After Horror has been finalized. It is a stellar line-up, which will be revealed in due course. The book will be published next year by Fedogan & Bremmer. My tale "The Patter of Tiny Feet" is included.
I've just turned in a new Horror essay to a publication I was honoured to have been invited to. I will announce details soon.
Little else to report at this time. For the past few weeks I've been battling a peculiar bug that has left me very fatigued, making writing a luxury. Fortunately I always make time for luxuries...