David A. Riley's Blog, page 143

Self-Promotion - Does it sometimes go too far?

Mark Samuels has raised some interesting issues on his blog about the amount of self promotion that goes on these days amongst various writers.

Mark says: "I'm finding it increasingly difficult to drum up enthusiasm within myself for the horror/weird fiction genre right now. It's not the literature itself that depresses me, it's the insular self-obsessed promotional circus that surrounds it. I know there are good talented folk in there, but, by heaven, they're not the ones making the most...

FantasyCon 2010

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I shan't be posting much on here for several days after today as I'll be at FantasyCon in Nottingham.

Lin and I'll be driving there, along with several boxes of Charles Black's Black Books of Horror, the 7th volume of which was delivered to us yesterday by the printer. Only had a brief look at the new one so far, but the opening story by Thana Niveau is a cracker: dark, gloomy, unsettling and downright creepy.

There are lots of interesting talks, interviews, discussions, readings, etc at the ...

Guide to Literary Agents

I have just added a link to Guide to Literary Agents for any writers who read this blog who are after getting an agent. I've been advised this is a good blog to look at for useful information.

Beyond the Rave

At last my long ordered copy of the DVD, Beyond the Rave, has arrived from Play.com. Of course I wanted this primarily because it was the first new Hammer film for 25 years. The big question is, just how much like a Hammer film is it? 
That's a hard one to answer. It certainly wasn't a return to the familiar late Victorian era so favoured in many of Hammer's vampire and Frankenstein movies.On the other hand, Hammer was never worried about updating things either. i.e. Dracula AD 1972 and The...

Prism - September Issue

Slightly disappointed with one or two things about the printing of the current issue of Prism. Although I enclosed a printed copy of the magazine when I sent the disc to the printers, one or two errors in formatting still occured. The worst for me was that, in the review section, the titles of a couple of the items under review appeared at the foot of the preceding page instead of at the top of the next, along with the review. This looks sloppy and is something I am always especially careful ...

The Pan Book of Horror Stories

Congratulations to my friend Johnny Mains, who has single handedly been responsible for Pan reissuing their very first Pan Book of Horror Stories, just over 50 years after it was originally published. The only difference is the size of the book, which is larger than the original, and the inclusion of an introduction by Johnny all about the Pan series.

This is a picture of the advance copies Johnny was sent:


Let's hope that this is a great success and Pan are encouraged by it to restart the...

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival - 29th - 31st October 2010

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival
We've now booked into the Travelodge at Dean Clough for the weekend. It's not only an event we wouldn't want to miss, but it's also our wedding anniversary too. So this is a treat to ourselves.

The Seventh Black Book of Horror

Charles Black has just released the list of contents for the next Black Book of Horror. And, I must admit, it's nice company to be in!

THE PIER  Thana Niveau
MINOS OR RHADAMANTHUS  Reggie Oliver
MORNING'S ECHO  Joel Lane
IT BEGINS AT HOME  John Llewellyn Probert
FLITCHING'S REVENGE  Gary Power
REST IN PIECES  David Williamson
WALK TO THE SEA  Rog Pile
ROMERO'S CHILDREN  David A. Riley
THE GREEN BATH  Paul Finch
TELLING  Steve Rasnic Tem
SWELL HEAD  Stephen Volk
WALKING THE DYKE  Alex Langley
THE...

Prism - September Issue

Just received my copies from the printers, so the rest will be on their way to the BFS Stockholder for distribution to the society's members, along with Dark Horizons, within the next day or so. This is the third I've done since I took over as editor. Looking forward to the next issue, the Christmas one, which I want to make something special.

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival - October 29th-31st, 2010

The Halifax Ghost Story Festival takes place over three days at the end of October. Some of the participants include Mark Valentine (Tartarus Press), Mark Morris, Stephen Volk, Conrad Williams, Nicholas Royle, and Chris Priestley, etc.



One of the highlights for me is Sunday when the following M. R. James adaptations will be screened:

Afternoon sessionsIn The Crossley GalleryThe Ghost Stories of MR James: from Print to Film2pm-6.15pm (screenings and interview)Victorian writer and scholar MR ...