Michael Kelly's Blog, page 39
July 19, 2012
First story acquired for issue #5
Though it won’t be out for a while, I’ve purchased the first story for issue 5 of Shadows & Tall Trees, “New Wave” by Gary Fry. Creepy stuff. I’ve gone gluten-free.
July 17, 2012
Shadows & Tall Trees featured in Black Static
Black Static #29 is now out, and Shadows & Tall Trees is featured in their Magazine Spotlight. Reviewer Peter Tennant calls S&TT “A smartly produced, no trims magazine with plenty of rewarding content.” You should pick up a copy of Black Static AND S&TT.
July 12, 2012
July 10, 2012
Peter Tennant’s favourite 2012 short stories, thus far
Pleased to report that reviewer Peter Tennant’s list of his top twenty 2012 short stories (thus far) includes 5 selections from issue 3 of Shadows & Tall Trees.
July 3, 2012
Review: A Book of Horrors
This review original appeared in Shadows & Tall Trees 3.
“What the hell happened to the horror genre?”
With those words, editor Stephen Jones begins his introduction to A Book of Horrors, and posits his argument that the genre has become moribund because of the perceived consumer appetite for—in a term coined by publishers—‘horror-lite.’ These books, Jones states, are not aimed at the traditional horror reader. There is an audience, obviously, for paranormal romance and urban fantasy. The problem, Jones argues, is that there is a veritable glut of disposable volumes appropriating the traditional horror market.
I happen to agree with Jones. It’s one of the chief reasons I started this magazine. There just weren’t that many publications publishing the type of horror that I—and many others, I believe—wanted to read. Whether I’m successful or not is an entirely different matter.
Jones’s stated ambition with this anthology is to reclaim the genre, and titling the anthology A Book of Horrors demonstrates a bravura and confidence that, sadly, many publishers and editors lack these days. But Jones has never lacked confidence. Nor should he. He and Ellen Datlow should be applauded for keeping horror alive and vital in the short form.
Does A Book of Horrors live up to its name? Unreservedly, ‘yes.’
The first tale on offer is “The Little Green God of Agony,” by Stephen King. It’s quite a coup nabbing an original story from King. Unfortunately, this tale of a rich man, a faith-healer, and a sceptical care-giver is a letdown. The tale is well-told, full of King’s folksy charm, but is a bit too preachy and moralistic for my tastes. Not a horrible tale, per se, but certainly the weakest story in an assemblage of excellent tales.
Much better is Caitlin R. Kiernan’s “Charcloth, Firesteel and Flint.” A man picks up a hitch-hiker on a lonely desert highway and gets much more than he bargained for—as is wont to happen when you pick up a stranger. But this is anything but cliché. Kiernan is one of the genre’s premiere stylists, and this mythological offering is a vivid and captivating tale about Aiden, a mysterious woman who is drawn to fire like a moth to flame.
These days, Peter Crowther is best-known as a publisher, but he’s also an accomplished writer. His effort here, “Ghosts With Teeth,” is a sharply-observed small-town tale of ‘things not quite right’ that escalates from the mundane and unusual to grim and dark. The overall sense here is that Crowther had a lot of fun writing this. You’ll have fun reading it.
Angela Slatter is a relative newcomer quickly making a name for herself. She’s a terrific writer, but the few tales of hers’ I’ve read have never really stayed with me. Much of her work is retellings of myths and fables, and hews closer to fantasy than horror. I’d also classify her contribution here, “The Coffin-Maker’s Daughter,” as fantasy. But, as Jones states in his introduction, his idea of horror is pretty inclusive. The tale revolves around Hepsibah who has taken over the family business from her father. When she is commissioned to make a coffin for a widow, her dead father shows up to mock her, and Hepsibah becomes infatuated with the widow’s daughter. An entertaining and finely-crafted tale.
“Roots and All,” by Brian Hodge is an ambitious tale. Hodge has a knack for tapping into and examining the emotional baggage of people, of stirring and confronting familial secrets. This powerful tale is no different. A brother and sister return to their Grandma’s house to help settle her estate. They discover an awful secret about their Grandma, and, in a way, go about setting things right. This is a raw and powerful treatise on the death of small-town America, and also a glimpse at the power of folk-tales.
Dennis Etchison’s “Tell Me I’ll See You Again” is more melancholic than horrific, but still manages to evoke a sense of quiet dread. Any new Etchison is a treat.
Perhaps an even bigger coup than securing a tale from Stephen King is getting Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist’s (Let the Right One In) first tale written specifically for an English-language audience. “The Music of Bengt Karlsson, Murderer” starts off as a traditional ghost story, with a father grieving for his dead wife, and the son retreating to his insular world of computer games. But the rural house they’ve moved into to escape the city and their grief appears to have a piano that plays on its own. The son hears voices of dead children. And something else seems to haunt the house. Lindqvist then twists tradition and gives us a grim and dark ending that will leave even the most jaded ghost-story aficionado chilled. A shocking and potent meditation on grief.
The next two tales, Ramsey Campbell’s “Getting It Wrong,” and Robert Shearman’s “Alice Through the Plastic Sheet” share some similarities. Both tales are imbued with a liberal dose of black humour, and both question the status quo in regards to culture and conformity. And there’s the disquieting threat of menace and a feeling of unreality that permeates both stories. These are tales with a strong morality that aren’t nearly as preachy as the King.
Lisa Tuttle contributes “The Man in the Ditch.” A newlywed woman attempts to enjoy her new rural house, even as a sense of unease about her marriage and her surroundings invades her world. A quiet tale that will resonate long after you’ve finished it.
“A Child’s Problem” is another stellar effort from the always reliable Reggie Oliver. Set in nineteenth century England, a young boy is sent to live with his uncle. There he uncovers dark family secrets about race and class. A master of the supernatural tale, Oliver has, in a relatively short time, ascended to the top of his field. Reading this tale, you’ll know why.
A more contemporary writer is Michael Marshall Smith. Like Oliver, Smith rarely disappoints. And he doesn’t here. “Sad, Dark Thing” is, well, a sad, dark thing. Smith is an effortless stylist, and his power is in economy and deftly drawn characters. Miller is an admittedly aimless and lonely man who discovers something terrible and wonderful and life-changing deep in a redwood forest. Sorrow and loneliness are a bitter concoction, but Smith is too skilled a writer to wallow in melancholy.
“Near Zennor,” by Elizabeth Hand is not only the longest tale in the book, but also the finest. As with the Lindqvist and Smith tales, “Near Zennor” features a grieving man. Jeffrey travels from America to the rural English countryside in an attempt to find an elusive children’s author with whom his dead wife had corresponded when she was a teenager. The stark and barren landscape lends a palpable sense of the outré as Jeffrey seeks answers to an evolving mystery about the author and some strange lights seen near the author’s home. It turns out there are no easy answers to the questions he asks. This is a remarkable achievement, highly recommended, and should be on everyone’s ‘Year’s Best’ lists.
Last, but certainly not least, is “Last Words” by Richard Christian Matheson, a master of the short-short. This brief tale is a great counterpoint to the Hand tale, and proves that you can say just as much in the shortest tale in a book as the longest. A perfect end note to a tremendous collection of stories.
Following each tale was a brief note from the author explaining the origins of their story. This is something that editor Jones has done in the past, and I like it quite a lot. It helps us understand the authors, and therefore the stories, on a more humane level. I like that.
With A Book of Horrors Stephen Jones has assembled a superb collection of horror stories. Ideally, some smart publisher would give him free reign to make this an annual event.
“What the hell happened to the horror genre?” Jones asked.
It may have just received a life-saving jolt.
Feature Book Review Copyright © 2012 by Michael Kelly
June 27, 2012
Public Service Announcement
Hey, citizens of the weird, a PSA: if you like Shadows & Tall Trees you may also dig Supernatural Tales, Black Static, and The Weird Fiction Review. You’re welcome!
http://www.centipedepress.com/antholo...
http://ttapress.com/blackstatic/
Also New Genre, but I can’t find the website and don’t know if Adam is still publishing it.
June 22, 2012
Imaginarium 2012
Very pleased to announce that Ian Rogers story “The Candle” from Shadows & Tall Trees 2, and David Nickle’s “Looker” from Chilling Tales will be reprinted in Imaginarium 2012, the best Canadian speculative fiction of the year. Pleased, as well, that the following writers from Chilling Tales had their stories Honourably Mentioned: Simon Strantzas, Leah Bobet, Gemma Files, Suzanne Church, Ian Rogers, and Barbara Roden. You can check out the Toc and Honourable Mentions here:
June 19, 2012
An old review, but a good one
In issue 17 of Black Static, the redoubtable Peter Tennant reviewed my second collection Undertow and Other Laments. He’s now posted it online, here:
http://trumpetville.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/filler-content-with-added-undertow/
June 17, 2012
Acceptances
Here are a couple more additions to issue 4. Just waiting on one more story. Didman’s Corner by Reggie Oliver and It Has Happened Before, by Alison Moore.
June 10, 2012
Editor’s Note from issue 2
Well, here we are. Issue 2. Thank you.
When I envisioned an annual journal devoted to literary horror and weird fiction—something I’d thought a great deal about for a long time—I wasn’t sure what to expect. From the beginning, my goal was to illustrate that horror wasn’t a pejorative; that it could be thoughtful, entertaining, and literate.
Why? Because horror has a bad name, often deserved.
Many of the so-called horror magazines feature lurid covers, and badly written stories whose chief objective is to shock. That’s not horror. Worse yet, it’s a disservice to the readers. Editors and publishers have to act as gatekeepers, keeping standards high. Sadly, these days, anyone can stick their name on a book or magazine, publish it, and call him or herself an editor. Quality, and preserving the genres strong literate roots, isn’t their priority.
Yet, I sense change in the air. If not change, then at least a burgeoning core group of writers, editors, and publishers who value an aesthetic that doesn’t pander to the base horror tropes. Editors who value style and content. There are a number of journals and magazines that are publishing short horror fiction to a high standard: Black Static, ChiZine, New Genre, NightJar Press, Postscripts, Supernatural Tales, and The Weird Fiction Review, to name a few. I urge you to seek out these journals.
So, as I didn’t know what would come of this mad publishing venture, I deliberately tempered my expectations. The first issue was a critical, if not financial, success. But I’m not here for the money. I’m here to celebrate horror fiction as a genre and as a mode of literature, in the short form. I do hope that you will celebrate alongside me.
I’d like to address a matter that keeps coming up, and try to clarify my position on said matter: electronic versions of Shadows & Tall Trees.
I am not, contrary to some reports, averse to e-Books. Shadows & Tall Trees was conceived as a print literary journal. I’ve always had a passion for small, well-designed journals. I was hoping to construct a lasting artefact; one that you’d be happy to display on your bookshelves and coffee tables. A unique, singular object that was worth your time. I personally feel it is important to promote short horror fiction in printed literary journals. The best of them leave an indelible and lasting impression.
Which brings me to a related point: I do not send out PDF’s of the journal for review. I try and budget for extra copies. So, I do send physical copies to select editors, reviewers, and award jurors. As this is a small one-person operation, after the allotted copies are gone, I simply can’t afford to keep sending out more copies. If you are a reviewer who isn’t on my allotment list, and you are well and truly interested in the journal, you will have to purchase a copy. Sorry. That’s the economics of the situation. The same goes for readers. I had several requests to pass along the PDF. I politely declined. I have only contracted print rights from the contributors. I truly believe, as well, that the best possible reading experience is with the physical journal itself.
You will, if you’ve read the first issue, likely notice several changes to the journal. There is no interior art this time. Truthfully, I found the reproduction a bit too murky. I’ve decided that I should focus on the fiction.
The other major change is that I’ve had to increase the cover price. Postage and printing costs both have increased dramatically. I did increase the print run for this issue, though.
As well, the first issue featured book and film reviews by yours truly. I’ve managed to hand those tasks off to infinitely more qualified people.
For those of you considering submitting fiction, I’ve considerably shortened the submissions window. Instead of a 6-month window, I’m now open to submissions for 2 months only: January through February. For this issue, after wading through hundreds of inappropriate submissions, I closed down to unsolicited submissions after February. It was quite clear that many writers didn’t bother to read the guidelines, and quite evident they had no real sense of the journal’s aesthetic. That said, I think you’ll really enjoying the offerings assembled herein.
Finally, I’ve taken on an Associate Editor: Courtney Kelly. This issue would not have been possible without her stellar contributions.
I had planned to run a letters page, but received no letters. Please feel free to send along your correspondence and I may publish it in issue 3.
This venture is very much a collaborative effort. And perhaps the most important part of the collaboration is you, the reader. Thank you all for your support. I do hope you enjoy this issue of Shadows & Tall Trees.
