Brian Keene's Blog, page 18
February 28, 2021
Stories For The Next Pandemic
Written during the 2020 Pandemic, the stories in this new collection from bestselling, award-winning author Brian Keene are an eclectic mix of quiet slow burn terror, extreme horror, splatterpunk, bizarro and weird fantasy. In a year of deep divisions among humankind, STORIES FOR THE NEXT PANDEMIC is an evocative, atmospheric, and frightening look at the fears that still unite us…and the end that awaits us all. This book is sold as part of a two-book set along with Mary SanGiovanni’s THE SHAPES OF NIGHT.
Two Book Signed Limited Edition Trade Paperback: $21
Two-Book Signed Limited Edition Hardcover Set: $150
February 20, 2021
End of the Road Nominated For Bram Stoker Award
Anyone who has read END OF THE ROAD knows just how personal of a book it was for me to write. Over the last two decades (plus change) I've been privileged enough to give back to a genre that has given me joy for most of my life, and in doing so, I've been lucky enough to build a sizeable bibliography. However, of all the things I've written, END OF THE ROAD is my favorite.
While it is indeed a memoir, it's not a book about me. It's a book about us -- all of us, we fans and creators within the horror genre. It's a book about the people who came before us, a book about us ourselves, and a book about the people who will come long after we are gone.
I am deeply honored to learn that END OF THE ROAD has made the final ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards, and I continue to be humbled and moved by all the readers this book has touched. Thank you all.
To see the complete list of this year’s Bram Stoker Award nominees, click here.
To purchase END OF THE ROAD in paperback or for Kindle, click here.
February 19, 2021
Fallout For Hope
I've got a lot of fans, peers, and friends (both from the entertainment industry and private life, including old military buddies) who are going through hell in Texas right now. I'm also a long-time fan of the Fallout franchise.
That's why I'm proud to be lending my support to the #FalloutForHope team in supporting the Austin Area Urban League's #LoveThyNeighborTX campaign. I'll be on the stream at some point this weekend, time TBD.
Watch the stream and donate here (and eventually I’ll pop up on there as well).
February 17, 2021
2021 Splatterpunk Award Nominees
—For Immediate Release
February 17, 2021
Best-selling authors and Splatterpunk Award founders Wrath James White and Brian Keene are proud to announce the nominees for the 2021 Splatterpunk Awards, honoring superior achievement for works published in 2020 in the sub-genres of Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror.
The nominees are recommended by readers, fans and peers. The nominees are as follows.
BEST NOVEL
1. Pandemonium by Ryan Harding and Lucas Mangum (Death’s Head Press)
2. Tome by Ross Jeffery (The Writing Collective)
3. Dust by Chris Miller (Death’s Head Press)
4. Slaughter Box by Carver Pike (Self-Published)
5. Gone To See The River Man by Kristopher Triana (Cemetery Dance Publications)
6. They All Died Screaming by Kristopher Triana (Blood Bound Books)
7. The Magpie Coffin by Wile E. Young (Death’s Head Press)
BEST NOVELLA
1. The Slob by Aron Beauregard (Self-Published) *
2. Bella’s Boys by Thomas R. Clark (Stitched Smile Publications)
3. Juniper by Ross Jeffery (The Writing Collective)
4. Red Station by Kenzie Jennings (Death’s Head Press)
5. True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik (Grindhouse Press)
6. The Night Silver River Run Red by Christine Morgan (Death’s Head Press)
7. How Much 2 by Matt Shaw (Self-Published)
BEST SHORT STORY
1. “The Incident at Barrow Farm” by M. Ennenbach (from Cerberus Rising, Self-Published)
2. “Full Moon Shindig” by Patrick C. Harrison III (from Visceral: Collected Flesh, Death’s Head Press)
3. “Phylum” by Tom Over (from The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces, NihilismRevised)
4. “Footsteps” by Janine Pipe (from Diabolica Britannica, Keith Anthony Baird)
5. “Next In Line” by Susan Snyder (from Devour the Earth, Madness Heart Press)
6. “My Body” by Wesley Southard (from Midnight In the Pentagram, Silver Shamrock Publishing)
7. “The God In The Hills” by Jon Steffens (from The God In the Hills, Filthy Loot Press)
BEST COLLECTION
1. War of Dictates by John Baltisberger (Death’s Head Press)
2. Cerberus Rising by M. Ennenbach, Chris Miller and Patrick C. Harrison III (Self-Published) **
3. The Essential Sick Stuff by Ronald Kelly (Silver Shamrock Publishing)
4. Rhapsody In Red by Peter Molnar (Stitched Smile Publications)
5. Visceral: Collected Flesh by Christine Morgan and Patrick C. Harrison III (Death’s Head Press) ***
6. The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces by Tom Over (NihilismRevised)
7. Blood Relations by Kristopher Triana (Grindhouse Press)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
1. Chew On This edited by Robert Essig (Blood Bound Books)
2. Brewtality edited by K. Trap Jones (The Evil Cookie Publishing)
3. Welcome To the Splatter Club edited by K. Trap Jones (Blood Bound Books)
4. Worst Laid Plans edited by Samantha Kolesnik (Grindhouse Press)
5. Crash Code edited by Quinn Parker (Blood Bound Books)
6. If I Die Before I Wake Vol. 3: Tales of Deadly Women and Retribution edited by R.E. Sargent and Steven Pajak (Sinister Smile Press)
7. Psi-Wars: Classified Cases of Psychic Phenomena edited by Joshua Viola (Hex Publishers)
* Qualifies due to being significantly revised from its original edition.
** Qualifies as a collection, rather than an anthology.
*** Qualifies as a collection, rather than an anthology.
A panel of judges composed of professionals, critics and scholars in the field will now begin the process of reading each nominated work, and selecting a winner for each category. Winners will be announced at KillerCon, taking place in Austin, Texas this August. If national health concerns prevent a physical convention, then the winners will be announced in an online ceremony instead.
In addition to the winners, author and editor John Skipp will receive the annual J. F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award honoring his significant contributions to the sub-genres of Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror. Previous recipients are David J. Schow, David G. Barnett and Edward Lee.
Three notes of interest regarding this year’s awards:
While each category normally has five nominees (six if there is a tie), press will note that each category for this year contains seven. That is due to the overwhelming response in recommendations from the public this year. More new readers were engaged with Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror in 2020, leading to an increase in public response. As such, Wrath and Brian decided to extend the nominees to seven for each category, to better serve the community.
Building on a trend we pointed out in 2019, this year saw a continued significant increase in the number of women and authors who identify as female writing Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror. The recommendation process evidenced readers and fans mentioning a number of new female voices.
Splatter Westerns (which combine elements of Splatterpunk or Extreme Horror with the traditional Western genre) were clearly a favorite among readers in 2020, as evidenced both in the nominees and in the recommendations.
Press inquiries can be sent to Wrath James White or Brian Keene
February 16, 2021
Defenders Dialogue - Ep 127
Steve Gerber and Marvel Comics get political -- and so do Christopher Golden and Brian Keene as they review The Man-Thing issues 17 and 18.
Listen for free on iTunes – YouTube – Libsyn – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
February 15, 2021
The Damned Highway - On Sale Now
Brian Keene and Nick Mamatas’ 2011 cult classic THE DAMNED HIGHWAY: FEAR AND LOATHING IN ARKHAM, is back in print with a new paperback and Kindle edition!
A hilarious, shocking, terrifying thrill-ride across the American landscape, The Damned Highway combines two great flavors of weird: the gonzo journalism of Hunter S. Thompson and the uncanny terrors of H.P. Lovecraft. Horror legend Brian Keene and cult storytelling master Nick Matamas dredge up a tale of drug-fueled eldritch madness from the blackest depths of the American Nightmare. On a freaked-out bus journey to Arkham, Massachusetts, and the 1972 Presidential primary, evidence mounts that sinister forces are on the rise, led by the Cult of Cthulhu and its most prominent member - Richard M. Nixon.
THE DAMNED HIGHWAY: FEAR AND LOATHING IN ARKHAM
Click here to order the paperback.
Click here to order the e-book.
February 12, 2021
Monsters of Saipan
Monsters of Saipan: Five old army buddies travel to Saipan to rescue the sister of one of their own based on a promise made 25 years ago during Desert Storm, only to get crossed with the island mafia, a drug investigation, a CIA operation, island tradition, and their own realization that they aren’t as badass soldiers as they once were… in fact they might never have been... and, of course, an annual battle of baby kaiju.
To be offered at the $5 level of both Brian Keene and Weston Ochse Patreon. Note, you do not need to belong to both Brian's and Weston's Patreon accounts to receive the story, but each author will have specific behind the scenes only available to those signed up to the individual accounts.
COMING IN MARCH
February 11, 2021
New Merch Line
Mary SanGiovanni and I are happy to announce a new line of clothing, posters, and other accessories based on the classic covers of our works.
For the rollout, we’ve selected THE RISING, THE HOLLOWER, GHOUL, DARK HOLLOW, and EARTHWORM GODS (via its classic THE CONQUEROR WORMS title and cover). More will be added regularly.
Click here to peruse all merchandise and apparel.
February 9, 2021
Defenders Dialogue - Ep 126
What did Steve Gerber think of his time writing Man-Thing, and of the character and his place among Marvel Comics' pantheon? Brian Keene takes a deep dive into an archival interview to find out!
Listen for free on iTunes – YouTube – Libsyn – iHeartRadio – Stitcher
February 6, 2021
J.F. Gonzalez’s The Summoning
First published in 2010 and long out-of-print, The Summoning and Other Eldritch Tales contains seven collected stories of Lovecraftian-inspired nightmares from J. F. Gonzalez, including "Holes", "The Watcher From the Grave" and "The Summoning" (co-authored with Mike Baker). This new edition also includes Gonzalez's original story notes. On sale now in paperback and for Kindle! Click here to purchase!
