Michael A. Arnzen's Blog: News from Gorelets.com, page 2

“Beyond Undead”: A New Short-Short Graphic Novel

Happy October! My longtime friend Eric Hoffman and I have a Halloween surprise for you… a graphic fiction adaptation of my short-short story, “Beyond Undead”!

Eric Hoffman ingeniously reframes the tale, intensifying the emotional elements of the piece with expressive line art. Check this free comic out at pancyfancer.com and be sure to browse around and see what else Hoffman has been up to lately. Eric, my old Army buddy, has performed comedy in Chicago and LA, , and has written for several popular shows, from the film Girlfriend’s Day with Bob Odenkirk to skits for Mr. Show with Bob and David. He also co-wrote AND illustrated the irreverent bible of humor, Comedy by the Numbers, published by McSweeney’s. He is a very talented and hilarious person. And this is Hoff at his darkest. Enjoy!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

If you’d like to read the original story or more short-shorts in this vein, check out my collection, 100 Jolts: Shockingly Short Stories… still available from the stalwart publishers, Raw Dog Screaming Press.

Horror Interviews on The Book Case podcast

If you’re not listening to The Book Case with Kate & Charlie Gibson (of Good Morning America fame) then you’re missing out on some great conversations about not only today’s bestselling books, but also about the horror genre itself. Kate is a lively interviewer and such an intelligent reader — and lately has been having a blast trying to get her father Charlie to read and enjoy and understand the horror genre in his retirement, as together they read current books and talk about them with their guest authors. They also routinely interview people in the book business and include them in each episode, to help avid readers keep up with what’s happening in popular fiction.

So it was such a thrill to recently be consulted as a “horror academic” and to delve deeply into what makes horror tick in my recent conversation on The Book Case. This free podcast can be heard online at abcaudio.com or spotify or amazon music or Apple Podcasts and so forth. If you’re curious about what I had to say, you can specifically hear me on the track that includes a fantastic interview with Jennifer McMahon. This ongoing series about horror has so far featured Christopher Golden and Josh Malerman, as well. STAY TUNED and subscribe to The Book Case … there are more great horror genre discussions to come!

The 2023 SFPA Science Fiction Poetry Contest

I have been a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association almost as long as I’ve been writing. I’ve published in their journal Star*Line (and the affiliated one, Eye to the Telescope),I served as Secretary/Treasurer for a few years in the 90s, I’ve recorded recitations of poems for their online Halloween audio series, I’ve helped with the organization of the Rhysling Awards…heck, I even came up with the slogan on their t-shirt, “In Space, No One Can Hear You Rhyme.” You might think the SFPA has nothing to do with horror, but they are an inclusive gang, covering all “speculative” fiction — normally called sf/f/h (science fiction, fantasy and horror) — the genres that ask “what if?” and imagine alternatives to reality.

I love what they do.

So it was an honor to be invited to judge this year’s SFPA Poetry Contest.

Below are the guidelines and information, ported in directly from their webpage. I would only add that I plan to judge entries blind, but any friends of mine who submit will be disqualified. I don’t believe in playing favorites in this kind of thing, and I also don’t want to even appear like I do. If we are writing acquaintances or colleagues who have chatted at conferences or classes that’s fine. But if you are a student of mine at SHU, a long-standing buddy, or other colleague, or if you think you might be disqualified by entering, then please don’t — submit the poem to Star*Line for regular publication (and payment) instead! And please do consider joining the SFPA if you write SF/F/H Poetry.

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SFPA CONTEST INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES

Our contest is intended to raise funds for SFPA, as well as to draw more attention to speculative poetry and reward writers of good speculative poems.

The 2023 SFPA Speculative Poetry Contest opens for entries on June 1. Deadline August 31.

Contest Rules: The SFPA speculative poetry contest is open to all poets, including non-SFPA-members. Prizes will be awarded for best unpublished poem in 3 categories: Dwarf (poems 1–10 lines [prose poems 0–100 words]); Short (11–49 lines [prose poems 101–499 words]); Long (50 lines and more [prose 500 words and up]). Line count does not include title or stanza breaks. All sub-genres of speculative poetry allowed in any form. Entries are read blind; friends/family/students of the judge may not enter. 2022 winners are posted here.

Prizes: In each category (Dwarf, Short, Long): $150 First Prize, $75 Second Prize, $25 Third Prize. Publication on the SFPA website for first through third places.

2023 Judge: Michael Arnzen

Michael Arnzen holds four Bram Stoker Awards and an International Horror Guild Award for his disturbing (and often funny) fiction, poetry and literary experiments, including the uniquely musical horror collection available on cd, Audiovile. He has been teaching as a Professor of English in the MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University since 1999, and has work forthcoming in Weird Tales, Writing Poetry in the Dark and more. He also was Secretary/Treasurer of the SFPA way back in the early 1990s.
See what he’s up to now at michaelarnzen.com or listen to him read at arnzen.bandcamp.com

2023 Contest Chair: R. Thursday

R. Thursday (they/them) is a writer, educator, historian, and all-around nerd. When not subverting Middle School Social Studies curriculum, they can be found cooking the spiciest version of any given dish, playing video games, reading, watching cartoons, and writing about vampires, superheroes, queerness, mental health, space, monsters, and on a very good day, all of the above. They placed second in the 2021 Rhysling Award for Short Poems, and the 2022 Bacopa Formal Verse Contest. Their work has been published in Vulture Bones, The Poet’s Haven, Crow and Quill, Eye to the Telescope, Sheepshead Review, Luna Station Quarterly, Book of Matches, and many other fine journals. They live in South King County, Washington, with the world’s most copacetic cat.

Submission guidelines:

The 2023 contest opens June 1Deadline is August 31Online entry form: bit.ly/SFPAContest2023Entries will be read blind. Please do not include any identifying information in the file (file name can be anything); enter your name only in the form. The form can take a submission with multiple poems in the same category (dwarf, short, or long). Use a separate documents to submit poems from different categories. .rtf preferred. Either submit poems via form, or send all in one file, separated by ***, with “SFPA Contest” in the subject line, to 23contest@sfpoetry.com & pay treasurer via PayPal at sfpatreasurer@gmail.com.Unpublished poems only. Author retains rights, except that first through third place winners will be published on our website.Enter as many poems as you like, but an entry fee of $3 per poem must be paid via PayPal at entry (credit card can be used without a PayPal account). Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but must be immediately withdrawn if accepted elsewhere.No PayPal, or problems with form? Send poems via e-mail to 23contest@sfpoetry.com
Put “SFPA contest” in subject line, .rtf preferred, and send a check payable to SFPA to SFPA
PO Box 1563
Alameda CA 94501

Confirmation of receipt of your submission should follow within 3 days.
Announcement of winners will be posted on the SFPA website.

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The Gorelets Omnibus – Cool 99c SALE Videos

Raw Dog Screaming Press has been running a .99c sale on The Gorelets Omnibus ebook edition on Amazon.com — if you’ve never read the book, now’s your chance to get a copy very cheap! But act quick, because this deal runs out on June 4th, 2023. Or better yet, get two books, with a similar deal being offered on The Underside of the Rainbow by BE Burkhead (who you can see reading a gorelets-inspired poem from that book, by memory, at a fantastic reading event we shared several Halloweens ago in Baltimore, to launch the 20th anniversary edition of Grave Markings).

What makes this limited-time sale extra nifty is that the publisher has been posting new videos — mini-film features, really — adapting poems from both books. RDSP’s intern, Adam Pitts, is responsible for this fine work (i.e. the vocals, performances, shot construction, etc., is not by me, just the words). Here’s an example of one of them, for my poem, “Zombeanie Babies” — but there are several more to come!

Be sure to follow Raw Dog Screaming Press on social media accounts — like here on twitter — for more cool things like this. They’re an awesome indie publisher, and I’m proud to be a part of their lineup all these many years.

See my list of books for sale for more information on The Gorelets Omnibus and others!

Veterans in Horror

I rarely talk about my days in the military. I am also anti-war and loathe the crassness of July 4th (as does my cat). But freedom means everything to me, and I’m proud to be a veteran. Serving in the Army helped me not only meet some amazing people and make good lifelong friends, but supported my first-generation entry into college afterward. It was also where I wrote my first horror story, because I was reading so much of it, and tried on a lark to see if I could be as clever as Stephen King. I wasn’t. But even now, decades and degrees later, I’m still trying.

You can read my reflection on horror and the military service in a recent Horror Writers Association interview with me, which launched their all-month-long special series spotlighting Veterans in Horror, honoring those who serve up the darkness. Special thanks to David Rose for hosting these talks!

Why I Love Horror

I recently was invited to share a guest post on Becky Spratford’s RA for All: Horror blog, answering the deceptively simple prompt question, What do you love about horror?

What’s not to love? Such a difficult question, and I got stuck on how to answer this question until I started separating it out into the infamous “seven types” of love, identified by Greek philosophers. That sounds awfully geeky, but I had a lot of fun with it. You can read this interview on the 31 Days of Horror section of RA for All: Horror

In the entry, I explain why horror is hot, why horror provides a kind of self-love, and explain how the word “storge” applies to the genre too. It was a hoot to write. And everyone’s contributions to the series are insightful and engaging.

Thank you, Becky Spratford! Becky wrote The Readers Advisory Guide to Horror which everyone should check out. And she does amazing things for librarians and the HWA, as she runs both the Summer Scares feature in concert with the Horror Writers Association, as well as the Librarian’s Day area of StokerCon!

I also partook in a roundtable interview related to Writing Poetry in the Dark recently, which you can now read on Stephanie Wytovich’s Madhouse blog.

Win a Book from Galactic Terrors

On Oct 13th, 2022, I read some work at the fabulous “Galactic Terrors” series of video casts, which is run by the NY chapter of the Horror Writers Association. It was a good time, reading alongside Michelle Brittany and Steven Van Patten, who both enlightened and entertained. You can catch the episode on youtube if you missed it.

But even better, if you sign up for the Galactic Terrors newsletter, you have a chance at winning one of two Arnzen books, an ebook from Steven Van Patten, or a handmade Halloween journal from Michele Brittany! The only catch is you have sign up before 12pm on Oct 16th. Also must reside in the USA.

Go for it! Sign up now, and you’ll be alerted to future episodes of GT among other things horror-oriented. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Raising the Dead Draft (& Other Fall Events)

Take a quick gander at my events page, and you’ll see that I’m lining up a number of readings, talks and writing workshops for the 2022 Harvest season… hope you’re able to join me at one of them!

I always love reading live. But here I want to highlight a one-hour writing workshop I’m running that is also part of an awesome book launch. From Oct 8th-10th, Raw Dog Screaming Press and AllAccessCon is hosting “Writing Poetry in the Dark” — a unique event featuring a roster of top horror poets, all talking shop to help writers learn about the unique craft of dark poetry. I will be running a live-streaming presentation called “Raising the Dead Draft” at 1pm eastern on Saturday, 10/8/22.

The current line-up of presenters also tentatively includes Stephanie Wytovich, Albert Wendland, Jessica McHugh, Carina Bissett, Donna Lynch, Timons Esaias, and Saba Razvi. Many of the presenters appear in the book, Writing Poetry in the Dark, edited by Stephanie Wytovich for Raw Dog Screaming Press. Preorder it today at Raw Dog Screaming Press to celebrate the book’s launch!

Tickets for the workshop start at $47. Register for the e vent!

Free events this Halloween season include an online fiction reading with NY horror writers at Galactic Terrors (10/13) and FrightFest (10/27). I’ll also just generally be spooking around my haunted grounds, doing things like storytelling at the Seton Hill U English Club bonfire on campus and promoting the college’s litmag at a coffeeshop event to come. Halloween is the busiest and best time of the year!

Keep an eye on my events page for these and future gatherings!

And again, check out the launch of Writing Poetry in the Dark! My contribution is a piece on crafting humorous horror poetry, called “Like Fright on Lice: Humor and Horror Poetry”!

Blackjack Book Sale — 1 week only — 7/14-7/21!

Buy One for $10 or All Three for $21! SALE ENDS 7/21 at midnight

For one week only (7/14-7/21/22) I’m offering a special on some of the books I’ve got on hand, leftover from con trips and books signings! Get Play Dead, Grave Markings or 100 Jolts in paperback for just $9 each…or all three books in a bundle for $21 (while supplies last)! Postage is NOT included, but I will price it at an additional $2 for the first two books in the USA. (International orders will be an additional $15 postage total no matter how many books, no matter where in the world).

I will of course sign these copies and if you want me to personalize them, I will. In fact, when you submit your paypal, let me know in the comment if you want me to inscribe with an original poem, which I will write based on a roll of my Metaphor Dice.

To take advantage of this offer, your order needs to come through PAYPAL to arnzen@gorelets.com — or just click here: https://paypal.me/Arnzen

Tell me precisely which books you want if you are not ordering all three, and if it helps you do the math, here are the final costs with postage paid (ppd):

1 book = $11 USA ppd / $24 international ppd2 books = $22 USA ppd / $33 international ppd3 books = $25 USA ppd / $36 international ppd

p.s. I may have other books on hand if you’re interested, including the Audiovile CD and Fridge of the Damned poetry magnets. Because of their rarity, I must charge $15 US for those but I will cover postage free. Inquiries welcome.

Kaiju Death Spiral: A Class Poetry eBook

Happy National Poetry Month once again! This year, I’m sharing the work of students in my current undergraduate world literature course in Global Horror, where we’re currently wrapping up the term at Seton Hill University. In that class, we studied everything from current folk horror novels to Serbian folk vampires. One week, we practiced Japanese poetic forms, inspired by our study of the Godzilla kaiju films, Junji Ito’s classic horror manga, Uzumaki, and Jisei death poems. The results were so good, I compiled them into a fun and morbidly twisted ebook, called Kaiju Death Spiral, featuring a fantastic piece of cover art created exclusively for the collection by Gina Pivirotto. Please join my students in celebration of National Poetry Month by taking a look at the pdf and letting us know what you think.

Download a free copy of the class ebook (in .pdf format only) here!

post-script:

If you’ve read the intro to the ebook, you’ve seen how much I enjoyed teaching this literature/film class. The poetry is just one of many diverse activities they performed in class, from the traditional term papers, to multimedia responses to clever “research races” and more. Here are three that I can share publicly:

“Research Race” Gallery: Cthulhu in Art:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1d-SiViiHI3NyK4sagUWzFIzJxs_WmPrdSzZwWQ5r-Wg/edit?usp=sharing

The class “World of Horror” Map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1zXOcaX487FovN2-Rci-A9veCDVTdV3LQ&ehbc=2E312F

Scary Folklore Recitations from Around the World: