Stephen Kozeniewski's Blog, page 20

2020 Appearances

Hey all!

Here is my schedule of appearances for 2020.  As changes occur, I will update this page, so be sure to check back often.  Events in red have occurred in the past.

If you'd like me to make an appearance at a convention, signing, or other event you're organizing or attending, feel free to contact me and we'll discuss it. Most events in Baltimore or Philadelphia are a slam dunk for me to attend, but I'll consider travelling if invited.

Farpoint 27 Dates: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday February 21-23
Location:
Delta Hotel by Marriott
245 Shawan Road
Hunt Valley, MD 21031
Panels:  TBD

Scares That Care Charity Weekend VII
Dates: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday July 31-August 2
Location: Double Tree by Hilton
50 Kingsmill Road
Williamsburg, Virginia, 23185.
Panels:  TBD

KillerCon III
Dates: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday August 7-9
Location:
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Austin Northwest Arboretum
8901 Business Park Dr
Austin, TX 78759
Panels:  TBD

Top Ten Manuscripts Burn Posts of 2019

10.  Women in Horror Month #3: Stephanie Wytovich

9.  Women in Horror Month #11: Christina Sng

8.  Women in Horror Month #13: Nadia Bulkin

7.  Women in Horror Month #6: Gemma Files

6.  Women in Horror Month #5: Catherine Cavendish

5.  The Quintessential 100 WORD HORRORS PART II Post

4.  In Memoriam: Frank Michaels Errington

3.  Women in Horror Month #12: Yvonne Navarro

2.  Women in Horror Month #1: Sadie Hartmann

1.  2019 Appearances

2019 Splatterpunk Award Nominations

Hey, everybody!

In two weeks nominations for the Splatterpunk Awards close.  It's a big, exciting field this year, so I'll just suffice it to let you, dear readers, know what I'm eligible for and leave the rest with you.  If you do feel anything I've done this year is worthy, you can e-mail splatterpunkawards@gmail.com by January 31st with your nominations.

Best Novella

SKINWRAPPER


Best Anthology

THE BIG BOOK OF BLASPHEMY


Best Short Story:

"A Strong Man's House" by Stephen Kozeniewski from THE BIG BOOK OF BLASPHEMY
"The Suffering City" by Stephen Kozeniewski from the "Laughter" Kickstarter

Other recommendations:
You can only nominate one work in each category, but here are my recommendations for some categories I'm not eligible in.
Best Novel - CATFISH IN THE CRADLE by Wile E. Young, THE DARK GAME by Jonathan Janz, TAPETUM LUCIDUM by the Sisters of Slaughter, RECEPTION by Kenzie Jennings, HAG WITCH OF TRIPP CREEK by Somer CanonBest Collection - RESISTING MADNESS by Wesley Southard

2019 in Retrospect

Hey everybody!

I'm a little slow getting around to this, but one of my favorite things about the new year is taking stock of the old year.  We can get into a rut, forgetting that, while we may just be hauling buckets of dirt day after day, in their aggregate, those buckets form a mountain.

So, to make myself feel better, and to remind you all to stop and take stock yourselves, here are my accomplishments from 2019:

1.)  Podcast Appearances

- Horror Metal Cast
- Necrocasticon
- Matters of Faith
- Unnerving Podcast
- The Horror Show with Brian Keene

2.)  Personal Appearances

- Farpoint
- White Rose Comic Con
- Scares That Care
- Killercon
- Harriburg Comic and Pop Con
- Signing at 2nd and Charles in Harrisburg.

3.)  Publications

- SKINWRAPPER (English version)
- HUNTER OF THE DEAD (hardback limited edition)
- THE HEMATOPHAGES (hardback limited edition)
- BRAINEATER JONES (Author's Preferred Edition)
- 100 WORD HORRORS PART 2 featuring my drabble "Clockwork Offal"
- THE BIG BOOK OF BLASPHEMY featuring my short story "A Strong Man's House"
- "The Suffering City" (short in support of "Laughter" Kickstarter)

4.)  First Screenwriting Credit

- "Welcome to Daisyland," Episode 2: "The Voice"

5.)  First Foreign Sales

- THE HEMATOPHAGES (Italian version)
- SKINWRAPPER (Italian version)

Interestingly, for a few months in 2019 SKINWRAPPER was available in Italian only.  Fans would have to wait until August for the English release, and I delighted in reminding them of it.

6.)  Completed Works

- THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE (with Wile E. Young)
- THE THING UNDER YOUR BED
- "Rotten Kingdom," Issue 1

7.)  Sold THE PERFECTLY FINE HOUSE to Grindhouse Press

8.)  Tapped to write the CLICKERS reboot

9.)  Created my Literary Estate

It sometimes sounds grim, but preparing for the future is tough.  I'm glad I finally did it.  Make sure you do, too, if you haven't already.

10.)  Won NaNoWriMo for the 11th year in a row

11.)  Lost my Agent

Yes, this can sound like a bad thing, but the breakup was entirely amicable.  Having an agent convinced me my work was good enough for the big time, and the surprisingly positive rejections we received convinced me doubly so.

12.)  Hired my First PA

Something I've been wanting to do for a long time.  I'm glad I finally pulled the trigger.  Jess was a godsend, and here all too briefly.

13.)  Bought a small business

Although it has nothing to do with my writing career, the elephant in the room can't be ignored.  Looking back now, I'm shocked I managed to accomplish all this other stuff while simultaneously standing up a balloon shop.

And now that I've actually finished that post, as always, I'm shocked at how much I accomplish in any given year.  It really doesn't feel like that.  If you had asked me without looking back, I would have said, "Nothing.  All I did was publish one novella."  But, really, it was quite a bit!

What about you, dear readers?  What did you accomplish in 2019

2019 This is Horror Award Nominations

Hey, everybody! 

Whelp, it's the end of the year and you know what that means: it's awards season!  Kicking us off is the annual This is Horror Awards.  If you're a fan of mine and want to see me succeed, I thought I'd make it easy on you all by listing which of my 2019 efforts are eligible.  If you're interested in nominating me (please don't feel obligated) you can do so by e-mailing awards@thisishorror.co.uk with the subject line "This Is Horror Award Nominations 2019" by 12:01 a.m. PST on January 8, 2020.  You can nominate up to two projects per category.  Further information and rules can be found here.

So, without further ado, here are my eligible works for 2019:

Novella of the Year

SKINWRAPPER


Anthology of the Year

THE BIG BOOK OF BLASPHEMY


Publisher of the Year

French Press


Cover Art of the Year

BRAINEATER JONES by Chris Enterline


Other recommendations:
Since you can nominate two works in each category, and some categories I'm not even eligible in, here are some of my recommendations.
Novel of the Year - CATFISH IN THE CRADLE by Wile E. Young, HAG WITCH OF TRIPP CREEK by Somer Canon, THE DARK GAME by Jonathan JanzNovella of the Year - Short Story Collection of the Year - RESISTING MADNESS by Wesley SouthardAnthology of the YearFiction Magazine of the Year - "Unnerving"Publisher of the Year - Thunderstorm Books, Sinister Grin Press, Grindhouse PressFiction Podcast of the YearNonfiction Podcast of the Year - "The Horror Show With Brian Keene"Cover Art of the Year - RESISTING MADNESS

An Author's Gratitude (Redirect)

Hey, everybody!  Make sure to swing by the ol' group blog for a look at my Thanksgiving post on gratitude.

Cyber Monday is Here!

Nothing is better than shopping with no pants on!

Since there are laws in this country that frown upon that, Cyber Monday is a now thing for the holiday shopping season.

Of course, shopping from the comfort of your couch was always a thing. At least with Cyber Monday, you get the deals of Black Friday, without all the screaming and hair pulling...unless you're into that. No judgement!

This Cyber Monday (or any day, really) check out the works of Stephen Kozeniewski on Amazon.

OR, if you like to listen on the road, check out his books on Audible instead!

Small Business Saturday...It's for Authors too!

Hey everyone, Jess here. I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving and that the sewer system at your house is working well.

Now that the holiday shopping season has officially kicked off, I just wanted to remind you that tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. In case you don't know, that's an unofficial holiday a lot of folks like me and Koz like to nudge people in the direction of shopping from mom & pop shops, family owned franchises, and independent sellers; like us authors.

Authors have it tough when it comes to marketing. We have to take advantage of word of mouth and reviews to really get our books sold. So we ask this Saturday, that you consider forgoing the big book stores and Amazon, and purchasing a book or five from your favorite authors personally. Many of us have boxes of books at our house that we are more than happy to autograph and ship to you.

You can contact Koz (and me!) on Facebook or Twitter to get a copy directly. Of course, we aren't going to complain if you buy something from us on Amazon, but remember, we get far less profit out of it.

Consider shopping small for all your holiday needs, and help out your neighbors instead of the big corporations. It's very much appreciated by us little guys!

Happy holidays to you all!

THE BIG BOOK OF BLASPHEMY

Announcing THE BIG BOOK OF BLASPHEMY, featuring Stephen Kozeniewski, credited as 'And many more', for some odd reason.

If you're religious, look no further - this is not the book for you. The Big Book of Blasphemy is just what the name says: BIG. With 30 stories from today's best extreme horror writers, no one and nothing is sacred. These stories take on everything from goddesses to paleros to priests to saints and sinners, angels, demons, devils, and even pizza. From wretched pasts to dystopian futures, these tales explore a range of topics, religions, and blasphemies. The stories in this book range from serious to humorous, loud to quiet; there's a sacrilege for everyone.

Avaliable on Amazon, so check it out now. I think this one would be an especially good ironic gift for all these religious holidays coming up. We here at 'Manuscripts Burn' are not responsible for any family fights breaking out over the gifting of this book.

How to Not Suck at Promoting

I've been a writer for many years, and I've got a little experience under my belt, but I've learned a few more things about the trade since working for Stephen. There is a lot of time-consuming, mind-numbing work involved with promoting yourself as an author, but if it's done right, the benefits are worth the hassle. Here are a few nuggets of wisdom I've accumulated over the last few months:

1.) Reviewers are finicky creatures! 

Most of my time is spent searching through list of potential reviewers for Stephen's work. Aside from some of the odd or particular requirements some have for even contacting them, a lot of them have a hefty list of 'yes' and 'no' requirements for any book they are sent. A few reviewers who have themselves listed as Horror reviewers will also reject certain genres of horror, like Splatterpunk. You have to read a lot of fine print and do a lot of overhauling on your general request letter to get their attention. Treat each reviewer like they're the only one. 


2.) Social Media is exhausting, yet crucial. 

Since I've now been given the keys to the city -- Stephen's social media page, I've realized there is a lot to keep up on. To keep people following you and gain more visitors, you have to keep it interesting. On Stephen's page we do random questions to engage the followers, and we share every instance of his existence online in the form of blogs, interviews, etc., so people know he still exists and is still releasing stuff. 


3.) Fucking Blogs! 

Oh man, that is the hardest part for me. As a writer myself, I should have no problem busting out blogs, but I do. After a while, I have a hard time coming up with subject material. This is where Stephen shines. He's able to consistently keep his blog running by sharing videos, articles, and interviews, as well as his own meandering thoughts on subjects. I have found that writers who maintain blogs in between their publishing projects can keep their audience interested longer.


4.) Public events are great even if you don't make money.

Every creator should be booking and attending as many events as possible. Whether it's a small book store signing, or a huge comic con, you should be trying to get out among the human beings whenever possible. Even if you don't make back your table fees, the connections you make with potential fans and networking with other creators can be extremely rewarding. I have countless new friends and have found out about tons of new venues over the years because I get out there as much as my schedule and wallet allow me.


5.) Write for yourself and be your own biggest fan.

This is the big one. I've always lived by the policy that if I write what I want to read, others are bound to want to read it to. You need to be your own biggest fan (and critic!) in order for anyone else to believe in you. Remember, even if you don't ever make it big, as long as one person is reading your work, you are legit. That one person can be you.



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