Margrét Helgadóttir's Blog, page 10

Monstrous Halloween

Can I point you in the direction of the coffee table books European Monsters and African Monsters for Halloween?

Both volumes are filled with lovely dark art, stories and graphic stories from well known and new authors and artists, who have written about their favourite monster from European and African folklore, myths and legends. These monsters don’t sparkle, they have no other interest in you but tearing you apart. African Monsters was shortlisted as best anthology for British Fantasy Awa...

Margrét Helgadóttir’s The Stars Seem So Far Away (2015)

Lovely review from Mark Bould on my debut book. Thank you!

Mark Bould

It starts off as little more than a vignette. Nora on the high seas turns stone killer when she needs to in order to survive.

Then it becomes a cycle of short stories. The world has warmed up. The ice has mostly gone. Humans and other animals (and plants) have died off in massive numbers. Cities built to house the enormous refugee populations in the former arctic regions now stand empty, more or less. Plague has taken its t...

Table of contents in Asian Monsters

I am very pleased to announce that Fox Spirit Books released the table of contents in forthcoming Asian Monsters today.

Asian Monsters will be the third of the annual monster books published by Fox Spirit Books, the first two covering monster folklore from the continents of Europe and Africa.

The coffee table book will be filled with short stories, graphic stories and art based on Asian folklore, myths and legends about monsters, all written by authors from Asia or with a strong connection to...

Few new reviews on my debut book

My debut book The Stars Seem So Far Away has received some lovely reviews lately.

Book blogger Imyril writes: “This is a quiet, unexpectedly gentle novel of brief sentences that implies as much as it tells. The magic for me was in the gaps it leaves for your imagination to fill and the successful evocation of the northern chill.” Read the full review here.

The book has also received a few reviews on Goodreads lately, see here. Author David Sarsfield calls the book a”well-knitted tapestry of...

The African Speculative Fiction Society and a new Award

The African Speculative Fiction Society was launched today – I am so very excited about this. The ASFS is a pro and semi-pro organization of African writers, editors, publishers and artists of Speculative Fiction. The society will nominate and vote for the winners of the new Nommo Awards for African Speculative Fiction.

The new Nommo Awards has four categories and the amazing four years’ worth of prize money in hand, thanks to benefactor Tom Ilube. The first award-giving ceremony will be held...

African Monsters updates

African Monsters has received some attention recently. It’s wonderful to see that this lovely book with stories and art from African authors and artists is both read and appreciated.

In the end of June, the blogger Bookshy put the book up as one of ten African genre fiction books to read, in this article in New African Magazine. She writes: “This collection has writings from some of the best African science fiction, fantasy and horror writers. … Be warned, sleep with the lights on!”

In July,...

Monster Book Giveaway

I am running a book giveaway at Facebook. Enter before August 31st for a chance to win copies of the two coffee table books European Monsters and African Monsters.

See more here.

Review: Whispered Echoes

“This is an excellent ghost horror story with all creepy paranormal details and blackened eyes and cackling laughter—which kept me on the edge of my seat—I suspect Michaud had great fun writing it. However, I think that perhaps it is the psychological aspects that is the true strength of this book and even the most compelling part of the plot.”

Read my review of Anne Michaud‘s Whispered Echoes over at The Future Fire here. The book is a lovely start to a YA-series of five books about ghost se...

British Fantasy Awards shortlisting

I am thrilled and happy to announce that I’m shortlisted today to British Fantasy Awards 2016 for two books: my debut book The Stars Seem So Far Away and African Monsters, the book I co-edited with Jo Thomas.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped putting this forward.

I am very happy and grateful for all the authors and artists in African Monsters, who all participated in making this into a lovely coffee table book. And thank you to Fox Spirit Books and Jo Thomas as well.

I am also pleased...

A few book updates

It’s been quiet from me for a while. Sorry about that. So here’s a little update from the last weeks.

First, the wonderful UK-based blogger Tattooed Mummy was so kind to feature me at her blog with a interview a few weeks ago, see here, where I talk about myself, my writing, my favourite authors, what I am reading at the moment and much more. I had such a good time answering these questions.

Second, African Monsters has had some attention recently. Storyological has a lovely take on Nick Wood...