Alessandro Manzetti's Blog, page 11

Out Now: DANCING WITH MARIA'S GHOST

Out now my new dark poetry collection DANCING WITH MARIA'S GHOST - Dark Encounters with the Ghost of Maria Callas (Independent Legions). Buy your copy at Amazon 

The line between love and obsession is thin—thinner when love looks like madness, and perhaps thinnest when the object of that love is no longer living. These dark and lyrical poems detail the desire and descent of a man who falls in love with the impossible: the ghost of the great coloratura soprano, Maria Callas. Once dubbed the ‘ultimate diva’, the tumult of this tragic beauty beckons to him from the underworld, and in shades of exquisite darkness she lures him deeper into sweet insanity and toward his own gorgeous destruction.
Greek islands, Roman ruins, Parisian apartments. A quiet room in the chaos of war-ravaged Europe. On the stage, through the body, in the body that is a stage—these settings are the backdrop of this cursed romance. Through drama, theatre, the ache of broken genius and the strength of timeless art, the poems in this collection celebrate the memory of a beloved icon, and serenade the victims of doomed love.
Cover art by Pierluigi Abbondanza, interior illustrations by Barbara Monacelli

Interviewed on the forthcoming issue of Rue Morgue Magazine

Monica Kuebler interviewed me on the forthcoming issue (#204, Jan/Feb 2022) of Rue Morgue Magazine, about my guide '150 Exquisite Horror Books' (Crystal Lake Publishing). I'm honored to be a guest of such a popular magazine. 

Disponibile l'Edizione Hardcover di CALCUTTA HORROR

Disponibile sullo Store Independent Legions (a prezzo scontato) e su Amazon l'Edizione Hardcover (copertina rigida) della graphic novel in nomination al Bram Stoker Award 2019 CALCUTTA HORROR, scritta e adattata da me e illustrata da Stefano Cardoselli, tratta dal racconto 'Calcutta, Signora delle Impudenze' (Calcutta, Lord of Nerves) di Poppy Z. Brite.
​Questa edizione contiene un finale esteso a colori, e copertina variant.
Edizione Hardcover, collana High Voltage, formato 21x29 cm, 82 pagine. 
Acquista il libro sullo Store dell'Editore     Acquista il libro su Amazon 

OUT NOW: THE INHABITANT OF THE LAKE Graphic Novel

Out now THE INHABITANT OF THE LAKE Graphic Novel, written and adapted by me and Stefano Cardoselli (who also illustrated it), based on the story by Ramsey Campbell.  Grab your copy at Amazon.  

Synopsis:
The first adaptation in the form of a graphic novel of the lovecraftian story 'The Inhabitant of the Lake' by Ramsey Campbell.
A young artist escapes the crowded city to create in the peace and quiet of his new home in a remote, abandoned area. Drawn to the solitude and atmosphere of the thick woods and large, dark lake, he has no idea that far from being alone, he in fact has many, many new neighbours. Strange beings stare across at his home from behind the shadowed tree line, and he can’t shake the sense that something in the lake is watching him. When Cartwright’s dreams turn dark and vivid, he discovers a set of arcane books titled ‘The Revelations of Gla’aki’ and realises at last how much danger he faces. The presence in the lake is an ancient one of cosmic terror, and its servants—beset with the ‘green decay’—are beckoning him to join them as Gla’aki, the three-eyed being crashed to earth from outer space, rises again from the depths of the ebon lake.

From Ramsey Campbell's Introduction:
"I wrote “The Inhabitant of the Lake” in 1962, when I was sixteen years old. It was my first attempt to create a Lovecraftian deity—that’s to say, an alien entity taken for a god by its human worshippers. He has become central to the Brichester mythos, my small contribution to the Lovecraft tradition. He started life as Glaaki, but a later revelation made it clear that the correct spelling is Gla’aki, needlessly simplified by the Victorian editor Percy Smallbeam to make it easier for human speech. In almost sixty years Gla’aki’s influence in the world has grown beyond anything I could have imagined as a teenager. He has lent his name to Facebook profiles and Twitter ones too, and has been the subject of songs and games, and depicted by painters and sculptors. An entire anthology, The Children of Gla’aki, was assembled in tribute to him, and I feel touched and humbled by all this. I recently revived him in a novella (The Last Revelation of Gla’aki) and tried to do him the justice I didn’t have in me as a teenager. Now the excellent Alessandro Manzetti and Stefano Cardoselli have adapted my tale into a graphic novel, with splendidly expressionistic art by the latter gentleman, and I’m inspired all over again. You can’t keep a good monster down." Samples

Disponibile NUOVA SODOMA Edizione Extra Limited 'All Black'

Disponibile l'Edizione Extra Limited 'All Black' del mio romanzo Nuova Sodoma, acquistabile sullo store Independent Legions.
Si tratta di un'Edizione a Tiratura Limitata (sole 66 copie, firmate da me), Estesa (finale inedito alternativo) e All Black (stampa dell'opera su carta nera patinata), incluso un segnalibro personalizzato omaggio, con illustrazioni interne di Barbara Monacelli (autrice anche della copertina).
Acquista il volume

In uscita a Dicembre l'antologia da me curata HORROR ACADEMY Vol. 1

In uscita a Dicembre, per Independent Legions, l'antologia di racconti horror, dark e supernatural thriller HORROR ACADEMY Vol. 1, contenente racconti di grandi autori internazionali ospiti, e i migliori racconti degli autori italiani della mia Accademia di Scrittura Creativa. Edizione Collection a tiratura limitata (299 copie numerate), traduzioni del racconti in lingua inglese di Francesca Noto, illustrazione di copertina e interne di ben Baldwin, collana Black Spring, 244 pagine.

I racconti degli autori ospiti, tutti inediti in Italiano:
'Lo Spettacolo Continua' di Ramsey Campbell; 'L'Assassino Evanescente' di Jonathan Maberry; 'Un'Ultima Trasformazione' di Josh Malerman; 'Il Film' di Richard Christian Matheson; 'Il Lungo Velo Nero' di David J. Schow; 'Depresso Il Clown' di John Skipp,'In Un Pallido Mattino di Pioggia' di Ramsey Campbell e Nicola Lombardi. 
Inoltre, è incluso il mio racconto inedito 'Fai Correre il Sangue dove Vuole', che sarà pubblicato, in inglese e italiano, nella'antologia Classic Monsters Unleashed in uscita il prossimo anno.

I racconti degli autori italiani selezionati della mia Accademia di Scrittura Creativa
'Graffiti' di Liana Africa; 'Lampo. Buio' di Anna Silvia Armenise; 'Voglio Farti una Sorpresa' di Andrea Berneschi; 'Il Signore dei Venti' di Paolo Bertoglio; 'Infernòt' di Enrico Graglia; 'Orme' di Sergio Mastrillo; 'Sa Reula - Il Ballo dei Morti' di Andrea Mungiello; 'Il Verde Esatto' di Niccolò Ratto; 'Il Mangiagranchi' di Andrea Guido Silvi; 'L'Eredità' di Salvatore Vivenzio.
Tutte opere inedite in italiano tranne l'ultimo racconto citato, pubblicato sul terzo numero di Molotov Magazine.
Link al sito web della mia Accademia di Scrittura Creativa
Preordina l'edizione cartacea sullo Store Independent Legions​ 
Acquista l'edizione digitale (Kindle) su Amazon 

New Book Release: 150 EXQUISITE HORROR BOOKS

Released today, by Crystal Lake Publishing, my Guide 150 EXQUISITE HORROR BOOKS - Essential Guide to the Best 150 Books of Contemporary Horror Fiction.

Book description:
Compiled and edited by the Bram Stoker Award-winning author Alessandro Manzetti, this is a guide to the best 150 books of modern horror, weird, and dark fantasy fiction (single author novels, novellas, and collections of short stories) published between 1986 and 2020.

This captivating book includes publication details, reading notes and ratings for each work, as well as top-ten lists contributed by well-known writers, editors, critics, and essayists, including: Joe R. Lansdale, Ramsey Campbell, John Skipp, Ellen Datlow, Stephen Jones, Linda D. Addison, Jack Bantry, David Barnett, Mort Castle, Randy Chandler, Brian Evenson, Owl Goingback, Eric J. Guignard, Paula Guran, Grady Hendrix, Kate Jonez, S.T. Joshi, Edward Lee, RC Matheson, Lisa Morton, Steve Rasnic Tem, David J. Schow, Craig Spector, Angela Yuriko Smith, Dacre Stoker, Lucy Taylor

This guide is an essential resource for readers and fans of 20th century horror and supernatural books, in a modern and easy-to-read format, to discover the best books of the horror genre.
The most read guide in hell is finally here. Come dive into 150 books of must-read horror.

Buy your copy (printed and/or digital) at Amazon

Ellen Datlow's 'The Best Horror of the Year Volume 13': Honorable Mentions

Ellen Datlow revealed the Honorable Mentions from her 'The Best Horror of the Year Volume 13' (out  November 16th), including the reprint of my poem Bloody Rhapsody (from the collection Whitechapel Rhapsody).
 I'm happy to see among the Honorable Mentions my poem From Hell (again from the collection Whitechapel Rhapsody)
Honorable Mentions Full List
Preorder the book at Amazon

Released today 'Professor Charlatan Bardot's Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild Word, including my new tiny story 'THE HOUSE OF STRAWBERRIES'

Out Today from Dark Moon Books the anthology PROFESSOR CHARLATAN BARDOT’S TRAVEL ANTHOLOGY TO THE MOST (FICTIONAL) HAUNTED BUILDINGS IN THE WEIRD, WILD WORLD (2021 EDITION) edited by Eric J. Guignard, including my new tiny story “The House of Strawberries” and works by Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Poppy Z. Brite, Lisa Morton, Cody Goodfellow, Weston Ochse, Thersa Matsuura, Lee Murray, Rena Mason, Angela Slatter, Christina Sng, Kaaron Warren, Norman Prentiss, Simon Strantzas, and many others.
Buy the book At Amazon

Disponibile BRUTAL, antologia contenente il mio racconto inedito Salomè

Disponibile sullo store online di Independent Legions (a prezzo scontato) e Amazon l'antologia BRUTAL contenente novelette e cinque racconti horror e slasher brutali, tra epidemie di violenza, psicopatici e maniaci, prostitute zombie, tra i quali due delle opere di genere più disturbanti e controverse di tutti i tempi.
Il volume include il mio racconto inedito Salomè, insieme ai racconti: I Fagioli Magici di Jack (Jack's Magic Beans) di Brian Keene, Mister Torso (Mister Torso) di Edward Lee, Donne (Making the Woman) di Lucy Taylor, Sei Quello Che Mangi (Eric the Pie) di Graham Masterton e La Ragazza Larva nella Prigione delle Donne Morte di Edward Lee.
Illustrazione di copertina di Luke Spooner, Edizione Hardcover (copertina rigida), Collana Necros, 130 pagine.

Acquista il libro sullo Store Independent Legions (a prezzo scontato)
Acquista il libro su Amazon