One Day Left for THIS IS HORROR public nominations

By pghhead -

EDITOR’S NOTE: There is just one day remaining to make your nominations for the THIS IS HORROR 2017 Awards.  As promised, here’s my list. I’m hoping some of these make it to the final ballot. If nothing else, you can use this as a list of books you might want to check out.  Go to  —  http://www.thisishorror.co.uk/awards/   — for rules and instructions to enter your nominations.  . . . . . . .

 

NOVEL OF THE YEAR:

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Volume 1  by Emil Ferris, writer and artist.  (Fantagraphic Books). Graphic novel --. A compelling and charming story with great art that works together with words to convey a sad tale of growing up, loneliness, persecution, hardship and abuse. Narrated with drawings in spiral bound notebook format  by a young womanl with a fascination for classic horror movies, monster mags, and pulp fiction who envisions her self as a teen werewolf.

Final Girls by Riley Sager -- Fast paced read and absorbing psychological thriller of women who must carry on with life after being the sole survivor of separate slasher/murder massacres.

 

NOVELLA OF THE YEAR:

Quiet Places by Jasper Bark  (Crystal Lake Publishing) -- Cosmic folk horror at it's best.  Blends folklore with otherworldly tropes in an original way.  Rated five out of a possible five.

The Final Reconciliation by Todd Keisling (Crystal Lake Publishing) -- Combines heavy metal music and horror mythos for a compelling configuration of a novella. Disturbing.

 

SHORT STORY COLLECTION OF THE YEAR:

The Dark Sea Within by Jason V Brock - - An awesome assortment of tales that explore the human condition and leave readers in a contemplative mood once the shivers stop.

Hasty For The Dark: Selected Horrors by Adam Nevill - - Great stories from Nevill's published works.  A writer who just keeps getting better and better.

 

ANTHOLOGY OF THE YEAR:

Behold: Oddities, Curiosities & Undefinable Wonders  (Crystal Lake Publishing) - - Sixteen stories with no duds. Seven that ascend to a select plateau of excellence.  And three that should serve as the template and standard bearer for other writers to aspire to.

Tales From The Lake Volume 4 (Crystal Lake Publishing) - - As the preface states, the editor's theme was to selected harrowing stories featuring dim and cold worlds.  This hits the mark every time with no misses.

 

FICTION MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR:

Black Static - - - The current standard bearer for quality literary horror.

Red Room, The Magazine of Extreme Horror - - If this is what you are looking for, it doesn't disappoint. More than just shock for shock's sake. 

 

PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR:

Crystal Lake Publishing - - - This was a banner year for them, as evidenced by the number of my nominees that they published.

 

FICTION PODCAST OF THE YEAR:

TalesTo Terrify - - - Better than ever now that they have secured enough finances to pay for contributions

Nightmare Magazine - - The podcast outlet of the online magazine. Short and sweet. One story per podcast.

 

NONFICTION PODCAST OF THE YEAR:

I don't listen to any horror-related nonfiction podcasts, but I can recommend two non-fiction books.

1) Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman - - He brings fresh life to retellings of mythology.

2)  Where Nightmares Come From: The Art of Storytelling In The Horror Genre  (Crystal Lake Publishing) -- an excellent reference source for beginning writers.


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