Remember the Egg!

The Missing Reviewed By the New York Times

2008-10-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that Terrence Rafferty wrote a piece in today's New York Times' Book Review entitled "Shelley's Daughters." The Missing gets a positive review, as well as my MUSE partner, Alexandra Sokoloff, for her novel The Price, and Elizabeth Hand for Generation Loss, which won the 2007 SJA Award, on whose panel I was a juror. It's a great article, so if you're interested, check it out.

October Newsletter

2008-10-21T07:29:00.001-07:00

Fall Update.

Happy early Halloween. Thanks to everybody who signed up for this newsletter. The news is:

I've got a couple of stories coming out:

"Fenstad's End," the story that in part inspired my second novel, The Missing, is up for pre-order at: http://www.cemeterydance.com/page/CDP/PROD/_cd059

"The Great Pumpkin Arrives at Last" from Doorways Magazine. You can order it here: http://www.doorwayspublications.com/backissues.htm. The magazine also features an interview with me, conducted by Nicholas Kaufmann.

Interviews!

A phone interview, in which there is much rambling, but might be useful to people looking to break into publishing at the new site, Cult Pop: www.cult-pop.com

A roundtable interview at ThrillerFest: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stations/AuthorsOnAir/RomanceRadio/2008/10/16/ThrillerFest-Thursday-Jim-Rollins-Kathryn-Fox-Jordan-Dane-Vicki-Petterssen-and-Sarah-Langan-

Also, The Missing was nominated for an IHG Award. Winners will be announced online at www.horroraward.org on Halloween. So wish me luck.

If any of you are looking for recommendations, the below nominees make a fine list:
* Grin of the Dark. Ramsey Campbell (PS Publishing)
* Generation Loss. Elizabeth Hand (Small Beer Press)
* The Missing. Sarah Langan (HarperCollns)
* Season of the Witch. Natasha Mostert (Dutton)
* The Terror. Dan Simmons (Little, Brown & Company)

Hand's GENERATION LOSS won the SJA Award this year (I served as one of the jurors), and Campbell's GRIN was one of my favorites.

More to come. Have a great Halloween!

Sincerely,
Sarah Langan

The Mirror Ceiling

2008-09-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

I ran across a pretty good op-ed in the New York Times. It's biased to the left, but holds water nonetheless. It makes the case that before television voters looked for competence in their leaders. Now, they seek identification-- a mirror. Justification that we should trust them, because, like Bush looking into the eyes of Putin, we apparently see their souls.

Suddenly, politicians talk folksy, assume everybody's IQ is slightly below average, and roll up their sleeves like their idea of the modern working man. We care about their children, whether they go to church, have had affairs, and served in the armed forces.

The article also posits that because women's self esteem is at an all time low (I agree with this), we're especially tough on other women, because we view the mirror as inherently flawed-- thus, the mirror ceiling. Tough as Teflon! Or, you know, a lipstick Pitbull.

It's not my place to talk politics-- I'm an entertainer. Still, I work hard, and make it my business to be good at what I do. I expect that in my politicians, too. I don't want to have a beer with them. I don't care it they share my opinions on God, or whether they raise their kids properly. In fact, evidence indicates that if they're truly dedicated, the rest of their lives are shambles. I want them to balance budgets, eschew corruption, and make good long term decisions for the welfare of my country. I want them to surround themselves with competent people, who earned their positions.

By looking for ourselves in our politicians, we reduce them. Because they're not us. Nor should they be. It would be nice, though, if in their professional lives, they were better than us. It really would be nice.

Article: The Mirrored Ceiling by Judith Warner

Other link that's unrelated, but has to do with rabbits.

July Newsletter

2008-07-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

Everybody!

I forgot to mention a few things in my last newsletter:

The Missing was nominated for an International Horror Guild Award in the category of novel for 2007.

Jul 20, 11 am, Burlington, Massachusetts: I'll be at the ReaderCon 19 Conference on Imaginative Literature to help present the Shirley Jackson Award. In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. Jonathan Lethem is the host, and there will be lots of amazing guests. For more info, visit the SJA website.

July 23. Wednesday. 7-9 pm. Leading authors read from Shirley Jackson canon to commemorate 60th anniversary of “The Lottery”. KGB Bar at 85 East 4th Street (just off 2nd Ave), in New York City. An evening of live readings from Ms. Jackson’s work is sure to unsettle audience members. The event will be co-hosted by Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel. The cover charge is $5 per person. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Shirley Jackson Awards. Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) wrote such classic novels as The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, as well as one of the most famous short stories in the English language, “The Lottery”. Authors reading are: F. Brett Cox, Jeffery Ford, Jack Ketchum, Carrie Laben, John Langan, Sarah Langan, Peter Straub, David Wellington, and Jack Womack.

My next story out is "Fenstad's End," which was partly the inspiration for The Missing/Virus. You can pre-order it here

I've been bad about updating the Mystery Site. That means, everybody who submitted a suggestion over the last two months gets a free copy of "The Lost"-- a signed, limited edition chapbook. If that means you, please reply to this with your address. And please send in more suggestions. I'll update again in September, and this time the winner will receive "The Lost" and the latest issue of the St. John's Humanities Review, which includes my essay, "Why I Write Horror."

New stuff online:
"Why I Write Horror":
A podcast reading of "The Lost"
Remember, only you can review my books on Amazon. Because if I do it, it's cheating.

I hope everybody has a wonderful summer. Thanks for your attention.

Sincerely,
Sarah Langan

Best News Ever!

2008-07-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

Deltron II, The Automator Strikes Back!

Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, and other Summer News

2008-06-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to be a guest at the above convention, and plan to stalk George Romero repeatedly and often.

I'm on the writer's panel this Sunday at 3:30pm in the Imperial Ballroom. The convention is located at: Crowne Plaza Meadowlands, 2 Harmon Plaza, Secaucus, NJ; 201-348-6900). Post panel I'll be signing and selling books. Should be much fun, so if you're in the area, come on down.

Also of note: a podcast of my chapbook, "The Lost" is live at dreadcentral. Thank Johnny Butane for the good work, curse me for all that line-botching! The story takes place at Filene's Basement on Long Island, where I once worked, and from which my feet are still recovering.

I've got a new interview up at HorrorBound, a very cool literary journal dedicated to promoting women in horror. I love them!

My essay, "Why I Write Horror" was just published in the Spring, 2008 issue of the St. John's Humanities Review.

Finally, my last event this summer will take place on July 23, 7-9pm, at the KGB Bar (85 East 4th Street, NYC 10003 ). It's a fundraiser for the Shirley Jackson Award and other, supercoll readers will include: F. Brett Cox, Jeffrey Ford, Jack Ketchum, Carrie Laben, John Langan, Peter Straub, David Wellington, and Jack Womack. It's $5 a head, a wonderful, cause, and also, when do you ever get all of these guys together in one room? This will be amazing, and I'm honored to be a part of it.

That's all, folks. Hope everybody's good!

2008-06-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

While grocery shopping yesterday, trying to be a good consumer, I purchased 7th Generation toilet paper. Recycled, no chlorine bleach, etc. Turned out to cost more that $15.00, at which point I promised myself, never again. This reminds me of the incendiary 1960s article about managing finite resources, "Tragedy of the Commons." Basically, we all know we're supposed to buy recycled, and burn less fossil fuels, but this cost more time and money-- we're effectively handicapping ourselves against people who don't bother. Eventually, the conscientious individual sees no results for their sacrifice, and gives up. Net result, despite education and raging hippies, is zero conservation. And so, on this day that gas is now $4 a gallon, and the rich will continue to use it, but the poor won't be able to drive to work, it occurs to me that the tragedy has already happened. Oh, how I wish we had a government that interceded in such things, so that at least we got some tax money out of it, instead of giving it to the Saudis, or borrowing it from the Chinese.

And now back to this miserably hot day in June, which is expected to get up to 103 degrees, and surely has nothing to do with global warming.

Pen to Press

2008-06-02T08:56:00.001-07:00

I returned last night from teaching a class at the Pen to Press Writer's Conference. It was a lot of work, but also very rewarding. I had a great class of talented, hard-working students who were eager to learn. I was partnered with fellow writer Hank Schwaeble, which proved a lot of fun. We wound-up agreeing on everything, but coming at it from different directions, which I hope served to strengthen the points were were trying to make.

Often, these conferences make professional authors inaccessible. The hoards of unpublished sit in on dry, overcrowded panels, and specifics of their own writing are ignored. This conference was different, and I think useful.

There are some very good reasons to fear flying, but crashing isn't one of them

2008-05-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

I’m fickle when it comes to the United States. I mean, come on. It’s embarrassing. We’ve steamrolled past the bad, and entered the absurd. Celebrity Rehab? Wars fought remotely, by man-operated robots? John Mayer, the cheeseball lothario, who dated both Jessica Simpson AND Jennifer Aniston? Oh, come on! He’s totally that guy in high school who winked, then cocked his thumb and index finger like a gun. Come on!

So my visit to the sound editing set of Lion’s Gate’s “The Burrowers” in Toronto was enlightening. First off, the movie is amazing. The best comparison I can make is to John Ford’s “Searchers,” with a modern horror sensibility, and like last year’s “Zodiac,” a movie for grown-ups that will have legs for years to come.

The process of watching it make the journey from script to finished product has been an education. You really have to believe in yourself, your work, and your crew to pull off the magic that is making a movie. But JT has gone a step further, and created something special. Thank God directing was never my calling, because it’s too hard, but I’m very proud of him. You all should stay tuned, because it will undoubtedly make a lot of waves when it is released.

And onto Toronto. I tried not to be impressed when I saw the sound room—it looked like the mother board of an alien spacecraft—lots of consoles and blinking lights. But I was, indeed, impressed. JT sat at the helm like Captain Kirk, and also covered my shredded wheat laptop charger wires from where our rabbit had snacked with electrical tape. During my first few nights in the city, we saw “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” – great fun. Not as funny as “White Castle” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366551/ but surprisingly good-natured and generous—quite an accomplishment for an angry political invective. We also ate fried lobsters in Chinatown on Spadina Street (so good!), and visited the fancy Spoke Club to celebrate some great career news for Jennifer Evans, the president of Sequentia, a Toronto-based communications firm. After three days, I was thinking: clean, pretty, polite, near the water—I could live here!

The fourth day, I thought: clean, polite, pretty…. hmmm….this is getting monotonous. The fifth day, I began to grasp the problem. The television was weird. Lots of high school sports coverage. The restaurant service was slow—they don’t work for tips. Nobody rushed. Nobody worked crazy hours, either. They believe in this weird lefty pinko commie concept called “quality of living.” In conclusion, Toronto isn’t neurotic enough. By a mile.

By day six, Toronto liked me a lot less too. At the coffee shop where I tried to write, they didn’t offer free refills or have wireless Internet. They also couldn’t understand why any rational human being would want a third cup of coffee. Because I need it, people!

By day seven, I’d fallen out of love, and perhaps it was for this reason that I began to notice that Toronto no longer loved me, either. People were subtlely rude. Not in any way you could pinpoint, but in the small details of common interactions. I was reminded, then, of that episode of “Star Trek,” where, in a mirror dimension, another USS Enterprise exists, only it is savage and war waging. Also, they dress sexier, and Sulu’s got the creepy hots for Uhura, but that’s another story. Anyway, Savage James T. Kirk winds up on the civilized ship, and tries to conceal his identity by impersonating Civilized Kirk, while Civilized Jim perches on the throne of his own bizarro Enterprise. Savage Jim is quickly discovered as an imposter, and thrown into the brig, while Civilized Jim fakes his way through the machinations of the savage world in which he has found himself. When both men return to their proper places, like all good plays, the epilogue informs us that civilized men can fake savagery, but savages cannot pretend to be refined—they’re too ignorant.

It occurred to me that I was the savage in Toronto, and the small social queues, which natives understood and signaled, went right over my head. Hence, I was met with rudeness. American bull in a Canadian China shop, I was missing all the codes, and unwittingly behaving badly.

It was with a happy heart that I got on the plane back to New York, where I belonged. It was with a less happy heart that I was seated next to a man who picked both his nose and ears and ate them for more than a half hour. Mid-forties, wedding band, seemingly normal, save the ridiculous amount of carry-on bags he brought with him (what was this, a bus to Cartagena, Columbia?). At first, I ignored. Then, no kidding, I gagged. Looking right at me, he continued. Finally, I said, “Please stop!” He didn’t. I suspect he had some kind of compulsive disorder, because the problem seemed out of his control. I’m not one to judge crazy people, as I’m a little nuts myself, but I do wish he’d chosen an illness more socially acceptable. Like freebasing cocaine. I wondered if he was Canadian, but knew he could not possibly be. It was with a heavy heart that I saw which newspaper he was reading: “The New York Post.” Soon afterward, I switched seats. Even the steward understood, and winked at me, as if to say, “That guy is really gross!”

As I write this, happily ensconced in my beloved Brooklyn, I wonder: What does all this mean? I don’t know. But if Canadians imagined my savagery as 10% as gross as Dr. Fingers’, I apologize to them en masse. I also think there is such as thing as too laid back.

And so, in celebration of my awesome, but kind of gross country, I give you the antidote to John Mayer: James McMurtry Oh, he is good, so good. Listen and repeat, until you start pretending you’re a cowboy.

Shirley Jackson Final Ballot Announced

2008-05-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

Everybody!

Great news. After much reading, and piles of books so high I feared I would be toppled, the SJA Final has been established. It's a stellar list of excellent fiction, and I'm proud to be associated with it. Go buy what you haven't read. Not a clunker in the pack.

Shirley Jackson Award Final Ballot:

NOVEL
Baltimore, Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden (Bantam Spectra)
Generation Loss, Elizabeth Hand (Small Beer Press)
Sharp Teeth, Toby Barlow (William Heinemann Ltd)
The Terror, Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)
Tokyo Year Zero, David Peace (Knopf)

NOVELLA
12 Collections, Zoran Zivkovic (PS Publishing)
Illyria, Elizabeth Hand (PS Publishing)
The Mermaids, Robert Edric (PS Publishing)
"Procession of the Black Sloth," Laird Barron (The Imago Sequence and Other Stories, Night Shade Books)
The Scalding Rooms, Conrad Williams (PS Publishing)
"Vacancy," Lucius Shepard (Subterranean #7, 2007)

NOVELETTE
"The Forest," Laird Barron (Inferno, Tor)
"The Janus Tree," Glen Hirshberg (Inferno, Tor)
"The Swing," Don Tumasonis (At Ease with the Dead, Ash-Tree Press)
"The Tenth Muse," William Browning Spencer (Subterranean #6, 2007)
"Thumbprint," Joe Hill (Postscripts #10, March 2007)

SHORT STORY
"Holiday," M. Rickert (Subterranean #7, 2007)
"The Monsters of Heaven," Nathan Ballingrud (Inferno,Tor)
"A Murder of Crows," Elizabeth Ziemska (Tin House 31, Spring 2007)
"Something in the Mermaid Way," Carrie Laben (Clarkesworld, March 2007)
"The Third Bear," Jeff VanderMeer (Clarkesworld, April 2007)
"Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse," Andy Duncan (Eclipse One, Night Shade Books)

COLLECTION
The Bone Key, Sarah Monette (Prime Books)
The Entire Predicament, Lucy Corin (Tin House)
The Imago Sequence and Other Stories, Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
Like You'd Understand, Anyway, Jim Shepard (Knopf)
Old Devil Moon, Christopher Fowler (Serpent's Tail)

ANTHOLOGY
At Ease with the Dead, edited by Barbara and Christopher Roden (Ash-Tree Press)
Dark Delicacies 2, edited by Del Howison and Jeff Gelb (Running Press)
Inferno, edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor)
Logorrhea, edited by John Klima (Bantam Spectra)
Wizards, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois (Berkley)

Missing wins Bram Stoker Award

2008-04-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

Everybody! Great news! On Saturday, March 29 at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, The Missing won the Bram Stoker Award for superior achievement in a novel.

F. Paul Wilson and Simon Clark presented the award, and were awesome.
My tongue-tied acceptance is here.

Hooray! Thanks for all your good wishes. The race was a close one, and if you're thinking of picking up a book at your local shop, you ought to check out The Terror, Heart-Shaped Box, or The Witches Trinity. Or in fact, any of the below. Those with asterisks won:

Superior Achievement in a NOVEL
THE GUARDENER'S TALE by Bruce Boston (Sam's Dot)
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
*THE MISSING by Sarah Langan (Harper)
THE WITCH'S TRINITY by Erika Mailman (Crown)
THE TERROR by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)

Superior Achievement in a FIRST NOVEL
I WILL RISE by Michael Louis Calvillo (Lachesis Publishing)
*HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
THE MEMORY TREE by John R. Little (Nocturne Press)
THE HOLLOWER by Mary SanGiovanni (Leisure Books)

Superior Achievement in LONG FICTION
*AFTERWARD, THERE WILL BE A HALLWAY by Gary Braunbeck (Five Strokes to Midnight)
ALMOST THE LAST STORY BY ALMOST THE LAST MAN by Scott Edelman (Postscripts)
GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD by Nicholas Kaufmann (Burning Effigy Press)
THE TENTH MUSE by William Browning Spencer (Subterranean #6)
AN APIARY OF WHITE BEES by Lee Thomas (Inferno)

Superior Achievement in SHORT FICTION
THE DEATH WAGON ROLLS ON BY by C. Dean Andersson (Cemetery Dance #57)
LETTING GO by John Everson (Needles and Sins)
THE TEACHER by Paul G. Tremblay (Chizine)
THERE'S NO LIGHT BETWEEN FLOORS by Paul G. Tremblay (Clarkesworld)
CLOSET DREAMS by Lisa Tuttle (Postscripts #10)
*THE GENTLE BRUSH OF WINGS by David Niall Wilson (Defining Moments)

Superior Achievement in an ANTHOLOGY
*FIVE STROKES TO MIDNIGHT edited by Gary Braunbeck and Hank Schwaeble (Haunted Pelican Press)
INFERNO edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor)
DARK DELICACIES 2: FEAR edited by Del Howison & Jeff Gelb (Carroll & Graf/Avalon)
MIDNIGHT PREMIERE edited by Tom Piccirilli (Cemetery Dance Publications)
AT EASE WITH THE DEAD edited by Barbara & Christopher Roden (Ash-Tree Press)

Superior Achievement in a COLLECTION
*PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS by Michael A. Arnzen (Dark Regions Press)
THE IMAGO SEQUENCE by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)
OLD DEVIL MOON by Christopher Fowler (Serpent's Tail)
*5 STORIES by Peter Straub (Borderlands)
DEFINING MOMENTS by David Niall Wilson (Sarob Press)

Superior Achievement in NONFICTION
ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA by Joshua Gee (Scholastic)
THE PORTABLE OBITUARY: HOW THE FAMOUS, RICH & POWERFUL REALLY DIED by Michael Largo (Harper)
*THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A DICTIONARY OF THE WEIRD, STRANGE & DOWNRIGHT BIZARRE by Jonathan Maberry & David F. Kramer (Citadel Press / Kensington)
STORYTELLERS UNPLUGGED by Joe Nassise and David Niall Wilson (Storytellers Unplugged/)

Superior Achievement in POETRY
*BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL by Linda Addison (Space and Time)
HERESY by Charlee Jacob (Bedlam Press [Necro Publications])
*VECTORS: A WEEK IN THE DEATH OF A PLANET by Charlee Jacob & Marge Simon (Dark Regions Press)
PHANTASMAPEDIA by Mark McLaughlin (Dead Letter Press)
OSSUARY by JoSelle Vanderhooft (Sam?s Dot Publishing)

In other news, my short story "Phantom" is about to be released from Cemetery Dance as a limited edition Chapbook. I've got extra copies, so send in your Mystery Site of the Month entry for May, and if you win, I'll mail you two free copies! Rules: site can't be an advertisement or personal website, and none of that racy stuff!

Hope everybody's great!

Sincerely,
Sarah Langan

Supercool!

2008-02-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Paul Puglisi:

Science is a lot closer to a cure for type 1 diabetes.

Frickin' Awesome!

Things I've Discovered

2008-02-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

*"The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" was a fantastic movie.

*Instant coffee is not actually that good.

*John Mark's Fangland was an amazing novel.

*Los Angeles gives me road rage.

*The new Killers album may be my favorite of the year.

Good News!

2008-02-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

Everybody!

The Horror Writer’s Association announced yesterday that my second novel, The Missing, is on the final ballot for the Bram Stoker Award in the category best novel. The Missing has made several 2007 year’s best lists, including The American Library Association, Fantasy Book Critic, Publisher’s Weekly, and Dark Scribe (editor’s pick, novel of the year). Below is the final Bram Stoker Ballot in all categories. I’m delighted and honored.

Superior Achievement in a Novel
THE GUARDENER'S TALE by Bruce Boston (Sam’s Dot Publishing)
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
*THE MISSING by Sarah Langan (Harper)
THE TERROR by Dan Simmons (Little, Brown)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill (William Morrow)
I WILL RISE by Michael Calvillo (Lachesis Publishing)
THE MEMORY TREE by John R. Little (Nocturne Press)
THE WITCH'S TRINITY by Erika Mailman (Crown)
THE HOLLOWER by Mary SanGiovanni (Leisure Books)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction
AFTERWARD, THERE WILL BE A HALLWAY by Gary Braunbeck (Five Strokes to Midnight)
ALMOST THE LAST STORY BY ALMOST THE LAST MAN by Scott Edelman (Postscripts)
GENERAL SLOCUM'S GOLD by Nicholas Kaufmann (Burning Effigy Press)
THE TENTH MUSE by William Browning Spencer
AN APIARY OF WHITE BEES by Lee Thomas (Inferno)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
THE DEATH WAGON ROLLS ON BY by C. Dean Andersson (Cemetery Dance #57)
LETTING GO by John Everson (Needles and Sins)
THE TEACHER by Paul G. Tremblay (Chizine)
THERE'S NO LIGHT BETWEEN FLOORS by Paul G. Tremblay (Clarkesworld)
CLOSET DREAMS by Lisa Tuttle (Postscripts #10)
THE GENTLE BRUSH OF WINGS by David Niall Wilson (Defining Moments)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology
FIVE STROKES TO MIDNIGHT edited by Gary Braunbeck and Hank Schwaeble (Haunted Pelican Press)
INFERNO edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor)
DARK DELICACIES 2: FEAR edited by Del Howison & Jeff Gelb (Carroll & Graf/Avalon)
MIDNIGHT PREMIERE edited by Tom Piccirilli (Cemetery Dance Publications)
AT EASE WITH THE DEAD edited by Barbara & Christopher Roden (Ash-Tree Press)

Superior Achievement in a Collection
PROVERBS FOR MONSTERS by Michael A. Arnzen (Dark Regions Press)
THE IMAGO SEQUENCE by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books
OLD DEVIL MOON by Christopher Fowler (Serpent’s Tail)
5 STORIES by Peter Straub (Borderlands)
DEFINING MOMENTS by David Niall Wilson (Sarob Press

Superior Achievement in Nonfiction
ENCYCLOPEDIA HORRIFICA by Joshua Gee (Scholastic)
THE PORTABLE OBITUARY: HOW THE FAMOUS, RICH, AND POWERFUL REALLY DIED by Michael Largo (Harper)
THE CRYPTOPEDIA: A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange & Downright Bizarre by Jonathan Maberry & David F. Kramer (Citadel Press / Kensington)
STORYTELLERS UNPLUGGED by Joe Nassise and David Niall Wilson (Storytellers Unplugged)

Superior Achievement in Poetry
BEING FULL OF LIGHT, INSUBSTANTIAL by Linda Addison (Space and Time)
HERESY by Charlee Jacob (Bedlam Press [Necro Publications])
VECTORS: A WEEK IN THE DEATH OF A PLANET by Charlee Jacob & Marge Simon (Dark Regions Press)
PHANTASMAPEDIA by Mark McLaughlin (Dead Letter Press)
OSSUARY by JoSelle Vanderhooft (Sam’s Dot Publishing)

Couple of other things:
I'll be at the World Horror Convention
(http://www.worldhorrorconvention.com/) in Salt Lake City March 27-30
The Garden City Community Club in Garden City, NY April 9
Pen to Press Writers' Conference (http://www.pentopressretreat.com/) in
New Orleans, LA May 27-31

And remember, The Missing would make a great late Valentine's Day gift
for someone you want to break up with, or don't like very much.
Probably, if you're this late, you should also bring chocolate.

January Newsletter

2008-01-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

Everybody!

There are some new members to this newsletter. Thanks for joining! I’ve got a few announcements. I’ll keep ‘em short.

*I’ve got my one and only New York appearance in Brooklyn on Wednesday, January 16, 7:30pm, at WORD, in Greenpoint. I’m a little worried about turnout, so I’d consider it a big favor if some of you locals showed your smiling faces. Dour faces okay, too.

The details:
Word, 126 Franklin Street (718-383-0096) http://wordbrooklyn.wordpress.com/
By Subway: Take the G train to the Greenpoint Ave. stop. Exit at the corner of Greenpoint Ave and Manhattan Ave. Walk down Greenpoint Ave towards the East River, away from Starbucks. Make a left at Franklin Street. Word is 1 block down at the corner of Franklin and Milton.

If you are coming from Manhattan and taking the L, the best way is to transfer to the B61 bus (or walk) from Bedford Avenue.

I’ll give a short reading, followed by a signing. There will be wine, and if not, I will bring wine. Afterward, depending on turnout, we’ll hit a local watering hole, or go bowling!

Map of WORD

*If you’re in the Philly area this weekend, I’ll be signing books on Saturday, January 12, 2:30-3:30 at the Sisters in Crime booth at the American Library Association’s Midwinter meeting (Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch Street).

*I’ll also be speaking at the Garden State Horror Writer’s monthly meeting on February 9, 11am. Location to be determined.

And the news:

*The excellent mass marker paperback reviewer for Publisher’s Weekly, Marc Schultz, picked The Missing as his favorite book of 2007.

*Fantasy Book Critic also gave The Missing a thumbs up, as one of the best books of the year.

*The good eggs at Dark Scribe liked it too, and it’s on their year’s best list.

*An Interview conducted by Peter Tennant should be in the February issue of the UK Magazine Black Static, so go out and get a copy.

*Virus (the UK title for The Missing) went on sale in paperback last month. Go out and buy eighteen copies, and give them to all your friends!

*I’ve been bad about updating the Mystery Site of the Month. If you’ve got ideas, send them along. I’ll be running the contest again starting February 1.

*My Second Life Interview is now live, and pretty neat.

*Finally, don’t make me suffer the slings and arrows by my lonesome! Review The Missing or The Keeper on Amazon.com. It helps!

That’s it. If you’re in town, show up at my reading, OR ELSE, and until next time, don’t get none on ya.

Sincerely,
Sarah Langan

And the winner is-- John Palisano!

2007-11-06T08:14:00.000-08:00

Everybody! Good news to announce. This last month I've been hosting a you-tube trailer contest for The Missing. There were seven excellent entries. If I could, I'd honestly award each one the i-phone. They are at turns artistic, technically skilled, scary, and funny. I had not realized exactly how much work goes into these projects, but this last month, I've learned, and am in awe of these smart, devoted film-makers.

And the winner is:
Jonh Palisano!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqE137eVeZo (winner)

Congratulations, John!

Other very deserving entrants:

http://vimeo.com/356300

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGc1WaWRdWU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joEKT8ImdJU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB3Ke3Uie7Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-QWeg04Kx8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0obQQuip9fQ

Please, if you feel so inclined, take a look at all these guys, and drop them a line to let them know what wonderful work they did.

Finally, more tour news:
I'll be in Kentucky on Saturday, so come on down.
On Sunday, I'll be back home on Long Island, signing The Keeper and The Missing at Borders Books in Westbury from 2-5pm. Please, please stop by. The manager is a great guy, and made this signing happen. I'd like to return the favor it I can.

Hope you all are well, and had a wonderful Halloween!

Sincerely,
Sarah Langan

The Missing Contest

2007-11-05T17:31:00.001-08:00

I picked the winner, and will announce as soon as I get the go-ahead from HarperCollins that copyrights are protected, etc. By this, I don't mean to imply they're holding it up. I only picked the winner this afternoon, when I was able to view all the trailers on a decent computer. Seemed, with all the effort these guys put into making the films, it was the least I could do.

Anyway, links to all submissions, which I'll soon also be putting up on my website. They're in no particular order whatsoever--just how they popped up when I searched for them on you-tube:

http://vimeo.com/356300

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGc1WaWRdWU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joEKT8ImdJU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqE137eVeZo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB3Ke3Uie7Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-QWeg04Kx8

Film-makers should send me their snail mails, so I can send them books and whatever other prizes I can pull together, as I loved every single submission. Sorry for the hold-up-- somebody will be getting an i-phone VERY soon.

Newsletter of MADNESS!

2007-10-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

Everybody!

Just a brief note reminding you that you should buy THE MISSING repeatedly and often. It’s a new book every time. Read it backwards and sideways, too. I’ve sent you all a personal message within its pages.

NEWS:
I’m blogging on HarperCollins’ Eos Website. Go take a gander. Some serious entries, some underpants confessionals. Underpants, you ask? Yes, underpants.

Fearzone.com is running a video of my reading of the prologue for THE MISSING, and an interview will soon be posted there, too.

Also, my interview with Rue Morgue Magazine is still in bookstores, and Dark Scribe’s is still live, too.

TOUR:

October 26th, Signing at Mysterious Galaxy, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA, 7pm.

October 29th, Signing with Deborah LeBlanc and Alexandra Sokoloff at Borders Books, 116 Bangor Mall Blvd, Bangor, ME, 7pm

October 30th, Signing with Deborah LeBlanc and Alexandra Sokoloff at Borders Books, 430 Gorham Rd, South Portland, ME, 7pm

November 2-5, Maine Literary Festival, Camden, ME

November 4, Second Life, interview, 5pm

November 10, Signing in Frankfurt, KY at the Kentucky Book Fair.

November 11, Signing at Borders Books in Huntington (260 Old Country
Road Westbury, NY 11590), New York, from 2-5pm

November 17th, 2pm Signing with Deborah LeBlanc and Alexandra Sokoloff at Dark Delicacies, 4213 W. Burbank Blvd. Burbank, CA, (1-888-DARKDEL)

March 27-30th,World Horror Convention, Salt Lake City, Utah

May 27-31-- Instructor, Pen to Press Writer's Retreat, Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, LA

REVIEWS:
They like it; they really like it!

Dark Scribe: “This is a writer who actually gets better with each word that flows from her blood-soaked pen… Like King and Straub and Koontz before her, Langan proves that she’s no one-hit wonder and is in this for the long haul.” –Vince Liaguno

Romance Reviews Today: “THE MISSING is
an excellent book… A well-written, highly disturbing novel of evil at
its worst.” --Terrie Figueroa

Darque Reviews: “The Missing is horror at its shocking best… Hair-raising, and like any nightmare it will linger long after you’ve reached the end.”—Kimberly Swan

Fresh Fiction “Chilling horror at its finest! …a great read by a very talented new voice in the horror genre.”—Tanzey Cutter

Madison Country Herald: “The Missing is reminiscent of Stephen King's Salem's Lot with wicked drops of Koontz, Barker and Straub. Sarah Langan is the new jack-o'-lantern on the doorstep. Walk around her cautiously.”--JC Patterson

Round Table Reviews: “This battle of good versus evil will leave readers on the edge of their seat.”-- Tracy Farnsworth

Fantasy Book Critic: “THE MISSING is nightmarishly good, Sarah Langan is definitely the
real deal, and my love for horror literature has been rekindled in a big way!—Robert Thompson

The Agony Column: “THE MISSING may just make you realize how much you've been missing your
American Cheese, how delightful these paperback visions of terror are.”—Rick Kleffel

I hear there’s one up in the new issue of Fangoria. So somebody go
buy it, and let me know! Or, buy it anyway because Fangoria is cool!

And remember, you, too, can review THE MISSING, by stopping over at
Amazon.com.

REVIEWS FROM THE ARCHIVES:
Starred Review, Publisher’s Weekly: “…a genuine creepfest that recalls, in the best way possible, the early work of Stephen King… Langan has the control of a pro, parsing just enough horrific details to allow the truly gruesome scenes to play out unbound in the imagination; this solid sophomore effort proves that the uncanny ability of The Keeper to burrow into readers’ heads and stay there was no fluke.”

The Times of London : “Langan has a sharp eye for the small, vivid details of American life, and her characters are utterly believable. “—Lisa Tuttle

Brian Keene, author of Ghoul: “With THE MISSING, Sarah Langan solidifies her position alongside Joe Hill, Tim Lebbon, Tom Piccirilli, and a handful of others as one of the best dark fiction writers of our generation.”

Hellnotes: "Reads like any of the superior works of King, McCammon, or Barker,” —Craig Davis

Starburst: "An outstanding page-turner that sidesteps the more dogged cliches while celebrating others with grandeur gore."

SFX: "lovingly gruesome descriptions, and the characters are richly detailed.”

CONTEST:

Submit a 30-second trailer for THE MISSING and win an i-phone. All trailers will be linked to my myspace page, and all entrants (up to the first 25) will receive free copies of both THE MISSING and THE KEEPER. The winning trailer will be posted on my website for three months, linked to it for a year, and will also be posted on fearzone.com. And of course, the winner receives an i-phone.

Rules below:
·Contest runs 10/1-10/31
·Upload your video to YouTube and post the link on my myspace page!
·Complex, simple, stylish or spare; doesn't matter as long it's
creepy...

Go to myspace for more details and make movies!
http://www.myspace.com/themissingcontest

Happy Early Halloween, everybody!

Sincerely,
Sarah Langan

Eos Guest Blog

2007-10-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to be a guest blogger at the Eos Website . Today I tried to answer the question a lot of readers have posed, and explain why I set my novels in Maine. Tomorrow, it's all about scream queens and underpants. So check it out!

The semi-update

2007-10-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

Stuff I’ve been up to lately.

1)Promoting The Missing, which has been pretty fun. I’ve got a live chat over at The Writer’s Chatroom (http://www.writerschatroom.com/schedule.htm) on the 14th at 7pm, and another chat on the 15th at The Lost and The Damned. Stop by and ask questions, or let me know here if there’s anything in particular you’d like to hear about.

2)Recovering from the shock that a former teacher in Catholic school read my book, and dropped me a line.

3)Working on my thesis, which is harder when you spill soup on your computer, and lose your free software but are too cheap to buy the legit stuff.

4)Teaching the Wonder Rabbit to respond to whistles. She’s a genius!

5)Writing my third novel, Audrey’s Door.

6)Boiling in this inauspicious October heat.

7)Getting my ducks in a row for this trailer contest, which I hope everybody tries their hand at.

8)Trying to find a place to get married, only to realize that all I care about is the groom, and my dress. Flipping through pictures of cakes and flowers and food = slow death. I visited the Mohonk Hotel in New Paltz yesterday, which is apparently the inspiration for “The Shining.” This makes sense, as it is massive, gorgeous, overpriced, and soulless. … Now the wedding in the Deer Hunter, that was a wedding!

October Newsletter

2007-10-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

So soon, you ask? Yes, it's true. Another newsletter. But this one will
be short and sweet.

THE MISSING officially went on sale today. Support your local, and ask
for it by name. Then go Hulkamania if they don't have it.

My interview in Rue Morgue Magazine is now in bookstores. My interview
in the online magazine Dark Scribe is now live:
http://www.darkscribemagazine.com/. Do yourself a favor, and sign up
for access. Dark Scribe is one of the best new review zines to come along
in ages. Finally, www.fearzone.com will soon be streaming a reading I
gave of the prologue of THE MISSING. So check it out, and let me know
what you think.

HarperCollins has also graciously built a myspace page for THE MISSING,
and is hosting a contest: submit a 30-second trailer for THE MISSING
and win an i-phone. All trailers will be linked to my myspace page, and
all entrants (up to the first 25) will receive free copies of both THE
MISSING and THE KEEPER. The winning trailer will be posted on my
website for three months, linked to it for a year, and will also be posted on
fearzone.com. And of course, the winner receives an i-phone.

Rules below:
·Contest runs 10/1-10/31
·Upload your video to YouTube and post the link on my myspace page!
·Complex, simple, stylish or spare; doesn't matter as long it's
creepy...

Go to myspace for more details:
http://www.myspace.com/themissingcontest

So go make movies!

And thanks. Happy October, everybody!

Neiba

2007-09-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune to sign THE MISSING at Neiba (New England Indy Booksellers Assoc.) in Providence yesterday. Three cheers for the Acela, which got me there in three hours and on time. More cheers to HarperCollins, who made me feel like I should be wearing a tiara. Signing went well, and it was a treat to meet Joe Hill. An even bigger surprise was running into Jennifer Finney Bolyan, one of the stars of the convention, whose new book I'M LOOKING THROUGH YOU is due out this winter. I haven't see her for more than ten years, back when she went by Jim Bolyan, and though her appearance is different, what was most remarkable was how unchanged as a person she was. Heartening, too. Like a good teacher, she even walked me got me on my train home, or I might have missed it!

And now, to Trek Out, I'm reminded of the Next Generation's episode in which Beverly's love is reincarnated as a woman, so of course they break up, showing the wasteful limitations of human love.

Books I nabbed and Neiba:

I'm Looking Through you: Growing up Haunted, a Memoir

The Reserve by Russell Banks

A Pale Horse by Charles Todd

The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism by Ha-Jin Chang (I'm officially ridiculous)

The Best American Science and Nature Writing ed. Richard Preston

The Best American Short Stories ed. Stephen King

August Newsletter

2007-08-29T17:31:00.001-07:00

Everybody!

Hope you’re all well and got to the beach, the mountains, or the
backyard BBQ this summer. I’ve been remiss in these updates, so the bad
news is, the following is long. The good new is, at the end of this
message you’ll have the chance to win a prize. And not one of those
cheap, Cracker Jack prizes, ether. Here goes:

*THE MISSING (also known as VIRUS in the UK) is getting some good
advance attention:

--Starred Review, Publisher’s Weekly: “…a genuine creepfest that
recalls, in the best way possible, the early work of Stephen King…
Langan has the control of a pro, parsing just enough horrific details to
allow the truly gruesome scenes to play out unbound in the
imagination; this solid sophomore effort proves that the uncanny ability of The
Keeper to burrow into readers’ heads and stay there was no fluke.”

--The Times of London : “Langan has a sharp eye for the small, vivid
details of American life, and her characters are utterly believable.
“—Lisa Tuttle

--Brian Keene, author of Ghoul: “With THE MISSING, Sarah Langan
solidifies her position alongside Joe Hill, Tim Lebbon, Tom Piccirilli, and
a handful of others as one of the best dark fiction writers of our
generation.”
--Hellnotes: "Reads like any of the superior works of King, McCammon,
or Barker,” —Craig Davis
--Starburst: "An outstanding page-turner that sidesteps the more dogged
cliches while celebrating others with grandeur gore."

--SFX: "lovingly gruesome descriptions, and the characters are richly
detailed."

*In September, look for more reviews and interviews from the inaugural
issue of Vince Liguano’s wonderful Magazine “Dark Scribe,”
Canada’s “Rue Morgue,” and the ambitious new horror review journal
“Dead Reckonings” from Hippocampus Press.

*All hardcover copies of both THE KEEPER and VIRUS are now sold out, so
if you’ve got them, they’re collectors’ items!

*Delightful Paul Kane (www.shadow-writer.co.uk ) interviewed me for
both Writer’s Forum (www.writers-forum.com) and Fangoria
(www.fangoria.com), issue #266. It’s a great Fangoria, featuring Larry Fessenden,
director of “Habit,” “Wendigo,” And “The Last Winter,” and an
in-depth review of the smart new French thriller “Them.” Both
magazines are in bookstores, right now!

*Forthcoming stories and essays:

“Why I write Horror” will be published in the St. John’s
Humanities Review (http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~ganterg/sjureview) this fall.
“The Lost” will be published as a signed, limited edition chapbook
in early 2008 by Cemetery Dance Publications.

"Fenstad's End" and "Dark Matter" are both forthcoming from Cemetery
Dance Magazine.

"The Burn Victim" will be in the Shivers V Anthology.

"Changeling" will be in The Best Horror, 2007.

"Independence Day" will be published in Darkness on the Edge: an
anthology of stories inspired by Bruce Springsteen, due out early 2008 from
PS Publishing.

*Website:
I’m about to post the Mystery Site of the Month for September. So go
to my website and drop a line before September 1 if you’ve got a
suggestion. I’m all out of all copies of THE MISSING, so winners will be
offered either three signed paperbacks of THE KEEPER immediately, or
three copies of THE MISSING when they arrive in late September.

*Tour—I’ll be at all of the following. Check for details and more
events on my website:

September 8th, 3pm-- Signing at Doylestown Arts Festival, Doylestown,
PA.
September 28th, 1:30pm-- Signing at the annual New England Independent
Booksellers Association (NEIBA) Trade Show, Rhode Island Convention
Center, Providence, Rhode Island
October 14th-- Live chat with The Writer's Chatroom
(http://www.writerschatroom.com/) for horror month.
October 15th-- live chat as MUSE with The Lost and the Damned
(http://lostdamned.com/board/). More about MUSE to come.
October 20th-- Barnes and Noble signing at 421 Arena Hub Plaza,
Wilkes-Barre, PA
October 26th-- Signing at Mysterious Galaxy, 7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd,
San Diego, CA, 7pm.
October 29th-- Signing with Deborah LeBlanc and Alexandra Sokoloff at
Borders Books, 116 Bangor Mall Blvd, Bangor, ME, 7pm
October 30th-- Signing with Deborah LeBlanc and Alexandra Sokoloff at
Borders Books, 430 Gorham Rd, South Portland, ME, 7pm
November 2-5-- Maine Literary Festival, Camden, ME
(http://www.maineliteraryfestival.com/)
November 4th-- Second Life, interview, 5pm
November 17th, 2pm-- Signing with Deborah LeBlanc and Alexandra
Sokoloff at Dark Delicacies, 4213 W. Burbank Blvd. Burbank, CA,
(1-888-DARKDEL)
March 27-30th--World Horror Convention
(http://www.worldhorrorconvention.com/), Salt Lake City, Utah
May 27-31-- Instructor, Pen to Press Writer's Retreat
(http://www.pentopressretreat.com/), Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans, LA

*In related news, it’s been a big summer for my peers, and I wanted
to mention their accomplishments. I’m stunned by the growth of the
speculative fiction market over the last few years, particularly because
the books now seeing publication are so good. I hope that if you get
this newsletter because you like your fiction smart, and your art
relevant, that you investigate the authors below:

Ellen Datlow (www.datlow.com), Kelly Link, and Gavin Grant, three of
the best editors in the business, had an anthology nominated for a World
Fantasy Award (THE YEAR’S BEST FANTASY & HORROR: 19TH ANNUAL
COLLECTION). I particularly recommend this series, or anything else the above
are attached to.

Milda DeVoe (www.mmdevoe.com) received her third Pushcart nomination.

Jon Evans’ (www.rezendi.com) third novel INVISIBLE ARMIES went on
sale in June. He is also posting his
charming children’s novel for grown-ups, BEASTS OF NEW YORK, online
at: www.beastsofnewyork.com.

Nicholas Kaufmann’s (http://home.earthlink.net/~quickcity/index.html
) chapbook, GENERAL SLOCUM’S GOLD, went into its second printing via
Burning Effigy Press, the new publishing house helmed by “Rue
Morgue” scribe Monica Kuebler.

Carrie Laben, Paul Tremblay, and Jeff Vandermeer all published
excellent stories in the new online magazine Clarkesworld
(www.clarkesworldmagazine.com). Actually, all the stories in Clarkesworld are excellent.

Stefan Petrucha and Thomas Pendleton released the first novel, LURKER,
in their WICKED DEAD young adult series—today!
(http://wickeddead.com/).

JT Petty (www.pettyofficial.com) finished filming his brilliant period
Western, THE BURROWERS.

Sarah Pinborough’s (www.sarahpinborough.com) third novel BREEDING
GROUND was nominated for a World Fantasy Award.

Brett Savory’s (www.brettsavory.com) first novel IN AND DOWN received
a starred review from Canada’s answer to Publisher’s Weekly, Quill
and Quire Magazine.

Alexandra Sokoloff’s (www.alexandrasokoloff.com) first novel, THE
HARROWING received an Anthony Nomination for best first novel.

David Wellington (www.brokentype.com/davidwellington/ ) released two
novels, 13 BULLETS and MONSTER NATION.

*Finally, the prize!

My excellent publicists at HarperCollins are holding a contest:

Thriller fans, book lovers, YouTubers etc. are invited to submit their
30 second trailers for THE MISSING! Finalist trailers will be featured
on THE MISSING MySpace page (to come) and Sarah Langan’s website. The
winner will receive an iPhone plus copies of THE KEEPER and THE
MISSING.
Contest starts when THE MISSING goes on sale: September 25, 2007.
Submission details to come.

Which reminds me, click the link below, and go pre-order THE MISSING!
http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780060872915/The_Missing/index.aspx

--I told you there was a prize!

That’s it. Thanks for you interest and indulgence.

Stop Scrolling! It’s over!

El Newsletter de Junio

2007-06-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

And onto the newslettter.

Dear readers and friends (and hopefully both),

Thanks for signing up!

Not much news to report, but I thought I'd drop a line.

VIRUS is still available in the UK, but has sold out its first hardcover print run. The US version, THE MISSING, will make its paperback-only debut in October.

You can pre-order either at: Amazon.com, or Amazon.co.uk

In other news, I still have stories forthcoming from Cemetery Dance Magazine and Shivers, as well as from an anthology from PS Publishing in the UK. The theme is "stories inspired by Springsteen songs".

Thanks to my excellent agent Joe Veltre, The Missing will now be published in Italian, Spanish, and Russian.

Thanks to my excellent film agent Sarah Self, a screenplay for The Keeper in underway.

I won't be making appearances until September or October, but so far I plan to attend a mass signing at the B&N in Wilkes-Barre, PA on October 20 (my birthday!), and the Maine Literary Festival on November 2 through 4. I'll also be on Jim Freund's radio show, "Hour of the Wolf" at the ungodly hour of 5am. It's WBAI (99.5FM), and if you don't wake up, there will be a podcast.

Seems like many of the MSOTM entries are missing web addresses when submitted to me. I’ll have the winner posted soon, but if anyone wants to try again before then, please do. I’ve got one galley left of The Missing. After that, they’re all gone!

That's about it so far. I hope you all are well, and having a wonderful summer.

Yours,

Sarah Langan

Paul Tremblay at Clarkesworld Magazine

2007-05-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

I’ve been making a stink over at the HWA message board over the manner by which fiction comes to the attention of the Stoker voting body. Given that I’m guilty of the same laziness I implied everybody else needed remedy, I figure I should try harder to keep up with the fiction being published this year.

My first order of business was to check out Paul Tremblay’s short in this month’s Clarkesworld: There's No Light Between Floors . It’s smart, beautifully written, and haunting. I loved it so much that I went back, and read all the Clarkesworld stories.

My favorites:

The Third Bear by Jeff Vandermeer
Wonderful piece of fiction about a bear in the woods that is picking off villagers one by one. My only regret is that it’s online, as I think its length demands hard copy.

Something in the Mermaid Way by Carrie Laben
Right up my alley. Gorgeous prose. Sly story. A real kick in the teeth, in a devastating, wondrous kind of way.

Automatic by Erica L. Satifka
I loves the futuristic, we’ll all under alien control stories! Loves them!

A Light in Troy by Sarah Monette
A fully imagined story in very few words. Also, Ms. Monette thinks librarians are prison wardens, too.

What's nice is that I wanted to like Paul's story, but instead I loved it. It sneaked up on me, and didn't let go. Every once in a while, I realize that something pretty special is happening in the genre. The people I'm surrounded by are writing exciting, trail-blazing fiction, and I've got a front row seat.

What's perplexing is my tendency to prefer the women's fiction among these titles. But that's fine by me. I can live with being a little sexist. The one thing I missed here was a story by KZ Perry. I hope to see one soon. I love her work.

I'd be remiss not to give a nod to Nick Mamatas here. He makes it his business to get as varied a sampling of the genre as possible, and he actively works to get more women published. Also, he picked all the above wonderful stories. I hope they get anthologized, and win lots of prizes. And I hope Nick wins a prize, too.

So, go now! Go read Clarkesworld Magazine!