The Crown Heights Report

The Rules of Fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:53:00 +0000

I blogged about them on Fresh Fiction.com today. Be one of the first to comment, and win!

Young Adult Novels are Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:47:00 +0000

I've been gorging on young adult novels this summer, researching a pet project. I never read YA as a kid, and had no idea how fantastic and thriving a genre it is. Many of the books listed below are darker than mainstream adult fiction, and they're all a heckofa lot smarter.

Hunger Games (Suzanne Collings)
Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling-- except for those fifty million people, who knew?)
Feed (M. T. Anderson)
Scott Westerfield's Uglies, Pretties, and Specials series
The Chocolate War (Robert Cormier)
A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray)
House of the Scorpion (Nancy Farmer)

Book Research

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:57:00 +0000

I learned today that 10-20 hours before an earthquake, cell phones, radio, and television reception are all intermittently interrupted. Also, one of the guys who tried to kill Rasputin was dressed as a girl by his mother until his early teens. Can you say, "Sleepaway Camp"?

Locus Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:21:00 +0000

From September's Locus:

"Sarah Langan is one of the bright new hopes of horror-- an intelligent, literary, ambitious author capable of scaring the ever-loving crap out of her readers."-- Tim Pratt

Atlantic Monthly Article: "How Health Care Killed My Father"

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:12:00 +0000

I know as a writer I'm supposed to blog about writing, but sometimes life on the outside is interesting, too. The above titled article in this month's Atlantic Monthly reminded me, despite its anecdotal, painfully weepy human-interest title, of why the Atlantic is so good. It gives an excellent analysis of the health care system, and I now feel informed enough to have a real opinion, and not be like that weird old guy on my block with the t-shirt that reads, "Single Payer System!" whose shoes are untied.

Article is here: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care

My new co-author series with the wonderful James Rollins

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:58:00 +0000

As announced today in Publishers' Lunch:

James Rollins and Bram Stoker-award winning newcomer Sarah Langan's The BLOOD GOSPEL Series, Books I-III, to Lyssa Keusch at William Morrow, in a major deal, for publication in 2011, 2012, 2013, by Russell Galen at Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency (NA).

I am delighted that James Rollins selected me as a writing partner, and expect to learn a lot from him. He's not just talented, but a good egg, and I can't wait to get started. The premise for this series will blow your mind! So keep your eyes peeled for further news. I'm conducting a fair amount of research, and will post here on what I find.

Booklist Review

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:02:00 +0000

They like it; they really like it!

From Booklist-- the most recent Audrey's Door Review:

"Langan’s The Keeper (2006) garnered a Bram Stoker Award nomination, and its sequel, The Missing (2007), favorable comparisons of her to horror fiction’s most established authors. Now she offers an even better, finely crafted character study of an obsessive-compulsive woman’s battle with ghosts and personal demons in a haunted New York apartment building. When budding architect Audrey Lucas abandons her live-in boyfriend for a flat in the Breviary, an architectural landmark on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, her newfound freedom comes at a price. Her apartment’s gruesome history includes a deranged mother who drowned her children in the bathroom’s claw-footed tub. Yet ghosts and the strange habits of her eccentric fellow tenants of the building are nothing compared to the horrors she unleashes within herself when, after sleepwalking during torturous dreams, she starts constructing a door in the middle of her living room. Langan’s idiosyncratic blending of supernatural horror and character-driven, psychological insight proves captivating and pleasurably bone-chilling.— Carl Hays"

The Big Battle with Cancer

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Ted Kennedy died today. I've got little to say about that, but I'm nonetheless interrupting my usual self-promotional blog to ask: why do people call it a battle with cancer? Does that mean everybody who dies from it is weaker than those who survived? Another point won for the infantilizing society of the denial of death, brought to you by i-tunes, BMW, and Rachel Zoe.

All news is good news

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:25:00 +0000

A true rarity-- all news is good news.

*AUDREY'S DOOR is available for pre-order, and a special celebrity author will be reviewing it for Amazon.com.

*I'm delighted to announce an upcoming collaboration with an author whose work I greatly admire. More on this to come!

*Soy cheese is really not that bad, especially if you don't comapre it to cheddar.

*The Shirley Jackson Awards were announced last Sunday, and winners are as follows:

Boston, MA (July 2009) -- In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, the Shirley Jackson Awards have been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.

The Shirley Jackson Awards are voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics, with input from a Board of Advisors. The awards are given for the best work published in the preceding calendar year in the following categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology.

The Shirley Jackson Awards were presented on Sunday, July 12th, 2009, at Readercon 20, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Burlington, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Hand, Readercon 20 Guest of Honor, and author of Generation Loss, which won the 2007 Shirley Jackson Award for “Best Novel”, acted as host.

The winners for the 2008 Shirley Jackson Awards are:

NOVEL

The Shadow Year, Jeffrey Ford (William Morrow)

NOVELLA

Disquiet, Julia Leigh, (Penguin/ Hamish Hamilton)

NOVELETTE

“Pride and Prometheus,” John Kessel (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 2008)

SHORT STORY

“The Pile,” Michael Bishop (Subterranean Online, Winter 2008)

SINGLE-AUTHOR COLLECTION

The Diving Pool, Yoko Ogawa (Picador)

EDITED ANTHOLOGY

The New Uncanny, edited by Sarah Eyre and Ra Page (Comma Press)

Huge congratulations to all the winners!

Summer Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:49:00 +0000

Everybody!

Thanks for your continued interest, and for the new people on this list, thanks for signing up!

I've got a few things to report. First, my daughter was born two weeks ago, and I'll be spending some time getting to know her this summer, so these newsletters will be less frequent until Audrey's Door is released in stores on October 1. Around then, you'll find a new and improved website, some contests, a super-awesome trailer, an amazon.com spotlight review of Audrey's Door by a secret surprise guest, and lots of other cool stuff, so mark your calendars, and as always, pre-order at will! http://www.harpercollins.com/book/pre-order.aspx?isbn13=9780061624216

In other news, I'll be at the Toronto Festival of the Arts on June 6 at 7:30 pm, along with my hero Patrick McGrath (Asylum, The Grotesque) and Monique Proulx. It'll be a panel, signing, reading combo-- three for the price of one! So please come on down if you're in town: http://www.luminato.com/2009/events/21

In addition, I'm thrilled to report that Audrey's Door has been optioned for film by the Weinstein Company. They like it, and so do the following gracious authors:

“A chilling and perceptive novel about the architectures of our lives: how they’re built, and how we destroy them.” — Michael Marshall

“Sarah Langan is an audaciously terrifying storyteller, and AUDREY’S DOOR practically hums with frantic energy and hair-raising tension. Be prepared for nightmares.”
— Tess Gerritsen, author of THE KEEPSAKE

“A chiller that evokes Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby. Eerie and suspenseful, with a compelling heroine and a terrifying setting, AUDREY’s DOOR grabbed me from the start. Whenever I see Sarah Langan’s name on a cover, I pay attention.”
— David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of The Shimmer

Finally, my short story "The Lost" has been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. Keep your fingers crossed, and take a gander at the rest of the ballot:

Superior Achievement in a Novel

COFFIN COUNTY by Gary Braunbeck (Leisure Books)
THE REACH by Nate Kenyon (Leisure Books)
DUMA KEY by Stephen King (Scribner)
JOHNNY GRUESOME by Gregory Lamberson (Bad Moon Books/Medallion Press)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel

MIDNIGHT ON MOURN STREET by Christopher Conlon (Earthling Publications)
THE GENTLING BOX by Lisa Mannetti (Dark Hart Press)
MONSTER BEHIND THE WHEEL by Michael McCarty and Mark McLaughlin (Delirium Books)
THE SUICIDE COLLECTORS by David Oppegaard (St. Martin's Press)
FROZEN BLOOD by Joel A. Sutherland (Lachesis Publishing)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

THE SHALLOW END OF THE POOL by Adam-Troy Castro (Creeping Hemlock Press)
MIRANDA by John R. Little (Bad Moon Books)
REDEMPTION ROADSHOW by Weston Ochse (Burning Effigy Press)
THE CONFESSIONS OF ST. ZACH by Gene O'Neill (Bad Moon Books)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction

PETRIFIED by Scott Edelman (Desolate Souls)
THE LOST by Sarah Langan (Cemetery Dance Publications)
THE DUDE WHO COLLECTED LOVECRAFT by Nick Mamatas, and Tim Pratt (Chizine)
EVIDENCE OF LOVE IN A CASE OF ABANDONMENT by M. Rickert (Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction)
TURTLE by Lee Thomas (Doorways)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

LIKE A CHINESE TATTOO edited by Bill Breedlove (Dark Arts Books)
HORROR LIBRARY, VOL. 3 edited by R. J. Cavender (Cutting Block Press)
BENEATH THE SURFACE edited by Tim Deal (Shroud Publishing)
UNSPEAKABLE HORROR edited by Vince A. Liaguno and Chad Helder (Dark Scribe Press)

Superior Achievement in a Collection

THE NUMBER 121 TO PENNSYLVANIA by Kealan Patrick Burke (Cemetery Dance Publications)
MAMA'S BOY and Other Dark Tales by Fran Friel (Apex Publications)
JUST AFTER SUNSET by Stephen King (Scribner)
MR. GAUNT AND OTHER UNEASY ENCOUNTERS by John Langan (Prime Books)
GLEEFULLY MACABRE TALES by Jeff Strand (Delirium Books)

Superior Achievement in Nonfiction

CHEAP SCARES by Gregory Lamberson (McFarland)
ZOMBIE CSU by Jonathan Maberry (Citadel Press)
A HALLOWE'EN ANTHOLOGY by Lisa Morton (McFarland)
THE BOOK OF LISTS: HORROR by Amy Wallace, Del Howison, and Scott Bradley (HarperCollins)

Superior Achievement in Poetry

THE NIGHTMARE COLLECTION by Bruce Boston (Dark Regions Press)
THE PHANTOM WORLD by Gary William Crawford (Sam's Dot Publishing)
VIRGIN OF THE APOCALYPSE by Corrine De Winter (Sam's Dot Publishing)
ATTACK OF THE TWO-HEADED POETRY MONSTER by Mark McLaughlin and Michael McCarty (Skullvines Press)

That's it until next time. Take care of yourselves, and don't get none on you.

Sincerely,
Sarah Langan

Never thought I'd say this, but...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:42:00 +0000

Spock is hot!

Audrey's Door has sold to The Weinstein Company!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:14:00 +0000

As reported in Variety!

The Keeper in Russian!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:21:00 +0000

March Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:04:00 +0000

Dear readers,

I've got a few quick announcements:

*I've got a reading this Tuesday, March 10, at 7:30-8:30pm in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Hope you can make it. It's with my good friend, playwright Maggie Cino, at Perch Cafe (The Perch Cafe, 356 5th Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 718-788-2830, http://www.theperchcafe.com/) I've never been to Perch, so don't blame me if it smells. I'll be reading a chapter from my third novel, AUDREY'S DOOR, due out October, 2009. You can pre-order it from Amazon, B&N, and Powell's. Try to contain yourselves!

*I'd also like to plug the event I'd otherwise be attending, if not for the reading: Pen Parentis (http://www.penparentis.org). Also on March 10, they're having a reading from 6-8pm, at the swank upstairs library of Todd English’s Libertine Restaurant (15 Gold Street in Manhattan; http://www.penparentis.org/reading-series/reading-series.html). If you know writers with kids, the above is a wonderful organization. Please spread the word about the awesomeness that is Pen Parentis.

*Talented musician (and my uncle) John Langan's song "Sometimes" is up for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI)/Country Music Television (CMT) Listener's Choice Award. Listen to all the songs here: http://www.cmt.com/asm/contests/nsai/cmt_choice/2009/. And vote for the best one (John Langan's, of course!).

*Finally, JT Petty's excellent short film "Blood Red Earth," the prequel to "The Burrowers," is now live on fearnet.com. Watch it! Watch it now!

And, as always, don't let the turkeys get me down. You can reviews my books on amazon, B&N, Powell's, or Goodreads.com.

Thanks, and have a wonderful March!

Sincerely,
Sarah Langan

February Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:48:00 +0000

The February newsletter!

Dear all,

Thanks for staying tuned, and if you're new to this newsletter, thanks for joining. I've got a few announcements:

1) The Shirley Jackson Awards is now raffling a host of items from its website, including things like Neil Gaiman's signed keyboard, and a short story critique from yours truly. Each ticket costs $1. For more info, go here. It works like this: buy as many raffle tickets for the particular item(s) you want, and winners will be announced by February 24th. The event is a fundraiser to help pay for physical awards, web development, books, travel, etc. Reading is fundamental-- go buy a ticket!

2) March 10, 7:30pm, Brooklyn, NY: I'll be reading, along with my good friend Playwright Maggie Cino at The Perch Cafe. The selection will either be from AUDREY'S DOOR or "The Lost." Be there!

3) I signed at Comic Con in NYC last Friday, February 6, and also spoke on a panel about the ways in which New York inspires fiction writers. Inviting novelists is new for Comic Con, and I hope they continue to do it, because I had a wonderful time. My signing also got a nice write-up in Media Bistro.

4) The Boskone science fiction convention (February 13-15) in Boston was also a treat to attend, and I'd recommend it to anyone in the area. I moderated several panels, and enjoyed myself immensely.

5) My novel AUDREY'S DOOR is finished (!), and the best thing I've written so far. Look for it from HarperCollins in October, 2009, or pre-order it from Amazon.

6) I've started my fourth novel, EMPTY HOUSES, and so far, it's been a lot of fun.

7) My second novel, THE MISSING, will be published in Poland under the title VIRUS. It has already been published in Spanish, Italian, and World English, and should be out in Russian within the next year.

8) Short stories-- I've been playing around with genre lately, and some of the below could be categorized as literary, fantasy, horror, and even sci-fi:

"The Lost," my limited edition Chapbook out from Cemetery Dance Publications, about a woman who works at Filene's Basement on Long Island and begins to disappear in the grisliest of ways, won a reader's choice award from Dark Scribe Magazine, and has also made the preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Award. Keep your fingers crossed!

UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS, FROM THE SHADOWS OF THE CLOSET, which contains my short story "The Agathas," has made the preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Award. "The Agathas" is about two women born to a provincial Croatian town on the precipice of starvation. Because of the cauls over their eyes, they are outcasts, just like poor Smike.

"Fenstad's End," is now available from issue 59 of Cemetery Dance Magazine. It's the story upon which I based THE MISSING, but tonally, has a lot in common with THE ROAD. It's about a former doctor and patient who meet in the aftermath of an environmental apocalypse.

"Independence Day" will be out from PS Publishing's Springsteen anthology in the fall of 2009. It takes place in near future totalitarian Jackson Heights, Queens, where a young woman reports her father for terrorism because he refuses to take his state-prescribed opiates. She soon regrets that decision.

"The Dark Materials Project" will be out from the Clive Barker "Hellraiser" anthology in the fall of 2009 (Pocket Books). It's about a scientist working for a corporation whose mission is to decode the shadow DNA that determines the character of the human soul. Turns out, that code opens a pretty ugly door.

9) My husband and I are expecting our first child in May. During a recent public appearance of Takashi Miike ("Audition") at the Japan Society, the little peanut kicked for an entire hour, reassuring us both that she likes Japanese horror.

That's it for announcements. Sorry I've been out of touch. I plan to update my website and make appearances/ publication info more accessible in the very near future.

Sincerely,
Sarah Langan

www.sarahlangan.com

Pen Parentis

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:32:00 +0000

My friends and fellow writers M M DeVoe and Arlaina Tibensky started an organization for writers with children called Pen Parentis, and it had its first reading Tuesday night at The Libertine by Todd English bar, inside the Gildhall Hotel in downtown New York. Readers were Jennifer Epstein and Leigh Newman, who both engaged the crowd. It's a much needed organization, as for some reason, being a mom and a writer often translates into being a mom who doesn't write, and the point of the group is finding ways to avoid that pitfall. Anybody interested should sign up for their mailing list.

Hope all is well with everyone during this frigid cold snap!

December Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:35:00 +0000

Hi. Just a quick update: the anthology edited by Vince Liaguno, UNSPEAKABLE HORROR: SHADOWS FROM THE CLOSET is now available. Buy it here. I've got a story in it called "The Agathas" that takes place in Croatia, where my husband and I took our honeymoon in August. Other contributing authors include Lee Thomas, Liz Morton, Maria Alexander, and Scott Nicholson.

In other news, my short story "Afterlife" received a nomination for best short story, 2008, from Dark Scribe Magazine. Winners will be announced February 2, 2009.

My third novel AUDREY'S DOOR kicks ass, and will be published in October, 2009, by HarperCollins.

I will attend, and may also take part in a panel at New York's Comic Con, February 6-8.

I'll be at Boskone February 13-15 in Boston, Massachusetts.

That's it. Have a great weekend!

-sl

Thanksgiving Newsletter

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:27:00 +0000

Everybody,

Hello, and happy Thanksgiving. For those new people on the list, thanks for joining. I've got a few announcements:

1) My story "The Agathas" is shipping from Amazon.com in the Unspeakable Horrors Anthology. It's set in Croatia after the third world war. You can get it here.

For more info on the collection, head to the Dark Scribe Website.

2) My story "The Great Pumpkin Arrives at Last," a more traditional Halloween thriller is out from Doorways Magazine, issue #7, and in newsstands. You can also order it directly.

3) Tuesday, December 2 at 7pm, my husband and I will be reading at The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading, located in the South Street Seaport Museum. Press release below. If you're in town, I hope you can make it!

Take care, and have a great Turkey Day.

-Sarah Langan

The New York Review of Science Fiction Readings and the South Street Seaport Museum present
Sarah Langan & J.T. Petty
and
Ellen Kushner & Delia Sherman

Tuesday, December 2nd -- Doors open 6:30 PM
Free Admission -- $5 donation if possible
South Street Seaport Museum's Melville Gallery
213 Water Street
(directions and links below)

One of the many traditions of the holiday season is to feature families, and we decided to cave in to this trope and do the same. So this year, we're featuring two couples. One got married immediately after this year's Shirley Jackson Awards benefit and went off to Croatia for their honeymoon. (Sometimes you just have to follow the zeitgeist.) The other is a very happy couple whose state of marriage depends on their state of residence. All are brilliant writers.

--
WHO:
Ellen Kushner has as many careers as they'll let her: host of public radio's Sound & Spirit, author of the "Riverside" novels, including THE PRIVILEGE OF THE SWORD (Nebula nominee, Tiptree Honor Book, NYPL "Best Books for the Teen Age," Locus Award) . . . . In partnership with Delia Sherman she has taught writing at Clarion & Odyssey, and co-founded the Interstitial Arts Foundation. On Dec. 6 she makes her New York stage debut as the mysterious magical Tante Miriam in Vital Theatre's new adaptation of The Klezmer Nutcracker (based on her radio special/CD/book, The Golden Dreydl)!

Sarah Langan's first novel THE KEEPER (2006, HarperCollins) was a New York Times Editor's Pick. Her second novel THE MISSING (2007, Harpercollins), won the Bram Stoker Award for outstanding novel, was a Publisher's Weekly favorite book of the year, and made several other best-of-the-year lists. She has published a dozen short stories, and her third novel, AUDREY'S DOOR, is due out from HarperCollins in October, 2009. Her Web site is at http://sarahlangan.com.

JT Petty is a writer and director of movies, videogames, books, and graphic novels. His first feature film, SOFT FOR DIGGING, was shot for $6000 when he was 20 years old, an official selection of the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. He’s continued to make genre and documentary films since, the latest being THE BURROWERS, a Western/Horror for Lionsgate, due out in 2009.

His popular series of chapter books for young readers, CLEMENCY POGUE, is published by Simon & Schuster, and optioned for film adaptation by the Jim Henson Company. He has been writing for videogames since 1999, and was one of the creators of the game SPLINTER CELL, a best-selling franchise. His screenplay for the first Splinter Cell game earned him a Game Developer’s Choice Award (the interactive equivalent of an Oscar.)

JT lives in Brooklyn, with his wife and his rabbit.

Delia Sherman's short fiction has appeared in S&SF, FANTASY MAGAZINE, and numerous anthologies, the most recent of which is COYOTE ROAD (2007). She has written three adult novels, one of them, THE FALL OF THE KINGS (Bantam, 2002), with Ellen Kushner. Her latest novel is CHANGELING (Viking, 2006). It and its sequel, MAGIC MIRROR OF THE MERMAID QUEEN, due out in June, 2009, are New York fantasies for younger readers. She is very happy to be living once again in a state that recognizes her marriage, although she'd be even happier if New York just got with the program and let everybody get married.

--
The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series is in its 19th season of providing performances from some of the best writers in science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, etc. The series (usually) takes place the first Tuesday of every month at the South Street Seaport's Melville Gallery, 213 Water Street. Admission is free, but $5 donations are encouraged to offset costs and buy dinner for the readers. The producer and executive curator is radio producer and talk show host Jim Freund.

---
WHEN:
Tuesday, 12/2/8
Doors open at 6:30 -- event begins at 7

WHERE:
The South Street Seaport Museum's Melville Gallery
213 Water Street (near Beekman)
http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=213+Water+Street,+New+York,+NY

HOW:
By Subway
Take 2, 3, 4, 5, J, Z, or M to Fulton Street; A and C to
Broadway-Nassau. Walk east on Fulton Street to Water Street

By Bus
Take M15 (South Ferry-bound) down Second Ave. to Fulton Street

By Car
From the West Side: take West Street southbound. Follow signs to FDR
Drive Take underpass, keep right - use Exit 1 at end of underpass. Turn
right on South Street, six blocks.
From the East Side, take FDR Drive south to Exit 3 onto South Street
Proceed about 1 mile.

By Boat
http://nywaterway.com/ferry/terminals/wallstreet.asp

LINKS:
http://hourwolf.com/nyrsf
http://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/
http://nyrsf.com

Things that are awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:06:00 +0000

*The Brooklyn Aces at Floyd Bennett Field. For when you need your hockey fix.

*John Patrick Shanley's movie "Doubt." I avoid movies that explicitly confront Catholicism, because so often they're scribed by non-Catholic priest bashers who have no idea what they're talking about. But Shanley's movie is smart, and strikes a cord. Tony Kushner moderated the Q&A with Shanley after the film showed when I saw it, and he asked, "Do you belive in God?" Shanley looked at him like he was crazy, and had completely missed the point. And he had. It's not about God, so much as the culture, and the decision to live a certian kind of life, right or wrong.

*Daniel Craig, who rivals Sean Connery for the Best Bond Ever.

The Missing Reviewed By the New York Times

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:01:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:29:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:49:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:56:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:29:00 +0000

Deltron II, The Automator Strikes Back!

Fangoria Weekend of Horrors, and other Summer News

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Langan) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:54:00 +0000

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!