The Shadow Booth

It's Halloween time again, and every website seems to be doing their 'Halloween books' list. If you're a frequent reader of horror, however, then these lists are frequently uninspiring. Yes, we know The Shining is great. No, we're not going to read IT for the fifth time. Frankly, life's too short. Instead, we thought it might be interesting to celebrate the weird and the unusual for our list. We've asked some of the contributors to The Shadow Booth: Volume 1 - and journal editor Dan Coxon - to recommend something strange, unsettling, and not widely read for Halloween. This is what crawled out of the mist... Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson Recommended by Dan Carpenter Her most discomforting novel by far, much more eerie and strange than The Haunting of Hill House , and far less direct than The Lottery . A campus novel about loneliness, and the disquiet of being alone for the first time. Francine Prose, in her introduction to the new Penguin edition wro

And so we come to the final spotlight on our authors from The Shadow Booth: Volume 1 . (Unless we hit £3,000 funding, of course, in which case we may just have to add one for Alison Moore...) Annie Neugebauer specializes in horror, literary fiction, poetry, gothic, and speculative fiction. She has work appearing in more than a hundred publications, including magazines such as Apex , Black Static , and Cemetery Dance , as well as anthologies such as Bram Stoker Award finalist The Beauty of Death and #1 Amazon bestseller Killing It Softly . Her story 'Hide' was included in Ellen Datlow’s recommended list for Best Horror of the Year Volume 7 . Her book of poetry has received an honorable mention in the Stevens Competition by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies and placed 2nd in the Edwin M. Eakin Memorial Book Publication Award by the Poetry Society of Texas. She is represented by Alec Shane of Writers House. Annie is also founding member and past president of t

Not long left to run on our crowdfunding campaign. If you haven't done so already, be sure to order your copy of Shadow Booth: Vol. 1 (ebook is now available too, and all paperback orders include an ebook option free of charge). In the meantime, here's our latest Author Spotlight, on Joseph Sale. His story 'City of the Nightwatchers' appears in Volume 1. Joseph Sale is a novelist, writing coach, editor, graphic designer, artist, critic and gamer. His first novel, The Darkest Touch , was published by Dark Hall Press in 2014. Since, he has authored Seven Dark Stars , Across the Bitter Sea , Orifice , The Meaning of the Dark , Nekyia and more. Under the pseudonym Alan Robson (his grandfather's name), he won third place in Storgy's Exit Earth anthology competition, judged by Diane Cook. He is the creator of †3 Dark , a unique publishing project born in 2017 showcasing the work of 13 writers including Richard Thomas and Moira Katson; each story is accompanied by

Our crowdfunding campaign for The Shadow Booth: Vol. 1 is almost at an end, so today we shine our spotlight on David Hartley, whose story 'Betamorphosis' appears in Volume 1. David Hartley's fiction has enjoyed various publications in numerous places including Ambit Magazine, Black Static, Structo Magazine, Shooter Lit Mag, The Alarmist and two Boo Books anthologies; After the Fall (2014) and We Can Improve You (2015), as well as a multitude of websites. His first love was flash fiction, and he touts three collections of the things in the form of Spiderseed (Sleepy House Press, 2016), Threshold (Gumbo Press, 2013) & his twisted Christmas collection Merry Gentlemen (Kindle, self published, 2014) where anti-Santas stalk children, fir trees steal humans for display and the Virgin Mary asks what in hell she is supposed to do with the divine placenta. He is really rather proud of the Christmas collection. His 2016 collection Spiderseed came first runner-up at the

We have an extra Author Spotlight today, on Timothy J. Jarvis. Not only does his story 'What the Bones Told Hecate Shrike' appear in The Shadow Booth: Vol. 1 , but Tim will be reading alongside Gary Budden and Daniel Carpenter at Listen Softly London tomorrow (Sunday 22 October, 2017). If you're near London, make sure to go along! Timothy J. Jarvis is a writer, scholar, and teacher of Creative Writing with an interest in the antic, the weird, the strange. His first novel, The Wanderer , was published by Perfect Edge Books in the summer of 2014. His short-fiction has appeared in Murder Ballads , Booklore , Uncertainties: Volume I , Caledonia Dreamin’: Strange Fiction of Scottish Descent , 3 :AM Magazine , and Leviathan 4: Cities , among other places. He is also interested in drone and ambient music and has collaborated with sound artists on sleeve notes and performance. In 2012, he was shortlisted for the Lightship International Short Fiction Prize. He currently

Today our author spotlight turns on Gary Budden, whose story 'Where No Shadows Fall' appears in The Shadow Booth: Vol. 1 . Gary Budden writes fiction and creative non-fiction about the intersections of British sub-culture, landscape, psychogeography, hidden history, nature, horror, weird fiction and more. A lot of it falls under the banner ‘landscape punk’. His work has appeared in  Black Static ,  Unthology ,  Year’s Best Weird Fiction ,  The Lonely Crowd ,  Litro ,  Structo , The Quietus and many more. He was shortlisted for the 2015 London Short Story Award, and his story ‘Greenteeth’ was nominated for a 2017 British Fantasy Award and adapted into a short film by the filmmaker Adam Scovell. He also co-runs the indie publisher Influx Press. His debut fiction collection,  Hollow Shores , is published by Dead Ink Books in October 2017. You can also read interviews with Gary on the Ginger Nuts of Horror website , and on the Gehenna & Hinnom website . Just follo

Continuing our profiles of authors featured in Volume 1 of The Shadow Booth , the spotlight shines on Malcolm Devlin today. Malcolm Devlin's stories have appeared in Black Static , Interzone , Nightscript and Shadows and Tall Trees . His collection, You Will Grow Into Them , is published by Unsung Stories. Paul Tremblay (another Shadow Booth contributor!) has called Devlin's debut: 'a collection of immaculately written tales that deftly mix darkness with a playful imagination. The result are stories that are as entertaining and humane as they are deeply unsettling. We need more stories in the world like these.' Nina Allan has said that: 'Devlin’s collection, like Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney before it, is set to become one of the decade’s landmarks of English weird.' We couldn't agree more. You can find a full list of Devlin's published stories on his website here . And please remember - if you haven't already pre-ordered yo

The latest in our series of author features focuses on Richard Thomas, whose story 'White Picket Fences' appears in The Shadow Booth: Vol. 1 . Richard Thomas is the award-winning author of seven books: three novels— Disintegration and Breaker (Penguin Random House Alibi), and Transubstantiate (Otherworld Publications); three short story collections— Staring into the Abyss (Kraken Press), Herniated Roots (Snubnose Press), and Tribulations (Cemetery Dance); as well as one novella in The Soul Standard (Dzanc Books). With over 135 stories published, his credits include Cemetery Dance (twice) , PANK, storySouth, Gargoyle, Weird Fiction Review, Midwestern Gothic, Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories, Qualia Nous, Chiral Mad 2 & 3, and Shivers VI (with Stephen King and Peter Straub) . He has won contests at ChiZine and One Buck Horror, and has received five Pushcart Prize nominations to date. He is also the editor of four anthologies: The New Black and Exigencies (Dark

Continuing our profiles of authors featured in Volume 1 of The Shadow Booth , the spotlight shines on Richard V. Hirst today. Richard is a writer from Manchester. He is the co-author of The Night Visitors (with Jenn Ashworth, published by Dead Ink Books ), a novella told entirely via an exchange of emails, and Bus Station: Unbound , a choose-your-own-adventure-style novel set in Preston Bus Station. His work has been published in the Big Issue , Time Out and The Guardian amongst others. Along with Jenn Ashworth and Emma Jane Unsworth, he runs Curious Tales , an independent publisher specialising in ghost stories which has featured new writing by M. John Harrison, Alison Moore, Patrick McGrath and others. His website is ithoughtitoldyoutowaitinthecar .com and he is on twitter as @vivmondo . As a special preview, you can read Richard's story from The Shadow Booth until 25 October on the Minor Literatures website, here: The Upstairs Room If you haven't alread

Continuing our series of spotlights on the authors included in The Shadow Booth: Volume 1 , today it's the turn of Sarah Read. Sarah is a dark fiction writer and freelance editor recently relocated from the foothills of Colorado to the frozen north of Wisconsin. Her short stories can be found in  Gamut ,  Black Static and other places, and in various anthologies including Exigencies , Suspended in Dusk , and  BEHOLD! Oddities Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders . She also writes numerous articles about crocheting and fountain pens. She is the Editor in Chief at  Pantheon Magazine  and an active member of the Horror Writers' Association. When she's not staring into the abyss, she knits. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram @Inkwellmonster or on her website at www.inkwellmonster.wordpress. com. You can also read an interview with Sarah on the Ginger Nuts of Horror website, as part of their current series of Shadow Booth interviews. Read it here . Finally, don'

Continuing our series shining the spotlight on the writers who have stories in Volume 1 of The Shadow Booth , today it's the turn of Daniel Carpenter. Daniel was one of the founders of award-winning live literature organisation Bad Language, and is the current producer and host of The Paperchain Podcast , a monthly show in which writers and artists perform new work based on previous guests' prompts. The Paperchain Podcast is now in its second series, and was longlisted in the Saboteur Awards. You may have heard him mention us in the latest episode! His writing has been published widely by Metazen, Unsung Stories and The Irish Literary Review, amongst others. Daniel's non-fiction has been published by Tor.com, and he is a film critic for STORGY. His story 'Flotsam' appears in Volume 1 of The Shadow Booth . You can find out more by following him on Twitter , or by following The Paperchain Podcast . And remember to order your copy of The Shadow Booth on

As promised, we're continuing to profile the authors in Volume 1 of The Shadow Booth here on the blog. Please also remember that we're still currently crowdfunding - please check us out on Kickstarter and pre-order your copy! Today it's the turn of Stephen Hargadon . Stephen’s distinctive stories have appeared in Structo , Popshot Magazine , LossLit , the Irish Post and Black Static . It was in Black Static that his first story, 'World of Trevor', was published, and he has been a regular in those pages ever since. Helen Marshall has described his stories as 'strange beasts: wise, witty, and wonderfully dark. Each one is a thing entirely of its own kind, capable of surprising as much in the first reading as in the second and third.' He has written on Julian Maclaren Ross for Thresholds, the international short story forum, while 'Just Browsing', a well-received essay on the joys of second-hand bookshops, was published on the Litro web

Over the next few weeks, we'll be profiling all the contributors to The Shadow Booth . We're really proud of the writers we have lined up - hopefully you'll see why! First up is Paul Tremblay . Paul is the author of Disappearance at Devil’s Rock, the Bram Stoker Award winning A Head Full of Ghosts ,  The Little Sleep , and the forthcoming The Cabin at the End of the World.  He is currently a member of the board of directors of the Shirley Jackson Awards, and his essays and short fiction have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and numerous “year’s best” anthologies. He has a master’s degree in mathematics and lives near Boston with his wife and two children. A Head Full of Ghosts won the 2015 Bram Stoker Award and the 2015 Massachusetts Book Award for Best Novel. It was included on several “Best of” lists for 2015, including: NPR, the AV Club, LitReactor, Tor.com, and was selected as one of the Washington Post ’s Best SF/F novels for June 2015. It was a Finalist fo

We're thrilled to say that The Shadow Booth is now crowdfunding on Kickstarter! The Shadow Booth is a new journal of weird and eerie fiction, edited by Dan Coxon (Winner: Best Anthology – Saboteur Awards 2016) and published as a 200-page mass market paperback. Drawing its inspiration from the likes of Thomas Ligotti and Robert Aickman, as well as H. P. Lovecraft and Arthur Machen, The Shadow Booth explores that dark, murky territory between mainstream horror and literary fiction. From folk horror to alien gods, the journal aims to give voice to the strange and the unsettling in all its forms. This Kickstarter campaign is specifically aimed at launching the first issue of the journal, to be published later this year. The stories are already written and selected, the cover is designed. Now we simply need you, the readers, to show your interest by ordering a copy. There are also other goodies up for grabs, including T-shirts, signed books and short story critiques.

Crowdfunding for The Shadow Booth will open on: Tuesday 26 September, 2017 Featuring stories from Paul Tremblay, Malcolm Devlin, Gary Budden, Richard Thomas, Annie Neugebauer, Richard V. Hirst, Stephen Hargadon, Sarah Read, David Hartley, Timothy J. Jarvis, Dan Carpenter, Joseph Sale. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates.