Dark Scribe Press is proud to announce that author Lee Thomas’ IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED has been nominated for both a Bram Stoker Award and a Lambda Literary Award!

On February 19th, the Horror Writers Association announced nominees for the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in the field of horror writing, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work DRACULA. Since 1987, the approximately 500 members of the HWA have recommended, nominated and voted on the greatest works of horror and dark fantasy of the previous calendar year, making the Stokers the most prestigious award in the field of horror literature. The awards will be presented this year at a gala banquet on Saturday evening, March 27, at the World Horror Convention in Brighton, UK. Lee Thomas previously won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel for STAINED, and has been nominated a total of four times.

IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED has been nominated for Superior Achievement in a Collection.

Since 1989, the Lambda Literary Awards have been awarded to the finest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender literature available in the United States. The “Lammyâ€� is the most prestigious, competitive, and comprehensive literary award offered specifically to LGBT authors. For more than two decades the Lambda Literary Awards has brought attention to and honored exceptional writing about queer lives across multiple genres published by large and small presses. This year’s awards will be handed out May 27th, 2010 at the School of Visual Arts Theater in New York City. Lee Thomas previously won the Lambda Literary Award in the same category for his novel THE DUST OF WONDERLAND in 2008.

IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED Is currently a finalist in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror category.

LONG ISLAND, NY, July 17, 2009 - Dark Scribe Press announced today that it is partnering with award-winning poet Christopher Conlon on A SEA OF ALONE: POEMS FOR ALFRED HITCHCOCK, an anthology of poetry focusing on the late master of suspense. Slated for publication during the third quarter of 2010, the collection will be an exploration of Hitchcock’s life and work through poetry. Conlon will serve as editor on the collection.

Hitchcock is arguably the most popular and influential film director of Hollywood’s classic age, and nearly three decades after his death, his image and voice are still instantly recognizable throughout the world. A SEA OF ALONE: POEMS FOR ALFRED HITCHCOCK will celebrate this one-of-a-kind figure in a suitably unique way - through verse. To that end, the anthology will feature original, unpublished poems on the subject of Hitchcock - his life, his films, his impact, his legend.

Conlon is the author of four books of poems, most recently STARKWEATHER DREAMS , and a novel, MIDNIGHT ON MOURN STREET, which was a finalist for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award. His work has appeared widely in magazines and journals including DARK DISCOVERIES, POETS & WRITERS, AMERICA, TENNESSEE WILLIAMS ANNUAL REVIEW, POET LORE, THE KING’S ENGLISH, and THE LONG STORY, as well as in such anthologies as MASQUES V and CALIFORNIA SORCERY. As an editor his credits include HE IS LEGEND: AN ANTHOLOGY CELEBRATING RICHARD MATHESON, POE’S LIGHTHOUSE, and THE TWILIGHT ZONE SCRIPTS OF JERRY SOHL. A former Peace Corps Volunteer, Conlon hails from Silver Spring, Maryland, where he writes, teaches, and hosts a popular quarterly poetry reading series.

Dark Scribe Press launched in 2007. In addition to its popular virtual publication, DARK SCRIBE MAGAZINE, the press published UNSPEAKABLE HORROR: FROM THE SHADOWS OF THE CLOSET in 2008 to widespread acclaim. The collection of GLBT horror originals went on to win the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology - the first time a GLBT anthology won the award in its sponsoring organization’s 22-year history. In addition to Conlon’s forthcoming Hitchcock collection, the company is readying IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED, a short story collection from award-winning writer Lee Thomas, and BUTCHER KNIVES & BODY COUNTS, a collection of non-fiction essays on the formula, frights and fun of the slasher film.

“As a lifelong Hitchcockian,” Conlon says, “I’m thrilled to be working with Dark Scribe Press on this unique anthology. I first discovered the Master of Suspense when I was a child, through reruns of his TV series and a late-night broadcast of PSYCHO; his work has been a central passion for me ever since. Poetry came into my life at around the same time - Edgar Allan Poe was an early favorite - and it too has remained a lifelong love of mine. The idea of combining these two passions in a project for a hot new award-winning press like Dark Scribe is more thrilling than I can say.”

DSP President and CEO Vince Liaguno is equally excited by the prospects of what promises to be a singular collection. “We strive to acquire projects that are unique, projects that explore their subject matters in fresh and stimulating ways. When Chris approached us with his inspired concept, we were immediately struck by how perfect the marriage of Hitchcock, who was such a cinematic lyricist himself, and the poetic form was. I think the lyrical interpretation of Hitchcock’s life and works will add an entirely new perspective to the Hitchcock canon.”

For more information on Christopher Conlon: www.christopherconlon.com

For submissions guidelines: www.alfredhitchcockpoems.blogspot.com

Dark Scribe Press is proud to announce that its debut title, UNSPEAKABLE HORROR: FROM THE SHADOWS OF THE CLOSET, has won the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology. The award was presented on June 13th during the Horror Writer’s Association’s (HWA) annual Bram Stoker Awards Banquet at the Burbank Marriott and Convention Center in Burbank, California. Editors Vince Liaguno and Chad Helder were on hand to accept the award. This marks the first time in the HWA’s 22-year history that a GLBT-themed anthology has taken home the award.

Other winners of the night included Stephen King (who took home awards in the Novel category for DUMA KEY and Collection category for JUST BEFORE SUNSET), John R. Little, Lisa Mannetti, Bruce Boston, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and F. Paul Wilson (both Lifetime Achievement Award recipients), and UNSPEAKABLE HORROR contributors Lisa Morton (winning in the Non-Fiction category for A HALLOWE’EN ANTHOLOGY) and Sarah Langan (who took home an award in the SHORT FICTION category).

In his acceptance speech, Liaguno individually acknowledged each of the 23 writers who contributed to the anthology, as well as Helder, his co-editor on the project, with whom he credited with bringing added “balance and perspective to the collection.” In addition, he made a point to acknowledge their fellow anthology nominees, stating, “We are truly humbled to be in the amazing company of Mr. Bill Breedlove, RJ Cavender, and Tim Deal and share this with them in a very real way for their efforts in keeping the anthology format alive and bearing fruit.” Subsequent to the awards, Helder and Liaguno were interviewed by award-winning mystery novelist John Morgan Wilson for his “Book Buzz” column at the Lambda Literary Foundation.

Named in honor of the author of the seminal horror work DRACULA, the Bram Stoker Awards were instituted immediately after the HWA’s incorporation in 1987. The Stoker Awards, like the Oscars, are non-juried awards. Any work of horror first published in the English language may be considered for a Stoker during the year of its publication. The HWA membership at large recommends worthy works for consideration. A preliminary ballot is compiled using a formula based on recommendations. Two rounds of voting by the organization’s Active members determine first the finalists, and then the winners.

UNSPEAKABLE HORROR: FROM THE SHADOWS OF THE CLOSET was released in trade paperback by Dark Scribe Press in December of 2008.

Dark Scribe Press is pleased to announce that award-winning film director Adam Green will be contributing a special introduction to the BUTCHER KNIVES & BODY COUNTS anthology. In “Are We Sick?,” Green ponders the appeal of the genre and the undying loyalty of the slasher fan and recounts his own genre initiation that involved an older brother, some STAR WARS collateral, and the sequel to an iconic 80’s slasher.

Upon graduating New York’s Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Science in Television and Film production, Adam Green went to work producing and directing local cable commercials in Boston. While employed by the cable advertising company, Green began “borrowing” their production equipment after hours to make his own films. Using friends as cast and crew, three lights, and his severely troubled cat…Green’s first feature film (the comedy COFFEE & DONUTS) was completed for a mere $400 in the summer of 1999. The movie was ultimately bought by Walt Disney Studios/Touchstone TV and developed as a sit-com for UPN with Green writing the pilot.

With the success of C&D, Green made the move out West. While spending the next several years developing, writing, and working on various network television pilots, Green wrote and directed the feature film HATCHET which premiered to rave reviews at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. The film was selected for festivals worldwide winning a multitude of awards, including the Audience Choice Award for “Best Picture” in 3 different countries and placement in both MTV’s and Ain’t It Cool News’ TOP 10 FILMS OF THE YEAR lists. Critically hailed as “the greatest slasher film in 20 years”, “the holy grail of slasher films”, and creating “the next icon of horror”- HATCHET saw a successful nationwide theatrical release in September of 2007. The film went on to become the highest selling original title that its distributor (Anchor Bay Entertainment) has ever had and a sequel is now in the works.

Green’s next film, the Hitchcockian psychodrama SPIRAL (co-directed by HATCHET’s star Joel David Moore), took home the prestigious “Gold Vision Award” at the 2007 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the Silver Award at Austin’s Fantastic Film Festival, and saw a US theatrical release in February of 2008.

Green is now writing the animated AQUAMAN movie for Warner Brothers/D.C. Comics and just wrapped production on his new snowy thriller FROZEN due out in theaters in early 2010. He currently resides in Hollywood, California with his fiance Rileah and their cats Tyler, Perry, and Chewbacca.

Stay tuned for more exciting announcements!

Jack Ketchum

Lee Thomas

Stephen Graham Jones

Veteran Bram Stoker Award-winning novelist Jack Ketchum, Stoker and Lambda Literary Award-winner Lee Thomas, and Demon Theory scribe and pop culture essayist Stephen Graham Jones are among the first contributors announced for Dark Scribe Press’ Butcher Knives & Body Counts anthology.

• Jack Ketchum
• Lee Thomas
• Stephen Graham Jones
• John Skipp
• Cody Goodfellow
• Jeff Strand
• Gregory Lamberson
• Lisa Morton
• James Lowder
• Peter Tennant
• Gary McMahon
• John Llewellyn Probert
• Lynne Hansen
• Mike McCarty
• Garry Charles
• Paul Milliken
• JG Faherty
• Richard Dansky
• Connie Corcoran-Wilson
• Dustin La Valley
• CJ Lines
• Mike Bracken
• Lance Vaughan
• Jude Wright
• David L. Tamarin
• Nick Cato
• Amanda Bumgarner
• Stephen Bacon
• Nicholas Grabowsky
• Joe Nazare
• Rachel Kendall
• Aliya Whiteley
• Johnny Kalangis
• Andrew Barker
• Jesse Baget
• Sarah Dobbs

More exciting announcements to come.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LONG ISLAND, NY, April 1, 2009 - Dark Scribe Press announced today that it has acquired award-winning author Lee Thomas’ short story collection, IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED. Slated for publication during the fourth quarter of 2009, the collection will bring together - for the first time anywhere - some of Thomas’ rich catalog of previously published shorts and new material written expressly for the collection.

IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED was originally acquired in 2006 by Harrington Park Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press. In 2007, when The Haworth Press was sold, the Harrington Park imprint was not picked up in the deal and the imprint folded, leaving all of its scheduled projects without homes. Since then, the collection has been reworked to include newer stories, including the Bram Stoker Award-nominated “An Apiary of White Bees” which first appeared in the anthology INFERNO (Tor Books).

Thomas is the author of 2007’s THE DUST OF WONDERLAND (winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror) and STAINED (winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel). His other novels include PARISH DAMNED, DAMAGE, and a series of young adult books from HarperCollins penned as Thomas Pendleton and Dallas Reed.

Dark Scribe Press launched in 2007. In addition to its popular virtual publication, DARK SCRIBE MAGAZINE, the press published UNSPEAKABLE HORROR: FROM THE SHADOWS OF THE CLOSET in 2008 to widespread acclaim. The collection of GLBT horror originals is currently a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology. In addition to the forthcoming Thomas collection, the company is readying BUTCHER KNIVES & BODY COUNTS, a collection of non-fiction essays on the formula, frights and fun of the slasher film.

“It’s a thrill to be working with Dark Scribe on this collection,” says Thomas, who worked with DSP on both the UNSPEAKABLE and BUTCHER KNIVES projects. “After seeing the tremendous amount of work they put into creating UNSPEAKABLE HORROR, I knew they weren’t a typical small press start up. The editors [on that project] took their time with every aspect of that anthology from reading submissions to marketing the finished product, and the results speak for themselves.”

Although Dark Scribe Press places strong emphasis on the integration of gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters and themes into works bearing its insignia, Thomas says, “Dark Scribe understands that a queer element does not mean a book has to be shoved into a literary ghetto. I’ve always believed that literature should be inclusive, not exclusive, which is to say that regardless of a character’s sexual orientation, the story should be inviting to all readers. I’d like to think the stories in IN THE CLOSET, UNDER THE BED will appeal to anyone who loves dark literature as much as I do.”

DSP President and CEO Vince Liaguno is equally as thrilled to be partnering with Thomas. “Lee is an incredible talent, an eloquent and unique voice among the new crop of literary talents in dark fiction today. We’re honored that he’s selected Dark Scribe Press as home to this outstanding collection.”

For more about Lee Thomas, click here.

Dark Scribe Press is pleased to report that its debut title, UNSPEAKABLE HORROR: FROM THE SHADOWS OF THE CLOSET, has been named a finalist in the 2008 Bram Stoker Awards. Each year, the Horror Writer’s Association presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work, Dracula. The Stoker Awards were instituted immediately after the organization’s incorporation in 1987.

The Stoker Awards, like the Oscars, are non-juried awards. Any work of Horror first published in the English language may be considered for a Stoker during the year of its publication. The HWA membership at large recommends worthy works for consideration. A preliminary ballot is compiled using a formula based on recommendations. Two rounds of voting by the organization’s Active members determine first the finalists, and then the winners. The winners will be announced and the awards presented during a gala banquet held in California at the Burbank Marriott on June 13th in conjunction with the HWA’s annual conference. 

Nominated for Superior Achievement in an Anthology, UNSPEAKABLE HORROR joins this year’s other nominees - including Stephen King, Gary Braunbeck, Nate Kenyon, and others - as they vie for honors in a total of (8) categories.

Vince Liaguno, co-editor of the project and Dark Scribe Press CEO, says that he’s “honored, humbled, and deeply appreciative of the HWA’s recognition of the UNSPEAKABLE HORROR anthology.”

Dark Scribe Press is also thrilled to announce the nominations of several of its UNSPEAKABLE contributors:

• Sarah Langan, nominated in the Superior Achievement in Short Fiction category for “The Lost” from Cemetery Dance Publications;
• Lee Thomas, also nominated in the Superior Achievement in Short Fiction for “Turtle” from Doorways Publications;
• Lisa Morton, nominated for Superior Achivement in Non-Fiction for her book A HALLOWE’EN ANTHOLOGY from McFarland;
• Kealan Patrick Burke, nominated for Superior Achievement in a Collection for THE NUMBER 121 TO PENNSYLVANIA from Cemetery Dance Publications, which was also won DSM’s Black Quill Award (Editors’ Choice) for Best Dark Genre Fiction Collection earlier this year.

Dark Scribe Press is proud to announce that celebrated slasher film historian, author, and screenwriter Adam Rockoff will be contributing the Foreword to Butcher Knives & Body Counts.

Rockoff is the acclaimed author of Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film. This popular book was adapted into a critically-acclaimed documentary which premiered on Starz and was released on home video by ThinkFilm.

Rockoff is also a frequent guest on radio and television programs to discuss all things horror, including Bravo’s highly-rated special, The 100 Scariest Movie Moments. He has also written for numerous horror periodicals and had a long-running column in VideoScope magazine.

He recently sold two screenplays. The first, Tales for Sleepless Nights, is an anthology in the vein of Creepshow. The second is a sequel to Fever Dreams’ first original production, Flesh for the Beast.

Rockoff is currently writing a 2-hour television movie, Love Will Keep Us Together, for The Hallmark Channel, as well as a short film with Adrienne King, best-known to horror fans as the lone survivor of the original Friday the 13th.

His latest horror film, Wicked Lake, just completed a limited theatrical release. It was universally detested by mainstream critics but received a ‘Mr. Skin Anatomy Award’ for Best Lesbian Orgy.

Dark Scribe Press is pleased to announce its second print project - Butcher Knives & Body Counts: Essays on the Formula, Frights, and Fun of the Slasher Film.

From meat cleavers and machetes to summer camp carnage and sorority house massacres, from final girls and scream queens to demented deviants and dead teenagers, slasher films turned body counts into box office gold. It’s the oft-maligned - but surprisingly durable - sub-genre of horror films that uses a Freudian rulebook and bases the survival rates of its characters on vice and virtue. From the low-budget aesthetics of the 70’s and 80’s to the self-referential gloss of the 90’s and beyond, Butcher Knives & Body Counts will explore the archetype of the slasher film and trace its evolution from formula to franchise. From the inventive kills and the gory intestine spills right down to the last tagline and toe tag, Butcher Knives & Body Counts will celebrate the enduring formula, frights, and fun of slasher movies.

The project will be less a “guide” - what most would immediately associate with encapsulated reviews - and more a comprehensive collection of critical essays on the slasher film genre. In addition to opportunities for analyses of individual films, DSP is also looking for essays on various aspects of the slasher film genre. We anticipate those essays dealing with individual films to be in the 1,000- to 1,500-word range, with a slightly larger word range and some added flexibility for essays pertaining to the more general aspects of the genre.

As we did with our Unspeakable Horror anthology, Dark Scribe Press has established this dedicated blog for the project where submission guidelines, tips, and announcements will be posted. We have also posted a “wish list” of films we’re looking to have covered on the blog. In addition, our submissions guidelines offer some suggested topics that will give potential contributors an idea of what we’re open to in relation to the broader essays.

More details regarding submissions can be found here.

Dark Scribe Press is pleased to present its first print publication - Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet.

From the ghosts of dead lovers and malevolent queer faeries to devious doppelgangers and twisted psychopaths, an eclectic lineup of award-winning writers from the horror and GLBT literary communities come together in this groundbreaking collection of queer horror stories. These tales will surprise with their universally resonant themes while exploring the deeper aspects of the closet experience - coming out, staying in, and being haunted by.

Join Lee Thomas, Sarah Langan, Jameson Currier, Rick R. Reed, Scott Nicholson, Kealan Patrick Burke and others as they throw open their literary closet doors with 23 chilling tales. Be prepared as these master dark scribes reveal what lurks in those shadowy corners at the back of our closets.

And the horrors found there promise to be unspeakable.

 

Table of Contents:

Introduction: The Case for Closets | Vince A. Liaguno

Opening the Box | Chad Helder

Emmeline | C. J. Lines

The Bloomsbury Nudes | Jameson Currier

Epistle of the Sleeping Beauty | Jan Vander Laenen

Cask | Jude Wright

Black Annis | Joy Marchand

Memento Mori | Elissa Malcohn

The Shallows | Gary McMahon

I Am the Shadow That Walks There | Michelle Scalise

Bluff | L. A. Fields

In Her Mirrors, Dimly | Maria Alexander

The Portico Angel | Kevin W. Reardon

Vourdalak | Michael Hacker

Memory Box | Reesa Brown

Double Walker | Lisa Morton

Sublet | Rick R. Reed

I’m Your Violence | Lee Thomas

The Engine of Desire | Livia Llewellyn

The Boys of Bald Cave | C. Michael Cook

Prayers of the Living | Erin MacKay

The Next Big Thing | Christopher Fox

The Shaping | Scott Nicholson

A Letter from Phoenix | Kealan Patrick Burke

The Agathas | Sarah Langan

On sale now from Amazon and Horror Mall.