Thanks ❤️

...congratulations also to Story Hour guests @aimeeogdenwrites.com, @ethereallad.bsky.social, @premeemohamed.com, @franwilde.bsky.social, @davering.bsky.social, @wnwagner.bsky.social and @tanaudel.bsky.social—and to all the other Locus Awards finalists! You are awesome!

I met Durgin a couple of times. This sounds very Lynchian!

I just sent you an email.

Photos of those guests in two rows and four columns stripped across the middle of the Eating the Fantastic icon, with the logo and the top of a flying saucer visible above, and part of a chicken leg and donut visible below. The guests captured eating are Cynthia Pelayo, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Craig Laurance Gidney, Brian Keene, A. C. Wise, Linda Addison, John Langan, and Lee Murray.

Congratulations to all those who made the final ballot for the 2025 Bram Stoker Awards! I'm particularly pleased eight of them have previously dined with me on my Eating the Fantastic podcast. I invite you to learn more about these creators by eavesdropping as we chat and chew. pod.link/1083737796

I'm seeing a lot of microaggression around the BAFTA/Tourette's outburst, mostly of the "you people use the word all the time, so why are you offended" kind. I understand that it's a complex, nuanced issue. But that does not undo the humiliation and dehumanizing position it places upon Black people.

Storyteller is on the Stoker final ballot!

The front cover art by Diana Naneva for THE LANGUAGE OF KNIVES by Haralambi Markov, depicting a living male sculpture with an autopsy incision lying in a field, staring toward the sky with blank eyes.

Another image of the front cover art for THE LANGUAGE OF KNIVES by Haralambi Markov, accompanied by the following blurbs: “Writes with such power and intensity that you can’t imagine where they get the courage to put such words on paper. Their work challenges us to face our fears, our insecurities, and not look away.” — Ann VanderMeer, Hugo and World Fantasy award-winning editor “Stylish, macabre, and startling as a cigarette burn ... A haunting debut.” —Angela “A.G.” Slatter, World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson award-winning author of The Cold House “So weird. So queer. So nauseating. And so, so beautiful.” —C. S. E. Cooney, World Fantasy Award-winning author of Saint Death’s Daughter

A mockup of the full wraparpund cover for THE LANGUAGE OF KNIVES by Haralambi Markov, accompanied by the following blurbs: “Monsters abound, pain and pleasure intertwine, and bodies bloom in ever-surprising transformations in Haralambi Markov’s fiction. A must-read for fans of Clive Barker, queer Weird lovers, and anyone with a taste for beautiful, creeping dread.” —Nino Cipri, author of Dead Girls Don’t Dream “Markov is a protean talent, their style changing from story to story, even challenging traditional story forms. Dazzling and dark, The Language of Knives treads the line between beauty and terror.” —Craig Laurance Gidney, author of A Spectral Hue

A black and white photo of Haralambi Markov, with arms folded and tattoos showing. Accompanied by the following text: Haralambi Markov is a Bulgarian fiction writer and editor with a background in content creation. They were the first ever Bulgarian to be accepted to attend the Clarion Writers’ Workshop in 2014. Their short story “The Language of Knives” was long-listed for the Nebula award for Best Short Story and their essay “My Father, My Private Monster” made it onto the Stoker long list for non-fiction in 2025. Their work has appeared in Reactor, Uncanny Magazine, Evil in Technicolor, Weird Fiction Review, Stories for Chip, Eurasian Monsters and Fractured Reveries. They were part of the team of BonFIYAH 2021. Follow them on Instagram at @somethinghaunted.

COVER REVEAL! Mythic Delirium Books is thrilled to share Diana Naneva's stunning cover art 🎨 for THE LANGUAGE OF KNIVES: STORIES, the debut collection by Haralambi Markov, w/ intro by @annvandermeer.bsky.social 🎉 Release date July 7; pre-orders are live now! bit.ly/LOKcoverreveal bit.ly/LOKpreorder

Recommend some great queer authors. I'll start. @stevenrowley.bsky.social @justinianhuang.bsky.social @solitaryspiral.bsky.social @ethereallad.bsky.social @cartersickels.bsky.social @daviddemchuk.com

The mark Tanith Lee left is wide & deep. My hope is that Storyteller maps a bit of that landscape for those who were unaware and that the wonderful stories found within the book find many readers! @clhellisen.bsky.social @mayadeane.bsky.social @carinabissett.bsky.social @ethereallad.bsky.social

More big awards news: The Bram Stoker Awards®️ Preliminary Ballot, a longlist of notable 2025 horror / dark fantasy works, has been announced! Congratulations to all, including Story Hour guests @ethereallad.bsky.social, @somtoihezue.bsky.social... (1/3) bramstokerawards.horror.org/front-page/t...

Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology made the Bram Stoker Preliminary Ballot. Congratulations to all on the preliminary ballot!

Cover of Marie Cardno’s book HOW TO GET A GIRLFRIEND (When You’re a Terrifying Monster), featuring art of an eldritch being holding a bouquet of flowers in one of her tentacles.

Cover of Halli Starling’s book COUP DE COEUR, which features a sort of still-life scene of a table covered in things such as flowers, a spool of thread, oyster shells, a pearl necklace, scissors stabbed into a pomegranate, and a still-smoking candle.

Cover of Tamara Jeree’s book A WOLF STEPS IN BLOOD, featuring art of a young Black woman with red eyes and short white hair, gently touching the muzzle of a wolf that’s looking at her affectionately. The woman is wearing a leather jacket and a choker necklace, and her earlobes are gauged.

Cover of the book SEA SWALLOW ME by Craig Laurance Gidney, which features slightly abstract art of a Black man’s face pointed upward with a planet behind him and waves below him.

The Smashwords End of Year Sale is on, and the dauntingly long list can be hard to wade through (especially with all the gen AI these days). I’ve curated a list of books I recommend or am interested in, all AI free to the best of my ability, and all under $3! 🌈📚

kilagreene.dreamwidth.org/7990.html

Craig across the table from me at an outdoor patio holding up his crème brûlée French toast with vanilla cream, brioche, and macerated berries.

Happy birthday to @ethereallad.bsky.social! Celebrate his latest spin around the sun on an episode of Eating the Fantastic, where you'll learn the many ways flaws can often make a story more interesting, why he’s a vibes guy rather than a plot guy — and more. www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/20...

Submissions for the 2025 Shirley Jackson Awards are now OPEN! (Link in bio, read guidelines)

We are thrilled to announce the jury for the 2025 Shirley Jackson Awards!

Jamal Hodge
Molly Tanzer
Craig Laurance Gidney
Terri Leigh Relf
Mike Arnzen
Sadie Hartmann

Short Story Standouts Check out these gripping, funny, and exciting short story collections & anthologies!

Just over 3 months ago Storyteller was published and interest is still going strong.
It’s has been featured on a curated list of indie publishers on Bookshop dot org!
You can check out the list here: bookshop.org/lists/short-...

“Trail of Shadows is a fast-paced psychedelic journey through Appalachia that’s also a tender coming of age story. Allen’s hallucinatory prose sears, full of wonder and terror, and his grasp of folklore and history shines throughout this Southern Gothic-meets-Weird fiction novel.” (Craig Laurance Gidney, Lambda Award-nominated author of A Spectral Hue)

…six days…

I'm so grateful to my fellow Weird fiction writer @ethereallad.bsky.social for these kind words about my novel from @brokeneyebooks, TRAIL OF SHADOWS!

Get an early start on Halloween and pre-order: bit.ly/SpiderBookor...

Are you a @netgalley reviewer? bit.ly/SpiderNetgal...

I just heard someone describe Labubus as "goblin rats in hoodies."

Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology Sixteen new stories from some of today's most renowned authors. All inspired by the master storyteller Tanith Lee. Drowning cities and unicorns. Burning deserts and forgotten gods. Golems, elf warrior...

New at Weightless today! STORYTELLER: A TANITH LEE TRIBUTE ANTHOLOGY from Essential Dreams Press, edited by @carinabissett.bsky.social, @ethereallad.bsky.social, Julia Deridder and @thisjulieday.bsky.social : weightlessbooks.com/storyteller-...

Jury Finds Father Guilty of Rape of His 12-Year-Old Daughter — Congress Heights on the Rise A Washington, D.C. resident, 33, has been found guilty by a jury on seven felony charges, including first-degree child sexual abuse, second-degree child sexual abuse, and incest for sexually abusing h...

I was an alternate on this jury. Trigger warning
www.congressheightsontherise.com/blog/jury-fi...

Why Do Fascists Dream Of Alligators? | Defector In June, Florida’s attorney general James Uthmeier extolled the benefits of the concentration camp they were rushing to build in the wetlands of the Big Cypress Nature Reserve, west of Miami and just ...

Back in @defector.com today! I wrote about the "Alligator Alcatraz," the vicious folklore of "gator bait," and the cultural history of white supremacists trying to recruit alligators as enforcers of racial terror

I have a story in this Tanith Lee tribute anthology, which is out in ebook and paperback on July 1:

Happy Book Birthday to “Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology” Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology, which I co-edited with Julie C Day (publisher and main editor), Carina Bissett, and Julia DeRidder (who did lots of editorial work even though she’s not…

New blog post about the release of STORYTELLER: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology

craiglaurancegidney.com/2025/07/06/h...

Cover, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews (March 2026)" black placeholder cover, with title and author.

Cover, The Swan’s Daughter: A Possibly Doomed Love Story by Roshani Chokshi (January 2026: a woman towering over a building.

Cover, Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology edited by Julie C. Day, Carina Bissett, and Craig Laurance Gidney (June 2025): a striding female figure. Her feet at on fire, her head seems to be plants and she has wings.

Cover, The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (January2026): Some buildings surrounded by tropical plants.

Books Received, June 7 to June 13

Ten books new to me: 4.5 fantasy, 1 horror, 1 mystery, 3.5 science fiction, of which only two are identified as series. First four covers!

jamesdavisnicoll.com/post/books-r...

Between a pixel still life and a Japanese plate with bunnies jumping in the moonlight, a papertrade book. The cover shows the title in lavender lettering: «Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology». Stories by C. S. E. Cooney, Maya Deane, Andy Duncan, Theodora Goss, C. L. Hellisen, Getty Hesse, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Nisi Shawl, Martha Wells. Edited by Julie C. Day with Carina Bissett and Craig Laurance Gidney. Over a pale forest background, a slender and unclothed winged humanoid figure made of shells and botanical elements walks on two legs over a fire that reaches their knees.

Happy release day to this wonderful tribute anthology!
There's a story of mine in it, titled «On Her Head a Crown of Twelve Stars». I am glad readers keep finding Tanith Lee's works and that we fans keep finding each other to celebrate her legacy.

Laura Loomer makes Cersei Lannister look reasonable

We hope our tribute anthology will create another resurgence of interest. Comes out in July!

I dreamt that I was taking my girlfriend Katy Perry to meet my parents. That's so wrong on very many levels. It almost qualifies as a nightmare.

Thank you!

Magic Pride! On this trip through recommendations for Pride Month, I’ve made quick stops with my the first two Triad books, so today I figured I’d round out the journey with Triad Magic, which close…

Today in my reposting of #PrideMonth #BookSky suggestions are magic. Specifically, they’re @ethereallad.bsky.social's etherial and wonderful collection "Skin Deep Magic," and @drslayton.bsky.social's "White Trash Warlock," which starts off an awesome series. 💙📚🏳️‍🌈