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Baby's Breath Chapbooks, WHC Atlanta, & Other News

4/30/2015

1 Comment

 
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WHC is a week away. I can’t believe I am flying to Atlanta  in six days and still have so much to do. SHIT!

So far I have limited, signed edition chapbooks set aside for the following people:
 
1.     John Boden
2.     Andrew Freudenberg
3.     Stephen Williams
4.     Aaron Gudmunson
5.     Chris & Kim
6.     Kenneth Cain
7.     Michael Randolph
8.     Rose Blackthorn
9.     Kurt Fawver
10.  Beth Murphy
11.  Nelson Pyles
12.  Tony Tremblay
13.  Sandy Gibbons
14.  John Foster
15.  Ken Wood 
16.  Aaron Sterns
17.  Morgan Griffith
18.  David North-Martino
19.  Adam House
20.  MJ Preston

For the record, anyone who provided a blurb will not be paying for it, so don’t even try. (Aaron G...we will discuss this further!)

But I’d like to ask anyone not attending the convention in Atlanta to please allow me to send these out after I return since I’m just so pressed for time. They’re all numbered and signed and set aside for you in clear plastic slipcases, and when I get back I will also inscribe them with a personal note as a thank you for waiting.

Since these first twenty sold so fast, I uploaded and ordered a second edition that do not have the numbered signature page and with a slightly different design that I will sell if the limited edition runs out. They won’t have the special seal the limited edition chapbooks have on the slipcase or receive a personalized inscription.

Anyway, if you guys can sit tight, I’ll be in touch about sending these your way upon my return. Some are going to Australia, Canada, England, and other wild destinations, so I may need some time to hunker down at the post office. Thanks for your support!

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Now onto the con. Check out these badges, with art provided by James Powell.  Cool, huh?
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There will also be a limited supply of bookmarks designed by Greg Chapman, who is not only an artist, but one hell of a writer. Check these out...I hope I get my hands on one.
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I mentioned before that I will have an interview with Jack Ketchum for his Lifetime Achievement Award appearing in the Souvenir Book. 

From HWA President Lisa Morton: “Here's a sneak peek at the gorgeous cover for our souvenir book, featuring art by Artist Guest of Honor Bob Eggleton and edited by Eric J. Guignard and Bailey Hunter.
 This baby is FAT, too—over 100,000 words of horrorific fiction, nonfiction, art, and more.”
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The Programming for WHC must have been a herculean task, and Anya Martin and her team have done an extraordinary job at putting together a fantastic lineup of events. I'll be on some myself, but I'm really looking forward to attending several panels and readings and just can't wait for all of this to happen. 

Check out the full schedule of events here. 

The HWA has been running a series of interviews called "Know a Nominee" in the weeks before the convention. These are edited by Doug Murano and facilitated by the lovely Emma Audsley.


Here are some of the nominees who have been interviewed so far:

Leslie Klinger
John F. D. Taff
Corrinne De Winter
Patrick Freivald
Usman T. Malik
Craig DiLouie
Steve Rasnic Tem
Rena Mason

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Check out the first in the series of interviews
here, and you can read the rest from there. 

And congrats to all the nominees!
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The Library of the Dead is now live on Amazon. 

The anthology contains my story "Night Soliloquy" alongside new fiction by Yvonne Navarro, Mary SanGiovanni, Brian Keene, Roberta Lannes, Kealan Patrick Burke, Chris Marrs, Jesus F. Gonzalez, Weston Ochse, Lucy A. Snyder, Christopher Golden, Tim Lebbon, Rena Mason, Michael McBride, Erinn Kemper, Gene O'Neill, and Gary A. Braunbeck, with illustrations by Glenn Denny Gak, an introduction/novelette by Norman Partridge, and an interlinking story by "The Librarian," aka Michael Bailey, to guide you throughout.

Check out this killer trailer Michael Bailey made for the book, which even my mother thinks is "awesome."
On Friday, May 8th, from 4-5 PM, I’ll be attending a panel called “Readings and Shenanigans for THE LIBRARY OF THE DEAD and QUALIA NOUS in SARNATH.

Description: Official book launch for The Library Of The Dead, and a celebration of Qualia Nous (Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Superior Achievement in an Anthology). Readings, signings, and 10 boo giveaways of each title.

Moderator: Michael Bailey. Panelists: Jason V Brock, James Chambers, Patrick Freivald, Erinn L. Kemper, Sydney Leigh, Usman T. Malik, Chris Marrs, Rena Mason,Yvonne Navarro, William F. Nolan, Weston Ochse, Marge Simon, and Lucy A. Snyder.

So. Much. Fun.
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The Library of the Dead will also be relaunched at AnthoCon  in Portsmouth, New Hampshire from June 5-7, 2015. 

Speaking of AnthoCon, Tim Deal of Shroud just released the Spring Issue, which features "Estuary," my poem about a death which has haunted me for almost eighteen years. You can find it on Amazon in eBook here, and Tim will later compile the work from it into a print omnibus edition.  

Get a load of this cover.
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Okay...lastly. Forthcoming from Written Backwards Press, Chiral Mad 3 will include my poems “Folie à Plusieurs” and “Folie à Deux.” 

This amazing anthology will also feature poetry from:

Elizabeth Massie
Marge Simon
Stephanie M. Wytovich
Bruce Boston
Erik T. Johnson
Gardner Goldsmith

As well as fiction by:

Gene O’Neill
Ramsey Campbell
Jessica May Lin
Paul Michael Anderson
Stephen King
Richard Thomas

...and more announcements to come.

Here's the cover, another spectacular work of art by Michael Bailey.
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Speaking of Michael Bailey, I'm going to be bringing a few copies of Inkblots and Blood Spots with me to WHC, but if you are going and want an autographed copy your best bet is to bring yours or pick one up now. 

The books I will have with me in very limited quantity are below, and I'm not sure what Eagle Eye Books will have in stock. So if you want anything signed please be sure to bring it!
Hope to see you there...


Thanks for reading,
Syd
1 Comment

Baby's Breath—Bram Stoker Nomination & WHC Atlanta

3/17/2015

2 Comments

 

Bram Stoker Awards, WHC Atlanta, and other news...

I could not have been more shocked to learn that "Baby's Breath" made it through to the Final Ballot of the Bram Stoker Awards, released last month by the Horror Writers Association.

You can find the full list of nominees here. Best of luck to all the finalists, and congratulations on your nominations! 
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I wrote a longer post about this on Facebook, but the simple truth is that this nomination is extremely humbling and all very surreal. 

There are a lot of people I feel are a direct result of any successes I achieve in my writing or otherwise, so really, most of my posts end up consisting of a long list of names anyway.

But this story has proven to be pivotal for me in a lot of ways...it was an accomplishment for me just to write to begin with, and Simon Rumley's words of praise about it  in the Foreword of Bugs: Tales that Slither, Creep and Crawl quite literally meant the world to me.

Then to have it go on to win the award for Best Horror Short Story and now this is just mind blowing, really. 

I'm absolutely thrilled to be nominated in the same category as writers I so greatly admire, and the ballot is full of works I enjoyed and hold in extremely high regard. Three years ago, Stephen King won in this category, and in the years since, Lucy Snyder and David Gerrold. Past and current nominees include Gene O'Neill, George Saunders, Kaaron Warren, Bruce Boston, Michael Bailey, Rena Mason, John Palisano, Joe Lansdale, Norman Prentiss, Damien Angelica Walters, Usman Tanveer Malik, and more stellar writers than I can even wrap my head around. This is just truly, truly amazing to me.


You can read "Baby's Breath" here. I'll also be bringing a limited number of chapbooks to the World Horror Convention in Atlanta and possibly AnthoCon to sign, so if you'd like a copy, let me know. I'm working with an outrageously talented artist who I'm keeping under wraps for now. But I'm really excited. 

My eternal gratitude goes to the HWA and each and every member who felt my work was worthy of this prestigious nomination. It's something I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I'm also very grateful to Marge Simon, who asked me to guest her Blood & Spades Column for the April issue of the HWA Newsletter. I've written an essay called "The Slow Bite of Horror's Tiny Teeth" and incorporated a few of my poems into the column, which was a lot of fun. Last month Michael Bailey guested the column and talked a lot about Inkblots and Blood Spots
, the collection Villipede released of his last November. He also included "Open Auras" and "All But the Things That Cannot Be Torn," two of my favorite poems from the collection. 
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Another reason I'm grateful to Marge is because she invited me to be on the Dark Poets Panel at this year's World Horror Convention. It's such an honor...and if you'll be in Atlanta for the con, I do hope you'll stop by.  

Aside from doing the panel, I'll be hanging around with my good friend Daniel Knauf, who I don't know what I would do without, Gard Goldsmith, one of the most fabulous writers--and people--I know, and Jeremy Wagner, who will be on tour in Europe with his kick ass band Broken Hope next month! There are so many great people I'm looking forward to seeing this year...John Boden (and hopefully Ken Wood) of Shock Totem Publications, Villipede author Kurt Fawver, John Dixon (!), Alex and B.E. Scully of Firbolg Publishing, Taylor Grant, Rena Mason, John Palisano, Michael Bailey, Usman Malik, Anthony Rivera of Grey Matter Press, J.G. Faherty, Randy D. Rubin, Stephanie Wytovich, Jason and Sunni Brock, Jim and Janice Leach of The Daily Nightmare, Maddie Holliday Von Stark, and on and on...

In other words, if you're going, I'm looking forward to seeing you...and if you're not registered yet, you should be. 

My imaginary roommate Ted is even making an appearance! Ted is driving all the way from Kentucky to be there...I can hardly believe it myself. 

There are three people who won't be going that I'll miss dearly, though: Rose Blackthorn, Geno Mortensen, and Carl R. Moore. Those three were my WHC crew last year in Portland, and it won't be the same without them. But check out Rose's new release from Eldritch Press--I'm really proud of her--her first poetry collection, Thorns, Hearts and Thistles is almost as beautiful as she is. And Carl has a novella called Torn From the Devil's Chest forthcoming from Charoin Coin Press, and his website has free stories, poems, and updates on the progress. Carl posts great reviews and also has another fantastic collection called Slash of Crimson and Other Stories coming out in the near future, as well.

Lastly, my interview with Jack Ketchum will appear in the Souvenir Book this year, which is really exciting. I absolutely loved reading his answers to my questions, and can't wait for you to see them, too. I was thrilled when Eric Guignard reached out to me to interview Jack for his Lifetime Achievement Award. Here's a picture of last year's Souvenir Book. 
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Anyway, to tie off, some of you know that my son has been in the hospital for a week now, and between my health issues and his, we've had an extremely challenging year. I'm certainly nervous about the timing of the convention and have been wrapped up in family matters here at home, but am really looking forward to seeing everyone and taking some time away to focus on my second love. I'm sure you all know what that is by now. 

No, not booze. Horror. 
Thanks for reading,
Syd
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    Author
     & 
    Editor

    Sydney Leigh is the evil literary double of a mostly sane writer, editor, photographer, artist, English teacher, and native of the North Shore. Her poetry, short fiction, and reviews have appeared in numerous  publications.

    Her best friend is a Border Collie, and despite holding degrees in English, Psychology, and Graphic Design, she spends most of her free time doing her teenage son’s laundry and playing rock-paper-scissors with her imaginary roommate, Ted.

     She currently works for Villipede Publications
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