October 5

Disclosure Notice

Thanks to this I will now be informing readers where I received the books I review. (Because an $11k fine per instance is not something I can afford.) I have not done this previously because I haven’t wanted publishers and authors who donate books to me to be harassed by the less than professional people out there who are looking for free books.

You’ll find this information in the categories section, meaning down at the bottom (or top, depending on the theme I’m using) you’ll see tags like “Horror”, “Fantasy”, “Zombies” and “YA”. I’ll be adding to this new categories which tell where I received the book in question.

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June 15

Magazine Closings

Talebones and Lone Star Stories are both closing down. Both are good magazines with a history of good stories. Both owners site a loss of passion for the amount of work the magazines require. Talebones owner Patrick plans to continue the Talebones name as a yearly anthology in 2010.

This reflects a similar decision by Apex Publications owner/editor, Jason Sizemore, who has stated in several interviews that running the magazine, in print and digital form, has been the most time and money consuming aspect of his business and with the least return. Sizemore, showing more transparency than other places, cites the distribution system for print magazines as the main problem of running a magazine while most others on the front and back sides cite diminishing subscribers and interest in short fiction.

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March 23

2008 Final Stoker Ballot

Congratulations to all the nominees!

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 a Poetry Collection

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)

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March 21

Brian Keene’s Books for Troops Program

From Brian Keene’s blog:

Below are the full details for both service-members interested in signing up and civilians interested in donating books.

WHAT IT IS:

Books For Troops is a program that supplies books free of charge to the men and women serving in the United States military in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world. The program has been honored by many, including the 509th Logistics Fuels Flight Squadron based at Whiteman A.F.B. in Missouri. It went on hiatus while my wife and I had a baby. Now it is back.

HOW IT WORKS:

If you are currently serving in the Armed Forces, and would either like free books to read, or would like free books to distribute to your fellow servicemen and women, send an email to briankeene at live.com. Please put ‘Books For Troops’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, include your rank, first and last name, and a valid military address (APO, FPO, etc.).

Please Note: You must have a valid military address to qualify. No civilian addresses will be accepted without prior approval. We apologize for that, but it is the only way to screen out fraudulent applications from non-service members.

After that, you will receive a shipment of free books approximately every two months. There is absolutely no charge for this. You do not need to return the books. All we ask is that you enjoy them, and pass them on to fellow service-members when you are done, or donate them to your base or ship library.

HOW NON-MILITARY PERSONNEL CAN HELP:

If you are an author or publisher that would like to donate books to the program, please send them to Books For Troops, c/o Brian Keene PO Box 281, Craley, PA 17312. We ask that books be in good condition. Please do not send books with missing or yellowed pages, stripped covers, photocopies, etc. Any subject is acceptable, but we especially encourage genre fiction (horror, fantasy, science-fiction, western, historical, crime, mystery, thriller, romance, and men’s adventure). We will also accept donations of stamps to help out with shipping costs.

Books For Troops is not a charitable organization (it is run by a lone author and his overworked assistant). Because we are not a charitable organization, your donation should not be considered tax deductible. Also because of this, we cannot accept cash donations, checks, or money orders.

Please email briankeene at live.com with any questions.

*I’m adding this as a page on my blog and will be donating review copies that I recieve and have read (as my income allows me to afford postage for).

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