[Letters From the Labyrinth] Official Brian Keene Newsletter 6/11/17
My name is Brian Keene and this is Letters From the Labyrinth, a weekly newsletter for fans of my work. If you're a new subscriber, previous issues are archived here.
This week's issue is going to be a little abbreviated. Busy work week, and recording a slew of podcasts, and yesterday I hosted about 30 writers here for a party and I still have to clean up the house when I'm done with this newsletter.
Also there was apple cinnamon moonshine, and I didn't mean to drink all of it, but Jason Sizemore (of Apex Publishing) brought it all the way from Kentucky, and he's one of my publishers and also a guest in my home this weekend, and it would have been rude of me to not drink it all.
(Maurice Broaddus, Mike Lombardo, and Robert Ford helped me drink it).
(Chet Williamson had a wonderful home brewed beer in a giant brown jug that went well with it).
Good morning...
Last Friday night, we recorded what is undoubtedly one of the Top 5 best episodes of The Horror Show with Brian Keene in the three years that we've been on the air. Author Maurice Broaddus was our guest. Joining him were his sometimes editorial collaborator Jerry Gordon, and Maurice's son. Also on hand were show co-hosts Dave Thomas, Mary SanGiovanni, and Phoebe. A bottle of Knob Creek was opened. What followed next was over two hours of the funniest, deepest, most honest talk about writing and the business and creativity and art and friendship that I think any of us have ever participated in.
That episode will air this Thursday night. Watch for it!
I’m a Guest at The Ghost Town Writers Retreat August 3rd through 6th in Georgetown, Colorado. (Other guests include Keith DeCandido, Don D’Auria, Stephen Graham Jones, Mario Acevedo, Mary Sangiovanni, Guy Anthony De Marco, and more). The organizers have offered a limited time 10% discount code for listeners to my podcast, The Horror Show with Brian Keene. This discount can be used for membership, program ads, and vendor tables. It is NOT retroactive. To use it, simply enter horrorshow10 at checkout.
Earlier this week, Wrath James White and I were proud to announce the formation of the Splatterpunk Awards, which will honor the best in Splatterpunk and Extreme Horror fiction (two separate -- and yet entwined -- sub-genres). From the press release:
The annual Splatterpunk Awards will honor superior achievement in the sub-genres of SplatterPunk / Extreme Horror fiction, in the following categories:
BEST NOVEL (for works of more than 50,000 words)
BEST NOVELLA (for works from 15,000 to 50,000 words)
BEST SHORT STORY (for works from 500 to 14,000 words)
BEST COLLECTION (for single-author works over 50,000 words)
BEST ANTHOLOGY (for multiple-author collections over 50,000 words)
In addition, there will also be an annual Lifetime Achievement Award (the J.F. GONZALEZ AWARD), honoring an individual’s contributions to the Splatterpunk or Extreme horror sub-genres.
Attendees of KillerCon 2018 can recommend works in each of these categories for the 2018 Splatterpunk Awards, which will take place at KillerCon, and will honor works published in 2017. Recommendations will be accepted from August 1, 2017 until midnight (Eastern Standard Time) January 31, 2018. You must be a registered attendee before the January 31, 2018 deadline. Details on how to recommend works will be posted at killerconaustin dot com in the coming weeks.
The three works that have the most reader recommendations in each category will proceed to the ballot. The 2018 Splatterpunk Awards jury will have the ability to add two additional works, that may have been overlooked by the general public, to each category.
When this process is completed, the official nominees will be announced publicly. The jury will then vote on the winner in each category.
The 2018 Splatterpunk Awards jurors are David J. Schow, Gerard Houarner, Monica J. O'Rourke, Mike Lombardo, and Tod Clark.
The Founders of the SplatterPunk Awards, Wrath James White and Brian Keene, will select the Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
Please note: Works by members of the jury, as well as the award founders, will not be eligible for inclusion on the ballot, in any category (with the exception of the Lifetime Achievement award).
Sales are brisk for the Special Definitive Edition of Richard Laymon’s FUNLAND. A constant favorite among Laymon fans, FUNLAND is one of his most representative and enduring works. This new edition featuring an introduction by Jack Ketchum, a lengthy afterword by myself, and over 50 pages of unpublished author notes and scanned pages from the Laymon archives. Artist Malcolm McClinton has supplied a fantastic wraparound dust jacket artwork and five full page interior illustrations based on the novel.
Published in the following formats:
* 500 signed and numbered hardcovers signed by Brian Keene and Jack Ketchum. (GOING FAST)
* 26 deluxe lettered traycased hardcovers signed by Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, artist Malcolm McClinton, and editor James Beach. (SOLD OUT)
Both editions are printed offset on premium acid-free paper with Smyth sewn case binding for maximum durability and longevity.
That's it for this week! A few reminders:
PATREON - Where I post new short stories, a serialized ongoing novel, and behind-the-scenes stuff.
TWITTER - The only social media outlet I still use regularly.
Take care.