#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devastations by Carina Bissett

Today I have a a finished copy of a new collection by an up and coming author, a woman who helped us with StokerCon when it was in Denver, a book I am happy to report is perfect for all library collections. More details below but first, the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Sonya from Ela Area [IL] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devasations by Carina Bissett is a great author to introduce to your patrons because this debut collection covers a wide swath of dark speculative fiction. From Goodreads:

“Ravishing flights of fantasy.”—Priya Sharma, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of All the Fabulous Beasts and Ormeshadow"

Carina Bissett’s collection is a thing of wonder and beauty. It is a true representation of Carina whimsical, visceral, lovely, and fierce. You can hear women’s voices screaming while roses fall from their lips. Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devastations is a triumph.”—Mercedes M. Yardley, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Little Dead Red

In this powerful debut, Carina Bissett explores the liminal spaces between the magical and the mundane, horror and humor, fairy tales and fabulism. A young woman discovers apotheosis at the intersection of her cross-cultural heritage. A simulacrum rebels against her coding to create a new universe of her own making. A poison assassin tears the world apart in the relentless pursuit of her true love—the one person alive who can destroy her. Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devastations erases expectations, forging new trails on the map of contemporary fiction. Includes an introduction by Julie C. Day, author of Uncommon Miracles and The Rampant.

“Carina Bissett is one of my favorite speculative authors writing today—magic and myth, horror and revenge, wonder and hope. Her stories are original, lyrical, and haunting—Shirley Jackson mixed with Ursula LeGuin and a dash of Neil Gaiman. An amazing collection of stories.” —Richard Thomas, author of Spontaneous Human Combustion, a Bram Stoker Award finalist

This is a finished copy courtesy of the author. 

Enter now and you are entered going forward.

Good luck.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Midwestern Gothic by Scott Thomas

Today I have an ARC of a June release that I gave a STAR to in the April 2024 issue of Library Journal. Details below but first, the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Jennifer from Grand Prairie Library System [TX]. Jennifer had been in the giveaway pool since almost the beginning-- just shy of 4 years! Now on to today's giveaway.

Midwestern Gothic 

by Scott Thomas

Three Things That Describe This Book: strong sense of place, palpable dread, book within a book frame  

Draft Review: In this collection of 4 novellas, Thomas brilliant presents a volume that is not only dripping with overwhelming dread on every page, but also serves as a proof of concept for the Midwest Gothic itself. The novellas, all set in the fictional town of Blantonville, Kansas, are framed in some way by the works of his most famous characters, the authors from Kill Creek. The book within a book frame adds interest to the stories whether readers are familiar with the source material or not, while also allowing the author to explore different writing styles and subgenres across the volume. From Cosmic Horror to Folk Horror, a twist on the summer camp Slasher to a Hitchcockian psychological nightmare, each single sitting read stands alone as a fully realized, unnerving tale, expertly merging compelling storylines and fascinating characters.. However, it is the place that shines here, as Thomas presents the idea of the haunted land itself, the place of our American nightmares, illustrating that it is the vast, wide open prairie, not a crumbling mansion, which will turn against the characters and provoke terror in the reader. An immersive, chilling, and unsettling read that will put Blantonville on the Horror map right next to Castle Rock. 

Verdict: A must buy title that updates the enduringly popular Gothic from a new perspective, like Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia or The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson while also adding depth to the horror uniting Thomas’ literary universe similar to Goblin and Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman. 

Thank you to Inkshares for the ARC but please note, it says it will by out in April but it has been pushed to June so you still have time to order a copy for your shelves.

Remember, enter once and you are entered going forward. I have 2 copies of the upcoming Paul Tremblay, the July SGJ, and more, including some new voices and even a YA. All coming soon. You will want to be in it to win it!

Good luck this week!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: My Darling Dreadful Things

Today I have an ARC of a May release that is a MUST BUT for all libraries. Details below but first, the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Corey from Eastham [MA] Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

My Darling Dreadful Things is out May 14th from Poisoned Pen Press an imprint of Sourcebooks. From Goodreads:

In a world where the dead can wake and walk among us, what is truly real?

Roos Beckman has a spirit companion only she can see. Ruth—strange, corpse-like, and dead for centuries—is the only good thing in Roos’ life, which is filled with sordid backroom séances organized by her mother. That is, until wealthy young widow Agnes Knoop attends one of these séances and asks Roos to come live with her at the crumbling estate she inherited upon the death of her husband. The manor is unsettling, but the attraction between Roos and Agnes is palpable. So how does someone end up dead? 

Roos is caught red-handed, but she claims a spirit is the culprit. Doctor Montague, a psychologist tasked with finding out whether Roos can be considered mentally fit to stand trial, suspects she’s created an elaborate fantasy to protect her from what really happened. But Roos knows spirits are real; she's loved one of them. She'll have to prove her innocence and her sanity, or lose everything.

Poisoned Pen Press is a must read imprint of Sourcebooks that focuses on mysteries both real and supernatural. Their biggest author is Darcy Coates, as if you needed more than my word to tell you that you need to pay attention to them. These are books for your fans of Jennifer McMahon and Simone St. James-- which are A LOT of your readers.

So first, I was primed to trust the publisher when they sent me this ARC. But then I read more about its author, a native of the Netherlands. She writes queer gothic, and scary stuff. You can read more about her here.

This book delivers for all of your readers who like chills but not terror. As a result, it is a title that will appeal to so many of your readers. Get it on order now, but also take a moment to enter the giveaway. Enter once and you are entered going forward.

Thank you Sourcebooks for this ARC.

Good luck.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: No One is Safe by Philip Fracassi

Today I have an ARC of a collection that recently gave a STAR review to in Booklist; a small press title by a Big 5 author. Details below but first, the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Kelsey from Pima County [AZ[ Library System. Now on to today's giveaway.

I have a full post from earlier this week with a whole bunch more information about Philip Fracassi's upcoming story collection. Click here for all of that, but here is the draft review. 

STAR 
No One is Safe: A Story Collection
By Philip Fracassi
Apr. 2024. 264p. Lethe, paper, $23 (9781590216040).

March 15, 2024 (Booklist).

Fracassi (Boys in the Valley and Gothic), reminds readers that he is not only a rising star as a Horror novelist, but also as a master of the short story, with his latest collection of 14 stories that center on fascinating characters and range in tone from unsettling to absolutely terrifying. The first story, “The Wish,” brilliantly sets the uneasy tone for the entire collection, a tale of a birthday wish with horrific consequences. Fracassi goes on to utilize his remarkable imagination and stunning range to invoke fear in speculative, thought provoking, stories that explore topics such as AI, alien life, Hollywood, a bestselling book, a haunted house as the narrator of its own killing spree, and so much more. However, it is how each story works in tandem– crafting a unique and captivating world, hooking readers immediately, holding their undivided attention, and resolving in a satisfying way that also begs them to turn the page and read just one more– that is most remarkable here. A must read from cover-to-cover for all Horror fans, especially those who enjoy the immersive, original story telling found in collections such as Spin A Black Yarn by Malerman or Breakable Things by Khaw. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: intensely unsettling, captivating, original

Get in on this ARC. As I say above-- it is a MUST read from cover-to-cover. I kept waiting for a story to fall flat. I am still waiting. Also THAT COVER!!!! 

Again, go to this post by me on the main blog for a lot more information including some spoiler free story notes.

Quick note about this specific copy that I am giving away though, only 13 stories are listed in the TOC, but there are 14 inside. They know about the mistake and are fixing it.

Thanks to Lethe Press for the ARC.

Good luck to all who have or will enter.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: A Finished Hardcover of Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina

Today I have a finished hardcover of a book I recently reviewed in Booklist; a hotly anticipated second book by an author whose first book was a library hit. Details below but first, the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Jennifer from Forsyth County [NC] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina Apr. 2024. 384p. Berkley, $28 (9780593546888); e-book (9780593546901). First published March 1, 2024 (Booklist).

Medina (Sisters of the Lost Nation) returns with another mystery encased in supernatural mythology, set on a Louisiana Reservation. Noemi, 38, is starting to see a future for herself when her boyfriend is unexpectedly killed. Louie, the uncle who helped to raise her, until the age of 5, returns for the annual Pow-Wow just as Noemi is receiving the terrible news, returning him to the summer of 1986 when a series of deaths led to the unraveling of his life. Told from both Louie and Noemi’s point of view, the story moves fluidly between past and present, enhancing the unease and layering the dread allowing readers to feel the reverberations of both horrible secrets and reservation life over time. However, despite the pain and fear, ultimately, there is a celebration of life at the novel's core. A great choice for fans of Mystery-Horror hybrids which offer a compelling, character focused story that entertains without shying away from a direct portrayal of the generational trauma experienced by marginalized people such as White Horse by Wurth or Children of Chicago by Pelayo.

Three Words That Describe This Book: dual time frames, generational trauma, character centered

Click into the full post to get more detailed appeal info and extra readalikes. 

This finished hard cover copy was sent to me by Berkley. The release date is April 16th. The winner can add this book directly to their collections after this date. Or use it as a prize for summer reading. Most of the book is set over a fateful summer. Either way, enter now to win this and you are entered going forward.

And thank you to Berkley for the book.

Good luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Two Tenebrous Press ARCs

Today I have one of my 2-fer giveaways courtesy of Tenebrous Press. Two books going to one winner. Details below but first, the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see the previous giveaway. Our winner was Vanessa from Wheaton [IL] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

I have been featuring ARCs from Tenebrous Press since they started publishing. Some of those titles have gone on to be nominated for major awards as well. I always enjoy highlighting their inclusive, original, and well presented work for library workers. I know it is harder to add titles by independent presses at some libraries, but my hope is that by having me highlight these titles, you can use it as an argument for taking a chance.

Today I have 2 more titles for one winner.

The first is a finished book what you can add to your collections ASAP,  2-fer itself:

SPLIT SCREAM has a new home at Tenebrous Press! Editor Alex Ebenstein brings his acclaimed split-novelette series back for a fourth round featuring: 

 Nonsense Words by D. Matthew Urban 

An aging professor of ancient history strikes up a friendship with her new colleague, Dr. Paul Duncan, a scholar of undecipherable inscriptions. As she finds herself drawn into Dr. Duncan's life—his brilliant wife and mystical daughters, frightened students and uncanny associates—darker forces behind his research emerge, plunging her into a nightmare of mythical absurdity and ritualistic death. Dark academia meets cosmic horror in Nonsense Words, where the incomprehensible is granted a conjured form—but too much imagination can be a dangerous thing. If the cosmos is nonsense, merely a divine or demonic joke, will she live to have the last laugh, or will she die a punchline? 

Bone Light by Holly Lyn Walrath 

An icy surf batters Bone Light as its beacon calls to weary souls at sea. This edifice built of bone and wretchedness sits atop a cursed rock, surrounded by death, watched over by the ghosts of light-keepers past. Their records tell of the inhospitable environment, but it is Mary Long’s writings that show the heart. Misfortune necessitates the arrival of her dear Ida, laying bear to the obstacles that shaped their history—a husband and taboo among them. These log entries illuminate Mary’s world—the banality, the heartbreak, the magic. In Bone Light, a beacon of death might finally be the thing to give life to a long-denied romance. 

Cover art by Evangeline Gallagher. 

Interior illustrations by Echo Echo.

This is the fourth book in the series and serves as an awesome introduction to emerging voices.

The  second book is quite an exciting announcement. It is Tenebrous Press' first foray in to publishing a novel! It is set to come out on May 30th and will be heavily promoted at StokerCon:

From the Belly by Emmett Nahil

The whaling vessel Merciful has just made its strangest catch yet: a massive whale containing a still-living man secreted within its stomach lining. Sailor Isaiah Chase is tasked with keeping the enigmatic man alive.

As their relationship grows, a series of accidents, injuries and deaths quickly befall the ship and its crew. Isaiah is plagued by strangely prophetic dreams, even as the crew continues their endless quest for whale oil under the command of an increasingly unhinged captain.

As events spiral further out of control, the mysterious man confesses what Isaiah has begun to suspect: the crew of The Merciful has fallen into a cycle of punishment for their greed and destruction. Isaiah must confront the sea's vengeance made flesh, and choose between this new, strange love and the fate of the ship itself. 

I don't know how you can read that summary and not be excited about this book. 

Thanks to Tenebrous Press for the books. Please consider adding them both to your collections.

Enter now to be entered going forward because I have some HUGE Summer releases in the giveaway queue.

Good luck! 

The Summer Scares 2024 Programming Guide is ALIVE!

 

 

Click here to access the full guide

One of the best parts of the Summer Scares program is the annual Programming Guide created by Konrad Stump and his team at the Springfield-Greene County Library District in Springfield, Missouri.

Starting yesterday, you can access this guide for Free. There is a page for each book just like this one for Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison.

There is also an article by Library Advisory Council member, Jocelyn Codner about using Summer Scares in Academic Libraries. And more, all accessible here for free.

This is also the perfect time to remind you that there are Programming Guides available for every year since 2020 available at the Summer Scares Resources Archive here.

However, the most important reminder is that all of this bounty of books, programming ideas, readalikes, discussion questions, and more can be used anytime of year and in any year. We create a new guide, for the 9 new titles each year, but the information is useful all year long. The 2020 guide has 9 vetted titles with readalikes and discussion questions and program idea just as the guides for 2021, 2022, 2023, and now 2024 do. 

Use them all, at any time, to help Horror readers of any age. Our info in a past guide still work today. And let us know if you need help at anytime by emailing libraries at horror dot org.