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The July issue of Library Journal is out with my Horror Genre Preview as the Cover Story. The print issue features Cassandra Khaw on the cover, as well as an interview I did with them on the inside. The interview can be read here.
Of course I gave Library Journal way more than they could use, so the article you can read here has cuts. Titles were cut as were quotes from some of the authors and publishers. But, that is the nature of this business. As a writer I know that I need to give the publication more than they can use, so that they have enough to make it work for their editorial vision.
But, I also publish this blog as a way to give you more content as well. So today, I have the unedited version of the Horror Genre Preview that I turned in to Library Journal full of even more titles for you to consider for your library collections.
You can read it in all of its uncut glory below. Also, to celebrate, I am also giving away an advanced readers copy of one of the titles in that preview-- The Handyman Method by Nick Cutter and Andrew F. Sullivan-- as part of my long running #HorrorForLibraries giveaway over on the horror blog. Click here for details and to enter.
Horror is a Safe Investment
Look, Horror is scary. That’s the point of it. It is trying to make the reader physically experience the dark emotions of discomfort, dread, and fear. Some Horror stories set up an uneasy atmosphere, others reach from beyond the page to make readers jump, and there are other tales that aim to terrify all who encounter them long after the final page is turned. However, Horror is also as hot as it is scary. According to Publisher’s Lunch (1/11/23 Publishers Lunch Deluxe: Spare Opening Day Sales email) in 2022 “horror sales rose significantly on a percentage basis, almost doubling at +79 percent.” Looking at this explosion from his position as the President of the Horror Writers Association, author and publisher John Lawson notes,
“The new golden age we find ourselves in doesn’t have the constraints of past horror booms. Horror now draws from untapped traditions while inventing new tropes altogether, fully integrated across other genres. All of which tells me that even if tastes in a particular age range, media type, or subgenre change we won’t see horror fade any time soon. The current state of the world ensures horror will be pervasive and relevant, not because people have given up but because horror provides a lens to help them make sense of the darkness ….People love shining a light into a dark hole wondering what they’ll find, or gazing into the night sky, wondering, “what’s out there?” While horror stories keep people guessing, there’s no mystery or spoiler alert when it comes to knowing that horror, and all its subgenres, are a safe investment this year.”
Horror is everywhere and readers are craving it in numbers we have not seen among library patrons, ever before. Trying to keep up with the sheer number of releases each year is becoming its own Horror story. But the larger point here is in Lawson’s final sentence. Horror as a “safe investment” is the overarching trend in the genre right now. Publishers, especially the largest ones, are investing heavily in Horror. The time when Horror only had a smattering of offerings across major presses, is over. No longer do they eschew the “H” world in their marketing. I have been writing this Horror Genre Preview since 2018 and for the first time, I had to cut titles from this overview from the smaller presses because the major publisher has so many to offer, titles I could not leave out, titles that are both vibrant and diverse.
In fact, it is this huge growth that is the overall trend in Horror right now. Nothing else in Horror is more important to understand at this moment than this. The growth is in every facet of the genre and its tendrils touch every subgenre and theme;. That being said, it also appears that some of the oldest and most trusted themes such as witches, ghosts, vampires, Gothic, and the small town are among the biggest winners here as authors are feeding off of the genre’s pulsating energy to explore these old-standby subgenres with renewed vigor. The public’s Horror hunger has also led publishers to look further afield for options as more titles by women, people of color, and those who identify as LGBTQ are making it onto shelves. No longer is the genre limited by a dominantly cis, male view. The result of welcoming more voices has also helped both to refresh those traditional subgenres and introduce books that actively contemplate the Horrors of marginalization alongside the supernatural terrors.
Keeping all of these trends in mind, and with the understanding that the overwhelming scope of the genre’s growth and your readers’ desire for more options may be a bit overwhelming to many, I created a few, easy to use groupings in the preview that follows, manageable chunks that look at larger categories rather than trends. This is meant to help you fill out your Horror collections with the newest titles more easily. However, I have also noted the themes and subgenres you can expect from each individual title so that you can see those trends as they permeate the entirety of the category.
One final note before we begin, while this article will help you get a handle on what is nearest on the Horror horizon, the overall increase in investment in Horror across the entire publishing landscape means you need help all year long. For that I point you to Emily Hughes, formerly the editor of Unbound Worlds and TorNightfire.com, who is there for you all year long with a regularly- updated list of the year’s new horror releases at https://readjumpscares.com/2023-new-horror-books/. Commenting on her work, Hughes shares,
“It wasn’t so long ago that horror fans had to content ourselves with crumbs, and now the horror fiction landscape is so robust that it can be a real challenge to keep track of new books. …I started maintaining these lists in 2020, and the number of books featured has steadily grown year over year. As of late April, the 2023 list stands at well over 325 new books, covering a wide range of publishers, subgenres, themes, forms, and ages, and more books are added every couple weeks (if you notice I’ve missed something, please let me know!). There’s really and truly something spooky out there for everyone.”
And it is here, with the fact that Horror has something for every reader, that we begin our genre journey because with investment has come growth which has led to breadth both in types of stories available and diversity in who is terrorizing readers.
Horror Is Now The Home of Must Buy Authors From The Biggest Publishers…
…and they don’t all look like Stephen King as horror author and scholar Tananarive Due remarks:
“The entire horror genre is undergoing a renaissance, in part because of the emergence of filmmakers like Jordan Peele and a class of horror writers bringing new readers to the field from marginalized communities, such as Victor LaValle, Stephen Graham Jones, Johnny Compton, Alma Katsu, Gabino Iglesias, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and others. As a Black horror writer who began publishing in 1995, the field often has felt a bit lonely and isolating -- but no more! As more viewers and readers free themselves from genre bias and realize that horror offers solace in the wake of uncertain times, the field will continue to grow and thrive. I'm proud to be a part of it.”
Due leads a long list of Horror titles coming from the largest publishers, all of which are high priority additions to all public library collections. Due’s first novel in 10 years, The Reformatory (Gallery/Saga Press), is a masterpiece, set in 1950s Jim Crow Florida in and around a haunted Gracetown School for Boys. Josh Malerman’s Spin a Black Yarn (Random House Worlds) is a single volume containing 5 highly unsettling novellas. Kiersten White’s Mister Magic (Del Rey) is a dark supernatural thriller following two former child stars as they learn the secrets about their show’s downfall. In Rachel Harrison’s Black Sheep, a twentysomething woman returns to her cult family for a wedding with terrifying results. Clay McLeod Chapman’s What Kind of Mother is a missing child story with a body horror twist. Chuck Wendig is back with another standalone Horror epic, Black River Orchard (Del Rey), featuring a small town and seven strange apple trees. Delilah S. Dawson’s Bloom brings a dark, psychological, sapphic romance-horror hybrid, while a new book from library favorite Jennifer McMahon, My Darling Girl (Gallery), is a story that combines the horrors of caring for a dying parent and demonic possession. Fan favorite, Nick Cutter teams up with Andrew F. Sullivan for The Handyman Method, a haunted tale of home improvement, and in an unexpected twist, Jo Nesbo is giving Horror a try with The Night House (Knopf), a tale of a young orphaned boy and a haunted phone booth on the edge of the woods.
With all of these big releases, even Stephen King’s Holly (Scribner), a story that marks the return of the beloved character as she investigates the disappearance of multiple people from a small town, risks getting lost in the shuffle.
Bestselling author of Horror for all ages of readers, Daniel Kraus, author of Whalefall (MTV Books) a harrowing and emotionally raw novel about a young man who goes searching for answers about his father’s death and ends up swallowed by a whale with only an hour to escape, is both taken aback, and inspired by, the growth of the genre, noting:
"We're living through a great sea change in horror and couldn't be more thrilled. I've always done everything I could to stay vital -- switching up writing methods, techniques, voices, subgenres, mediums, you name it. I love being pushed to new extremes, and today's fresh crop of writers provide the jet fuel I need to do that every time I open a new book."
One Publisher to Lead Them All
This “great sea change,” however, would not be possible without Nighfire, the only exclusive and intentional Horror imprint from a Big 5 publisher. 2023 marks their second full year of publishing and the effects across the entire genre cannot be overestimated. Their proven success has opened up more opportunities for Horror authors at every publishing house. As Associate Editor for Tor/Nightfire, Kristin Temple has had a front row seat to it all:
“Horror has always been a mirror reflecting back society and I’ve loved seeing that in the market: horror confronting transphobia and racism, coping with COVID and isolation, exploring themes of generational trauma and identity, and more. I’m especially delighted to see more underrepresented voices coming to the table, bringing new perspectives and fresh, exciting takes on classic tropes. “
Their focus on Horror and commitment to publishing a wide range of voices can be seen across the 29 titles (18 originals, 11 reprints) they have or will publish in 2023, but specifically from August to December there are 7 titles for you to watch out for. Looking Glass Sound by critically acclaimed author Catriona Ward is a mind-bending story about a group of friends confronting a horrific event from their past, while Nat Cassidy looks at the horrors of new parenthood and vampires in an exclusive NYC apartment building in Nestlings. Scott Leeds considers grief and cursed records in Schrader’s Chord, and Alison Rumfitt brings readers another terrifying tale that centers the trans experience with Brainwyrms, a body horror novel of obsession, violence, and pleasure. Two authors bring different spins on the popular Folk Horror trope as well with Alex Grecian’s Red Rabbit that follows a witch in the Wild West and Neil Sharpson’s Knock Knock, Open Wide which combines Horror with Celtic myth. And finally, one of today’s most exciting new voices teams up with a library favorite as Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadey release, The Dead Take the A Train, a duology opener set in the gritty, cosmic magic underworld of NYC
Emerging Voices Screaming For Your Attention
Nightfire’s success has also made more space for the major publishers to invest in emerging authors. One great example is Hailey Piper, an author who is about to breakthrough with her widest release yet, A Light Most Hateful (Titan Books) in which a summer storm brings a monstrous force to a sleep Pennsylvania town.
"Sometimes people ask 'why horror?' Which has so many great answers, and one of them is—I think we have a responsibility to bring discomfort. Not in an edgy 'see if you can handle this' way, but in a 'see the whole picture' way. You can shut a grim book when you need a break, but life rarely allows that kind of control. The understanding we get from horror fiction can help make us kinder people in the face of horror fact."
Piper understands why we need more horror, and thankfully, the biggest publishers are finally catching on, bringing us the next generation of “must buy” authors such as, Caitlin Starling with Last to Leave the Room (St. Martin’s Press) a terrifying tale of a sinking city, the scientist trying to stop it, and her doppelganger, Ally Willkes’ Where the Dead Wait, a polar expedition, Victorian Gothic, Jimin Han’s The Apology (Little, Brown), a curse threatens a South Korean family across generations and oceans,
and Isabel Cañas’ hotly anticipated Vampires of El Norte (Berkley) an immersive, historical horror-romance with, yes, you guessed it vampires.
But each of those authors are bringing new titles to established fans as they seek to find new audiences. There is also a large list of promising debut Horror novels ready to haunt your shelves. The Daughters of Block Island by Bram Stoker award winner, Christa Carmen (Thomas and Mercer) a modern Gothic filled with family secrets set on an island mansion, The September House by Carissa Orlando (Berkley), a woman who refuses to leave her dream home even after she knows it is dangerously haunted, And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott (Dutton), motherhood horror featuring a young indigenous woman in an all white community, and Edenville by Sam Rebelein (William Morrow) who satisfyingly combines scares with humor as a struggling author moves to a strange town.
Indie is Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
Another sign that the investment in Horror is viable is the number of Horror only independent bookstores that have opened up across North America just in the last year, including Little Ghosts (Toronto), Butcher Cabin Books (Louisville), and Ghoulish Books (San Antonio) out of which co- owner, Max Booth III runs his independent press as well. When asked why he doubled down on his investment in independent Horror, Booth did not hesitate to share his enthusiasm,
“The indie horror scene is a community I love with all of my heart. It is my home. Opening a bookstore is an extension of my adoration, and I hope to continue introducing new readers to indie writers and publishers for years to come, both from the store and the book festival and our own small publishing company. We live and breathe all things spooky.”
One of those upcoming titles is Let the Woods Keep Our Bodies by E. M. Roy (Ghoulish Books), a sapphic, small-town horror story, but there are many other solid indie presses that have titles which will appeal to a general public library audience. Here is a sampling of titles (and presses) which you should check out. Apparitions by Adam Pottle (Dark Hart), The Promise of Plague Wolves by Coy Hall (Nosetouch Press), Dark Woods, Deep Water by Jelena Dunato (Ghost Orchid Press), and Postehaste Manor by Jolie Toomajan and Carson Winter (Tenebrous Press)
Short Scares: A Winning Recipe
One place Horror has always thrived is in its shorter formats, and it makes sense. Since the genre actively tries to invoke fear in its readers, stories and novellas are particularly effective because they can hold a reader under their terrifying spell for the duration, in one sitting, and investment in the shorter formats has paid off for years.
Horror’s most trusted and award winning anthology editor, Ellen Datlow, leads the with two options, her annual The Best Horror of the Year Volume 15 (Nightshade) which reprints her hand picked favorites and includes a comprehensive look back at the previous year’s trends, news, and awards, and Christmas and Other Horrors: An Anthology of Solstice Horror (Titan Books), featuring all news stories from around the globe. Between these two volumes, Datlow presents well-known authors like Alma Katsu, Tananarive Due, and Josh Malelrman, as well as “new to them” voices that readers will love to discover. Another major press anthology of note is Shane Hawk and Theodore Van Alst, Jr.’s Never Whistle a Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology (Vintage). With an introduction by Stepehen Graham Jones and 27 original stories by authors such as Tommy Orange, Cherie Dimaline, Morgan Talty, and Rebecca Roanhorse, this will be a highly sought after volume that will draw new readers to Horror.
Single author Horror story collections are also worth considering as you look at your collections. Two of the best coming soon are, Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories by Audrey Niffenegger (Scribner) a well known name, and Root Root by Sarah Read (Bad Hand Books), a Bram Stoker Award winning author and librarian.
But it is in the novella format where Horror is shining its dark light and enticing more readers to feel the fear. Josh Mallerman’s Spin a Black Yarn (mentioned above) is setting the pace as it is constructed of 5 unsettling novellas under one cover. Tordotcom, well known for their investment in Horror novellas presents Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney (Tordotcom), a Lovercraftian, coming-of-age story. One of the most award winning independent Horror presses, Raw Dog Screaming Press, is launching a new line of Horror novellas, under the editorship of author R.J. Jospeh with a pair of novellas by Kate Maruyama, Bleak Houses: Safer & Family Solstice (Raw Dog Screaming Press), and the promise of more to come. This year’s bountiful novella harvest also includes, What Happened at Hawthorne House by Hadassah Shiradski (Brigids Gate Press), set in an orphanage in 1926 where a game of pretend turns ominous and Rainbow Filth (Ghoulish Books) by Tim Meyer, a weird tale of a small cult that believes a rare psychedelic substance can physically transport them to another universe.
Exploding Your TBR
In 2023 there truly is a Horror title for every reader, and more readers than ever are asking for them. In fact, so many people are asking, Saide Hartmann, aka Mother Horror, made her own investment on the page, a guide to help you help more readers entitled, 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered (Page Street). It is the ultimate list of today’s must-read Horror novels, without a single repeat author. It is a book that your Horror fans will devour, but it is also a wonderful resource for you, the library worker as well because as Hartmann explains, this book even helped her to understand her favorite genre better:
“Writing this book strengthened my intimate relationship with horror fiction. I learned more about its backstory; the history of where it has been in order to understand, more fully, where it is going. Horror is on its own journey of evolution. The authors travel independently, carving out a niche path through its terrain but they also work together, forging ahead, waving the same banner of horror to establish its popularity among readers. It is an amazingly diverse and versatile genre with so much to discover right now—promising more surprises in the future. A great time to be a fan!"
I wholeheartedly agree with Hartmann. There has never been a better time to be a Horror fan, or to help new fans find a great read. Right now, it would be hard to find a safer investment than Horror.
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