This past weekend I wrote a speech and recorded a video because…SLEEP ALONE is a 2023 Shirley Jackson Award nominee!
Check out all the nominees here and join me in offering them a hearty congratulations! And an extra shoutout to MOONCALVES from NO Press (edited by John WM Thompson), a nominee in the Edited Anthology Category! My story “Seldom Place” (a personal favorite) is included here. This is a special anthology, so it’s wonderful to see it get such well-deserved recognition. Good luck to everyone!
This nomination is a huge honor and I’m humbled to be included among such talented authors. Being a writer—writing what’s in your heart—is a struggle in this world and is often a lonely endeavor. Knowing that people are still finding, enjoying, and maybe even seeing a bit of themselves in my hungry succubi means the world to me. I write for me, and when I release that piece into the world, I get to see that I’m not alone, that I’m not the only one who feels this way, that there are people out there who understand. Write for yourself. Share what you love and what you fear. We need your stories. It’s how our worlds expand.
The 2023 Shirley Jackson Awards ceremony will be held at Readercon 33 in Quincy, Massachusetts on Saturday July 13th at 8pm EST. For those unable to attend (such as myself), they’re working on providing a livestream on either their YouTube Channel or Facebook Live.
Now, I’d like to draw your attention to some new and upcoming releases I’m excited about:
Speaking of the Shirley Jackson Awards, 2019 finalist Joe Koch just released his newest collection via CLASH Books, INVAGINIES. From the CLASH site: “Every line sings and strikes like grotesque poetry of the possessed. With 17 disturbing tales exploring plagues, possessions, gender & corruption, set in apocalyptic eras not much unlike our own, Joe Koch brings the terrors of a postmodern world into vivid focus.”
Also freshly released, MIDNIGHT ROOMS by Donyae Coles. From the Harper Collins site: “Midnight Rooms is a sweeping saga with supernatural undertones set in Victorian England. Vibrating with tension, richly atmospheric—haunted by ghosts, guilt, and familial bonds—it is an electrifying story that will linger in your dreams.”
Coming in September, DEATH AESTHETIC, the new collection from Josh Rountree. “See That My Grave is Kept Clean” was one of my favorite stories I read last year, and it kicks off this collection. While you wait, check out the PseudoPod production here.
This one’s further into the future (March 2025 via Cursed Morsels), but it’s never too early to shout about SHAKY PICTURES OF VANISHED FACES, the forthcoming collection from D. Matthew Urban. While you wait, check out one of my favorite stories of his, “Exuviae”, in MONSTROUS LAIRS.
Remember, with TBRs, the sky’s the limit! Just don’t be like me and have your books piled up so high all over the house that they sometimes fall on your partner and pets.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to have more news to share with you soon. In the meantime, keep up with me on Twitter and Instagram @JAWMcCarthy and at jawmccarthy.com.