...for HORROR fans, that is. With HALLOWEEN on the horizon, there's a slew of cool-looking films due for release, and book-wise, Stephen King is set to release a long-awaited mammoth-sized novel titled UNDER THE DOME, Leisure has goodies from Wrath James White, John Everson, Edward Lee, and Richard Laymon either just released or about to drop, and as usual horror is THRIVING in the small press.
BUT:
As a small press owner, I have spoken with several other small press owners and everyone has been concerned about the poor state of sales the past year or so. YES---our economy is shot and their aren't too many people willing to spend between $20 and $50 on a single novel (let alone a novella) unless they're die-hard fans of the press or the author.
YET:
The horror genre is one of the few genres that even HAS its own small press. Many mass market horror authors were discovered there. I believe the small press is (and actually has been for quite some time) the FUTURE of horror fiction. While (thankfully) there's plenty of quality horror fiction magazines (both print and online) that feature the short stories of today and tomorrow's stars, the small press (on most occassions) is where we get the true first taste of an author's ability to handle a novel or novella.
So remember this when you're considering trying a novel from a small press by that new author (or even from a seasoned vet); it's up to us, the fans, to support and promote the small presses. (For a fine listing of small presses, visit www.horror-mall.com and check out their "Publishers" link).
Let's help keep our beloved genre alive (or undead) and kickin'.
-Nick Cato (who is just a FAN and does not work for any of the aforementioned websites or publishers listed above---save for his own!)
(Editor, Publisher, almost everything-elser)
Nick Cato (see an inch above for details), Maria Cato (secretary), Wendy Hillerman, Steve Burke (reviews, assistants), Christine Morgan, Colleen Wanglund (reviews), Cornelius Badmonk (Advice Columnist, Human hater)
Please address any fan/hate mail to: Nick Cato / 249 Yetman Avenue / Staten Island, NY / 10307 / USA. All materials sent for review WILL be reviewed (Books 20K and under may be sent as a .pdf or .doc attachment to NickYak@aol.com. Any works larger than 20K words MUST be sent via/snail as a hard copy).
THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW is published by Novello Publishers (http://www.novellopublishers.com/). Address ALL email to: NickYak@aol.com.
(NOTE: the "2007" below is NOT for this webpage, which was updated on 7/1/09)