Tartarus Press
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19th August 2019:
Hidden Back Room reviewed
The Hidden Back Room by Jason A Wyckoff has been positively reviewed by Peter Tennant at Black Static. He concludes:
"Wyckoff is an original talent, but also one who seems very much plugged into the weird/horror genre, so that you can see how his work intersects with so much of what has gone before."
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16th August 2019:
New email address
Please note that we are retiring the old 'pavilion' email address. For all general enquiries from now on, the address is ray@tartaruspress.com. (The address for submissions remains the same.)
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16th August 2019:
In praise of pretty books
Michael Dirda writes in the The Washington Post today 'In Praise of pretty Books', mentioning Secret Europe and Inner Europe by John Howard and Mark Valentine:
'...Inner Europe, a companion to Secret Europe. Both these handsome volumes ... are suffused with that air of mystery, transgression and foreboding one associates with continental literature and film during the 1920s and ’30s.'
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13th August 2019:
Muladona out of print
We are sorry to report that the hardback limited edition of Muladona is now out of print. However, there will be further news in due course...
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12th August 2019:
Monsieur de Phocas
Only just discovered, a long and laudatory review of Monsieur de Phocas by Jean Lorrain... Risingshadow writes of the book:
'Jean Lorrain's Monsieur de Phocas is one of the most intriguing, mesmerising and memorable novels I've read in a long while, because once you've read it, you won't be able to forget it. It lingers on your mind and you'll be thinking of its contents for a long time after the final page has been read. It's a perfect literary marriage of decadence and depravity, visioned by an author who himself had personal knowledge and experiences about many things described in the story.'
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27th July 2019:
Orpheus on the Underground
We have just unearthed a couple of reviews of Orpheus on the Underground by Rhys Hughes that we had not seen before:
"A terrific showcase for this quirky writer's weird fiction. Occasionally horrific, but more often ... strange." Ellen Datlow, Best Horror of the Year, Volume 8
"A brilliantly inventive mix of stories from different genres, all entertaining and fascinating at the same time." Matthew Johns, British Fantasy Society
If Italo Calvino had been interested in supernatural fiction he might well have written such stories.
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17th July 2019:
New publication!
We are delighted to announce the publication of a new collection of "tales of mystery and fear" by John Gaskin, The New Inn Hall Deception. There are 380 signed copies available. This is John Gaskin's third Tartarus Press collection (The Long Retreating Day and The Master of the House are available as paperbacks.)
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16th July 2019:
Out of print
We regret to announce that we have now sold out of all copies of Beresford Egan by Adrian Woodhouse and Where Nothing Sleeps by Denton Welch
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11th July 2019:
Back in print
We are delighted to reprint, as a signed, numbered limited edition paperback, Reggie Oliver's most recent collection, The Ballet of Dr Caligari.
We have also reprinted as a paperback, Secret Europe by Mark Valentine and John Howard. There is also a new reprint of their classic collaboration, The Collected Connoisseur (containing an extra story, 'The Celestial Tobacconist'.)
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10th July 2019:
Reviews
Glenn Cole Russell has now published reviews of three more Tartarus Press books: Sub Rosa and Night Voices by Robert Aickman, and Green Thoughts by John Collier.
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7th July 2019:
Occult Territory reviewed
Occult Territory: An Arthur Machen Gazetteer has been favourably reviewed at Horla. "... it’s an enchanting guide through a life less ordinary."
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4th July 2019:
Reviews
Aurealis magazine, issue 122, has reviewed House of the Flight-helpers by Philomena van Rijswijk, concluding "An astonishing book of many merits for readers of intelligent dystopia."
Aurealis has also reviewed The Ballet of Dr Caligari by Reggie Oliver, describing the book as "a fine collection well worth the read."
And Glenn Cole Russell has also reviewed, very positively, Mark Valentine's Herald of the Hidden very positively on his blog.
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10th June 2019:
Valentine and Howard reviewed:
Glenn Cole Russell has reviewed Secret Europe on his blog: "...this outstanding collection, tales that have been stored away in places waiting for a sensitive ear to give voice to their hidden secrets." And The Collected Connoisseur here: "I can’t recommend The Collected Connoisseur highly enough."
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6th June 2019:
New Publication!
We are pleased to announce the publication, on 10th June, of Hieroglyphics by Arthur Machen. In this unconventional book of literary criticism Machen argues, through an unnamed literary hermit, that the best writing invokes a sense of awe, wonder and mystery. In this new edition we add Machen's ‘A Note on Poetry’, along with a new Introduction by D.P. Watt, and an Afterword by Nicholas Freeman.
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5th June 2019:
Publishers weekly 'starred' review
In a Publishers Weekly 'starred' review, The Ballet of Dr Caligari by Reggie Oliver is described as ‘13 exceptional eerie stories. This volume is essential reading for aficionados of classic weird fiction.’
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29th May 2019:
Country Life
Copsford by Walter Murray is featured in Country Life this week. Patrick Galbraith says: "The writing is masterful, moving gracefully between farce when he's waging war on rodents and the sublime when he's painting the beauty of the South Downs"
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20th May 2019:
First review
House of the Flight-helpers by Philomena van Rijswijk has received its first review, and it is a good one. Sarah Tanburn writes at the Horla website: "Van Rijswijk manages the complexity of dystopia beautifully. Each page bristles with unlikely details, strange insights into the horror within and outside the city colliding with beauty, with trust and the possibility of connection. Sentences carry great weight, repaying close reading to quarry out the references and possibilities they contain."
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7th May 2019:
An Arthur Machen Gazetteer
We are pleased to be publish Occult Territory: An Arthur Machen Gazetteer. This 272 page limited edition hardback book contains over 160 entries for those places in which Arthur Machen lived, worked, wrote, ate, drank and worshipped. It is also a guide to sites that influenced his life and his work. It is illustrated, often with contemporary photographs, and includes quotes from Machen, and those that knew him.
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4th May 2019:
The Clockworm review
The Clockworm by Karen Heuler receives a great review in Aurealis 120: "Tilted towards the literary end of speculative fiction, The Clockworm collection is reminiscent of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, recreated for our time. Readers looking for profound yet accessible stories are richly rewarded. As protagonist Nola reflects in ‘Here and There’, dreams don’t come true in the way you want or in the way you think. The unexpected in Heuler’s writing is addictive."
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1st May 2019:
Correction
We must apologise for the mis-spelling of Victor Neuburg's name in the article on the poet in Wormwood 32.
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8th April 2019:
Wormwood 32
The new issue of Wormwood is available this week, with articles on Mark Hansom, Julian Osgood Field, Edogawa Ranpo, Charles Eric Maine, Victor Neuberg and Frederick Rolfe's revolver, as well as the regular columns 'Under Review'', 'Late Review's' and 'Camera Obscura'.
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2nd April 2019:
The Saint Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires reviewed
Aurealis magazine, issue 119, has published a great review for The Saint Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires by Eric Stener Carlson: "The first-person narrative is a slow burn that erupts into a furnace spilling with untameable flame."
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23rd March 2019:
The Collected Connoisseur reviewed
'Exquisite writing and tales that transport...' Matthew G Rees, Horla
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22nd March 2019:
New Publication
We are delighted to announce the publication of House of the Flight-helpers by Philomena van Rijswijk.
This brilliant new dystopian novel is a strange and satirical narrative, a mythological mosaic of horrors, feather phobias, dead saints, clay flutes, terrible birds, Border Monkeys, forbidden zones and unsettling forebodings.
Philomena van Rijswijk lives in Tasmania, the ‘south island’ of Australia. Her last novel, The World as a Clock-face, was published by Penguin. Her poems and short stories have been published in collections and literary journals in Australia, Ireland and India.
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11th March 2019:
Aurealis reviews
Aurealis magazine (issue 118) has positively reviewed two Tartarus Press paperbacks:
Of Nike Sulway's Rupetta they write "The book is high-concept but beautifully written, with florid, fluid language and just enough of a connection to reality to make it seem believable" and "If you’re into speculative fiction, fantasy or books with LBGTI+ content, this is definitely one you shouldn’t miss."
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10th March 2019:
Out of Print
We regret to report that The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is now out of print.
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6th March 2019:
Reggie Oliver Reviewed
Mario Guslandi has reviewed Reggie Oliver's The Ballet of Dr Caligari at Hellnotes.com:
'Lovers of dark fiction will welcome with enthusiasm a new collection by Reggie Oliver,by far one
of the very best living authors in that genre. . . . Graced by exquisite illustrations drawn by Oliver himself, the book is a real treat for any fan of great fiction.'
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4th March 2019:
The Old Knowledge
The Old Knowledge by Rosalie Parker has been reviewed by Forrest Aguirre.
He begins: "First impressions are important. At first, I thought "The Rain" might be a well-written rehash of the 1970 TV drama Robin Redbreast. I was so wrong! There are elements of homage (whether intentional or not) to that (in)famous drama. This is far more horrifying, yet the frisson is brought on by careful omission and ominous indicators, by what is explicitly not said or shown, rather than with the literary equivalent of jump-scare scenes. This is something Rod Serling would nod to and smile. Oh, it's five stars worth of eloquent dread!"
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3rd March 2019
Arthur Machen's Occult Catalogues
Tartarus Press has produced, for the Friends of Arthur Machen, a new hardback book, Arthur Machen's Occult Catalogues, edited by R.A. Gilbert:
In June 1885 Arthur Machen received a letter from the publisher of The Anatomy of Tobacco, George Redway, suggesting that he could find some work for the author, if he would like to return to London. The job Redway had in mind was the compilation of a catalogue: ‘For the publisher of York Street was also a second-hand book-seller. He had a mass of odd literature stored in a garret in Catherine Street, and on these volumes I was let loose’. Machen summed it up as being ‘as odd a library as any man could desire to see. Occultism in one sense or another was the subject of most of the books.’
The Friends of Arthur Machen are pleased to be able to reprint Machen’s catalogue, The Literature of Occultism and Archaeology, along with the ‘Frederick Hockley’ catalogue of 1887.
Later, while working for the book-sellers Robson & Kerslake, Machen spent his evenings selling books on his own account. With his friend Harry Spurr he created a business under the name of ‘Thomas Marvell’ and produced Thesaurus Incantatus, ‘a remarkable combination of magico-alchemical fable and very select catalogue of al-chemical books’. This was published in a small edition in December 1888, but it was not a great commercial success and with it Machen’s career as a cataloguer and bookseller came to an end. This catalogue is also included in the present volume.
As R.A. Gilbert writes in his Introduction, there is ‘a codicil. Machen retained his enthusiasm for esoteric literature—perhaps inevitable, given his close friendship with A.E. Waite—and thirty-five years later gave his support to a catalogue of modern literature issued by R. Townley Searle’s First Edition Bookshop in 1923.’ Machen’s foreword, ‘The Grande Trouvaille’, describes a successful quest for books in the company of Waite. This last catalogue is also included, and if it is not quite so esoteric as the previous examples, collectors might be interested (and frustrated) to know that it includes a first edition of Dracula at 21s (£1.05) . . .
Please note that this limited, hardback, first edition, will be available free to members of the Friends of Arthur Machen, and cannot be obtained elsewhere. Membership can be obtained here.
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1st March 2019
Figurehead reviewed
Figurehead by Carly Holmes has been reviewed by the British Fantasy Society: "...great heights of truly exquisite description".
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21st February 2019
Wyrd Britain
Wyrd Britain reviews a collection of early Mark Valentine stories, Herald of the Hidden, featuring his occult detective Ralph Tyler. Valentine '. . . draws from a heritage of writers that I find fascinating and marries it with a lively imagination, a curious nature and a writing style that embraces both the then and the now to produce stories that feel timeless.'
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21st February 2019
Congratulations
Congratulations to Carly Holmes, whose story 'Sleep' from Figurehead has been selected for The Year's Best Horror, edited by Ellen Datlow.
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18th February 2019
The Collected Connoisseur Reviewed
Forrest Aguirre has written a lengthy and very positive review of The Collected Connoisseur by Mark Valentine and John Howard: 'This might be as close to a perfect short story collection as I will ever read. This is definitely becoming one of my "chained books" (meaning I'm figuratively chaining it up so you'll have to remove it with a bolt cutter to get it out of my library or pry it from my cold, dead hands).'
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15th February 2019:
3 Wyrd Things
The Wyrd Britain blog has published Ray Russell's 3 Wyrd Things, which are Copsford by Walter J.C. Murray, The Cocteau Twins' album Garlands, and the film The Moon and the Sledgehammer.
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6th February 2019:
"A heady dram of vintage gothic"
Publishers Weekly have reviewed Pauliska, or, Modern Perversity by Jacques-Antoine Révéroni, baron de Saint-Cyr: "Révéroni’s deliciously lurid novel is a heady dram of vintage gothic . . . With its many moments of fade-to-black fainting, hairbreadth escapes, and rationalizations of what may be supernatural, this book is a high melodrama sure to appeal to fans of the writings of Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Gregory Lewis, and other classic gothicists."
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29th January 2019:
'Starred' review
The Clockworm and Other Strange Stories by Karen Heuler has received a 'starred' review at Publishers Weekly. It concludes: "Heuler’s voice is refreshingly original, and readers will find these stories remarkably inventive and brimming with ideas not found anywhere else in contemporary fantasy fiction."
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26th January 2019:
And now for something slightly different
In 1920 a young man left London for the Sussex countryside, attempting to make a living collecting herbs. His experiences were published in 1948 in a book called Copsford and we are reprinting this as a limited edition hardback. It is not our usual 'supernatural' or 'strange' fiction, but a quietly beautiful book of nature mysticism. We urge you to take a chance on something slightly different.
Featured in the Sussex Express and on Wormwoodiana.
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25th January 2019:
Out of Print
Please note that The Ballet of Dr Caligari and Madder Mysteries by Oliver, Reggie is now out of print as a limited edition hardback. We hope that a paperback edition will follow later this year.
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21st January 2019:
Inner Europe Review
Inner Europe by John Howard and Mark Valentine has been the subject of a rolling review by David Longhorn at the Supernatural Tales blog. He writes: 'Inner Europe is a remarkable achievement, straddling genres to offer the reader strange, moving, and always entertaining tales.'
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20th January 2019:
Review
The Clockworm and Other Strange Stories by Karen Heuler has been reviewed at Horla: ‘Nineteen strange and intriguing stories, brilliantly written.’
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16th January 2019:
Audiobook
Author John Gaskin has just issued a three CD set of stories, Tales of Twilight and Borderlands, read by himself and Michael Hordern.
Disc One contains: 'Introduction', 'Blindburn', 'The Pit'. Disc Two: 'Road Closed', 'The Black Knight'. Disc Three: 'Cropsey's Hole'. The set can be ordered direct through this Paypal link. The CDs are £9.99 plus postage (UK = £1.40, EU = £3.85. US = £4.85.)
John Gaskin has two collections of stories currently available from Tartarus Press as paperbacks: The Long Retreating Day and The Master of the House.
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1st January 2019:
New Reggie Oliver
We are delighted to announce the publication of The Ballet of Dr Caligari, and Madder Mysteries by Reggie Oliver. It is illustrated by the author, and is available as a numbered, signed hardback edition, as well as an ebook.
The illustrations are also available as limited edition prints.
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29th December, 2018:
Out of print
We are sorry to report that Dear Dead Women by Edna Underwood is now out of print.
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7th December 2018:
The Quest for Corvo in The Washington Post
Our new, augmented edition of the classic The Quest for Corvo by A.J.A. Symons has been recommended by Michael Dirda in The Washington Post.
"Newly reissued by Tartarus Press in a handsome illustrated edition, superbly introduced by Mark Valentine."
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3rd December 2018:
New Book - The Clockworm
We are pleased to announce the publication of our latest book, The Clockworm by Karen Heuler, a collection of wonderful, character- and idea-driven strange tales by an accomplished writer.
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14th November 2018:
Out of Print
We regret to announce that Strangers and Pilgrims by Walter de la Mare is now out of print. Please do check our Low Stock page to see which books are low in stock.
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7th November 2018:
Strong Words
Ray has been interviewed about Tartarus Press at Strong Words magazine. You can read the full article as a pdf here.
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1st November 2018:
Aurealis review
The Old Knowledge has been very positively reviewed by Aurealis magazine: "Parker has a way of crafty spinning that makes each story work."
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28th October 2018:
John Gaskin short story for Halloween
John Gaskin has written and recorded a new short story for Halloween, "The Mere House Derogation". It can be heard for free on Soundcloud and Youtube. We currently have two John Gaskin paperbacks available, The Master of the House and The Long Retreating Day.
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27th October 2018:
Figurehead appreciation
The author Tyler Keevil has written to say of Figurehead by Carly Holmes: "These stories are extraordinary. The collection moves between settings and time periods as seamlessly as it shifts between genres. Here you’ll find threads of the gothic, the uncanny, the supernatural, the ghost story, the fairy tale, and more: all spun together into a rich tapestry that defies categorization. The writing is both precise and sumptuous, the tales startling and – at times – genuinely frightening. The result is a collection of dark delights that will keep you reading, and keep you up at night."
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22nd October 2018:
Wormwood 31
Wormwood 31 is now available, containing essays on subjects as diverse as Hope Mirrlees, Jocelyn Brooke, the Golden Age of Czech Fantasy, Arthur Conan Doyle and Mack Reynolds. Among the reviews, Reggie Oliver comments on the new Robert Aickman paperback, Compulsory Games.
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16th October 2018:
Pauliska, or, Modern Perversity
We are delighted to announce that our latest publication is the first ever English translation of a minor classic of the French Gothic, very much a part of the roman noir genre, Pauliska, or, Modern Perversity by Jacques-Antoine Révéroni, baron de Saint-Cyr.
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10th October 2018:
Starred review at Publishers Weekly
Figurehead by Carly Holmes has received a 'starred' review by Publishers Weekly, who write: "The 26 stories in Holmes’s impressive first collection of fantasy fiction alternate between skillfully orchestrated forays into traditional supernatural horror and modern vignettes steeped in the magic of classic fairy tales."
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8th October 2018:
Simply Scary Reggie Oliver
The Simply Scary Podcast features a new reading of Reggie Oliver's short story "Mr Pigsny".
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2nd October 2018:
Paperbacks
We have now made available as paperbacks The Purple Cloud by M.P. Shiel, The Library of the Lost by Roger Dobson, and two short story collections by John Gaskin, The Long Retreating Day and The Master of the House.
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14th September 2018:
Putting the Pieces in Place and Literary Remains
R.B. Russell's first two short story collections have now been reprinted as a paperback as Putting the Pieces in Place and Literary Remains.
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13th September 2018:
Real Time Reviews
Figurehead by Carly Holmes is being reviewed by David longhorn at Supernatural Tales, just as Des Lewis has finished reviewing Inner Europe by John Howard and Mark Valentine.
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9th September 2018:
Arthur Machen's 1890s Notebook
Matthew G. Rees at Horla has posted a thoughtful and sympathetic review of Arthur Machen's 1890s Notebook.
That Machen’s notebook can be read in an accessible printed volume is down to the admirable efforts of R.B. Russell and Rosalie Parker (of The Friends of Arthur Machen and also Tartarus Press) for whom one suspects it must also have been a labour of love. Assistance with certain finer points was provided by Mark Valentine, James Machin, Jon Preece and William Charlton.
They have performed a fine service. Making sense of Machen’s not always easily readable handwriting (which is reproduced beside typewritten transcriptions) must have been a challenge at times, never mind some of his meanings. And then there’s the astonishing breadth of the material. Not to mention the less than obvious sequencing of some of the pages.
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6th September 2018:
Wormwoodiana
Mark Valentine has written on the Wormwoodiana blog of his recent visit to Coverdale with John Howard to sign copies of Inner Europe.
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5th September 2018:
Further paperbacks
We have been able to make further older titles available as paperbacks:
The Old Knowledge by Rosalie Parker, This Spectacular Darkness by Joel Lane, Morbid Tales by Quentin S. Crisp, Herald of the Hidden by Mark Valentine, and Dreads and Drolls by Arthur Machen.
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1st September 2018:
Inner Europe
We are delighted to announce the publication of Inner Europe by John Howard and Mark Valentine. Inner Europe collects thirteen stories, eleven of them newly written for this book. This shared volume follows the two authors’ well-received Secret Europe and takes the reader once again on strange journeys to forgotten or little-known places and peculiar historical byways.
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29th August 2018:
Paperback reprints
We have decided to bring back into print as paperbacks a number of our older titles, using Amazon's "print on demand service" and the examples we have received so far look very good. The first four titles are Haunted by Books and A Country Still All Mystery by Mark Valentine, Le Grand Meaulnes and Miracles by Alain-Fournier, and The St Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires by Eric Stener Carlson. The books can be ordered direct from us, but we would advise that ordering through your own country's Amazon site will be much quicker. There will be more paperbacks to follow...
Nb - A new limited edition hardback, signed by the authors, will be announced next week...
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11th August 2018:
Figurehead reviewed and Carly Holmes interviewed
Figurehead by Carly Holmes has been reviewed by Horla magazine. "This is an impressive body of twenty-six pieces which are by turns surprising, intriguing, poignant and humorous, and always intelligent." The author has also been interviewed here.
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26th July 2018:
World Fantasy Awards nomination
With great pleasure we note that Tartarus Press has been shortlisted for the 2018 World Fantasy Awards.
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14th July 2018:
Black Static
Peter Tennant in the new Black Static reviews Michael Eisele's Tree Spirit and The Girl With the Peacock Harp, writing "These two collections contain stories that are polished, quirky and eccentric; that won’t quite fit into any genre straitjacket but instead entertain and enthral in part by virtue of their protean nature."
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9th July 2018:
Debut short story collection
We are delighted to announce the publication of a debut short story collection, Figurehead, by Carly Holmes. This stunning collection of tales peers into every corner of the strange fiction genre: from rural gothic through to traditional ghost stories, the uncanny, and folk horror. Recommended reading!
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8th July, 2018:
News
Last weekend we attended the Dublin Ghost Story Festival, run by Brian Showers, with Joyce Carol Oates as Guest of Honour. It was wonderful event, and great to have the opportunity to meet a number of Tartarus authors, including Eric Stener Carlson, Anne-Sylvie Salzman, Andrew Michael Hurley and Reggie Oliver. A hugely enjoyable and successful weekend, it was also the launch of Rosalie Parker's short story collection, Sparks from the Fire. We will certainly be going again!
There have a been a few very good reviews of Tartarus Press books published recently:
Publishers Weekly like Tree Spirit and Other Strange Tales by Michael Eisle, which they call "beguiling", although they mistakenly say it is the author's first collection. The Pan Review has also posted a very enthusiastic review of Tree Spirit, pointing out that, 'Again, we are in the folk-horror territory of fantasy, melding Hoffmann, Carter and Pullman.' It has also been the subject of a "running review" at the Supernatural Tales blog and a "real-time" review by D.F. Lewis.
And Wyrd Britain has discussed Star Kites, poems by Mark Valentine, suggesting that the book is '...another glimpse into the worlds of this most captivating of authors.'
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29th May 2018:
Numbered, signed, Reggie Oliver
We have now reprinted as a paperback, Reggie Oliver's 2017 collection of short stories, Holidays from Hell. The first 200 copies are numbered and signed.
Please note we have 5 copies remaining of the 500 print run hardback, numbered and signed. Please email us direct if you would like a copy at the original cover price.
22nd May 2018:
The Wyrd review
A great new review for Mirror Dead by Magda McQueen: "This is a book that I am going to immediately read again, and there have only been a handful of those in my entire life. Part ghost story, part horror, a dash of love story, this book is an intensely modern examination of the psyche but without ever being pretentious. Written with a deliciously dark humour that keeps the story rolling along, this book is a rare treasure. McQueen is definitely an author to watch out for, I can’t wait to see what she’ll write next." The Wyrd
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9th May 2018:
Royal Society of Literature Award
Congratulations to Andrew Michael Hurley, joint winner of this year's Royal Society of Literature's Encore Award for best second novel, for Devil's Day (with Lisa McInerney for 'The Blood Miracles'.)
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1st May 2018:
New and Forthcoming
We are delighted to announce the reprinting of Arthur Machen's 1890s Notebook.
And on May 17th we will publish a reprint of an acknowledged classic, the brilliant, The Quest for Corvo by A.J.A. Symons. This new Tartarus Press edition is augmented by over sixty photographs of the characters discussed by Symons, and reproductions of the letters he received and sent while conducting his quest. It also includes a very insightful Introduction by Mark Valentine.
The Quest for Corvo will be launched on 16th May at Maggs Bros. Ltd., 48 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DR, 6:30pm - 9pm. All are welcome, but we would be grateful if you could tell us if you hope to attend, so we can have some idea of numbers. As well as launching the The Quest for Corvo, there will be a small exhibition of material relating to A.J.A. Symons and Rolfe/Corvo.
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26th April 2018:
Washington Post
Michael Dirda recommends the Tartarus Press editions of The Autobiography of Arthur Machen and The London Adventure in the Washington Post today.
Mirror Dead Review
Mirror Dead by Magda McQueen has been reviewed by Russell C.J. Duffy: "Magda McQueen has written a startling debut."
Late Reviews
Douglas A. Anderson, who writes the "Late Reviews" column for our journal Wormwood, has collected many of his fascinating reviews of older and obscure books under his Nodens Books imprint. Details can be found here.
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23rd April 2018:
Wormwood 30
The new Wormwood 30 is published 26th April, and contains essays on the fiction of Caitlín R. Kiernan, Margaret Benson’s The Court of the King, Algernon Blackwood’s The Fruit Stoners', 'Phantasmion and Phantastes, Ada Goodrich Freer and Ambrose Bierce. There are also the regular columns 'Under Review' by Reggie Oliver, 'Late Reviews' by Douglas A. Anderson and 'Camera Obscura 'by John Howard.
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19th April 2018:
Out of print
We are sorry to report that This Spectacular Darkness by Joel Lane is no longer available as a limited edition hardback. The ebook, however, is still available.
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3rd April 2018:
Tree Spirit and Other Strange Tales
We are delighted to announce a second collection of short stories by Michael Eisele, Tree Spirit and Other Strange Tales. This terrific volume follows the acclaimed The Girl With the Peacock Harp, which Publishers Weekly described as demonstrating "uncommon skill", and which Michael Dirda recommended in the Washington Post.
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27th March 2018:
Sold out
We are sorry to report that Nightmare-Touch by Lafcadio Hearn is now out of print.
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16th March 2018:
Sold out and low stock
Tales of Terror by Guy de Maupassant is no longer available as a limited edition hardback direct from Tartarus Press.
Please note that the following books are low in stock
Holidays from Hell by Reggie Oliver
Star Kites by Mark Valentine
Secret Europe by John Howard and Mark Valentine
Nightmare-Touch by Lafcadio Hearn
This Spectacular Darkness by Joel Lane
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7th March 2018:
Black Static reviews
Peter Tennant has discussed two new Tartarus Press titles in Black Static 62, and gives them both very positive reviews. He concludes his review of Seven Strange Stories by Rebecca Lloyd: "... a very strong collection, one that adds new ideas to the genre of the weird, while at the same time recognising the debt to all those who have gone before. Lloyd is shaping up to be a major talent, one with a unique vision and compelling style."
And the review of Holidays from Hell by Reggie Oliver is ended: "Oliver also provides neat and evocative line drawings as illustrations at the start of each story, making this an all-round, very attractive package." Bonus material by Peter, reviews of several of the Reggie Oliver short stories already published, can be found on Peter's Blog.
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6th March 2018:
Mirror Dead reviewed
Mirror Dead by Magda McQueen has received a fine review at Druid Life: 'A great piece of paranormal writing that will keep you guessing right up to the end. Highly recommended.'
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26th February 2018:
The Macabre Tales of Edgar Allan Poe
We are delighted to announce the publication, on March 1st, of The Macabre Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, with illustrations by Harry Clarke, and a new Introduction by Brian Stableford. It is a volume we have wanted to publish for several years because Poe is, after all, the grandfather of horror fiction.
Our new volume is a large format sewn hardback book of 436 + xviii pages. It is printed lithographically on 150gsm Munken pure rough paper, with sewn sections, decorated boards, silk ribbon marker, head and tailbands, and d/w. It is limited to 400 numbered copies.
The Macabre Tales of Edgar Allan Poe contains all of the illustrations by Harry Clarke for the 1923 edition of Tales of Mystery and Imagination, with one illustration reinstated (for 'Morella'), and a variant added ('The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar'). In total there are 8 colour plates (tipped-in by hand), 23 full page black and white illustrations, and numerous ornaments.
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23rd February 2018:
Three news items
Joel Lane's This Spectacular Darkness is reviewed in this weeks Times Literary Supplement. Phil Baker writes: 'Joel Lane...was an exceptionally astute and sympathetic critic of supernatural horror' and 'Lane is particularly good on the modernist horror of Fritz Leiber, with its distinctive feel for the urban environment', also 'For Lane, worthwhile supernatural horror is always about something more: a displacement and distillation that crystallizes human situations in a moment of of metaphorical truth'.
'Where's the Harm', a terrific short story by Rebecca Lloyd from her collection Seven Strange Stories has been chosen by Ellen Datlow for her Best Horror of the Year Volume 10.
Wormwood is recommended in the Washington Post today along with The Green Book, Weird Fiction Review, Faunus (published by the Friends of Arthur Machen) and Der Orchideengarte. All highly recommended by Tartarus Press too!
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12th January 2018:
Wyrd Britain
Wyrd Britain enthuses of Mark Valentine's A Country Still All Mystery. "A hugely recommended read for anyone with an interest in the roads less travelled and in the words spoken with a quieter resonance." If only we had some physical copies left!
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4th January 2018:
Dublin Ghost Story Festival
Tartarus Press is booked-in for the Dublin Ghost Story Festival this year. Highly recommended!
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3rd January 2018:
Radio Three ... again
Do listen to an effectively spine-tingling essay by Andrew Michael Hurley on BBC Radio Three, in which he considers the hauntings of Chingle Hall, a 17th-century manor house near Preston.
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2nd January 2018:
Please feel free to follow us on Instagram, where we are slowly uploading a great number of book photos.
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1st January 2018:
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to all customers and friends of Tartarus Press.
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29th December 2017:
The Verb: Radio Three
Ian Macmillan and Stewart Lee discuss Arthur Machen and The Autobiography of Arthur Machen on BBC Radio Three's The Verb. The show can be listened to again via the link.
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19th December 2017:
Mirror Dead
Magda McQueen's excellent first novel, Mirror Dead, has just received a great review at Publishers Weekly, which described it as "Mordantly amusing" and says, "Readers fond of dark fantasy with a light touch will be rewarded."
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13th December 2017:
Out of print
We are sorry to report that Holy Terrors is now out of print with us. However, copies may still be available from our dealers, and copies may also be obtained from Obsolete Films at screenings of the Holy Terrors film.
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12th December 2017:
Holy Terrors
On the 16th December we will publish Holy Terrors, a paperback of five stories by Arthur Machen. This is in association with Obsolete films, whose portmanteau film, Holy Terrors, will be screened at Folk Horror Revival's Winter Ghosts, 16th December at the Metropole Hotel, Whitby, UK.
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1st December 2017:
A fantastic review
Mirror Dead by Magda McQueen has received a fantastic review from Nigel Robert Wilson at the British Fantasy Society:
"...The book is not really a ghost story in the traditional sense, but it is a superb tale of possession. It certainly belongs in the supernatural category, but its complex psychology goes well beyond any easy classification. Put simply, this is by far the best written modern horror story I have yet experienced."
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1st December 2017:
Out of Print
Please note that the signed, limited edition hardback of A Country Still All Mystery by Mark Valentine is now out of print. The ebook edition is still available.
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29th November 2017:
Wormwood 29
The new Wormwood 29 is published tomorrow, 30th November, and contains essays on Hope Mirrlees, Lionel Johnson, Edward Upward and other fascinating writers, by Colin Insole, Nina Antonia, Henry Wessells, Nick Wagstaff, John Howard and Richard Dalby. There are also the regular columns 'Under Review' by Reggie Oliver, 'Late Reviews' by Douglas A. Anderson and 'Camera Obscura 'by John Howard.
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15th November 2017:
Black Static review
Horthólary: Tales from Montagascony by Michael Reynier has been reviewed by Peter Tennant in the latest issue of Black Static (#61): "...Reynier is his own man and his creation is as original as it is vivid and entertaining.... Be sure to put Montagascony on your travel itinerary in the near future. You will not be disappointed."
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13th November 2017:
Out of Print
Please note that we have sold out of copies of our signed, limited edition of Devil's Day by Andrew Michael Hurley.
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13th November, 2017:
The London Adventure
We are pleased to announce the publication of Arthur Machen's The London Adventure, or, The Art of Wandering, in which the author plays a fine game with the reader, discussing what his book might be about, how he should begin it and where it might end. The result is a curiously up-to-date psychogeographical manifesto, written, as always, in the author’s beautiful prose. Added to the original text are a number of essays, several uncollected, which inform and illustrate Machen’s contention that, ‘All the wonders lie within a stone’s-throw of King’s Cross Station.’
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11th November 2017:
The British Library
Last night the British Library celebrated the acquisition of the Robert Aickman archive. Left to right on stage, Richard Kelly, Jeremy Dyson, Victoria Nelson, Reece Shearsmith, Leslie Gardner and Ramsey Campbell. Raymond Russell and Rosalie Parker of Tartarus Press attended and were also delighted to talk to Heather, Graham and Guy Smith, Jenny Campbell, Brian Showers, Amelia Bradshaw, Reggie Oliver and Pippa, Nidge Ince, Steve Jones, James Machin, Roger Luckhurst, Eddy Obermuller, Chris Maloney, Monica Petzal and Valerie Butler. We are sorry we didn't get to talk, Mick Curtis and Darryl Samaraweera! It was a good crowd of approximately 150 people, and not the kind of event we ever imagined when Tartarus Press first published Robert Aickman back in 1999.
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13th October, 2017:
Devil's Day
We are delighted to announce the publication of a signed, limited edition of Andrew Michael Hurley's second novel, Devil's Day. This will be published on the 19th October, on the same day as John Murray's trade edition.
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11th October, 2017
Easily Distracted
'A Country Still All Mystery is a delightful and fascinating collection of essays about books, landscapes, writers, publishers, and the pleasures derived therefrom. Mark Valentine introduces us to his passion for old books, and recounts some of the pleasurable zig-zags this has sent him on. Readers of Machen and Hodgson will find much of interest in each article.' Jay Rothermel, Easily Distracted
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11th September 2017:
Robert Aickman news
We have recently written a guest blog for Wormwoodiana, discussing the Robert Aickman archive, and its sale to the British Library. It also gives detail of a celebration event at the British Library.
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10th September 2017:
Ghosts and Scholars
Rosemary Pardoe in the Ghost and Scholars Newsletter 32 discusses A Country Still All Mystery by Mark Valentine, stating that: "Mark's easy, elegant and erudite style, and his vast knowledge of books, places, forgotten legends and folklore, ensure that every single essay is an enjoyable read.
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1st September 2017:
New publication: Mirror Dead
We are delighted to announce the publication of Mirror Dead by Magda McQueen, a contemporary novel which we believe demonstrates the rude health of the ghost story at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
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29th August 2017:
Joel Lane reviewed
The British Fantasy Society have reviewed This Spectacular Darkness by Joel Lane: This is an excellent non-fiction book and deserves a place on the shelf of any serious scholar of the genre."
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8th August 2017:
A Country Still All Mystery
Our next publication is a collection of literary essays by Mark Valentine, A Country Still All Mystery. It is available as a limited edition hardback (signed by the author), and as an ebook. This new book is a follow-up to the previous volume Haunted by Books.
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30th July 2017:
Out of print
Please note that Stories from a Lost Anthology by Rhys Hughes is no longer available as a limited edition hardback. It is still available, however, as an ebook.
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20th July 2017:
BFS shortlist
This Spectacular Darkness by Joel Lane is on the shortlist for the British Fantasy Society Awards.
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18th July 2017:
In print!
We recently reported that Holidays from Hell by Reggie Oliver had sold out, but we are very relieved to have found another two boxes! These are available through the website once again.
Low stock:
Star Kites by Mark Valentine is now low in stock. Signed copies are still available for the time being.
As previously reported, we are also down to the last few copies of Stories From A Lost Anthology by Rhys Hughes, The Man Who Could Work Miracles by H.G. Wells, The Wandering Soul by William Hope Hodgson and Dreads and Drolls by Arthur Machen. These remaining copies had been previously held back because they all show slight marks and bumps, and we are unable to replace jackets on the Machen and the Hodgson volumes. These four books have all been substantially discounted on the website to reflect this, and are still offered with free post and packing worldwide.
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7th July 2017:
Seven Strange Stories reviewed
Seven Strange Stories by Rebecca Lloyd has been reviewed by Publishers Weekly and is described as an "exquisite collection of macabre tales" which "will appeal to readers who like stories that are subtle as well as strange."
The collection has also been "real-time" reviewed by D.F. Lewis who remarks that it "contains some unforgettable classics of the 'strange stories' genre.'"
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4th July 2017:
Muladona review
Eric Stener Carlson's wonderful novel Muladona has been reviewed by Whistlingshade: "Muladona’s story-within-a-framework structure recalls the Decameron of Boccaccio, though the dark tone is more reminiscent of Dante. It’s a dense tangle of cruelty, anguish, intrigue and history run riot that would be worthy of Borges himself."
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29th June 2017:
The Life of Arthur Machen
John Gawsworth's excellent The Life of Arthur Machen is now back in print as a paperback and an ebook.
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12th June 2017:
Olalla
Read 'Olalla' by Robert Louis Stevenson from The Suicide Club and Other Dark Adventures, as a pdf here.
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22nd May 2017:
Seven Strange Stories
Our next publication is Seven Strange Stories by Rebecca Lloyd, author of the previous Tartarus Press collection, the World Fantasy Award nominated Mercy and Other Stories.
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19th May 2017:
Dollar cheques
Please note that we are now longer able to accept cheques in US dollars, due to a new policy by our bank. Paypal and bank transfers are still fine.
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12th May 2017:
Reggie Oliver review
Reggie Oliver's Holidays from Hell receives a glowing review in April's Locus. "Oliver is the leading contemporary exponent of the antiquarian ghost story as established by M.R. James."
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11th May 2017:
Out of print
Please no that The Master of the House by John Gaskin is now out of print as a limited edition hardback. It is still available, however, as an ebook.
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4th May 2017:
Richard Dalby, RIP
We are very sad to report the death of Richard Dalby, editor and researcher. Richard's literary knowledge was immense, but in the ghost story field, especially, he was without compare. RIP, Richard.
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4th May 2017:
Wormwood 28
We are pleased to announce the publication on Tuesday 9th May of Wormwood 28. The new issue contains:
"Among the Toiling Masses: On Robert Aickman’s ‘Meeting Mr Millar’ " by Philip Challinor
"Herbert Moore Pim: Hibernian Hierophant, Chameleon of Identity, Sorcerous Scribbler" by Adam Daly
"Incurable: Lionel Johnson: The Disconsolate Decadent, Part 1" by Nina Antonia
"Kipling’s Fancy: ‘Wireless’ Communication and Cross Correspondences" by Jacob Huntley
"The Fairy Suffragettes: Evelyn Sharp, Bessie Hatton and Mary de Morgan" by Mark Andresen
"Devil’s Tor: A Voyage from Arcturus" by Robert Eldridge
"The Eternal Feminine: David Lindsay’s Fixation as Developed in Devil’s Tor" by Thomas Kent Miller
"Under Review" by Reggie Oliver
"Late Reviews" by Douglas A. Anderson
"Camera Obscura" by John Howard
£9.99 including p&p worldwide.
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10th April 2017:
Out of Print
The Secret of the Sangraal by Arthur Machen is now out of print. Please check the Low Stock page to see which other books are low in number.
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6th April 2017:
Booking the Hidden Back Room
The Hidden Back Room by Jason A. Wyckoff receives a very good review from Rick Kleffel at Narrative Species: "Readers who enjoy a good dose of terror mixed with their reality will want to book The Hidden Back Room."
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3rd April 2017:
The House of the Hidden Light
We are pleased to announce the publication of a new paperback edition of The House of the Hidden Light by Arthur Machen and A.E. Waite.
Please note that Ritual and Other Stories is no longer available as a limited edition hardback.
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2nd march 2017:
The Autobiography of Arthur Machen
We are pleased to announce the publication, on Friday 24th March, of The Autobiography of Arthur Machen. Comprising Far Off Things and Things Near and Far, this new volume has an Introduction by Stewart Lee, and has four colour plates. It is also available as an ebook.
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17th March 2017:
"Starred" review
Holidays from Hell by Reggie Oliver receives a "starred" review in Publishers Weekly: "Each of the 14 stories in Oliver’s seventh collection (after Flowers of the Sea) is a gem of subtly evoked horrors whose climaxes are skillfully understated but still effectively chilling."
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7th March 2017:
BFS Review
Holidays from Hell by Reggie Oliver has been very positively reviewed by Mario Guuslandi at British Fantasy Society: "...a wonderful, enticing collection of great stories, apt to prove once again what an incredibly deep pleasure reading can be."
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21st February 2017:
Ebooks
A number of our titles are newly available as ebooks direct from Tartarus, or through Amazon:
The Girl With the Peacock Harp, by Michael Eisele from Amazon UK and Amazon.com
And by Arthur Machen:
The Secret Glory, from Amazon UK and Amazon.com
The Secret of the Sangraal, from Amazon UK and Amazon.com
The Children of the Pool from Amazon UK and Amazon.com
The Cosy Room from Amazon UK and Amazon.com
Dreads and Drolls from Amazon UK and Amazon.com.
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9th February 2017:
Reggie Oliver Illustrations for sale
Limited edition prints of Reggie Oliver's illustrations from his collections are available for sale:
Holidays from Hell illustrations
Flowers of the Sea illustrations
Masques of Satan illustrations
The Dreams of Cardinal Vittorini illustrations
The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler illustrations
Mrs Midnight and Other Stories illustrations
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6th February 2017:
Tor.com
Matthew Keeley at Tor.com writes in praise of small presses, specifically Small Beer, Subterranean and Tartarus.
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25th January 2017:
New Reggie Oliver collection
We are delighted to announce that a new collection by Reggie Oliver, Holidays from Hell, will be published on January 30th. It contains fourteen stories by Oliver, and an 'Introduction' by Robert Shearman. 'No one story is like another' as poet and critic Glen Cavaliero has written of Oliver’s work. And as Pulitzer prize winning Michael Dirda of the Washington Post wrote: ‘Once you’ve read one story by Reggie Oliver you’ll want to read them all.’
A Lost Book
Back in 2001 we published Uncle Stephen by Forrest Reid, a wonderfully sensitive supernatural novel, with a new Introduction by Colin Cruise. We seemed to sell out of the book a little quicker than we expected, but this was because a whole box had been mis-labelled and archived. We recently opened the box and discovered that it contained copies of this great book, and we are pleased to be able to offer copies once again, while stocks last, at the original price of £27.50.
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20th January 2017:
Publishers Weekly review
The Girl with the Peacock Harp has received a great review at Publishers Weekly: "Eisele demonstrates uncommon skill at exposing the hearts and minds of his characters and giving their conflicts an emotional immediacy, no matter how weird their circumstances."
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9th January 2017:
Happy New Year!
We have updated our low stock report, adding another two books by Arthur Machen which are now low in number, Ritual and Dreads and Drolls.
In 2009 Tartarus Press published The St Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires by Eric Stener Carlson. This is still available from Tartarus as an ebook, although the limited edition hardback sold out several years ago. Admirers of the book might like to know that the Megapolisomancy website has created a page called Locations in The St Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires, which offers photographs of the key sites from the book. Still available as a limited edition hardback, though, is Carlson's Muladona.
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21st December 2016:
Merry Christmas!
We would like to wish all customers and friends of Tartarus Press a very Merry Christmas!
Please note that from 21st December we will not be able to acknowledge orders, and we will be sending physical and ebooks again from the 30th December.
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11th December 2016:
The Girl with the Peacock Harp
The debut short story collection by Michael Eisele, The Girl with the Peacock Harp, has been reviewed at the Supernatural Tales website, where the astute David Longhorn has been commenting on the individual stories as his has been reading them. He concludes:
"I think this book will appeal to anyone who enjoys richly-imagined, intelligent fiction. They are not easy to classify, and certainly don't qualify as horror or ghost stories per se. Instead they occupy a fascinating region where myth and legend overlap with the fears and crises of all-too-real world."
The Girl with the Peacock Harp has also been included in Michael Dirda's Holiday Book Picks at the Washington Post.
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7th December 2016:
The Los Angeles Review of Books
The books of Sarban, and specifically The Sound of His Horn, are the subject of in-depth analysis at the Los Angeles Review of Books. Paul StJohn Mackintosh discusses Sarban's relevance in the modern world, and recommends Tartarus Press: "...the leading independent English publisher of fine editions of weird and dark fiction, specializes in limited fine-quality print hardbacks and equally well-produced but much cheaper DRM-free ebooks."
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5th December 2016:
Ebook available
This Spectacular Darkness by Joel Lane is now available as an ebook, direct from Tartarus, or Amazon.
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30th November 2016:
This Spectacular Darkness
We are pleased to announce the publication of This Spectacular Darkness, a collection of critical essays by Joel Lane, edited by Mark Valentine and John Howard.
Joel Lane, renowned as a writer of compelling strange stories, novels in the noir tradition, and acute poetry, was also a thoughtful and perceptive essayist on the fantasy and horror fields. For the journal Wormwood he wrote a series of pieces discussing the leading figures in twentieth-century dark literature, including Lovecraft, Ligotti, Leiber and Aickman. Joel always intended to collect these essays in a book to be entitled This Spectacular Darkness. This cannot be that book: but it brings together all the essays he was able to write in the series.
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29th November 2016:
Green Thoughts reviews
A very good review for John Collier's Green Thoughts & Other Stories: "...an attractive showcase of a talented writer’s fiction ... likely to resuscitate the author’s reputation and elicit new interest in his work." Mario Guslandi, Nudge
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23rd November 2016:
Out of Print
We regret to announce that the limited edition hardback of The Haunted Woman by David Lindsay is now out of print. It is still available, however, as an ebook.
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21st November 2016:
Oddly Weird Fiction
Muladona by Eric Stener Carlson has received a very fine review at Oddly Weird Fiction. They write: "Muladona is original, fresh, and above all, it is a thinking person's horror novel ... well thought out and intelligently written ... Highly, highly recommended for readers who enjoy the work of excellent writers and for people who like their horror novels more on the cerebral side. This is a good one, folks."
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20th November 2016:
The Hidden Back Room reviews
Jake Wyckoff's The Hidden Back Room has garnered a number of very good reviews:
"Wyckoff creates characters with whom the reader can easily identify, and that makes their dramas seem all the more disturbing when events move them into the more shadowed recesses of personal experience. His stories abound with surprises that even diehard readers of weird fiction are not likely to anticipate."
"Wykoff’s stories are elegantly crafted, aesthetically pleasing."
"Recommended"
The Hidden Back Room has also been the subject of a "real-time review" by D.F. Lewis:
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10th November 2016:
Wormwood 27
We are pleased to announce the publication on 14th November of Wormwood 27. The new issue of our journal contains:
"The Dystopian Bones of Peake’s Castle Gormenghast" by James Butler
"Lords of All Power: The Apocalyptic Science Fiction Novels of Robert Hugh Benson: Part 2" by John Howard
" ‘A Death Most Peculiar and Sad’: LeeRoy J. Tappan and the Omar Khayyam Cult" by Gavin Callaghan
"Amyas Northcote’s Ghostly Companies" by Mike Barrett
"Worlds: The Life and Theurgic Artistry of Andrei Bely" by Avalon Brantley
"Under Review" by Reggie Oliver
"Late Reviews" by Douglas A. Anderson
"Camera Obscura" by John Howard
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30th October 2016:
Green Thoughts recommended
The Daily Telegraph has recommended a number of books for Halloween, including Green Thoughts by John Collier: "A handsome hardback brimming with his unique, wicked, dandyish style."
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21st October 2016:
The Girl with the Peacock Harp
We are delighted to announce the publication of The Girl with the Peacock Harp, a new collection of entrancing short stories by contemporary author, Michael Eisele.
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20th October 2016:
The Washington Post
Michael Dirda, in his Halloween reading recommendations in The Washington Post today writes: "R.B. Russell and Rosalie Parker are not only the proprietors of England’s much-admired Tartarus Press, but also accomplished practitioners of the eerie tale." He then goes on to recommend The Stones are Singing by Russell, and Damage by Rosalie Parker.
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15th September 2016:
Green Thoughts by John Collier
Our latest publication is Green Thoughts and Other Stories by the inimitable John Collier. The collection represents what we believe to be the very best of John Collier's dark, witty, sardonic stories.
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10th August 2016:
Back in print
We are delighted to announce that Sarban's The Sound of His Horn is back in print as a Tartarus Press hardback, and is now available with all of the posthumously published stories from The Sacrifice.
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5th August 2016:
Out of print
We regret to note that Tarnhelm by Hugh Walpole is now out of print as a limited edition hardback. It is still available, however, as an ebook.
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27th July 2016:
Black Horse
Please note that Black Horse by Jason A. Wyckoff is now unavailable as a limited edition hardback. It remains in print as an ebook.
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18th July 2016:
Horthólary review
Horthólary: Tales from Montagascony by Michael Reynier has been positively reviewed in Aurealius # 92 by Stephanie McLeay: "Hortholary, with all its rich imagery, slow storytelling and depth of (even minor) characters, would appeal more to the Gabriel Garcia Marquez fan than the fan of hard-nosed detectives, but it is the perfect meal for lovers of both."
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11th July 2016:
The Hidden Back Room
Our next publication is The Hidden Back Room, a collection of strange stories by Jake Wyckoff, author of Black Horse (about which Publishers Weekly wrote '...these tales are the work of a writer skilled at navigating the twists and turns of his unconventional horror themes.') The Hidden Back room will be published 14th July, and will be available as a limited edition hardback and as an ebook.
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24th June 2016:
Wormwood Number 1 reprinted
We are pleased to announce a reissue of Wormwood 1.
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15th June 2016:
Really Weird Books for Fogged-in, Coast-Side Reading this Summer
Muladona is reviewed by Rick Kleffel at KQED: "Carlson captures the terror of an almost-remembered nightmare, juxtaposing the familiar and the strange with ease."
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24th May 2016:
Supernatural Tales
The Supernatural Tales Blog, administered by David Longhorn, has reviews Muladona by Eric Stener Carlson and pronounces it to be "a brilliant work of American Gothic supernatural horror."
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20th May 2016:
Arthur Machen's 1890s Notebook.
Please note that Arthur Machen's 1890s Notebook is now out of print! While FoAM still welcomes new members, we can no longer offer the Notebook as a part of the membership package.
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17th May 2016:
Wormwood 26
We are pleased to announce the publication of Wormwood 26. The new issue of our journal contains two essays that consider how supernatural fiction works: Daniel Watt reflects on some sources of the fantastic in literature today, while John Gaskin argues that the ghost story form assumes a distinction between the natural world and another, super-natural world separate to ours Colin Insole considers the work of Rudyard Kipling, while John Howard provides the first part of an extensive essay studying R.H. Benson's apocalyptic science-fiction novels. Mark Samuels takes us on a literary jaunt with the late Roger Dobson, while Mike Barrett considers the short stories of D.K. Broster. In his ‘Under Review’ column, Reggie Oliver considers Charles Williams, Sax Rohmer and Lafcadio Hearn.
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10th May 2016:
We have various items of news:
Arthur Machen First Edition
Later this month we are delighted to be publishing, along with the Friends of Arthur Machen, the first ever publication of Arthur Machen's 1890s Notebook. The book is only available as a part of the FoAM membership package, so to secure a copy please join (and also receive two hardback journals a year!)
The Suicide Club & Other Dark Adventures
Next week sees the republication of The Suicide Club & Other Dark Adventures. This definitive collection of Robert Louis Stevenson’s fantastic and macabre stories is Introduced by Mark Valentine. We first published the collection in 2004 and it quickly went out of print.
How The Loney took the publishing world by storm
As revealed by the Daily Telegraph.
Wormwood 26
The new issue of Wormwood has been slightly delayed, but is now at the printers. An email will be sent when it is available to order.
New Ebooks
New ebooks are available in mobi and epub formats of the following Tartarus Press books:
The Haunted Woman by David Lindsay
Uncanny Tales by F. Marion Crawford
and The Suicide Club & Other Dark Adventures
Out of Print
The House of Souls by Arthur Machen is no longer available as a limited edition hardback.
9th May 2016:
Book of the Year
Andrew Michael Hurley has won great critical and popular acclaim for his debut novel, The Loney, first published by Tartarus Press. He has been shortlisted for a number of awards and in January won the Costa First Novel Award. It has now won both the Debut Novel and the Book of the Year at the British Book Industry Awards. The full story with pictures can be read at the Telegraph and Guardian websites.
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12th April 2016:
Muladona
We are delighted to announce the publication, on April 18th, of a new novel by contemporary author Eric Stener Carlson. Muladona is a Southern Gothic horror story, by the author of the acclaimed The St Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires (Tartarus Press, 2009) which received, amongst others, the following reviews:
"The multi-layered narrative is full of surprises, and the conclusion provides a modest grace note that beautifully befits the tale." - Christopher Fowler, Financial Times
"At bottom, it’s a deal with the Devil story, and as always in these it’s the Devil who has the last laugh, but made special by the distinctive tone and the wealth of ideas planted in the text. Recommended." Peter Tennant, Black Static 17
"Unpredictable and steeped in allusions to classic and contemporary works, this spry exercise in magic realism can be enjoyed as a parable on how our reading transforms our perception of the world." - Publishers Weekly
"...a captivating novel written in a sparkling style, precise yet imaginative." - Rick Kleffel's Agony Column
In addition, The St Perpetuus Club of Buenos Aires is now available as an ebook.
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23rd March 2016:
Robert Aickman
We Are for the Dark and Cold Hand in Mine are now back in print, which means that all eight of Robert Aickman's short story collections are available once more, along with both volumes of autobiography:
We Are for the Dark (with Elizabeth Jane Howard)
Intrusions (now including 'The Strangers')
Night Voices (now includes 'The Coffin House' and 'The Fully-Conducted Tour')
Additionally, our Documentary, Robert Aickman: Author of Strange Tales is now available to view on Youtube. We do still have a few copies of the DVD left, which we are happy to make available for £10 (inc. p&p)
22nd March 2016:
The Loney
Congratulations to Andrew Michael Hurley whose novel The Loney is included in the inaugural British Book Industry Awards’ Book of the Year shortlists.
18th March 2016:
Louis de Bernières
We have recently discovered a handful of copies of our two hand-set, hand-printed booklets by Louis de Bernières, Günter Weber's Confession (2001) and A Walberswick Goodnight Story (2006). We are making these available at the original price, while stocks last.
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3th March 2016:
Last copies
We are down to our last couple of boxes of The House of Souls by Arthur Machen. However, these books all have unfortunate marks to the book block (made during the production process) and/or bumped corners. We have therefore reduced the price of these from £40 to £35 (incl. p&p worldwide.)
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16th February 2016:
The Cosy Room
We are delighted to announce that our newest publication is The Cosy Room and Other Stories by Arthur Machen. This 1936 collection of Arthur Machen’s short stories was curated by John Gawsworth (aka Fytton Armstrong), and as well as exhuming some very early tales published in the first half of the 1890s, Gawsworth included Machen’s decadent prose poems from Ornaments in Jade. But the highlight of the collection is ‘N’, the only original contribution to The Cosy Room, and perhaps the most interesting and thought-provoking story of Arthur Machen’s later career.
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16th February 2016:
Review
The Weird Fiction Review publishes a great review of Hortholary by Michael Reynier today! "With the quality of Reynier’s Horthólary so well established, I see no reason why he or Tartarus should not gain popularity in coming years. Indeed, both deserve it."
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2nd February 2016:
New Reggie Oliver paperback
We are delighted to announce the paperback publication, on 15th February, of Masques of Satan by Reggie Oliver. (It was first published in 2007 by Ash-Tree Press.) The first 250 copies of the paperback come numbered and signed by the author.
We are also able to report that the paperback reprint of The Dreams of Cardinal Vittorini is back in print once more. Also available in paperback are The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler, The Flowers of the Sea and Mrs Midnight and Other Stories.
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29th January 2016:
The Bitterwood Bible reprinted
The World Fantasy Award winning The Bitterwood Bible by Angela Slatter is now available as a trade paperback.
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28th January 2016:
'Starred' Publishers Weekly review
Horthólary: Tales from Montagascony by Michael Reynier has received a 'starred' review at Publishers Weekly, who write: 'These tales are superb examples of worldbuilding fantasy at its finest.'
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25th January 2016:
Horthólary review
Horthólary: Tales from Montagascony by Michael Reynier has been very positively reviewed by Paul St.John Mackintosh at See the Elephant: "Fearful French Fantastic Fun"!
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20th January 2016:
The Bitterwood Bible
The limited edition hardback of The Bitterwood Bible has now sold out! A paperback reprint will be available at the end of January.
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19th January 2016:
Low Stock
Please note that we are now down to the last few copies of Stories from a Lost Anthology by Rhys Hughes, and The Bitterwood Bible by Angela Slatter. A paperback reprint of The Bitterwood Bible is in hand and will be available in February.
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4th January 2016:
Happy New Year!
And we start off the New Year with some great news: The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley, first published by Tartarus Press in 2014, has just won the Costa First Novel Award. Many congratulations to Andrew! Copies of this wonderful novel are now available direct from John Murrays.
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22nd December:
Merry Christmas!
We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and a great New Year. Please note that any orders received over the next week will be dealt with from the 30th December.
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15th December:
Out of print
Please not that Haunted by Books by Mark Valentine and The Pale Ape by M.P. Shiel are both now out of print.
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14th December:
Low stock
Requests for copies of Haunted by Books by Mark Valentine have been very high and we have had to add it to our low stock page. It is likely to go out of print in the next few days, along with The Pale Ape by M.P. Shiel.
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3rd December 2015
Valentine!
All pre-ordered copies of Haunted by Books have now been posted. For those interested in Mark Valentine's fiction with John Howard Wyrd Britain have just reviewed The Collected Connoisseur, noting that the stories '...intrigue, they entice and they beguile; they are, simply, magical.'
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27th November 2015
Haunted by Books
Our next book, to be published on 3rd December, will be Haunted by Books by Mark Valentine. This substantial collection of essays highlighting the author's varied and esoteric literary interests will be signed, and orders received by the end of Monday 30th November can be personally inscribed, if customers let us know when placing their order.
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24th November
Highly Recommended
A very positive review has been received for Hortholary by Michael Reynier at Risingshadow
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18th November 2015:
Costa short-list
The Guardian has just announced that The Loney by Andrew Hurley is short-listed for the Costa first novel award. Congratulations Andrew!
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16th November 2015:
Black Static Reviews
Black Static Issue 49 is now published and contains very positive, lengthy reviews of four Tartarus Press Books.
Towards the end of his review of Orpheus on the Underground by Rhys Hughes, Peter Tennant writes: '... Nearly every story here is highly entertaining, filled with prose pyrotechnics and inventive verve, a joyful outpouring of literary madness and mayhem. ... Taken individually several of the stories here are outstanding ... Complementing the text are some splendid ink drawings by artist Chris Harrendence.'
All of the stories in Strange Tales V edited by Rosalie Parker are discussed at length, starting with ‘The Investigation of Innocence’ by Charles Wilkinson '... an extremely clever story, one that hints at much more than is conveyed...' through to ‘McBirdy’ by David McGroarty '...in which two young boys fall under the influence of teachers with an interest in the occult, with disturbing consequences in later life. It is a story in which the outré elements barely impinge and yet are central to the story, one in which nothing supernatural takes place and yet the whole is imbued with a sense of the weird.'
Of World Fantasy Award-winning The Bitterwood Bible by Angela Slatter, Tennant concludes: '...now time for me to gush. This is a collection of stories in which each individual work is a perfectly crafted gem, and the whole is considerably greater than the sum of its parts. ... As intricately plotted as Martin’s magnum opus, and with similar outbursts of bloody violence. ... As of today’s date, I rate The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings the best book I have read so far this year.'
And finally he reviews The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley: 'A beautifully written and thoroughly absorbing work of fiction, The Loney is also a book that touches on themes that are fundamental to the human condition.'
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11th November 2015:
The American Scholar
Only just brought to our attention is this article at The American Scholar in which Michael Dirda recommends 13 books for Halloween. SUB ROSA by Robert Aickman is pictured in our edition, but they could have easily chosen to illustrate our editions of The House of Souls by Machen, The Triumph of Night by Edith Wharton, The Man Who Could Work Miracles by H.G. Wells, and An Occurrence at Owl-Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
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9th November 2015:
World Fantasy Awards
We are delighted to hear that The Bitterwood Bible by Angela Slatter won a World Fantasy Award in Saratoga Springs yesterday (jointly with Gifts for the One Who Comes After by Helen Marshall.) Additionally, Tartarus won an award in the Best Non-Professional category. The full results can be found here.
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2nd November 2015:
Back in Print
We are pleased to report that two volumes by Robert Aickman are back in print, and containing new material from The Strangers and Other Writings (which will not be reprinted).
Intrusions: New second printing adds 'The Strangers'.
Night Voices: New second printing adds 'The Coffin House' and 'The Fully-Conducted Tour'.
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2nd November 2015:
Out of print
The Lost Poetry of William Hope Hodgson is now out of print.
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31st October 2015:
Halloween mentions in the Daily Telegraph
Tartarus receives a number of mentions in The Daily Telegraph in Tim Martin's double-page spread of recommended ghostly reading.
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30th October 2015:
Low Stock
In addition to those titles listed on our low stock page, we must now add the signed, numbered paperback edition of Flowers of the Sea by Reggie Oliver. (Unsigned copies will still be available.)
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29th October 2015:
Sold Out
We have now sold out of Wormwood issue 3
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28th October 2015:
Documentary screening
For those going to the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs, there will be a screening of our documentary, Robert Aickman: Author of Strange Tales, on the Thursday night at 9:30.
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27th October 2015:
Wormwood 25
In our twenty-fifth year, Tartarus Press is delighted to announce the publication on November 9th of Wormwood 25. The new issue contans 'Notes on the Modernist Ghost Story' by James Riley, 'Dark Dreams and Deep Desires: A Reading of Sarban’s The Doll Maker' by Rebekah Memel Brown, 'Alexei Remizov: An Opleshik in Exile' by Avalon Brantley, 'Romanticism and the Deranged Mind: The Maniac' by Robert Eldridge and 'The Many Lives of Guy Endore' by Chris Mikul, as well as the regular columns, 'Under Review' by Reggie Oliver, 'Late Reviews' by Douglas A. Anderson and 'Camera Obscura' by John Howard.
Additionally, please note that we only have a couple of copies of Wormwood 3 left.
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19th October 2015:
Sold Out
We have now sold out of all copies of Five Degrees of Latitude by Michael Reynier
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16th October 2015:
Further tales of Montagascony
Our next book will be Horthólary: Tales from Montagascony by Michael Reynier. It continues the adventures of Professor Horthólary from Five Degrees of Latitude. The new book is a sewn hardback volume of 340 pages with silk ribbon marker, head and tailbands, and d/w. Limited to 300 copies.
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13th October 2015:
Film Rights sold and Radio Four
Congratulations to Andrew Hurley for selling the film rights to his novel The Loney, now available from John Murrays. Andrew is interviewed by Mariella Fostrup on Radio Four's Open Book.
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28th September 2015
The summation of the French Decadent Movement...
Our new book, published today, is the decadent novel Monsieur de Phocas by Jean Lorrain. It comes with an extensively-illustrated Introduction by Francis Amery, a full-colour frontispiece, silk ribbon marker, illustrated boards and head and tailbands
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21st September 2015
Robert Aickman reprints
We have temporarily sold out of our editions of Cold Hand in Mine, Intrusions and Night Voices, and We Are for the Dark is very low in stock. We will be reprinting the first three of these titles, and we are in negotiations to reprint the last.
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16th September 2015
Last chance to read...
We have had a number of requests for information on titles that are low in stock. We have therefore created a new low stock page which will be updated on a regular basis. The titles listed will not necessarily go out of print in the order listed, of course.
Please also note that we hope to reprint the Robert Aickman titles once they have sold out. (It is our hope to keep in print, long-term, the eight main short story collections, and the two volumes of autobiography.)
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10th September 2015
Sold out...
We are sorry to report that we have now sold out of copies of The Strangers and Other Writings by Robert Aickman.
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9th September 2015
The Loney Re-launched...
The Loney by Andrew Hurley, first published by Tartarus Press in October 2014, has been republished by John Murray, and was officially re-launched at Waterstones in Lancaster on the 8th September. It is now available in an elegantly-designed hardback, and has been receiving further great reviews (many of which are very complimentary about Tartarus Press.) It also now comes with a blurb from Stephen King: "The Loney is not just good, it's great. It's an amazing piece of fiction."
A date for your diary: Andrew Hurley will be in conversation with Ramsey Campbell at Waterstones Liverpool One on 16th October.
25th August 2015
The Bitterwood Bible again...
Yet another good review for The Bitterwood Bible, this time from The Newtown Review of Books: "..a compendium of bittersweet tales to be devoured with relish."
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16th August 2015
The Bitterwood Bible reviewed
The Bitterwood Bible receives a glowing review at Risingshadow. '...a short story collection of exceptional beauty, grace and style. It should be part of everybody's speculative fiction collection.'
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13th August 2015
The Children of the Pool...
Our next publication will be The Children of the Pool by Arthur Machen. This collection, originally published in 1936, contains: 'Introduction' by Mark Valentine, 'The Exalted Omega', 'The Children of the Pool', 'The Bright Boy', 'The Tree of Life', 'Out of the Picture', 'Change'. With a Vorticist frontispiece drawing of the author. Publication 20th August 2015.
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9th August 2015
The Sunday Times, again...
The Sunday Times reviews The Loney in the new John Murray edition. They state that the book was "...first released last autumn ... by Tartarus ... it failed to attract mainstream attention". We did receive an article in the Sunday Telegraph and a "starred" review at Publishers Weekly, but we know what they mean. The book and author deserve all the praise they have been, and will continue to receive.
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8th August 2015
Interview...
Rebecca Lloyd is interviewed at Risingshadow
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2nd August 2015
The Sunday Times...
The Sunday Times prints a nice article discussing The Loney.
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28th July 2015
Mercy...
Another great review for Mercy:
'I consider this collection to be an outstanding achievement in contemporary strange fiction' Risingshadow
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27th July 2015
Orpheus on the Underground...
We have just found two reviews of Orpheus on the Underground by Rhys Hughes that we had not previously noticed:
'...one of the best new collections in the field that you could hope for.' Teleread
'An antic spirit animates the 16 delightful fantasies in this collection, which gives the reader the literary equivalent of a wink and a rib nudge. ... In several of these stories, Hughes references the work of Saki, a 20th-century master of satirical fantasy, and readers will find his tales their contemporary equivalent.' Publisher's Weekly
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25th July 2015
The Herald of the Hidden...
We have now sold out of the limited edition hardback of The Herald of the Hidden by Mark Valentine. The ebook remains available.
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23th July 2013
Website...
We are working on our new website, and will be fine-tuning it over the next week.
Low Stock...
We can report that there are only a few remaining copies in stock of The Herald of the Hidden by Mark Valentine.
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12th July 2015
Strange Tales V...
Strange Tales V has received a stunning review from Risingshadow:
'If you love bizarre and disturbing stories, this anthology will charm you and you'll want to re-read it as soon as possible. All of these stories deserve to be read and praised by readers and critics alike, because they're of exceptionally high quality.'
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11th July 2015
World Fantasy Award nominations...
We are very pleased to have three nominations in the World Fantasy Awards: Rebecca Lloyd's Mercy and Other Stories, Angela Slatter's The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings, and Tartarus itself in the Special Award: Non-professional.
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10th July 2015
Sold out!...
The Library of the Lost has sold out! Copies of the limited edition hardback will still be available, for a time, from the usual dealers who can be found here. The ebook remains available.
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9th July 2015
Recommended reading...
Strange Tales V is recommended summer reading at KQED Arts!
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4th July 2015
Publishers Weekly...
Tartarus Press has received a positive mention at Publishers Weekly.
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3rd July 2015
The Washington Post again...
Robert Aickman's The Strangers is recommended summer reading in the The Washington Post.
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3rd July 2015
New publication...
We are pleased to announce that our new publication is The Library of the Lost: In Search of Forgotten Authors by Roger Dobson, published in association with Caermean Books. It collects essays by Roger Dobson from such publications as The Antiquarian Book Monthly Review, The Lost Club Journal, Strange Attractor and Faunus, as well including previously unpublished material. It has been edited by and has an Introduction from Mark Valentine, and there is a Foreword by Javier Marias.
The Washington Post...
In other news, The Strangers by Robert Aickman has been included by Michael Dirda in his round-up of summer reading in The Washington Post.
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24th June 2015
A round-up of recent reviews:
The Strangers, by Robert Aickman:
'There are books, the publication of which represents a real literary event. This is the case with The Strangers...' Mario Guslandi, Nudge
'Featuring the first original short fiction collection of Aickman in three decades, The Strangers and Other Writings is the single most important release of the year by an independent publisher.' The Pan Review
'As a "behind-the-scenes" look at the evolution of a writer and a quasi-philosopher, this volume could hardly be bettered.' The Stars at Noonday
Strange Tales V, edited by Rosalie Parker
'This is one of the best, and certainly best-written, story anthologies I have read in a few past years of often superb collections.' Paul St.John Mackintosh, Telereads
'17 new stories that celebrate the diversity of the fantastic spectrum and attest to Parker's exceptional taste.' Publishers Weekly
The Bitterwood Bible by Angela Slatter
'Slatter’s work is excellent, and eminently readable. The world that her creations live within is excellently depicted, and the characters easy to relate to. It’s easy to see how she’s managed to make such an impact on the genre and garnered a British Fantasy Award and numerous other nominations.' British Fantasy Society
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4th May 2015
New writings by Robert Aickman...
Robert Aickman is known for his ‘strange tales’, in fact, forty-eight complete strange tales, published between 1951 and 1981 in eight books. Now, Tartarus Press is publishing a new volume, The Strangers and Other Writings, which includes previously unpublished and uncollected short fiction, non-fiction and poetry by Aickman. Dating from the 1930s to 1980, the contents show his development as a writer. Six unpublished short stories, augmented by one written for broadcast, follow his fiction from the whimsical through the experimental to the ghostly, with ‘The Strangers’ a fully-formed, Aickmanesque strange tale. The non-fiction samples Aickman’s wide-ranging interests and erudition: from the supernatural to Oscar Wilde; from 1940s films to Delius; from politics to the theatre; from Animal Farm to the canals.
Publication 28th May 2015.
Accompanying The Strangers is a fifty-three minute DVD documentary Robert Aickman, Author of Strange Tales. Featuring rare film, photographs and audio recordings, the film sheds new light on Aickman’s role in the development of the ghost story, his interest in restoring the British canal system and his wider involvement with the arts. Jean Richardson and Heather and Graham Smith share their memories of Aickman’s friendship, and writers Jeremy Dyson and Reggie Oliver evaluate Aickman’s literary legacy.
Please note that the dvd is not for sale, and is not available separately. A trailer can be seen on youtube.
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25th April 2015:
Wormwood 24
Our next publication will be Wormwood 24, which contains the following:
Wolfgang Borchert: A Shooting Star in the Literature of the Ruins by Adam Daly
The Shadow Woman: A Re-reading of Robert Aickman’s ‘The Trains’ by Jason Wilcox
Murder and Memory: The Forgotten Fiction of Richard Marsh by Emily Foster
Jacques Yonnet’s Paris Noir: The Secret History of a City by Colin Insole
Down to His Last Sleep: Zuleika Dobson in the Twenty-first Century by Henry Wessells
A Surge of Daemonic Energy: John Buchan and The Dancing Floor by James Machin
Not Exactly Prominent: The Supernatural Tales of Sir Andrew Caldecott by Mike Barrett
Under Review by Reggie Oliver
Late Reviews by Douglas A. Anderson
Camera Obscura by John Howard
Publication 30th April 2015. Price £9.99 including p&p worldwide
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27th March 2015:
Strange Tales V
We are very pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of Strange Tales V, the latest volume in our series of award-winning anthologies of contemporary strange fiction. These are, by any measure, superb short stories, and it is hoped that Strange Tales V will further the cause of contemporary speculative fiction and help introduce it to a wider audience. Strange Tales V is a sewn hardback book of 267 pages with silk ribbon marker, decorated boards, head and tailbands, and d/w. Limited to 350 copies with jacket and boards artwork by Stephen J Clark. It will be published April 9th 2015, and contains the following:
'The Investigation of Innocence' by Charles Wilkinson
'Julie' by L.S. Johnson
'The Grave House' by Steve Rasnic Tem
'A Life in Plastic' by Andrew Hook
'Bardo Thodol Backup File' by Jacurutu:23
'More Than India' by John Howard
'You-Go-Back' by Elise Forier Edie
'Stranger Must Go' by Douglas Penick
'Beatrice Faraway’s Christmas Tale' by Paul Bradley
'Henge' by David Rix
'Yes, I Knew the Venusian Commodore' by Mark Valentine
'Mary Alice in the Mirror' by Yarrow Paisley
'The Taxidermist’s Tale' by Tara Isabella Burton
'The Man Who Loved Flies' by Andrew Apter
'Purses' by Nathan Alling Long
'Look for the Place Where the Ivy Rises' by Tom Johnstone
'McBirdy' by David McGroarty
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12th March 2015:
Hurley interview
You can read an in-depth interview with Andrew Michael Hurley, author of The Loney, at the Weird Fiction Review. There's also an extract from the book, which is shortlisted for the James Herbert Award for Horror Writing 2015.
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10th March 2015:
Secret Glory delay
We apologise for the delay in the delivery of Arthur Machen's The Secret Glory. We should receive copies within the next two weeks and orders will be fulfilled as soon as they arrive. I
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9th March 2015:
Aurealis award
Congratulations to Angela Slatter who is a finalist in the 2014 Aurealis Awards for a number of books and stories, including The Bitterwood Bible in the "Best Collection" category and "The Badger Bride” (from Strange Tales IV) in the "Best Fantasy Short Story" category.
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16th February 2015:
The Secret Glory
Our next book will be a reprint of Arthur Machen's classic novel The Secret Glory. The new edition contains all six chapters, with notes, and as appendices ‘The Hidden Mystery’ (first published in The Academy, June 6th 1908) and ‘The Martyr’ (first published in The Academy,
June 20th 1908.) The book has illustrated boards with an image from ‘Mural XV: The Golden Tree’ by Edwin Austin Abbey. It will be published 5th March 2015.
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15th February 2015:
The writer and the critic
The Bitterwood Bible by Angela Slatter is discussed very positively in a podcast at The Writer and The Critic.
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14th February:
Terrific!
Rupetta by N.A. Sulway is mentioned by Alyssa Rosenberg in The Washington Post, suggesting that it would make a great movie. The book is described as "terrific"!
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29th October 2015:
Shortlisting for the James Herbert Award
We are very pleased to report the excellent news, made official today, that Andrew Michael Hurley's superb novel The Loney has been shortlisted for the James Herbert Award for Horror Writing 2014. This new annual award is sponsored by Pan Macmillan and James Herbert’s family. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in London in March.
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15th October 2015:
Locus review
The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley continues to receive great reviews. Stefan Dziemianowicz in Locus (January 2015) writes: "Hurley delivers a haunting and powerful weird tale about religious faith and how it is used to control and make sense of forces that constantly resist it." .
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14th January 2015:
The Old Knowledge
Rosalie Parker's The Old Knowledge gets a very fine review from Rick Kleffel at The Agony Column: "The stories to be found in this slim volume are chilling to be sure, and engrossing in every way. But there's a bigger picture than just the stories themselves. These stories take us not to a different world, but a different vision of this world."
Rick also interviews Rosalie and Ray from Tartarus here.
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10th January 2015:
ITV news
The Arthur Machen collection at Newport Reference Library is under threat. Watch the news story on the itv website.
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7th January 2015:
Three new reviews
No less than three new reviews of The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley, and all of them positive, starting with a "starred" review at Publishers Weekly:
"His sensitive portrayal of Tonto and Hanny's relationship and his insights into religious belief and faith give this eerie tale depth and gravity."
And at No Time is Passing:
"What I loved about The Loney is that it struck me as the kind of book Robert Aickman might have written if his strange stories had expanded into strange novels. Yes, it’s more narratively linear and “filled out” than Aickman’s work, and possibly Hurley’s portrayal of the novel’s human characters as distinct from the landscape is less contemptuous and alien than some of Aickman’s."
And at Bookmunch:
"Hurley is a terrific writer... That he has honed his talents in short stories shows here, the rhythm of the story is perfect, and the build-up of tension is so well done that your palms will be clammy at just the thought of some of the set pieces."
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5th January 2015:
Orpheus on the Underground
We are pleased to announce that our next publication will be Orpheus on the Underground by Rhys Hughes. It will be published on Thursday 8th January. In the twenty years since the publication of his first short story collection ( Worming the Harpy, Tartarus Press, 1995) Rhys Hughes has become an éminence grise of the strange tale. He wears his reputation lightly, and it is the sheer fun and individuality of the stories in Orpheus on the Underground that make them so memorable.
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4th January 2015:
Happy New Year!
We can begin the year with a very good, new review for Mercy and Other Stories by Rebecca Lloyd, at Rick Kleffel's Agony Column: "The stories collected in 'Mercy' are excitingly, invitingly, engagingly human. With each tale, Lloyd offers us the premise that our hearts are a mystery."
We are also pleased to note that Tartarus Press and Andrew Hurley's The Loney are both discussed, as is Robert Aickman, in an article on ghost stories in the Sunday Telegraph.
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13th December 2014:
The Australian
The Australian today publishes a very good review of The Bitterwood Bible by Angela Slatter:
"She has carved a niche as one of the best writers of short stories of dark fantasy. . . . Each story is infused with different elements of myth, fairytale and folklore to create something fresh and original. The tales are creepy and supernatural, but also contain wry humour. They often come with a sharp point, sometimes by way of a morality tale or small cruelties. Slatter combines darkness, passion and beauty to leave the reader at turns amused, confronted and horrified. . . . Slatter writes with an exquisite touch, and her words are enhanced by delightful sketches by Australian artist Kathleen Jennings."
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12th December 2014:
Locus review
We've just heard about a great review of Strange Tales IV in November's issue of LOCUS magazine: "Tartarus Press has always displayed impressive production values but Strange Tales IV raises them to a new height ... With its colour frontispiece by Stephen J. Clark and colour foil-stamped boards bearing another Clark design, this is a book whose physical package is commensurate with the literary quality of its contents."
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8th December 2014:
Loney reviews
The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley has recently received two very good reviews.
The first is from Rick Kleffel at The Agony Column:
"The Lonely, a powerfully written tale of faith, reality and what rises from the gulf between the two ... a novel with rich, intense characters and places you'll not soon forget.."
The second from Paul StJohn Mackintosh at Teleread:
"Hurley has written a dark, disturbing and completely convincing piece of modern Gothic that delivers on all kinds of levels."
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14th November 2014:
"Starred" review
A great "starred" review received from Publishers Weekly for The Bitterwood Bible by Angela Slatter "13 expertly wrought stories in this short-fiction collection feature characters driven by the all-too-human motives of revenge and frustration with the miserable circumstances of their lives."
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12th November 2014:
Reading
Andrew Hurley, author of The Loney, will be reading from his new novel at "Bad Language", a literary night at The Castle, Oldham Street, Manchester on 26th November at 7:30pm.
He is also reading in Lancashire at Heysham Library on 14th November, from 10:30-11:30 am, and at Bolton le Sands Library 28th November from 2-3pm.
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11th November 2014:
Contributions sought
We are always seeking interesting contributions to Wormwood, our journal covering fantastic, supernatural and decadent literature. We are especially interested in contributions on the subject of decadent and European authors whose work may be less well known to anglophone readers. Articles should normally be between 2,000-5,000 words and authors are advised to discuss possible subjects or themes with the editor, Mark Valentine before submitting their work. Payment will be in the form of complimentary copies of the journal.
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