Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …
Sloth, the new novella by writer Joanne Askew, released 7 December through Queer Space
Britain is rotting. Sloth has taken over the land. Natali and her wife, Lana, must raise their heart rates every three hours or the Sloth virus will slow their hearts to nothing. But Natali faces more than Sloth. She faces the depression her wife is consumed by, the loss of their child, and soon they must face a new presence on Britain’s decaying roads. There are voices that yell through the silent night and gunfire that echoes from the skeletons of a society in ruins. Available to pre-order in paperback, with an eBook edition to follow, you can guarantee your copy here.
Horror-on-Sea, the Southend-on-Sea based horror film festival, returns after a two-year hiatus on 14 January 2022
Following a 2-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the UK’s largest independent festival devoted to horror is back for gore! Opening on Friday 14 January and running through Saturday 15 and Sunday 16, and then again from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 January 2022, Horror-on-Sea will showcase more than 36 feature films, over 70 short movies and provide a showcase for 10 world premieres. As befits its reputation as an international showcase for young writers, directors and producers, this year’s programme will give an audience to films from the UK, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Russia, Finland, Ukraine, India, Ireland, and of course, the USA. From perennial-favourites zombies, vampires, and monsters, to cursed demonic clowns, serial killers, a very, very bad Santa, sharksploitation and kitchen horror, Horror-on-Sea is the very definition of ‘all killer, no filler’. To see full listings and buy your tickets, visit the website, here.
Paradise Harbour, a new noir novella with horrific elements from Alexander Semenyuk, out now from World Castle Publishing
When Luc Nistage, private detective, gets an offer from one of the richest men to find his lost daughter, Luc feels that he got the break that’s been eluding him. Little does he know that he is about to be submerged into the most horrifying case imaginable, testing his sanity, humanity, and body. Enter Paradise Harbour, a town where nothing is as it seems. Where cultists, creatures, gangsters, and a serial killer terrify the public, a young private investigator must find a missing woman amidst all the evil barricades surrounding him. To grab your copy in eBook, paperback or hardcover editions, click here.
Out now from Ghost Orchid Press, Chlorophobia, an anthology of eco-horror, edited by A. R. Ward
A group of explorers stumble upon a new species of plant in the depths of the rainforest. A novel virus drives humankind to flee the Earth. A killer fog rolls in off the sea, decimating everything in its path. Eco-horror is one of the hottest and most relevant subgenres around in 2021, and inside this anthology you’ll find punchy, eye-catching flash fiction and poetry by no fewer than fifty talented authors. Plants, animals, weather phenomena… It’s time for Mother Nature to fight back. Featuring stories by Sonora Taylor, Corey Farrenkopf, Nico Bell, Zé Burns and many more, you can pick up your copy in paperback and eBook right now, here.
KEV HARRISON
