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The Moon Will Look Strange – review
Since February is Women in Horror month, I’ve decided to post the full review I wrote of Lynda E. Rucker‘s collection The Moon Will Look Strange (Karōshi Books, 2013). My piece was published in the Green Book journal last year. I will note that Lynda is a friend of mine, but since my general policy is to avoid reviewing the work of those dear to me, this review should stand as an indication of how much I enjoyed her writing. It is easy upon reading an author’s impressive debut collection to ponder ‘why on earth is she not better known?’, and search for conspiracy. The reality is that it…
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She Walks in Shadows
Within genre circles (sf/f/h) there are some debates that keep rising from the grave, like brain-lusting zombies. You chase the brutes about, slice off their heads, throw them back into the pit, and tamp the soil down hard upon their twitching limbs. Yet, they keep digging their way out of the earth. This is particularly tiresome if the debate is centred around – say – the ability of an entire gender. Since we are 50% of the world’s population, it should be no surprise that women come from lots of different backgrounds, which makes it difficult to make definitive pronouncements about the abilities/interests/desires of such a large group of people.…
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Women in Horror 2013
It’s Imblog today, the traditional start of Spring in Ireland, and it’s sunny too – a welcome break from the recent fierce squalls. It’s also the start of Women in Horror Recognition Month, which I’ve discussed before on my blog. Two years ago I wrote a piece for the fabulous Bad Reputation web site in which I recommended five women horror novelists. This year they asked me to contribute again, and this time I’ve chosen to highlight the work of women from across the horror media spectrum. It’s a personal pick of women who are doing interesting work in the field, and of course there are so many more. Today…
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sunset over mallorca
This was yesterday’s sunset in Santa Ponsa, where the local fisherman cast their lines. Alas, my short break has run its course. Today I head back to Ireland. The next time I hope to come away to a place like this with more free time. I spent most of yesterday in front of my keyboard, rattling away at my latest project, and wishing the afternoon wasn’t so fine. I managed a short break in the evening, just before dinner, and dashed down to the water to try and snap some shots. I captured a number of good images, which I will look at when I’m feeling oppressed by grey skies…
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Water in Black Static 21
My flash short story, ‘Water’, is appearing in Black Static 21. Thanks to editor Andy Cox for taking the story. A shout-out is also needed for non-fiction editor Peter Tennant, who has devoted the Black Static‘s Case Notes blog to the subject of women in horror for the month of February. At the moment you can read Nina Allen’s piece on ‘My hero: Joyce Carol Oates‘. I’d also like to highlight Melissa Helwig’s blog, Little Miss Zombie. Melissa is interviewing women who write horror throughout the month of February. If you think there aren’t that many women working in horror this will serve as a regular reminder that isn’t the…
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bloody women
Since February is ‘Women in Horror Month‘ I thought I’d promote an excellent programme being featured in this year’s Bird’s Eye View Film Festival in the UK, called ‘Bloody Women: From Gothic to Horror‘. It’s taking place from March 8th-17th 2011 in the BFI Southbank, ICA & Southbank Centre. Bird’s Eye View is the UK’s first major women’s film festival, and has year-round activity with its First Weekenders Club, BEV Labs, touring programme and online community. The Bloody Women prorgramme includes seminal silents by women pioneering the genre, recent classic horror movies made by women, a programme of cutting-edge horror shorts by emerging women filmmakers, and a panel discussion on…
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not a weekend for the ladies
Some of my regular readers might remember my tangle with SFX magazine last year over its one-off special horror edition, which barely mentioned the existence of women in its pages, and its poor response. Things must have changed, eh? One year on the magazine just ran its multi-media conference, the Weekender 2, an event promising to offer ‘the ultimate sci-fi experience, packed with activities for fans’. I noticed a comment on Facebook today from one of the guests who wondered about the dearth of female guests. I looked at the list: 37 guests, only 4 of them are women. However, I spotted something else. Two of the female guests are…
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recognising women in horror
February is Women in Horror Recognition Month, an event started last year to boost the profile of women who work in all facets of the horror industry. Check out the web site and the Facebook page for loads of blog posts and events promoting the contribution of women to horror. To kick it off here I’d like to mention that the results of the 4th Black Quill Awards have been announced. The Awards are voted on by the readers and editors of Dark Scribe Magazine so there are two awards in each category. A shout-out to Gemma Files, exceptional horror writer, who was the only person to win both the…
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women in horror recognition month 2011
February this year saw the inaugural Women in Horror Recognition Month, which was an initiative started by Hannah Nuerotica out of frustration because of a perceived lack of women working in the horror industry (literature, cinema, television, comics, etc.). Of course, there are a lot of women working in the industry, but there has been a historic visibility problem: women haven’t always enjoyed equal critical attention or promotion as their male colleagues. Hannah started Women in Horror Recognition Month so that women writers, directors, actors, etc. would get a visibility boost at least for the month of February. It was an excellent idea and via the blog and Facebook page…
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dear Alexandra
This blog post began as a reply to a comment made by horror writer and screenwriter, Alexandra Sokoloff, on my last blog entry, but got too long. It’s probably best if you read that first before continuing with this entry. I’ll wait. Back? Great. Here’s what my couple of lines morphed into: Dear Alexandra, Thank you for your note, and I appreciate your kind comments. I’m currently reading your novel The Price, as I’m engaged in a drive to read as much horror by women as possible before World Horror Convention. That means getting books from a lot of different sources, especially since women’s horror isn’t easy to come by…
