July is nearly over, and the summer’s really disappearing fast this year. While I’m looking forward to October more than ever, I’ve still got some very cool events on the docket this summer, along with some brand-new and forthcoming releases that I’m excited to share. So without further adieu, let’s get on with this post, shall we?

HWA Pittsburgh Chapter

First and foremost, let’s talk about this super exciting announcement. This one isn’t a convention or an appearance, but instead, an all-hands-on-deck kind of deal: if you’re a writer in the greater Pittsburgh area (which includes West Virginia and Ohio, if it’s in driving distance for you), please consider joining us for the 1st meeting of the brand-new Horror Writers Association Pittsburgh Chapter. The truly fabulous Sara Tantlinger and Michael Arnzen are co-hosting this meeting on Saturday, July 27th at 5pm at Seton Hill University. For this initial meetup, you don’t need to be an HWA member, so please join us as we talk about what kinds of horror-centric events we’d like to put together in the region. Needless to say, it’s going to be a really amazing time bringing an HWA chapter to Zombie City USA, so come and hang out with us!

NecronomiCon Providence

So this event is a bit of a last-minute addition to the summer, but for good reason. I just got word in recent weeks that a couple projects that I’m part of will be hosting their launches at NecronomiCon, so I decided to break my no-cons-until-fall plan and head on up to Providence from August 23rd to 25th. I waited too long to be considered for panels, which means I’ll just be spending the weekend celebrating new releases with friends, and honestly, that sounds perfectly delightful. If you see me around, feel free to wave or glare. Being strange and unusual myself, I respond equally well to both.

Saugatuck StoryFest

And for my last convention of 2019, I’m thrilled to be returning for a second year in a row to this festival, hosted by the Westport Library. I’ve seen the preliminary programming that I’ll be joining, and I’m just giddy with excitement over it. The festival runs from September 27th to the 28th, and like last year, it will definitely be a lovely time, so if you’re in the area, please head out for this! Lots of genres mingling together here, and lots of fun for people of all ages!

New and Forthcoming Releases

Finally, I’d like to do a quick rundown of my recent and forthcoming publications. 2019 has been a pretty busy year on the short fiction front for me, so I want to make sure I give everything its due here on the old blog.

First up, recent releases! Welcome to Mistaktonic University from Broken Eye Books just made its way into the world this week. The table of contents includes my cosmic horror tale, “A Lost Student’s Handbook for Surviving the Abyss,” alongside a ton of other fantastic authors. I’ve been excited about this release for a while now, so it’s awesome to see it finally go live, tentacles and all!

As for nonfiction, the 10th issue of Unnerving Magazine was released earlier this month, and I’m proud to have an article titled “Beyond the Forest and Bloodied Paths: A Foray into the World of Folk Horror.” I get to talk all about Howard David Ingham’s awesome book, We Don’t Go Back: A Watcher’s Guide to Folk Horror, along with my favorite folk horror films, including The Company of Wolves, Eye of the Devil, and Picnic at Hanging Rock. So much creepy rural devilry, so little time!

And finally, forthcoming anthologies! I’ll talk much more about each of these as they’re released, but I’m beyond honored to have stories in Weirdpunk Books’s A New Flesh: A Literary Tribute to David Cronenberg, Muzzleland Press’s Behold the Undead of Dracula: Lurid Tales of Cinematic Gothic Horror, and Nightscape Press’s Horror for RAICES: A Charitable Anthology. Plus, I’ve got a couple other publications that I haven’t been given the green light to announce quite yet, which just means there will be more fiction to share in the next post.

In the meantime, happy summer, and happy reading!