The signed deluxe limited edition of SYCAMORE is now 50% sold out! Features a new, 32,000-word novella, "The Sun Never Rises." Don't miss out! thunderstormbooks.com/thunderstorm...

After reading "Rider in the Widow Lands," Coy Hall's new Sword & Sorcery story, my admiration only grows. This is a terrific, moody tale about a flinty-eyed "hero" whose past, only glimpsed, could surely fill volumes. I enjoyed the hell out of this story! @coyhall.bsky.social

This was a fantastic short read. My only disappointment is that Christopher Lee is no longer with us to narrate the tale like a ghoulish bedtime story. But I won't judge you if you buy it and do your own Lee impression out loud as you read. I know I did.

The author ♱ the first page ♱ the cover

Some kind words about The Knave of Graves.

The Werner Herzog collection so far. Cave of Forgotten Dreams will be here soon.

Reading Candle Horror feels a little like getting trapped in a curiosity shop. There are preserved heads, Esperanto prayers and insects whispering of transmigration. Plenty of curios, plenty of secrets, each one dark and tragic. Meditative, evocative and very weird. Recommended!

Reminder: In light of Bad Bunny's Superbowl performance spotlighting Latino culture, here's a hefty list of Latino speculative fiction authors I curated if anyone wants to take a gander and read some phenomenal work. Much love to all! go.bsky.app/6BAmgpi

A terrific review of The Knave of Graves from the Spells & Spaceships blog. Check it out!

Experimenting by releasing a short story on Kindle & KU. Rider in the Widow Lands is a 25 page sword & sorcery tale. Available now! Mybook.to/widowlands

This is wonderful. Check it out!

Any day your work gets compared to Jack Vance's is a good day. (Check out sjshank.com to read the first chapter of the Knave of Graves.)

𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓 is perfect for the cold and dark season. ♱ Winter Horror ♱ ♱ Medieval Horror ♱ ♱ Gothic Horror ♱ sjshank.com #horror #winterhorror #medievalhorror #gothichorror

Currently reading. I'm digging it.

Little Ghosts has already done so much to foster the local horror community in Toronto and support queer, indie, and emerging writers. I want to see what they do with this space. Let's make this happen!!

Hey friends, can I ask you all to give our @littleghostsbooks.bsky.social Crowdfundr a look? Any amount helps us with our workspace renovation plans, if you're not able (which I understand!), if you could share the link that would be amazing. Love you all! 🤗🧡 👻📚 crowdfundr.com/littleghosts...

Some very kind words for The Knave of Graves. #spfbo #spfboxi

REVIEWERS: Hearts Strange & Dreadful by @timmcgregor.bsky.social is now available for review on Netgalley: www.netgalley.com/catalog/book.... If you'd like a physical copy contact us directly.

The Organization Is Here to Support You by @charleneelsby.bsky.social is an incredible bureaucratic horror novel that reads like the love child of Kafka and the Tri-agency Guide on Financial Administration. I absolutely loved this pitch-perfect, hilarious book.

Inspired by the short story "The Fathomeer" by @mr-thor.bsky.social from the book This World of Vile Wonder 💙 Didn't come out exactly as I had planned in my head, but there we go! #watercolour #illustration #horrorliterature

Readers keep on finding new and incredibly nice things to say about The Knave of Graves. The full review from Quentin Lewis is well worth the read: 🔗 www.quentinlewis.com/books/curren... Many thanks to Quentin for the thoughtful review.

Channeling this guy in my work in progress (a 19th century horror romp). Obed Hussey invented a machine called a reaper and was said to be “as whimsical as the weather.”

New edition of Hearts Strange and Dreadful from @rdspress.bsky.social with a gorgeous cover by @chrisshapedghost.bsky.social!

InhuMANities by @andrewawesome.bsky.social is one of the smuttiest and most unsettling books I’ve read in a long time. The stories are equally absurd, disgusting and brilliant as they plumb the various depths of (mostly) men’s depravity. Terrific body horror that will make you squirm.

Thrilled whenever new readers discover my work. Thrilled to be taking part in #SPFBO!

A look at the cover & interior design of The Promise of Plague Wolves, Spanish edition! Releasing from @dilatandomentesed.bsky.social in February.

I received this beauty in the mail the other day. SOMETIME LOFTY TOWERS by David C. Smith, published by @newedgeswordmag.bsky.social. Can't wait to dig in! #swordandsorcery

Friends, @blackcrowbooks.bsky.social is open to novel subs til end of the month from marginalized and underrepresented authors. www.blackcrowbooks.co.uk/our-publisher

I saw this review of Mountain Fast just before bed the other day and I was so thrilled I couldn't sleep. A huge thank you to @g.the.bibliophile over on IG for the kind words. 🙏 🖤

Incredibly kind words from @sjshank.bsky.social about Pyres! Thanks so much, man! 🙏🏼🔥 #HorrorBooks #BookSky 📚😱

The 2026 reading thread kicks off with a sci-fi banger from the prolific imagination of Coy Hall, The Owl Men of Shanidar. Do yourself a favor: drop everything and read all of Coy’s books. Time very well spent.

Pyres by @kevharrison.bsky.social was the last book I read in 2025 and it was a high note. Part thriller, part folk horror, the story inventively blends spirit channeling and pyrokinesis to shed light on the ugliness at the heart of today's immigration debates. Terrifically paced and very spooky.

My reads of 2026 are off to a great start. Such a rich and detailed dark fantasy world, not like anything I've read before. And @sjshank.bsky.social created a compelling and amusing main character in Jeppo, a disreputable underdog with a more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

Tuesday we haunt the house down with a special edition of Drunk Fiction! 6:30pm @ the Caledonian @emilyweedon.bsky.social @gothmother666.bsky.social @timmcgregor.bsky.social @monicaskuebler.bsky.social @elainechen.com @sjshank.bsky.social & Suzan Palumbo! #torontoevents #horrorwritersassociation

Wishing everyone a happy and safe New Year's celebration! I've got a lot happening in 2026, starting with the cover reveal for "The Nod/Wells Timelines - The Official Compendium" on Monday, January 5th. Stay tuned!

So long, 2025. Happy new year, friends. I hope that your 2026 is filled with happiness and rewarding days.

A selection of great indie books I read this year. I highly recommend all of these!👇📚 (See list below, left to right)

Back in the art mine. Why hide in your room during the holidays when you can hide in a cafe?

Merry Christmas, friends.

Coy Hall has many finely-crafted tales of speculative fiction. "Colossus with a Poison Tongue" became one of @michaelshotter.com's favorites when he read it this year but they are all worthy of serious consideration, #booksky! 👇🩸📚🪐📚💙 Michael's Review www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

TFW you're writing the climax and you finally figure out what your book is about.

On January 6, I'll be reading from my latest alongside my wonderful fellow HWA Ontario writers at The Caledonian. If you're in Toronto, I hope to see you there! @hwaontario.bsky.social

S.J. Shank had a big, new dark-fantasy novel this year. For those interested in first sampling his shorter works of speculative fiction, @michaelshotter.com read and thoroughly enjoyed his collection, "Rare Specimen and Other Stories." 👇🩸📚🪐📚💙 Michael's Review www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

My Xmas tree looks evil.

Bearing gifts to someone special this season? 🎁 Why not give the gift of dark fantasy and horror? 💀 🔗 below "Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom; sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in the stone-cold tomb." - We Three Kings 🎵

5 out of 5 stars for this wonderful and psychologically unsettling series of stories. Thank you to @coyhall.bsky.social and his writing peers for a uniformly excellent read.

My haul from the Friends of the Merril Collection book sale this weekend, featuring a complimentary copy of @newedgeswordmag.bsky.social Issue 0 from editor @obrackenbury.bsky.social! #bookhaul #merrilcollection #swordandsorcery

The Knave of Graves/SJ Shank is a page turner. A gravedigger, night hag, evil sorcerer, saint, lovestruck geese, people trying haggle for human bones, & a fortune-telling snake....witness the gravedigger determine the cost of evil & innocence. pick it up at @little ghostsbooks.bsky.social

Got some great tips from three terrific editors at today's panel hosted by the Friends of the Merril Collection. Featuring: + @ourmankoto.bsky.social (Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction) + @obrackenbury.bsky.social (New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine) + Lloyd Penney (Amazing Stories)

Go read Coy Hall's dark fiction!