Caught this play a few days ago in Toronto. Not sure how much it reminded me of either Poe or Jackson, but it was a fun experience. www.crowstheatre.com/shows-events...

My dudes and dudettes and all those between: it wasn’t my intention to harsh your mellows today. I wish you all long and successful short story writing careers from the bottom of my blacked heart.

"Strantzas is one of the masters of modern weird fiction, able to mine the common materials of everyday life for unmistakable signs of dread." — Steve Rasnic Tem www.lethepressbooks.com/product-page...

Here’s the thing about being a short story writer: there are a lot of you. A lot who started writing before you, and a lot who will start after. And depending on when you begin to send your work out, there may be a plethora of places to publish, or a paucity. (1/8)

Wanted: Short Story Writer. Must love: long hours for little pay; minimal book sales; multitudinous rejections; working in anonymity. Perks: doing what you want because no one is reading anyway. Misplaced self-importance an asset but not required. Apply within.

Daniel Mills has long been one of my favourite writers. Missing this book would be a great mistake. (One you may regret every day for the rest of your life.) undertowpublications.com/shop/among-t...

We should judge our success not by our few times of triumph, but by our perseverance during multiple times of failure.

PHANTASMAGORIA, issue 27, is now on the newsstands and includes a reprint of my story, "Thea Was First", and a brand-new interview with me. I feel I'm getting better at these interviews as I slouch toward decrepitude, but I'll let you be the judge. www.amazon.com/Phantasmagor...

Words by yours truly about group guilt and a freaky jester costume in Sorority Row, Irish vampire music in Sinners, and the mind’s dark margins in @strantzas.bsky.social’s “In This Twilight.” www.deadofnightletter.com/jester-vamp-... #filmsky #horror

Another stellar review of OTHER SIDES, this time in the latest issue of Phantasmagoria magazine… “Strantzas has delivered another excellent collection of the weird and the horrifyingly wonderful… – highly recommended.” www.lethepressbooks.com/product-page...

I used to be a grumpy writer. I still am, but I used to be, too.

Podcast idea: “The Process is a Process All Its Own”, where your host interviews a guest and first discusses how they started, then how they typically write stories, then ending with a discussion about current ideas for stories and how they might be fleshed out.

Book reviews are not for the writer.

Small press and micro press publishers are typically not business-minded people. They are just regular joes and janes who like books so much that they want to put more of what they love out into the world.

This is a great book!

I probably shouldn't have but I did.

I fell for this scam when I was in my early 20s. The scammer even drove me to the bank and waited in line with me to make sure I didn’t flake. My mom was /not/ happy with me. Still, I used those speakers for over a decade, so I’m convinced I got my money’s worth. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_v...

I like to use the time I set aside for writing each day to wonder why I'm not writing.

I know I've said there are no rules to writing, but there actually are a few. A big one is: Never ask someone what they thought of what you wrote. That's because they'll either lie to you or tell you the truth, and both outcomes are equally horrible.

“Just finished OTHER SIDES by [Simon Strantzas]. Another stellar collection of dark reveries.” — Michael Kelly, editor of THE BEST WEIRD FICTION OF THE YEAR Amazon link: www.amazon.com/Other-Sides-...

Fresh outta the box! Still got that "new book" smell!

My new collection, OTHER SIDES, concludes with the novella "Interior Designs". A young, troubled woman is employed to prepare a home for a notorious star. But there's something amiss about that old wooden door and that weird shape that's following her. Order OTHER SIDES: tinyurl.com/2ektv9ty

I highly recommend this new collection by Simon Strantzas, Other Sides. Strantzas is one of the masters of modern weird fiction, able to mine the common materials of everyday life for unmistakable signs of dread. www.amazon.com/Other-Sides-...

Desperate to read OTHER SIDES but you’re allergic to paper? Don’t be left behind! EBOOK edition now available through Godless. (Amazon link to come at a later date). godless.com/products/oth...

I’m glad there are new (read: smarter) folks out there trying to make sense of what the Weird currently is because I’m starting to feel I have my arms wrapped tight around an old dissipating ghost.

Elsewhere I excitedly shared a link to a new in-depth essay about my work before I read it and realized that the thing was 90% AI hallucination.

The penultimate story in my new collection, OTHER SIDES, is "The Somnambulists". Is it horror? Is it weird? Is it fantasy? Who the fudge knows, but I think you'll like it. It was first published in Shadows & Tall Trees 8. Order OTHER SIDES: tinyurl.com/2ektv9ty

Today (well, yesterday) is the drop day for @michaelcisco.bsky.social latest! Weird fiction icon Michael Cisco's Black Brane, begins with the physical pain of a bad foot and later voyages into absurdity, mad science, occultism, and existential dread. indiepubs.com/products/bla... (Buy Indie!)

"Strantzas doesn’t just tell scary stories—he peels back the layers of the human mind and dives straight into the shadows... where the real terror isn't just what's out there… but what's already inside us." - Cassandra Clare, #1 New York Times bestselling author tinyurl.com/2ektv9ty

Peter was one of the best to ever do it. I hope one day this will be available in a format that more people can afford.

The twelfth story in OTHER SIDES, my new collection, is “The Beautiful Fog Ascending”. First published in Joshi’s SEARCHERS AFTER DARKNESS, it's the uplifting story of an elderly man whose family have all deserted him, so he goes for a walk. Order OTHER SIDES: tinyurl.com/2ektv9ty

If you’re not reading BOURBON PENN then you ain’t thinking right.

Elbows up, my brothers and sisters and those in between. nymag.com/intelligence...

The eleventh story in OTHER SIDES, my new collection, is “Shepherd Not Sheep”. It’s a weird tale that falls in that liminal space between fantasy and horror. No surprise, considering it was originally published in the fantastic Bourbon Penn. Order OTHER SIDES now!: tinyurl.com/2ektv9ty

In case you missed it, my brand-new collection of horror and weird fiction, MONUMENTS IN DARKNESS, is out now! Simon Strantzas says, "Each story reveals a labyrinth of unspeakable truths." Link is to Amazon, but you can buy the collection wherever you get your books!

A question this column suggests but doesn’t deal with: if the supernatural is an upsetting of the rational world, does that mean that stories set in an irrational world (e.g., Fantasy stories) by definition cannot be supernatural?

I think of genre like a weighted checklist. You take a story and see how many boxes it ticks off, and that will tell you how genre it is. (I really like one-quarter-horror!) It’s descriptive, not proscriptive. And best stories are written without worrying about what genre they’re in.

5 stars for Other Sides by Simon Strantzas The stories are as terrifying by the impact on the mind of the reader beyond the regular horror. substack.com/home/post/p-... #horror #paranormal #eeriefiction #shortstories #booksky #bookreview

Smart.

My friends, I know you already know this, but I feel I must tell you: that “Sinners” film is very very good.

It's release day for Weird Horror 11. Another disquieting and disturbing foray into the Weird. Subscriber copies have begun to mail. Artwork by @strangegodsart.bsky.social What a ToC! Grab your copy now: www.weirdhorrormagazine.com

The new issue of WEIRD HORROR launches today. You should buy a physical copy immediately for some great fiction. www.weirdhorrormagazine.com The column I wrote for this issue is online to read for free, too. Fair warning: you’ll probably get mad at me. www.weirdhorrormagazine.com/on-horror-11

The tenth story in OTHER SIDES, my new collection, is "Everything is White". It's a new story, and frankly one of my favorites. It's also one of my oldest—I started working on it in the 90s, after reading the work of Kenneth J. Harvey. OTHER SIDES is now shipping!: tinyurl.com/2ektv9ty

I writed one of these real good. You buy all.

I’m too dumb to contribute but I hope to buy the hell out of it.

I know he was a controversial figure, but Jim Shooter loomed large over my comic-buying youth. Many of the great runs happened on his watch. Cancer sucks.

The whole thing is free to watch on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZejD...

The ninth story in OTHER SIDES, my new collection, is "The Needle Song". Originally published in Northern Nights, it's about a group of young boys on a field trip, but it's also about how some mysteries in life and death are best left unsolved. OTHER SIDES is now shipping!: tinyurl.com/2ektv9ty