Tim Parker Russell is now accepting submissions for an anthology of ghost stories entitled Dark World, to be published by Tartarus Press in February 2013. The book will be a numbered, limited edition trade paperback, with profits going to Amala Children’s Home and School, India, where Tim will be working with orphaned children in July 2013. This has been organised by The Wensleydale School, Leyburn, North Yorkshire.

Tim would like to receive previously unpublished ghost stories suitable for a general audience. Although stories should offer more than a “pleasing terror”, they should not contain anything too graphic or gratuitous. Stories should be between 2,000 and 7,000 words. Closing date for submissions is 31 December 2012. Authors will receive two copies of the published book. Copyright remains with the author.

For submission information see HERE

HORROR FOR GOOD: A Charitable Anthology edited by Mark C. Scioneaux, R.J. Cavender, Robert S. Wilson, Cutting Block Press, p/b, $15.00, https://www.createspace.com/3829545

Reviewed by David Brzeski

OK, this is “A Charitable Anthology”. All proceeds will be donated to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, which is a great cause that I would hope we all would want to support.

Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s forget it. For the purposes of this review, this is just another horror anthology and I’m going to judge it on that basis alone.

It’s not a small collection. There are thirty-two stories in all and twenty-one of those are original to this collection. One of them is the author’s first published work. The eleven reprints are pretty rare material, by popular horror writers such as Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Ray Garton, F. Paul Wilson and Jack Ketchum. You’d be challenged to acquire copies of the original appearances of these stories now.

There isn’t a turkey amongst them! Trust me, I searched. Granted, there are some stories I didn’t like as much as others, but the truth is (and I’m not saying this just because it’s for a good cause remember) this is the highest quality collection of horror short stories I can remember reading for a very long time.

The anthology covers all sorts of horrors. There are ghosts, demons, werewolves and those vilest monsters of all- human beings. There are even zombies, but even these most overused of horrors are handled with remarkable flair and originality. There are passing nods to King, Lovecraft and Rod Serling, alongside traditional monsters and science fiction horrors.

There just isn’t the room to comment on the individual stories in this review, but I’ve singled out a few for special mention.

Nate Southard’s ‘Mouth’, and Brad C. Hodson’s ‘The Other Patrick’ are both on my running shortlist of stories to consider when the time for award nominations for stories published in 2012 comes around. Joe McKinney’s story, ‘Sky of Brass, Land of Steel’ only misses that list due to it being one of the rare reprints in the collection, as does ‘Shiva, Open Your Eye’, by Laird Barron. There are many others that came very close, but these were my favourites. There are, I suspect, other stories that will appear on other readers’ best of 2012 list.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and state that I have absolutely no doubt that the book itself is going to win awards. It’s simply that good!

So, from the viewpoint of quality alone, if you only buy one horror anthology this year, you should seriously consider grabbing this one. When you add to that the fact that it’s for such a worthy cause, then how can you not buy it?

At the time of writing, Horror For Good is only available from to buy from CreateSpace, but it will be available on Amazon, in both paperback and ebook formats, very soon.

The Horror For Good charitable anthology, edited by Mark C. Scioneaux, R.J. Cavender and Robert S. Wilson, will be published by Cutting Block Press on 30 March 2012.

Appearing in the book will be stories by Jack Ketchum, F. Paul Wilson, Ramsey Campbell, Ray Garton, Lisa Morton, Jeff Strand, Shaun Hutson, Joe R. Lansdale, Laird Barron, Gary McMahon, Stephen Bacon, and many more.

This is a charitable anthology. All revenues, less direct costs for production, marketing and distribution (net profits of each purchase, estimated to be at least 10% to 15%) will be donated to amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.

The Hammer Out Book of Ghosts 2012 is a collection of short ghost stories published in aid of Hammer Out, a charity which helps fund research, raise awareness and provide support for people suffering from brain tumours and their families. With a Foreword by Tracey Childs, this volume includes the following stories:

Immortal Monster by Sam Stone
The Widow and the Deserter by Alex Barrett
Sleeping Lions by Niall Boyce
Orbyting by Jan Edwards
The Noise from the Flat Upstairs by S.E. Branson
Tower Song by Richard Howard
Deadline by Paul W.T. Ballard
The Attic Nursery by Raven Dane
Chillers and Breathers by Sam Stone
We Attract That Which We Fear the Most by Louise Jameson
Last Rites by Simon Guerrier

Every penny raised will go towards the charity. The book can be purchased HERE. Hammer Out’s own website is HERE

Gollancz, the science fiction, fantasy and horror imprint of Orion Publishing, is auctioning off the perfect Christmas present for budding genre novelists – the chance to have your work reviewed by the world renowned publisher and help a worthy cause at the same time.

It’s one of a number of lots up for bidding on eBay to raise money for Orion’s chosen charity, The Samaritans, with 100% of the proceeds going to the cause. The winning bidder gets 10,000 words of their novel or story reviewed and edited by Gollancz Editorial Director Gillian Redfearn, editor for bestselling authors such as Joe Abercrombie. You can also bid to have new Gollancz editor Marcus Gipps review 15,000 words of your story.

If you or a loved one is a fantasy fan, there’s a unique and exciting chance to name a character in a future novel by Brandon Sanderson, the bestselling author of The Way of Kings and The Alloy of Law. There’s also an exclusive bundle of signed and limited edition promotional materials from Brandon.

Advice on how to promote your book from Gollancz Senior Marketing Executive Jennifer McMenemy, who has masterminded campaigns for many of Gollancz’s biggest names including Alastair Reynolds and Charlaine Harris, is also up for bidding, along with lunch in London with members of the Gollancz publishing team, with the opportunity to seek some advice.

Other auctions include signed books, lunch with an author and the chance to get a copy of every single arc proof produced by Gollancz in 2012. Gollancz proof editions, usually reserved for booksellers and media, are often hotly sought after by fans and collectors.

For the full list of items to bid on to help this worthy cause, please go HERE or search for seller id orionbooksforcharity on eBay.

The Doctor Who Autograph Collectors’ Club is holding its annual charity auction in aid of Cancer Research UK, Asthma UK and the Depression Alliance. The auction runs from 17 to 31 October.

Its star item this year is a rare original camera script for all four episodes of the Tom Baker Doctor Who story “Full Circle”, signed on the cover by the story’s writer Andrew Smith. There’s a £50 reserve on this item as it’s extremely rare and definitely a collector’s item. Other such scripts have sold for in excess of £150 to £200. You can bid by post or email – contact details on the club’s home page.

Please join in this auction which is being held for such a worthy cause.