Pre-orders are now being taken for John Llewellyn Probert‘s first full-length novel, The House that Death Built, due in October 2012 from Atomic Fez. The book is available in three formats: a limited edition signed hardcover, trade paperback and ebook. The limited edition is signed by the author and the cover artist, Steve Upham.

In addition, all customers pre-ordering or purchasing the book through Atomic Fez before 31 October 2012 (copies in any format; only Kobo and Amazon purchases are excluded) are entered in a draw to win the following:

• the original manuscript, written on by the editor and author as they crafted the final form of the book
• plus “Copy #1″ of the Limited Hardcover Edition
• plus a copy of Wicked Delights, John Llewellyn Probert’s previous title from Atomic Fez
• plus something else from inside the vaults of Atomic Fez

About the book:
The Dark Manor isn’t just any old haunted house. Built on the site of a stone circle, from bricks saturated with pain and agony, windows that have seen terror beyond insanity, and doors that would scream if the wood from which they were fashioned could voice the appalling acts to which they have been witness, the house was designed with evil in mind and deliberately constructed to bring William Marx, the wealthy industrialist who built it, into contact with the spirit world.

But Marx hasn’t been seen since he entered the repository of death and madness that is The Dark Manor, and neither have any of the people who have gone looking for him. Now Sir Anthony Calverton has purchased it and needs the place investigating properly, which of course calls for some proper supernatural investigators.

You are cordially invited to join Mr Massene Henderson and Miss Samantha Jephcott, specialists in paranormal adventure, as they embark on their most perilous case to date.

Who will survive The House That Death Built?

Only time and the pages within will tell…

The BFS London Open Day on Saturday 16 June 2012 sees the launch by Jo Fletcher Books of a new hardcover M.R. James collection, Curious Warnings: The Great Ghost Stories of M.R. James. The book’s editor Stephen Jones and artist Les Edwards will be in attendance and signing copies on the day (at The Mug House, 1 Tooley Street, London E1 2PF – event starts at 1.00pm).

Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the birth of M.R. James, this sumptuously-crafted collection contains all the author’s classic supernatural stories in a single volume, including the children’s novel The Five Jars, along with uncompleted works, essays, and a historical Afterword by Stephen Jones, all copiously illustrated by award-winning artist Les Edwards.

Montague Rhodes James (1862-1936) was Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, and Eton. Most of his ghost stories were occasional pieces, written for friends or college magazines, and were collected in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904), More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1911), A Thin Ghost and Others (1919), and A Warning to the Curious and Other Ghost Stories (1925). Widely regarded as one of the finest authors of supernatural fiction in the English language, James is credited as the originator of the ‘antiquarian ghost story’, replacing the Gothic horrors of the previous century with more contemporary settings for his subtle hauntings. Many of his stories were originally written as Christmas entertainments and were read aloud by the author to selected gatherings of friends.

Curious Warnings: The Great Ghost Stories of M.R. James is the one collection of the author’s work that fans cannot afford to miss! And Stephen Jones and Les Edwards will be on hand at the BFS Open Day to personally sign copies on the day (precise time to be announced).

There will also be other signings throughout the day, and numerous authors, artists, editors and publishers will be in attendance. Entrance is FREE and open to anyone, so if you like fantasy, horror and imaginative fiction, then come along for a fun day out!

Tartarus Press will publish Tales of Love and Death by Robert Aickman on 28 May 2012. This collection contains a new Introduction by Michael Dirda, along with the stories ‘Growing Boys’, ‘Marriage’, ‘Le Miroir’, ‘Compulsory Games’, ‘Raising the Wind’, ‘Residents Only’ and ‘Wood’.

Limited to 350 copies, Tales of Love and Death is a sewn hardback priced at £32.50/$50 including p&p. It joins Tartarus’ other Aickman volumes We Are for the Dark (with Elizabeth Jane Howard), Dark Entries, Powers of Darkness, Sub Rosa and Cold Hand in Mine.

Full details at the Tartarus website HERE

Wormwood Issue 18 (Spring 2012) – Tartarus’ magazine of writings about fantasy, supernatural and decadent literature edited by Mark Valentine – will be published on 30 April 2012. It contains articles on H.P. Lovecraft, William Sharp, Frances Oliver, Robert Aickman, Randolph Stow and F. Marion Crawford, with contributions from Joel Lane, Mark Valentine, Mike Barrett, Reggie Oliver and others.

Full details, including pre-order information, are available HERE

SFScope reports that Lavie Tidhar has signed a five-book deal for audio rights to Audible.com.

The deal includes his Bookman Histories steampunk trilogy, The Bookman, Camera Obscura and The Great Game; his supernatural apocalypse novel, The Tel Aviv Dossier (co-written with Nir Yaniv); and his BSFA Award nominated novella Osama.

Full story HERE

Available for pre-order from Telos (due around mid-April) is Blake’s 7: The Merchandise Guide by Mark B. Oliver.

“In 1978, Blake’s 7, a new science fiction show, debuted on BBC television, and viewers became enthralled by the adventures of Blake, Avon, Jenna, Vila, Gan and Cally, aided by the computer Zen, as they battled against the might of the Federation, represented by the villainous Servalan and her right hand man, Travis. Merchandise followed, and here, for the first time, Mark B. Oliver presents a collector’s guide to everything produced in relation to the show, and several items which never made it to the shops.

The book documents the background to the merchandise, detailing the highs and lows, and explores the history of Blake’s 7 merchandise from it’s very beginning. Included are full colour photographs of just about every item, plus interviews with some of those involved in the production of the ranges.

Blake’s 7: The Merchandise Guide is both a fascinating tour through the many ways that Blake’s 7 has been presented in merchandise and an entertaining guide to the world of Blake’s 7 collecting. The book covers Blake’s 7 merchandise around the world, including items released in America, Australia and Argentina, as well as the many UK-produced items.”

Also, a new title available now is Hunted! The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Supernatural Seasons 1-3 by Sam Ford and Antony Fogg.

“Immerse yourself in the dark and dangerous world of the Winchester brothers…

Descend into the delicious detail of demon hunting and deadly mysteries…

Join the authors of Hunted! on an in-depth voyage of discovery as they follow Sam and Dean Winchester through three seasons of hunting things and saving people; searching for their dad and dealing with their personal destinies; while never losing sight of the most important asset in their war against supernatural monsters — their own family. And, where Dean’s concerned anyway, where the next hot chick carrying a cheeseburger is coming from.

The journey also takes in the making of the series: the goofs, the actors’ comments and the writing decisions — good and bad — while providing a critical commentary on all aspects of the show: from the clothes and the music, to the car and the guest stars.”

For full details see the Telos website HERE

New from Shadow Publishing: The Satyr’s Head: Tales of Terror, selected by David A. Sutton
Cover art by Steve Upham

This is the first new edition of the long out of print Transworld/Corgi Book The Satyr’s Head & Other Tales of Terror, first published in 1975. With stories by Ramsey Campbell, Brian Lumley, Joseph Payne Brennan, Eddy C. Bertin, David A. Riley, James Wade and others, this new edition will bring back into print some ten chilling tales of the supernatural and the sub-human, of ghosts and demons, strange phenomena and the inexplicable.

More information HERE

The Swan River Press is to publish a new R.B. Russell collection, Ghosts, in February 2012 – now available for pre-order.

“Ghosts contains R.B. Russell’s debut publications, Putting the Pieces in Place and Bloody Baudelaire. Enigmatic and enticing, they combine a respect for the great tradition of supernatural fiction, with a chilling contemporary European resonance. With original and compelling narratives, Russell’s stories offer the reader insights into the more hidden, often puzzling, impulses of human nature, with all its uncertainty and intrigue. There are few conventional shocks or horrors on display, but you are likely to come away with the feeling that there has been a subtle and unsettling shift in your understanding of the way things are. This book is a disquieting journey through twilight regions of love, loss, memory and ghosts. This volume contains In Hiding, which was shortlisted for the 2010 World Fantasy Awards. Bloody Baudelaire is soon to be filmed by 3:1 Cinema.”

More information on The Swan River Press website

Spectral Press, publishers of limited edition signed and numbered single story supernatural chapbooks, are introducing a line of occasional novellas – Spectral Visions. The first will be The Respectable Face of Tyranny by Gary Fry, to be published in April 2012. It is intended that there will be several versions of each novella – a hardback, paperback and ebook version.

More information can be found HERE

Ash-Tree Press have launched a new series of e-books to enable wider readership of their publications. Initially, e-books will be available in Kindle format, downloadable wirelessly from amazon.com, or in mobi format directly from their site. They will be expanding into other e-book formats later.

Their first e-book titles are:
Three volumes of ghost/horror stories by Frederick Cowles – The Horror of Abbot’s Grange, The Night Wind Howls and Fear Walks the Night
They Return at Evening by H. R. Wakefield – his landmark collection first published in 1928 – along with Old Man’s Beard, his second collection
No 472 Cheyne Walk: Carnacki, The Untold Stories by A. F. Kidd & Rick Kennett
Randalls Round, Eleanor Scott‘s only collection of supernatural stories – one of the most rare and sought-after titles in the genre
The Fellow Travellers by Sheila Hodgson
Divinations of the Deep by Matt Cardin
Rope Trick by Mark P. Henderson
The Thames Horror and Other Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Barbara Roden