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Flame Tree Fiction

Catherine Taylor

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Gothic Fantasy | Successful Submissions | African Ghost Short Stories

Posted by Catherine Taylor

We’re very excited to announce the authors included in our upcoming anthology: African Ghost Short Stories! Earlier this year, we opened for submissions from writers across Africa and the African diaspora, in order to add contemporary voices to the rich seam of the supernatural that exists in African culture, folklore and storytelling. The book, due to be published in mid-April (UK) and mid-May 2024 (North America), combines new submissions, complemented by selected contemporary and modern stories, along with classic writing and folktales, exploring the many facets of African ghostliness and spirituality. With a foreword by award-winning Nigerian-British writer Nuzo Onoh, the 'Queen of Horror', a thoughtful introduction by Prof. Divine Che Neba, and invaluable editorial support from writer and editor Chinelo Onwualu, this latest offering in the Flame Tree Gothic fantasy series delves into the fascinating heritage of African ghostly lore. We’re delighted to have chosen the submissions and contemporary stories below for inclusion: 

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Immigrant Sci-Fi Short Stories | Successful Submissions & Selected Stories

Posted by Catherine Taylor

We’re pleased to announce the authors included in our upcoming anthology: Immigrant Sci-Fi Short Stories! Earlier this year, we opened for submissions from writers with a variety of personal connections to the experience of immigration, migration and relocation, in order to give voice to those telling stories from the perspective of the incoming. The book, due to be published in mid-March (UK) and late April 2023 (North America), combines new submissions, complemented by selected contemporary and modern stories, set in future, interstellar, fantastical and alternative realities, with a foundation of older, realist narratives exploring the plights and adventures of immigrants. Award-winning author of Alien StoriesE.C. Osonduprovides the foreword, alongside an insightful introduction by Betsy Huang, Ph.D., and with guidance from author and educator Sarah Raphael García, this is an intriguing view of the conflict and anxiety between the settled and the unsettled. We’re delighted to have chosen the stories below for inclusion: 

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Topics: Gothic Fantasy, Short Stories, submissions, anthologies

First Peoples Shared Stories | Successful Submissions & Selected Stories

Posted by Catherine Taylor

We’re pleased to announce the authors included in our upcoming anthology: First Peoples Shared Stories! Earlier this year, we opened for submissions on this theme (whether speculative, fantastic, sacred or folkloric) from writers with appropriate heritage in order to widen the door to creativity, to celebrate the international diversity of indigenous backgrounds and storytelling cultures. The book, due to be published in early October 2022 (UK) and mid-November 2022 (North America), combines new and contemporary stories with classic and ancient origin stories and oral traditions from around the world, to bring new perspectives and attention to the legacy of Indigenous Peoples, First Peoples. Award-winning Māori novelist, short story writer, essayist, and editor Paula Morris provides the foreword, alongside an introduction by Dr. Eldon Yellowhorn, author of Turtle Island: The Story of North America's First People and more. With invaluable editorial support from professor and Indigenous literature specialist Marc André Fortin, we’re delighted to have chosen the stories below for inclusion:

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Topics: Gothic Fantasy, Short Stories, submissions, anthologies

Gothic Dreams: Dystopian Futures

Posted by Catherine Taylor

Continuing our series on Dystopian universes, this week we look into the future. Dystopian narratives are quite interesting for a variety of reasons, one being that they encourage exciting things to happen (a revolt against the government, perhaps? Dramatic chase scenes?), and if they're good, they make you think about the way you're living your life. Dystopian stories that take place in the future make the readers think about the possibilities that lay ahead and whether or not they want to be a part of shaping that future.

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Topics: Gothic Dreams, dystopia

Gothic Dreams: Violent Dystopian Books

Posted by Catherine Taylor

Dystopias have been invading our screens for decades, although there has been a recent influx of great dystopias. They come in all kinds of forms, including TV shows (the ever-popular 'The Walking Dead' is starting up again in October!), films (Mockingjay Part 1 is released in November!) and books (there are so many YA dystopias being published I don't know which to get excited about first!). But what is a dystopia? We know there must be something fundamentally broken about society. But in what way should it be broken? Must there be a totalitarian leader and cameras watching your every move?

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Topics: Gothic Dreams, dystopia

2015 Supernatural TV Series Buildup: Zombies

Posted by Catherine Taylor

Image via totallyuselesstrivia

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Topics: Gothic Dreams, Zombies

Pulp Fiction: Creepy Stories and Weird Tales

Posted by Catherine Taylor

Pulp fiction found in pulp magazines – commonly known as 'the pulps' – was a great way to get a quick dose of fiction in the 19th century, similar to short story collections or comics/graphic novels. The pulps were printed on low quality paper (known as wood pulp, which is where their name came from) with ragged edges, and would be around 128 pages long, filled with not only fantastic stories but also sensational art. They covered a wide range of genre fiction, including amongst many others: adventure, sports, sic fi, romance, horror, gangster and detective/mystery stories. Beloved characters such as Tarzan and Zorro started out in the pulps and many of the writers we consider classics today had their stories featured in them.

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Topics: creepy stories, H.P. Lovecraft, Weird Tales

Zombie Pictures Everywhere: Science Fiction to Zombie Apocalypse

Posted by Catherine Taylor
So it seems everywhere I look at the moment are zombie pictures, visions of the walking dead – sometimes relatively unscathed and human-like; mostly fairly bloodily down the road of decay – whether in art, film or on TV. Having been immersed in making a book on zombies has obviously contributed to my high intake of undead depictions, but even when I decide to read something apparently non-zombie, my thoughts return to these shuffling, grasping creatures. Going through my other half’s eclectic collection of books the other day, looking for something new to read, I plucked out John Wyndham’s The Day of The Triffids – a 1951 post-apocalyptic science-fiction tale of worldwide blindness enabling the rise of some rather nasty, stinging, lurching, carnivorousplants…

Awakening to A Changed World

OK, so first of all, the post-apocalyptic thing is there – a trope much beloved of zombie-filmmakers – but more specifically, I experienced much déja-vu in the opening scenes as the protagonist wakes up in hospital to discover he has been abandoned by his carers and no one is left, save for some desperate, groaning, shuffling people wandering the wards... Where had I seen this before?

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Topics: Gothic Dreams, Zombies

Gothic Fantasy Art: Vampires

Posted by Catherine Taylor

The danger, mystery and beauty of vampires means they have an eternal allure a world apart from zombies or other horrors, and as well as reading about them or watching them on screen, gothic fantasy art affords a whole world of imaginative vampiric visions created by talented artists.

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Topics: Gothic Dreams, vampires

Zombie Pictures: Romero, the Zombie Godfather

Posted by Catherine Taylor

Today’s Zombie

In the last decade, Zombie pictures, movies and games have entered the mainstream in a big way. The Walking Dead has not only seen huge success in its comic book form, but also in the tv show adapted from it. Even an actor as well loved as Brad Pitt produced and starred in a film adaptation of Max Brook’s World War Z. Yet even as the genre grows, it is important to remember that it owes a huge debt to the the wonderfully twisted mind of George Romero.

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Topics: Gothic Dreams, Zombies

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