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- Shock Totem #11—Available Now!
- The State of Shock Totem Publications, or We Are Not ChiZine Publications
- Closing for Submissions
- Shock Totem Returns!
- Apex Publications Acquires Shock Totem Book Line
- The Head, the Tail, the Whole Damn Thing: Musings on Jaws, Part 8
- The Head, the Tail, the Whole Damn Thing: Musings on Jaws, Part 7
- The Head, the Tail, the Whole Damn Thing: Musings on Jaws, Part 6
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- The Head, the Tail, the Whole Damn Thing: Musings on Jaws, Part 4
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Shock Totem #11—Available Now!
Shock Totem 11 is live!
We’ve put together another fantastic issue for you, our biggest to date, with nearly 60,000 words of fiction alone!
Cover art by Mikio Murakami.
Here is the official Table of Contents:
* Notes from The Editor’s Desk
* The Fluids That Giveth and Those That Taketh, by Chad Stroup
* His Hands, by Natalia Theodoridou
* Georgia on My Mind, by Robert Ford
* Bird on a Wire, by Chad Lutzke (Narrative Nonfiction)
* Our Gentleman of Blue Bay Massage, by Chris Kuriata
* Summertide, by Josh Malerman
* Strange Goods and Other Oddities (Reviews)
* Plague Rooster, by Micah Hyatt (Poetry)
* The Dark Lord of Silk, by Brian Trent
* From “Family Man” to Renaissance Man: A Conversation with Henry Rollins, by Chad Lutzke
* Ichthyosis, by Pierce Skinner
* Mastectomy Scars, by Mark Matthews
* In the Field Where the Fireflies Glow, by Trevor Firetog
* Damage, Inc., by Aaron Dries
* Howling Through the Keyhole (Author Notes)
As I mention in the “Notes from The Editor’s Desk” piece, this one lacks the amount of nonfiction that is featured in past issues, and that is simply because in our push to get all of the submissions read, we weren’t paying attention to the total word count. Ultimately we accepted enough for two issues, and my initial plan was to hold back some stories for issue 12. Knowing what I know now, however, how my work schedule and other responsibilities keep me from focusing on Shock Totem for a good part of the year, I didn’t want to hold those stories any longer than we already had.
So all of them went into this issue! Given the caliber of talent featured here, I don’t anyone will mind.
You can order the print edition on Amazon and other retailers (as it populates). The Kindle edition can be found here.
If you have any questions, please ask. Thanks for your patience and support!
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Aaron Dries, Brian Trent, Chad Lutzke, Chad Stroup, Chris Kuriata, Henry Rollins, John Boden, Josh Malerman, Mark Matthews, Mercedes M. Yardley, Micah Hyatt, Mikio Murakami, Natalia Theodoridou, Pierce Skinner, Robert Ford, Shock Totem #11, Shock Totem Magazine, Silent Q Designs, Tom Moran, Trevor Firetog
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Shock Totem #10—Available Now!
It’s been a long time coming, but we are happy to announce that the tenth issue of Shock Totem magazine is available for purchase!
Cover art by Mikio Murakami.
Here is the official Table of Contents:
* Notes from The Editor’s Desk
* Rumor and Shadow: The Haunting of the Everett Mansion, by Barry Lee Dejasu (Article)
* The Henson Curse, by Paul A. Hamilton
* Blue John, by D.K. Wayrd
* Post-Modern Pea Soup: A Conversation with Paul Tremblay, by Catherine Grant
* Three Years Ago This May, by Trace Conger
* Malediction, by Margaret Killjoy
* Sweet William, by Mary Pletsch
* Deerborn, by Leslie J. Anderson (Poetry)
* Strange Goods and Other Oddities (Reviews)
* There’s a Tongue in the Drain, by Roger Lovelace
* Wasps, by Thana Niveau
* Standing Behind the Curtains: A Conversation with T.E.D. Klein, by Barry Lee Dejasu
* The Tall Man, by Eric J. Guignard
* Winter Fever, by Samuel Marzioli
* Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Part 8, by John Boden and Barry Lee Dejasu (Article)
* The Eavesdropper, by Sarah L. Johnson
* The Last Treehouse, by David G. Blake
* Howling Through the Keyhole (Author Notes)
The print edition can be purchased at our webstore or Amazon.com and other retailers. The Kindle edition can be found here. E-mail us directly for ePub editions.
If you have any questions, please ask. Thanks for your patience and support!
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Barry Lee Dejasu, Catherine Grant, D.K. Wayrd, David G. Blake, Eric J. Guignard, Everett Mansion, John Boden, K. Allen Wood, Leslie J. Anderson, Margaret Killjoy, Mary Pletsch, Paul A. Hamilton, Paul Tremblay, Roger Lovelace, Samuel Marzioli, Sarah L. Johnson, Shock Totem #10, T.E.D. Klein, Thana Niveau, Trace Conger
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Open for Novel/Novella Submissions
Shock Totem Publications is once again open for novel/novella submissions!
Please read our updated guidelines and submission requirements on our Submittable page prior to uploading your work.
If you have any questions, please e-mail us.
Posted in Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Guidelines, novel, Novella, Shock Totem, Shock Totem Publications, Submissions
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Shock Totem #9.5—Available Now!
Our latest holiday issue is now available!
Cover art by Mikio Murakami.
Treats abound, in this special edition of Shock Totem are seven short stories, one poem, and five nonfiction pieces. Of the fiction, John Boden and Bracken MacLeod venture into dark and weird neighborhoods in “Halloween On…” In “Out of Field Theory,” Kevin Lucia gives us a shadowed glimpse of what lurks beyond the frame. David G. Blake’s “Night in the Forest of Loneliness” smells of autumn and the beautiful death she brings.
Learn why sometimes it’s better to stay home on Halloween in “Tricks and Treats,” by Rose Blackthorn. Kriscinda Lee Everitt’s “Howdy Doody Time” is a poignant nod to the past. The shadows come alive in “Before This Night Is Done,” by Barry Lee Dejasu, and in my story, “The Candle Eaters,” I explore faith and hope and a darkness that haunts us all.
In addition to the fiction, Sydney Leigh provides a very fine poem, “Allhallowtide (To the Faithless Departed).”
Authors John Langan, Lee Thomas, and Jeremy Wagner, as well as filmmaker Mike Lombardo and the always wonderful and brusque Babs Boden, provide anecdotal Halloween recollections.
No tricks, all treats.
Table of Contents:
* Halloween On, by John Boden and Bracken MacLeod
* Night in the Forest of Loneliness, by David G. Blake
* Kore, by John Langan (Holiday Recollection)
* Out of Field Theory, by Kevin Lucia
* Tricks and Treats, by Rose Blackthorn
* Witches and the March of Dimes, and Mike Warnke, by Babs Boden (Holiday Recollection)
* Howdy Doody Time, by Kriscinda Lee Everitt
* When I Scared Myself Out of Halloween, by Jeremy Wagner (Holiday Recollection)
* Before This Night Is Done, by Barry Lee Dejasu
* The Mansion, by Lee Thomas (Holiday Recollection)
* Allhallowtide (To the Faithless Departed), by Sydney Leigh (Poetry)
* Flay Bells Ring, or How the Horror Filmmaker Stole Christmas, by Mike Lombardo (Holiday Recollection)
* The Candle Eaters, by K. Allen Wood
* Howling Through the Keyhole (Author Notes)
The print edition can be purchased at our webstore or Amazon.com and other retailers. The Kindle edition can be found here.
Learn more about our holiday issues here. And as always, thank you for the support!
Please note that if you buy the print edition through Amazon.com, you will also receive the Kindle edition for free.
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News, Staff News
Tagged Babs Boden, Barry Lee Dejasu, Bracken MacLeod, David G. Blake, Halloween, Holiday Tales, Jeremy Wagner, John Boden, John Langan, K. Allen Wood, Kevin Lucia, Kriscinda Lee Everitt, Lee Thomas, Mike Lombardo, Mikio Murakami, New Release, Rose Blackthorn, Shock Totem #9.5, Shock Totem Holiday Issue, Sydney Leigh
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Shock Totem #9—Available Now!
We are very proud to announce the release of our ninth issue!
Click for larger image.
In this ninth issue of Shock Totem you will find not only a brand new, previously unpublished tale by Stephen Graham Jones, but also an interview with this modern master of words. Kathryn Ohnaka presents “Buddy,” a twisting, slithering serpent of a tale. The words are pure poetry, with fangs. “Saturday,” by Evan Dicken, follows, creeping and crawling and filled with Things that whisper of doom.
Similar whisperings can be heard in Bracken MacLeod’s “Thirteen Views of the Suicide Woods” and most of you will know the voices. Tim Lieder’s darkly rhythmic “Hey Man” will get you toe-tapping and “in the mood.” With a touch of science fiction, Emma Osborne’s “The Box Wife” is sure to leave you uncomfortable. The box wife is one and many, but you’ll recognize all.
Stephen King once called Jack Ketchum “the scariest guy in America.” What scares the scariest guy in America? Karen Runge. And you’ll know why after reading “Good Help.” Peter Gutiérrez provides the poetry with his outstanding “Anteroom.” Closing out the fiction in this issue is S.R. Mastrantone’s “Alan Roscoe’s Change of Heart,” a tale that chips away at a well-mined vein–the near-death experience–but manages to produce an untouched gem.
In addition to the previously-mentioned conversation with Stephen Graham Jones, F. Paul Wilson is also interviewed. The seventh installment of our music-meets-horror serial, “Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes,” tackles the 80s and Catherine Grant provides the editorial, a scary piece that hits close to home for creators and readers of horror.
All that and more!
Here is the official Table of Contents:
* Unacceptable Content, by Catherine Grant (Editorial)
* Buddy, by Kathryn Ohnaka
* Saturday, by Evan Dicken
* Morning Books and Evening Books: A Conversation with F. Paul Wilson, by Barry Lee Dejasu
* Thirteen Views of the Suicide Woods, by Bracken MacLeod
* Anteroom, by Peter Gutiérrez (Poetry)
* Strange Goods and Other Oddities (Reviews)
* Hey Man, by Tim Lieder
* The Nightmare Rolls On: A Conversation with Stephen Graham Jones, by Zachary C. Parker
* You Are Here, by Stephen Graham Jones
* The Box Wife, by Emma Osborne
* Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Part 7, by John Boden and Bracken MacLeod (Article)
* Good Help, by Karen Runge
* Alan Roscoe’s Change of Heart, by S.R. Mastrantone
* Howling Through the Keyhole (Author Notes)
The print edition can be purchased at our webstore or Amazon.com and other retailers. The Kindle edition can be found here.
As always, thank you for your continued support!
Please note that if you buy the print edition through Amazon.com, you will also receive the Kindle edition for free.
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Barry Lee Dejasu, Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Bracken MacLeod, Catherine Grant, Evan Dicken, F. Paul Wilson, John Boden, Karen Runge, Kathryn Ohnaka, Mikio Murakami, New Release, Peter Gutiérrez, S.R. Mastrantone, Shock Totem, Shock Totem #9, Shock Totem Publications, Stephen Graham Jones, Tim Lieder, Zachary C. Parker
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Shock Totem #8.5—Now Available!
Shock Totem Publications is proud to announce that our second holiday issue is available for purchase!
Cover art by Mikio Murakami.
Cover art by Mikio Murakami.
Love is in the air. Can you feel it? The most wonderful and diabolical emotion of them all, and we’re going to celebrate it. Ostensibly as a Valentine’s Day issue, but really…it’s all about love.
And horror, of course.
In this special edition of Shock Totem you will find “Clocks,” a beautifully tragic tale told by master storyteller Darrell Schweitzer. “Silence,” by Robert J. Duperre, is a gut-wrenching tale of love, war, and death. You won’t soon forget this one. In “Broken Beneath the Paperweight of Your Ghosts,” Damien Angelica Walters tells of a man and his tattered heart. Catherine Grant’s “Sauce” teaches us that sometimes things left behind are best left alone. Tim Waggoner examines the perfect lover in “The Man of Her Dreams.” “Hearts of Women, Hearts of Men,” by Zachary C. Parker, follows a battered woman struggling to free herself from an abusive relationship while a serial killer is on the loose. In total, nine tales await you…
Like our previous holiday issue (Christmas 2011), the fiction is paired with nonfiction, this time by Violet LeVoit, Jassen Bailey, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, C.W. LaSart, Bracken MacLeod, John Dixon, Brian Hodge, and more. True tales of first loves, failed relationships, misfortune, death, sex, and…meatloaf.
Love has its dark side, folks, and fittingly this issue has very sharp teeth.
Come see why Shock Totem is billed as “…one of the strongest horror fiction magazines on the market today” (Hellnotes).
Table of Contents:
* Clocks, by Darrell Schweitzer
* Lose and Learn, by Brian Hodge (Holiday Recollection)
* Hearts of Women, Hearts of Men, by Zachary C. Parker
* Unlearning to Lie, by Mason Bundschuh (Holiday Recollection)
* Sauce, by Catherine Grant
* Something to Chew On, by Kristi Petersen Schoonover (Holiday Recollection)
* Silence, by Robert J. Duperre
* Hanging Up the Gloves, by John Dixon (Holiday Recollection)
* Golden Years, by John Boden
* Akai, by Jassen Bailey (Holiday Recollection)
* She Cries, by K. Allen Wood
* The Same Deep Water As You, by Bracken MacLeod (Holiday Recollection)
* One Lucky Horror Nerd, by James Newman (Holiday Recollection)
* Omen, by Amanda C. Davis
* The Scariest Holiday, by C.W. LaSart (Holiday Recollection)
* Broken Beneath the Paperweight of Your Ghosts, by Damien Angelica Walters
* Everything’s Just Methadone and I Like It, by Violet LeVoit (Holiday Recollection)
* The Sickest Love is Denial, by Richard Thomas (Holiday Recollection)
* The Man of Her Dreams, by Tim Waggoner
* Howling Through the Keyhole (Author Notes)
Currently you can purchase the print edition through Amazon or our webstore. More online retailers will follow in the days and weeks to come. The digital edition can be purchased here.
Interested in our back catalog? All past issues are still available digitally and in print and can be ordered directly from us or through Amazon and other online retailers.
Please note that all of our releases (except Dominoes) are enrolled in Amazon’s MatchBook program, so everyone who purchases a print copy gets a Kindle copy for free.
As always, thank you for the support!
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Amanda C. Davis, Bracken MacLeod, Brian Hodge, C.W. LaSart, Catherine Grant, Damien Angelica Walters, Damien Walters Grintalis, Darrell Schweitzer, Holiday Tales, James Newman, Jassen Bailey, John Boden, John Dixon, K. Allen Wood, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, Mason Bundschuh, Mikio Murakami, Richard Thomas, Robert J. Duperre, Shock Totem #8.5, Shock Totem Holiday Issue, Shock Totem Valentine's Day Special, Tim Waggoner, Valentine's Day, Violet LeVoit, Zachary C. Parker
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Shock Totem #8—Now Available!
Shock Totem Publications is proud to announce that our eighth issue is available for purchase!
Shock Totem returns with its eighth issue, featuring classic tales of hauntings, monsters, and clowns!
Cody Goodfellow and John Skipp, who as collaborators have penned numerous short stories as well as the modern-horror classics Jake’s Wake and Spore, provide “The Barham Offramp Playhouse” and “Depresso the Clown,” respectively. Carlie St. George’s “We Share the Dark” follows a woman struggling to leave her ghosts behind. “Death and the Maiden,” by David Barber, revisits a classic time and a classic character in horror fiction. D.A. D’Amico’s “Watchtower” and John C. Foster’s “Highballing Through Gehenna” both traverse surreal landscapes full of monsters and madness.
WC Roberts, last seen in our third issue, returns with another mindbending slice of poetry, while newcomer Harry Baker’s “Fat Betty” is a stark reminder that sometimes it’s better to give than to take. “Stabat Mater,” by Michael Wehunt, our flash fiction contest winner for 2013, takes parental sacrifice to a whole new level.
You will also find conversations with Cody Goodfellow and rising star Adam Cesare, narrative nonfiction by Catherine Grant, an article by Joe Modzelewski, reviews, and more…
Come see why Shock Totem is billed as “…one of the strongest horror fiction magazines on the market today” (Hellnotes).
Table of Contents:
* Nosferatu: The Origin of Vampires on Screen, by Joe Modzelewski (Article)
* Highballing Through Gehenna, by John C. Foster
* We Share the Dark, by Carlie St. George
* The Highland Lord Brought Low, by Catherine Grant (Narrative Nonfiction)
* A Conversation with Cody Goodfellow, by John Boden
* The Barham Offramp Playhouse, by Cody Goodfellow
* Whisperings Sung Through the Neighborhood of Stilted Sorrows, by WC Roberts (Poetry)
* Strange Goods and Other Oddities (Reviews)
* Watchtower, by D.A. D’Amico
* Death and the Maiden, by David Barber
* Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Part 6, by John Boden and Simon Marshall-Jones (Article)
* Fat Betty, by Harry Baker
* A Conversation with Adam Cesare, by K. Allen Wood
* Stabat Mater, by Michael Wehunt (2012 Shock Totem Flash Fiction Contest Winner)
* Depresso the Clown, by John Skipp
* Howling Through the Keyhole (Author Notes)
Currently you can purchase the print edition through Amazon or our webstore. More online retailers will follow in the days and weeks to come. The digital edition can be purchased here.
Please note that all of our releases (except Dominoes) are enrolled in Amazon’s MatchBook program, so everyone who purchases a print copy gets a Kindle copy for free.
Interested in our back catalog? All past issues are still available digitally and in print and can be ordered directly from us or through Amazon and other online retailers.
As always, thank you for the support!
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Adam Cesare, Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Carlie St. George, Cody Goodfellow, David Barber, David D'Amico, Harry Baker, John Boden, John C. Foster, John Skipp, Michael Wehunt, New Release, Shock Totem, Shock Totem #8, Shock Totem Publications, Simon Marshall-Jones, WC Roberts
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Announcing the Shock Totem Holiday Series…
Shock Totem Publications is proud to announce a new holiday series of books.
Back in 2011 we released something a little different: Shock Totem: Holiday Tales of the Macabre and Twisted 2011. It featured fiction from Shock Totem Publications staff members as well as the wonderful and insanely prolific Kevin J. Anderson, all based on the end-of-the-year holiday season. It also included anecdotal nonfiction pieces from a wide variety of authors.
Our sharpest cover to date. Ba-doom tssh! I’ll be here all week, folks.
The release was a hit. It sold well and continues to do so. But it was only released as an e-book, and since then many of you have asked for a print version. That is finally coming in late November.
Looking beyond that, we have a Valentine’s Day issue planned for late January 2014 and a Halloween issue planned for October 2014.
This is a cover mock-up. Listed authors are subject to change.
As with the first holiday issue, these releases will feature fiction based on their specific holiday themes. Nonfiction will come from not only authors but the artists and publishers whose talent and contributions to this field are all too often overlooked.
Look for the print version of the debut holiday issue in late November (or download it now), followed by the Valentine’s Day issue in late January 2014 and the Halloween issue in October.
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News, Staff News
Tagged Amanda C. Davis, Damien Angelica Walters, Damien Walters Grintalis, Dustin LeValley, Holiday Tales, Holidays, Jack Ketchum, Jassen Bailey, Jennifer Pelland, John Boden, K. Allen Wood, Kevin J. Anderson, Leslianne Wilder, Mason Bundschuh, Mercedes M. Yardley, New Release, Ryan Bridger, Sarah Gomes, Shock Totem Christmas Special, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem Halloween Special, Shock Totem Valentine's Day Special, Susan Scofield, Valentine's Day, Violet LeVoit
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Shock Totem #7—Now Available!
Shock Totem Publications is very happy to announce that our seventh issue is available for purchase!
“I see the bad moon rising. I see trouble on the way.”
Shock Totem steamrolls ahead with its seventh issue, featuring tales of classic horror, creature features, heartbreak and loss!
The legendary William F. Nolan offers up “The Horror That Et My Pap–and Other Swamp Stuff,” a tale the likes of which you have never read before. S. Clayton Rhodes delivers “The Gates of Emile Plimpkin: The Gravedigger’s Legacy,” a novelette that veritably oozes horror borne of the 1800s. Damien Angelica Walters (formerly Damien Walters Grintalis) gives us the heartbreaking “Shall I Whisper to You of Moonlight, of Sorrow, of Pieces of Us?” And M. Bennardo supplies this issue’s creature-feature with “Thing In a Bag.”
Newcomers are front and center, beginning with the one-two punch of “Consumption” and “Among the Elephants,” by Victoria Jakes and Amberle L. Husbands, respectively. In “The Long Road,” Kristi DeMeester leads us to the water’s dark edge and tempts us to drink deep, drink long, because we are so very thirsty. Rounding things out is Dominik Parisien’s excellent poem, “Smoking, The Old Sergeant Remembers 30 Mins Past Ceasefire.”
In addition to all the great fiction, you will find conversations with literary stalwart Laird Barron and Violet LeVoit. The early 70s are explored in the fifth installment of the horror-in-music serial, “Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes.” Narrative nonfiction is handled by Kurt Newton, and with “The Hook, the Hole, and the Garden,” John Boden delivers possibly the most heart-wrenching piece of nonfiction ever published in Shock Totem.
Come see why Shock Totem is billed as “…one of the strongest horror fiction magazines on the market today” (Hellnotes).
Currently the print issue can be purchased via our webstore or Amazon. More online retailers will follow in the coming days and weeks. Kindle owners can order the digital copy here.
Interested in our back catalog? All past issues are still available digitally and in print and can be ordered directly from us or through Amazon and other online retailers
As always, thank you for the support!
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Amberle L. Husbands, Damien Walters Grintalis, Dominik Parisien, John Boden, K. Allen Wood, Kristi DeMeester, Kurt Newton, Laird Barron, M. Bennard, Mikio Murakami, New Release, S. Clayton Rhodes, Shock Totem #7, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem Magazine, Simon Marshall-Jones, Victoria Jakes, Violet Glaze, Violet LeVoit, William F. Nolan
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