November News
November 26, 2007
I can’t believe that so much time has gone by since I wrote up some news for the website! We’re still alive over here, though, and here are some bits of news for you all:
New books!
 Wall of Kiss by Gina Ranalli. Another of Gina’s absurd novellas, this one about a woman who falls in love with her wall. Yes, that’s what I said…her wall. With a topic like this and cover art by Indio, you don’t want to miss it! Available now from us or the usual sources.- Help, a Bear is Eating Me! by mykle hansen. Some of you may have been following the podcasts of the book—and perhaps falling out of your chair! This tale of a man trapped under his SUV while he is slowly being eaten by a bear is gripping to the end…and sure to entertain. Catch a copy in December, just in time to make a great holiday gift! We’re taking pre-orders now.
- Super Cell Anemia by duncan b. barlow. This story follows an “electric” character who must bite down on copper strips to keep from shocking himself. Spending your days trying to avoid spontaneous combustion is a tiring thing… Due out in December, this book has already been ordered as a text for a fiction workshop at Brown University. Pre-order this one now also.
- Cocoon of Terror by Jason Earls. An evil artist collects decapitated corpses for his masterpiece…while his ex-student tries desperately to stop him! This long-anticipated book is coming in the next couple months.
Bizarro Central website opens!
Come visit us and other bizarro authors and publishers over at the new website at www.bizarrocentral.com where you will find features including:
- Author bios…read a bit about your favorite authors of bizarro, and get acquainted with a few more.
- Forums…discuss bizarro with the authors, publishers, and readers of bizarro fiction. You’ll find talk about nearly everything bizarro…film, books, conventions, news, and just plain chat.
- Articles…read short pieces about the genre and related topics. Of course you’ll want to read my series on Top 10 bizarro books…so far I’ve done preschoolers and school age, and teenagers are on the horizon.
- Books…information about the titles, and a place to order books from the major publishers of bizarro: Eraserhead Press, Raw Dog Screaming Press, and of course, us. You can fill your shopping cart with books from all of us in one place!
Author news!
Our authors are busy with lots of projects…here are only a few!
- Bruce Taylor’s latest book Edward: Dancing on the Edge of Infinity. Released by Redjack Press.
- Misadventures in a Thumbnail Universe by Vincent Sakowski. Released by Eraserhead Press.
 10 Nails on a Screaming Chalkboard edited and illustrated by Brandon Duncan and published by Raw Dog Screaming Press. A cross between a graphic novel and an illustrated story with contributions by John Edward Lawson, Gina Ranalli, Vincent Sakowski, Bradley Sands, Nicole Del Sesto, Anderson Prunty, Dustin LaValley, Sean Kilpatrick, D. Harlan Wilson, and Brandon Duncan. Not due out until next summer, but you’ll want to keep this on your radar.- The next Bizarro Starter Kit is coming soon—watch for details!
- Also, Afterbirth and Eraserhead Press exhibited at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland on October 5-7, along with the Northwest Horror Professionals. A great time was had by all!
That’s it for now! Have a bizarro day…
May News
May 29, 2007
Before May is over, I want to take time to tell you what’s been happening over here at Afterbirth. First off, this month saw the release of Better Ways of Being Dead by Christian TeBordo, and just this week—13 Thorns by Gina Ranalli and Gus Fink!
 Laird Hunt, author of The Impossibly and The Exquisite had this to say about Better Ways of Being Dead:
In this mind-warping, time-looping, wonderfully smart novel, there are "pants involved, and no pants, and stiletto heels and fortune cookies and the devil herself, indirectly." Throw in a polar bear suit, a creepy professor or two, suicide that doesn't stick, an intrepid narrator who is not afraid to drive an old stolen hearse through deep snow, and you've got the makings of something, well, unusual (and thank God)! Which is another way of saying, wow, I'm really, really glad I read this. You will be too.
 “Speaking Eyes,” one of the stories from 13 Thorns appeared in the recent MungBeing. You can find it, as well as bio pages about Gina Ranalli and Outsider artist Gus Fink (and two of his drawings), by following this link: http://www.mungbeing.com/issue_13.html?page=26#1069
Speaking of Gina’s work, her novella Suicide Girls in the Afterlife was reviewed in the May edition of Fantasy & Science Fiction by Charles de Lint. Here’s some of what he had to say:
There are some very funny—and sacrilegious—moments (and) the author has serious things to say. But that doesn’t stop a lot of it from being irreverent and tongue-in-cheek…it’s certainly a fascinating—and for this reader, successful—experiment.
Vincent W. Sakowski has been busy and created a video for his book, Not Quite One of the Boys. You can find it on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/v/skm3T5d2gag Take a look!
All Encompassing Trip by Nicole Del Sesto is getting a lot of notice! Nicole was interviewed in PubGuy—you can find it here. She was also interviewed in BlogCritics.
Kevin Dole 2’s novella "Coming" appears in print and online in the latest issue of The Swallow's Tail. Edited by Forrest Armstrong, this third issue also features work by Jason Earls, D. Harlan Wilson, Benjamin Robinson, and others, as well as poetry, book reviews, art, and an interview with Kevin Donihe. Kevin Dole 2 also appeared recently at the Ann Arbor Book Festival on a panel called "Emerging Genres." It was moderated by Paul Toth.
Duncan Barlow, upcoming author of Super Cell Anemia was interviewed in Punk Horror. It gives some interesting details of his musical and literary career so check it out. You can find their site here.
Jason Earls recently released a novel, Red Zen, (available at Amazon) and Bradley Sands put out the winter issue of Bust Down the Door and Eat All the Chickens. You can find it here.
Several authors of Bizarro were featured in the anthology Falling from the Sky which you can find here. Included you will find work from Bradley Sands, Gina Ranalli, Kevin Donihe, Carlton Mellick III, and Jeremy Robert Johnson.
This summer, we’re working on Cocoon of Terror by Jason Earls, Wall of Kiss by Gina Ranalli, and Super Cell Anemia by Duncan Barlow…and this fall, HELP! A Bear is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen will be out there to entertain you.
Well, it’s yet another long news page…and I dedicate this to all the loyal supports of Bizarro—fans, authors, publishers, online and brick-and-mortar stores, zines, reviewers, and whoever else I may have missed. Have a good one!
February News
February 27, 2007
Hello to all! I can’t believe that I haven’t posted new news here since November, and now it is February. But, that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working away. In fact, we have a LOT of news to tell you!
 First, I neglected to tell you all about the contest winner for the cover of All Encompassing Trip. It was Michael Shirley, an artist from Australia. Here’s the cover, and when you read the book, you will see that it totally matches Nicole Del Sesto’s wild story. The 2nd and 3rd place winners were Brandon Duncan and Candace Fuller-Quinn—thanks so much to them for their terrific entries also! They win free books for their efforts, and we hope we might have the chance to work with them in the future. The contest was lots of fun, and thanks to all who entered.
Second—we have a bunch of new titles releasing for your reading pleasure! We love to get more bizarro material out there for those of you who are tired of the old standard stuff. Although we had some delays in printing, it is well worth the wait.
 Vincent W. Sakowski’s book, Not Quite One of the Boys is ready to order now. Michael Arnzen (author of Play Dead) says, “…everyone who loves the surreal should be reading him right now, before he undoes the fabric of the universe and pulls you inside-out right along with it.” The cover art was graciously provided by Carrie Ann Baade. I’m sure you’ll see more of her art on covers in the future!
The afore-mentioned All Encompassing Trip by Nicole Del Sesto is also out of the starting gate—we just saw the proof, and it’s ready to go into your hot little hands. Trip is quite a trip…what kind of a trip you’ll have to see for yourself!
The collaboration between Gina Ranalli and outsider artist Gus Fink, 13 Thorns, is on the horizon, and is now available for pre-order. This combination of a writer of bizarro and the mind and pen of an up-and-coming artist of the weird has resulted in thirteen twisted tales that will horrify and entertain you.
We’ve also brought back the free shipping—in fact, we think we’ll keep it around for a while. We’re all about giving everyone access to bizarro, and this is one way we can contribute to those of you who are counting every penny. It’ll ship media rate, but, hey, you’ll get ‘em and I’m sure you’ll rip open the paper and start reading immediately! (At least, that’s what I do when a new book comes in the mail!)
Well, it’s back to the salt mines! (Hmmm….actually the paper, ink, computer screen, memory sticks…you get the picture.) I’ve got to keep at it, because we have a slew of new stuff coming out this year: Better Ways of Being Dead by Christian TeBordo, Cocoon of Terror by Jason Earls, Wall of Kiss by Gina Ranalli, and Super Cell Anemia by Duncan Barlow…AND our newest, HELP! A Bear is Eating Me! by Mykle Hansen. You can see why we unfortunately have to remain closed to submissions for now, with these and a few other titles already on my desk. Hopefully we will be able to re-open at some point, though, so you authors, keep watch.
This has been an incredibly long news page…but lastly I just want to say thanks to all our loyal supporters! We’re working together to be sure there’s a bizarro book (or more than one) in every household. March on, Bizarros!
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