A Stoker Finalist!

File this one under "humbled" and "grateful" and then color me tickled.

Nominations were announced today for the 2008 Bram Stoker Awards, and I was proud to discover that UNSPEAKABLE HORROR: FROM THE SHADOWS OF THE CLOSET was named a finalist for Superior Achievement in an Anthology. Cloud 9 stuff, for sure.

It may be a cliché, but I'm humbled to be amongst the other nominees in our category — LIKE A CHINESE TATTOO edited by Bill Breedlove (from Dark Arts Books), HORROR LIBRARY, VOL. 3 edited by R. J. Cavender (from Cutting Block Press), and BENEATH THE SURFACE edited by Tim Deal (from Shroud Publishing). Even more cliché (Hey, I'm a freakin' Stoker finalist now — I'm entitled!) is the fact that I think all of us are already winners for helping keep the venerable short story format alive and viable. As editors and publishers, we've contributed something meaningful toward sustaining this literary staple.

An anthology is truly the sum of its parts, and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Jameson Currier, Lee Thomas, Sarah Langan, Kealan Patrick Burke, Lisa Morton, Rick R. Reed, Scott Nicholson, Livia Llewellyn, LA Fields, C. Michael Cook, Gary McMahon, Reesa Brown, Elissa Malcohn, Erin MacKay, CJ Lines, Jan Vander Laenen, Christopher Fox, Michael Hacker, Maria Alexander, Joy Marchand, Kevin Reardon, Michelle Scalise, and Jude Wright for their unique and absolutely brilliant literary creations. Having these fine writers on our maiden voyage as both a small press and as editors was a blessing.

As for Chad Helder, my co-pilot on this project, what can I say? He's been such a support to me from day one on the scene, and he was instrumental in helping craft and fine-tune this project. My editorial sounding board, my partner in queer horror.

So, now it's off to find just the right evening gown for Burbank, where the Stokers will be handed out in a gala awards banquet on June 13th.