Step into the unknown: BRAVE NEW WEIRD Volume Two is out today
Little by little the night turns around, Counting the leaves which tremble at dawn
Hey Ho, Tenebrous Cult!
It’s release day for the second edition of our anthology celebrating all things New Weird in the realms of Horror/SF/Fantasy!
23 pieces from 2023, curated by a thoroughly vetted expert committee**, selected from the finest independent and self-publishers around, and submitted for consideration by you; our peers; the publishers themselves; by literally anyone who felt like submitting. It’s a moderately chaotic process (for us), but also one that ensures equal opportunity for all.
**Alex, me, and a handful of game slush readers; so, probably as valid as most juries!
All too often, we see the same “awards” passed back and forth, back and forth, between a small group of protected individuals for so long that the significance of the recognition in the first place loses all meaning.
Not to detract from the brilliance on hand in BRAVE NEW WEIRD’s Table of Contents—all killer, no filler on display here, as they say—but “Best of” is a bit of a cheeky piss-take. While Alex and I wholeheartedly stand by our impeccable taste, we’re no more qualified to dictate the “best” of something than anyone else is.
Rather, our goal here remains in line with the overall Tenebrous mission:
to illuminate and highlight the odder corners of the speculative fiction world
to prove that there is an endless trove of imagination, talent, and storytelling genius happening outside the bright lights of Big Famous Names™
to reward your trust in us with hours of pulpy New Weird Horror goodness.
And if you ask me, we nailed it. I can honestly say that you’re gonna discover some of your new favorite writers within the pages of BRAVE NEW WEIRD.
It’s a safe bet; take it. Come get Weird with us.
About BRAVE NEW WEIRD Volume Two:
The World is Weird.
You will be discouraged from participating in it.
However, your participation is not optional.
Zip up your human suit and set sail, imbibing every perspective you can in order to perfect the persona.
Push to the outer edges. Document your travels, and forget to return.
There will be a test.
Learn what it means to be human.
Forget what it means to be human.
Learn what it means to be human.
Forget what it means to be human.
Do not panic.
BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror, Volume Two encompasses the finest Weird speculative fiction published in (roughly) 2023.
Edited by Alex Woodroe. Cover art by Matt Blairstone.
Table of contents:
Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas - Lullaby for the Unseen
Thomas Ha - In That Crumbling Home
Hussani Abdulrahim - The Library Virus
Patrick Malka - Show Me
Eirik Gumeny - A Balanced Breakfast
David Simmons - Food is Poison
Premee Mohamed - Quietus
Perfect Kiss Strickoll - punctum (o baked alaska for you i am a former american)
LC von Hessen - Transmasc of the Red Death
Simone le Roux - The Man Outside
KS Walker - River Bargain Baby
M.M. Olivas - The Prince of Oakland
Amitha Jagannath Knight - My Mother, The Exoskeleton
Rachael K. Jones - The Sound of Children Screaming
Judith Shadford - Endless Yearning
Daniel DeRock - Guest Opinion: We must take action regarding the [REDACTED] High School janitor
Geneve Flynn - A Box of Hair and Nail
Anemone Moss - Everything You Dump Here Ends Up in the Ocean
Karlo Yeager Rodríguez - Up In the Hills, She Dreams of Her Daughter Deep In the Ground
Elena Sichrovsky - Embryo
Ivan Zoric - Our Roots Will Dry Out in the End
Michael Bettendorf - As the Music Plays Groovy
Chris Kuriata - Family Not Going To Heaven
Win a Kindle Copy of SPLIT SCREAM Volume Five
From now until July 19th, we’re giving away 100 free Kindle eBook copies of SPLIT SCREAM Volume Five!
All you have to do is add it to your Goodreads to-read list right here.
About SPLIT SCREAM Volume Five:
The latest volume of the acclaimed series arrives, featuring brand new Weird Horror novelettes from Bitter Karella (Midnight Pals) and Lyndsey Croal (Have You Decided on Your Question)!
The Ballad of Horse Girl - Bitter Karella
California, 1860. The corrupt judge and snake oil baron, Lazarus Dives, murdered her family; now the nameless drifter known only as the Horse Girl is out for revenge. But can a man who’s sold his soul to the devil for eternal life be killed? It’ll be no easy task; but with extra motivation in the form of a bounty on the judge by Death herself, the Horse Girl plans to collect—even if it costs her soul. A classic Western tale of retribution meets supernatural horror.
The Girl with Barnacles for Eyes - Lyndsey Croal
Every year, the enigmatic Curator sails into Evie’s coastal town to display his wonders from beneath the ocean. Each time, Evie is drawn by the fascinating sights. But this year, he’s brought something different: a captive girl with barnacles for eyes. Evie risks everything to free her, ignoring her Ma’s warnings to stay away from the freak of nature. But is the Girl truly a monster, or is there more than meets the eye?
If you prefer print copies—and we certainly don’t blame you, obviously that’s our sweet spot too!—you can grab those here, direct from us:
And speaking of SPLIT SCREAM…
Volume Six Authors Announced!
We’re not giving editor Alex Ebenstein any time to catch his breath before he’s on to the next round of New Weird Horror twin novelettes:
About SPLIT SCREAM Volume Six:
COME TO DADDY by Ryan T. Jenkins
A damaged man endeavors to put the pieces back together after a lifetime of destruction; to reckon with his wife and son leaving him; to attend to the dreams of his dead mother’s well-manicured hand scuttling around at night; and the impossibly large garlic bulbs growing in his backyard; and the haunted movie poster of a B-list actor coming to life before his eyes.
It’s time, now, to confront how his marriage of eighteen years went to hell, all because of a trip to the store to buy avocados for his son’s college going-away party…or was it something more?
There’s nothing more punk rock than being a deluded, strung-out, forty-four-year-old dad forced to face the helter-skelter truth. Distilled from the classic Gothic haunted house narrative comes this twisted ode to punk rock and fatherhood.
MOTHER IS COMING HOME by David Corse
When Otis discovers an undulating, flesh-like portal near his barn, he believes he’s finally found a way to escape his hometown and travel the world. All he has to do is sell the oddity to the highest bidder and leave home for good.
His plans crumble when, during a drunken argument, he tosses his sickly and cruel mother through the portal. The momentary elation is brief, and quickly swallowed by a gutting reality. Otis must rescue his mother and protect the strange opening from prying eyes, no matter the cost. The lengths he will go to to hold onto hope are endless in this tale of toxic relationships, failsons, and cowardice.
We’ll have preorder info for SPLIT SCREAM Volume Six coming soon; in the meantime, welcome to the Cult, Ryan and David.
Love in the time of Capitalism
Normally, Editor-in-Chief Alex Woodroe would pipe in with some thoughts right here, but currently she’s eyeballs-deep in edits for Michael Bettendorf’s TRVE CVLT…
…and Carson Winter’s A SPECTRE IS HAUNTING GREENTREE…
…and a whole host of other things coming your way in 2025, so she’s gonna bow out this newsletter and return to drop truth-bombs next time around.
In the meantime, you can order either of these future gems, and everything else in our catalogue, right here:
Journey with us into the VOID
This September 27-29, in Huntington, West Virginia, we—the royal we, alas; Alex won’t be making this leg of the Tenebrous trek—will be voyaging into the darkness and wonder that is VOIDCON.
A ton of the best creators from the fringes of indie Horror and beyond will be there—so far we’ve got Kyle Winkler; Charlene Elsby; David Simmons; Justin Lutz; Christa Pagliei; Brian Allen Carr; Weirdpunk Books; Broken River Books; Patrick Barb; Rick Claypool; From Beyond Press; and Tenebrous alums M. Lopes Da Silva and Joe Koch, with more signing on.
TRVE CVLT (preorder it here!) author Michael Bettendorf will be on hand as well, celebrating the release of his book that very week; as will a number of our SPLIT SCREAM brethren. There’ll be live music, exclusive film screenings, panels, readings, madness, and excellent company. Really, what more can you ask for? We hope you’ll join us there!
**I believe that the VOIDCON organizers are still taking more Vendors, but don’t quote me on that. You can hit ‘em up here with questions.
Alright, I think that’s all for this time. Be kind to yourselves. Join us where the Weird meets the world.
Hail Indie Publishing.
Hail Indie Horror.
Hail BRAVE NEW WEIRD.
Matt + Alex