Shroud Magazine Digital Edition V. 1.02 (August 2011) Now Available

Shroud is thrilled to release the second issue of our monthly digital edition in smartphone and tablet compatible .pdf format. With all exclusive content, Shroud DE provides an excellent way for readers to sample the same quality fiction, nonfiction and art as in our successful quarterly print magazine. V. 1.02 (August 2011) features KRIS ST. JAMES' “Die Wassergeist,” ADAM BLOMQUIST's “Trap,” ALAN MEYROWITZ's “Vampiric Nights,” Richard Wright’s “CRAVEN PLACE” Chapter Two, Robert Davies' "Hiram Grange & The Ghosts of Marrakech" Scott C. Carr's SOMEONE OUGHTA SELL TICKETS...! Beautiful cover Art by Danny Evarts, and DEMENTIS MORTUUS -- Word Games for the Worst of Us.



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New "Scary Psyches" Issue Edited by Jackie Gamber!

Shroud is pleased to announce our second themed issue.  Issue #13 will be guest edited by a talented writer and editor in the speculative fiction field, Jackie Gamber.

Jackie is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Meadowhawk Press, a speculative fiction publisher based in Memphis. She edited and published David Walton’s Terminal Mind, which garnered the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award in 2009 (more on Jackie below.)

Shroud Magazine, Issue #13, "Scary Psyches."

Scary Psyches – Stories that explore the dark side of our nature; hidden, forbidden facets of the human drama. Maybe we indulge them. Maybe we don’t.


No slasher stories for the sake of gore. No serial killers (unless there’s a fascinating element for his/her “why”). Go for creepy, Hitchcockian thriller, and you’re on the right track.

Submission should follow Shrouds submission requirements as outlined here.  Also visit the submissions page to learn about payment terms.

Submission are open June 1st, 2011 and subsequently close July 31st 2011, and must be submitted as .rtf attachments to jackie@shroudmagazine.com.  Submissions that are not formatted correctly, are sent to the wrong email address, or do bot comply with the theme of the issue will be unfortunately deleted.

More on Jackie Gamber

Jackie also edited the award-winning benefit anthology Touched by Wonder. She has been a guest lecturer at Memphis Options High Schools, and is a speaker at writers’ conferences from Michigan to Florida. Jackie is also the visionary behind the MidSouthCon Writers’ Conference, now in its third year.


An award-winning author in her own right, Jackie writes stories ranging from ultra-short to novel-length, varieties of which have appeared in anthologies such as Tales of Fantasy and Old School, as well as numerous periodical publications. Jackie is a member of the professional organizations Science Fiction Writers of America and Horror Writers Association. She was named honorable mention in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Award, received a 2008 Darrell Award for best short story by a Mid-South author, and is winner of the 2009 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award for Imaginative Fiction.

Future Issues

Shroud is thrilled to be working with a number of writers and editors in the genre for upcoming themed issues.

The Shroud Publishing 2011 Collegiate Fiction Award

Submission Dates:  March 1st, 2011 through July 31st, 2011

Response Time:  1 to 3 months after the end of the submission period

Submission email:  cfa@shroudmagazine.com

Format and word count:  Electronic submissions only; .rtf or .doc file attachment; no more than 500 words.

Awards:

1st place -- $100, publication in Shroud Magazine, two free contributor copies, and a hand-lettered “Hiram Award” presented at the Anthology 2011 Conference (anthocon.com) at the Wynwood Best Western in Portsmouth NH, November 11-13, 2011.

Honorable Mentions (4) -- Publication in Shroud Magazine, one contributor copy, and a hand-lettered “Hiram Award” presented at the Anthology 2011 Conference at the Wynwood Best Western in Portsmouth NH, November 11-13, 2011.

All awardees will receive a free weekend pass to the Anthology 2011 Conference, where they may participate in workshops and seminars focussed on the craft of genre writing.

Details:  Shroud Publishing, a Milton, NH-based publisher of Shroud Magazine, The Journal of Dark Fiction and Art, is accepting submissions of exceptional flash fiction from college students. Shroud endeavors to discover the bold new voices emerging from within the realm of dark speculative fiction. Stories may be on any topic, provided that they are speculative in nature, and would fit the thematic orientation of Shroud Magazine as stated in its submission guidelines at www.shroudmagazine.com. There is no fee to enter.

Stories will be judged by Shroud’s editorial team using the following general criteria:

Originality, uniqueness;
Exceptional use of craft techniques (dialogue, narrative tension, subtext, POV, etc.)
Basic compositional ability;
Adherence to Shroud’s submission guidelines at www.shroudmagazine.com

Shroud will acknowledge receipt of submissions, but will be unable to personally respond to, or critique every submission.

Learn more about Shroud at www.shroudmagazine.com; Twitter: Shroudmag

Shroud's 2010 Halloween Extravaganza!

I'm not sure of the exact date that talented author (and friend) Kevin Lucia approached me and suggested a themed Halloween Issue.  What I remember is that Kevin offered to "guest edit" it and I was thrilled by the prospect of seeing Kevin's creative vision manifest.

Over the past several weeks, I've been delighted to see the names that have slowly made their way to the Halloween Issue's table of contents.  Rio Youers, Lisa Mannetti, Jeremy Shipp, Nicholas Grabowski, Kelli Owen, Norman Partridge, Dan Keohane, Jodi Lee, Brian Hatcher and so many more (see full TOC below).

Not only did Kevin put his absolute best effort into this issue, but he also suffered the rigors related to editorial management with class and aplomb.  His efforts also served as proof positive that the guest editor idea--along with the themed issue--was something that we believe could work out well for Shroud's readers.

Better yet, we ran into one of our favorite artists at Context in August, Steven Gilberts.  Steve has done a number of covers for Shroud and they are among our most popular. On the night of our fabled Context Shroud Party, Steve showed us a painting he had done onsite that day.  We fell in love with it and immediately contracted Steve to do the Halloween issue cover.  I asked Steve to take his pumpkin man concept and place them in "literary positions."  The masterful work you see above is what he came up with.  After Danny Evarts finished several beautiful original wood and linoleum cuts for spot illustrations, then edited and designed the issue, we felt that this is perhaps our best issue yet.  Perfect for our favorite holiday.

ORDER IT NOW (and receive it as it comes available)

News! Coming in August: Shroud Digital Edition ("DE")

We're excited to announce that we've begun work on the Shroud DE, a digital version of Shroud Magazine that will feature thrilling stories, interviews, columns and more beginning in August.

• Shroud DE will be released on a monthly basis and will complement Shroud's quarterly print edition.  
• Shroud DE will be available online using an easy to read technology that simulates the print experience.  
• Shroud DE will also be available for download and will be compatible with the iPhone and the iPad for reading on the go.

We are pleased to be able to offer more ways for readers to access thrilling, quality fiction, as well as insightful, useful nonfiction content.  Furthermore, we are happy to provide another publishing outlet for authors.  Shroud Publishing will continue to pay Shroud DE authors the same rate as in our print edition.  Submissions provided during our regular submission periods will be considered for Shroud DE.

In addition, Shroud will be launching special advertising rates to celebrate the launch of Shroud DE.  Details will be released soon, but by using digital technology, Shroud DE will be able to link directly to advertisers' Web destinations and thus provide more value for the advertising dollar.  Also, Shroud DE will debut its Click-through Classifieds, linked text ads offered to authors, artists, and small press publishers at a very low price.

Best of all, Shroud will offer Shroud DE, initially, at no cost to readers.  We hope that readers, writers, and advertisers will enjoy a whole new way to enjoy Shroud's content.

Submission Period Begins on May 1st. New Halloween Issue!

We are opening to submissions on May 1st through the end of July and it is my sincere hope to offer you fast response times.  Please take a moment to reacquaint yourself with our Submission Guidelines.

I also hope that we will have the privilege of publishing your story, but please follow the guidelines.  If we receive a submission that does not meet the guidelines then we will be forced to delete it unread.

Why do we do this?  Because each submission period brings approximately 400-500 submissions, and in an effort to offer good response times we must focus on those submissions that meet the guidelines over those that do not.

Everyone on our small part-time staff are writers and we feel your pain and appreciate your creative effort.

SPECIAL SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITY

Kevin Lucia, one of Shroud's talented authors and editors, will be guest editing Shroud's Autumn Issue in 2010.  He has selected, appropriately, a Halloween Theme.

Kevin is looking for new, exciting and unique stories that cleverly integrate or honor this holiday.  The same Shroud submission guidelines apply, and we will be selecting stories from this submission period.  HOWEVER, the Halloween Issue submissions should be noted as a "Halloween Submission" and sent as an .rtf attachment to Kevin Lucia directly.

During this period, we will allow you to send a regular submission to Tim, as well as one Halloween submission to Kevin, if you so desire.

We look forward to your words.  Thank you, as always, for supporting Shroud!

Dread Central: Shroud Magazine "Beautiful"

We are honored by Elaine Lamkin's review of Shroud Magazine on Dread Central.

Lamkin says:

"Have you ever come across something SO amazing that you wanted everyone to know about it? Well, that happened to me recently when I received the latest issue of Shroud magazine. Looking nothing like a traditional magazine – more like a trade paperback-size book - Shroud is the brainchild of Timothy Deal and his love for the literary and artistic world of horror is evident in how beautiful this magazine looks."

Read the entire review on their site.

Buy Shroud Now.

Advance Praise for Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned

The first installment of the Hiram Grange series has begun to receive glowing praise from a number of writers and reviewers in the dark fiction genre.

Due out in late November, 2009, Hiram Grange and the Village of the Damned offers readers their first glimpse of the scurrilous boozer and malcontent in 125 pages of darkly-humorous horror fiction. There will be five installments in the first series, each penned by different authors. More information can be found here.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR HIRAM GRANGE

"With 'Hiram Grange', Jake Burrows has created a weird, disturbed, deeply troubled and darkly funny hero. VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED is quirky and creepy and way too much sick fun. Highly recommended." -Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE WOLFMAN and THE DRAGON FACTORY

"Stunning and startlingly original...a must read!" --Nate Kenyon, author of THE BONE FACTORY and SPARROW ROCK

"Twisted, thrilling, and thoroughly enjoyable. Pure pulp, in the best possible way."-- Matthew Dow Smith, artist for DOCTOR WHO, SUPERNATURAL:ORIGINS, and THE KEEP

"A seamless blend of wickedly dark humour and full-throttle horror, the series begins with great promise." -- Dave Jeffrey, THE RISEN, BEATRICE BEACHAM, and FINDING JERICHO

"There is no methadone for Hiram Grange, it will hook you from the first page and leave you jonesing for your next fix." -- R. Scott McCoy, author of FEAST and publisher of Necrotic Tissue.

"...utterly engrossing opium-laced adventure with just the right amount of dark, disturbing wit and a fascinating history." -- Jessica Lynn Gardner, Dark fiction author/Public Relations Specialist

"This is the most balmy brilliant novella I've read this century and lucky me there is more to come." -- Peter Mark May, the novelblog.com

"Hiram is intelligent but an unlikely hero, his adventure is action packed and unpredictable." -- Tammy Kane, Macabre Cadaver

Brian Keene to pen "SEMINAL SCREAMS" for Shroud

Tim Deal and Shroud Magazine are THRILLED to announce the launch of a new column in Shroud Magazine from one of the indisputable new MASTERS of the genre:  Bram Stoker-winning BRIAN KEENE, author of THE RISING, CASTAWAYS, GHOSTWALK, and several other wildly successful novels and short story collections.   Beginning with Issue #7 in July, Keene will be penning an original article for the readers of SHROUD in every issue!

In Brian Keene's SEMINAL SCREAMS, he will examine a classic horror novel that everyone, be they writer or fan, should read at least once in their lives.

Brian Keene joins other talented voices of the Genre to write regularly for Shroud, including Steve Vernon, Michael Knost, Norman Rubenstein, Kevin Lucia, D.L. Snell, I.E. Lester, and more!

Shroud Magazine up For British Fantasy Award

We are very honored and proud to announce that Shroud has made the long list for the prestigious British Fantasy Award.

The British Fantasy Awards are administered annually by the British Fantasy Society and were first awarded in 1971. The membership of the BFS vote to determine recommendations, short-lists and winners of the awards.

Shroud was recommended for the award under the category of "Best Magazine" among such heavyweights as Cemetery Dance and Interzone.

We could not be happier to have at least made it this far in the process.