I am part of the Horror community, most frequently on Twitter/X and it was very strange to watch the rise and fall of the New Demons anthology. At first there was big excitement, lots of big names, and some really cool prizes offered to supporters of the anthology. Nifty book trailers and ads were popping up with the popular authors speaking warmly about the project. I even looked into supporting the anthology myself. But just as I was about to do that, people that I respect (I'm a writer and book reviewer who supports diversity and safety in the community) started speaking out about Patrick, who has a past record of bad conduct in the Horror community. I, and apparently some of the contributing authors were not aware of this. The interactions I've had with Patrick were positive ones about being proud of his children, helping search for a lost friend, and praise for Joe R. Lansdale as a writer and good human being. New Demons would've been a great anthology, but the horror writing community has to remain a safe place for all of us. Any sort of predatory behavior or bullying is wrong. Women have a hard enough time getting the equal recognition they deserve as writers without being treated inappropriately. That being said, it's super important that we keep our facts straight when looking into misconduct and don't just lash out at anyone involved with the project.
Bravo to Jim McLeod, Ginger Nuts of Horror, for calling out any "serial bullies" who have been bad actors in the horror community. And the guilty party is not "Twitter, Twitter." Rather it is the specific behavior by the one man accused of bullying and harassment - - - who has been allowed to get away with it for too long because timid writers stayed silent.
Thank you, Becky for the wacky, wild, wonderful suppport to all of us at the end of the blog, to keep going, keep dreaming, keep working at that 10,000 piece puzzle that sits on our desk, in our minds, but most especially in our hearts. I appreciate you.
"Did we know Brain, Child was still around? I did not! Did we know that Brain, Child had been 'launched and supported' by the CNF Foundation? I did not! ... At any rate, it will no longer be supported or around." = laughter
couple of nuances about New Demons: much of the social pressure to pull out of the anthology was on Brian Keene and Gabino Iglesias, who are both frequently active in the horror lit twitter space and who both make it a point of pride to be community-focused individuals. Before authors started pulling out, they requested that McDonough’s victims contact them directly (or through a specified spokesperson, a woman author who had volunteered as go-between) with proof of McDonough’s actions. One of them said later that they heard a lot of noise but were looking for a “smoking gun”. Many community members took umbrage with the tone they used in their tweets during this period. I’m trying to stay objective here, but my opinion is that their tone has sounded irritable and unsympathetic toward victims—not to say whether they are or aren’t, just giving my impression on their communication. These were the first two authors to pull out, followed shortly by Christopher Golden (and his writing partner, I got the impression they were co-writing a story) and then others, most of whom are not active in horror twitter and didn’t seem to know what was going on (many authors still don’t seem to know, like Robin Hobb).
Also, one more note, which is that Mary SanGiovanni, in addition to being a horror book blogger, is also Brian Keene’s wife—not a neutral observer.
"The horror community has to remain a safe place" conjures up short story ideas about a horror community having a gathering-- ideally in some creepy, dark, or woodsy place-- with a cast of famously eccentric horror writers as participants, then real horror unexpectedly(?) breaks out.
...this feels like deja vu but on the other side of the conversation. Wasn't I just reading a spate of articles either about how "cancel culture is bad and should be resisted" or comments section filled with it, but so far I see no receipts on this topic, unlike the Guernica issue where people clearly explained their issue with it and then took their own action to withdraw (as opposed to insist that everyone else do. (Gonna go down the rabbit hole to see if its as readily available as the screenshot says).
I think the world in general, but including the lit mag world doesn't really have a good grasp on these things. Its been centuries of dismissing people people saying they've been mistreated, but also there seem to be pockets of attack in which people don't expect to bring any receipts. It feels confusing, given the history or the world, but also the history of some people taking advantage of the history of the world, on exactly where to expect receipts and where to trust that there simply won't be and there will always be people that take advantage of that to get away with things.
I suspect that this will probably be a long, ongoing conversation/set of contiguous scenarios
I am going to try and put here each day in April one short poem and the name of a poet from countries other than the US and England. I have been reading for pleasure and pursuit of wider horizons since 1955 thrilled to the magnificence and compassion of the oceans and mountains and great cities of literature which has on uncountable encounters enriched and saved my life along with bringing me closer to amazing new people.
I may be in the minority, but I won’t shed a tear about a fiction anthology called “New Demons.” We already have enough real demons in this world.
I am part of the Horror community, most frequently on Twitter/X and it was very strange to watch the rise and fall of the New Demons anthology. At first there was big excitement, lots of big names, and some really cool prizes offered to supporters of the anthology. Nifty book trailers and ads were popping up with the popular authors speaking warmly about the project. I even looked into supporting the anthology myself. But just as I was about to do that, people that I respect (I'm a writer and book reviewer who supports diversity and safety in the community) started speaking out about Patrick, who has a past record of bad conduct in the Horror community. I, and apparently some of the contributing authors were not aware of this. The interactions I've had with Patrick were positive ones about being proud of his children, helping search for a lost friend, and praise for Joe R. Lansdale as a writer and good human being. New Demons would've been a great anthology, but the horror writing community has to remain a safe place for all of us. Any sort of predatory behavior or bullying is wrong. Women have a hard enough time getting the equal recognition they deserve as writers without being treated inappropriately. That being said, it's super important that we keep our facts straight when looking into misconduct and don't just lash out at anyone involved with the project.
Bravo to Jim McLeod, Ginger Nuts of Horror, for calling out any "serial bullies" who have been bad actors in the horror community. And the guilty party is not "Twitter, Twitter." Rather it is the specific behavior by the one man accused of bullying and harassment - - - who has been allowed to get away with it for too long because timid writers stayed silent.
One hopes, I sincerely hope, that Creative Nonfiction will go away, along with its outrageous submission fees.
Thank you, Becky for the wacky, wild, wonderful suppport to all of us at the end of the blog, to keep going, keep dreaming, keep working at that 10,000 piece puzzle that sits on our desk, in our minds, but most especially in our hearts. I appreciate you.
"Did we know Brain, Child was still around? I did not! Did we know that Brain, Child had been 'launched and supported' by the CNF Foundation? I did not! ... At any rate, it will no longer be supported or around." = laughter
That was beautiful. Thanks.
couple of nuances about New Demons: much of the social pressure to pull out of the anthology was on Brian Keene and Gabino Iglesias, who are both frequently active in the horror lit twitter space and who both make it a point of pride to be community-focused individuals. Before authors started pulling out, they requested that McDonough’s victims contact them directly (or through a specified spokesperson, a woman author who had volunteered as go-between) with proof of McDonough’s actions. One of them said later that they heard a lot of noise but were looking for a “smoking gun”. Many community members took umbrage with the tone they used in their tweets during this period. I’m trying to stay objective here, but my opinion is that their tone has sounded irritable and unsympathetic toward victims—not to say whether they are or aren’t, just giving my impression on their communication. These were the first two authors to pull out, followed shortly by Christopher Golden (and his writing partner, I got the impression they were co-writing a story) and then others, most of whom are not active in horror twitter and didn’t seem to know what was going on (many authors still don’t seem to know, like Robin Hobb).
Also, one more note, which is that Mary SanGiovanni, in addition to being a horror book blogger, is also Brian Keene’s wife—not a neutral observer.
I tried to register for the One Story calls on Tuesday and Thursday, but the link appears to be broken. Is there a better way to access them?
"The horror community has to remain a safe place" conjures up short story ideas about a horror community having a gathering-- ideally in some creepy, dark, or woodsy place-- with a cast of famously eccentric horror writers as participants, then real horror unexpectedly(?) breaks out.
The scenario seems obvious.
...this feels like deja vu but on the other side of the conversation. Wasn't I just reading a spate of articles either about how "cancel culture is bad and should be resisted" or comments section filled with it, but so far I see no receipts on this topic, unlike the Guernica issue where people clearly explained their issue with it and then took their own action to withdraw (as opposed to insist that everyone else do. (Gonna go down the rabbit hole to see if its as readily available as the screenshot says).
I think the world in general, but including the lit mag world doesn't really have a good grasp on these things. Its been centuries of dismissing people people saying they've been mistreated, but also there seem to be pockets of attack in which people don't expect to bring any receipts. It feels confusing, given the history or the world, but also the history of some people taking advantage of the history of the world, on exactly where to expect receipts and where to trust that there simply won't be and there will always be people that take advantage of that to get away with things.
I suspect that this will probably be a long, ongoing conversation/set of contiguous scenarios
Here us a rehearsal. THE MAKE WAY FOR POETRY HAIKU
Refreshing lightning,
Delicious doors. Dawn
Brings colors unseen before.
I am going to try and put here each day in April one short poem and the name of a poet from countries other than the US and England. I have been reading for pleasure and pursuit of wider horizons since 1955 thrilled to the magnificence and compassion of the oceans and mountains and great cities of literature which has on uncountable encounters enriched and saved my life along with bringing me closer to amazing new people.
I’m looking forward to the One Story interview on Thursday and the Florida Review next month!