Twisted Tales #3 Roundup

On Friday 28th January we had our third Twisted Tales event. After the fantastic benchmarks set by the first two events we always knew we'd have a difficult time with this third event - not being tied into a specific book launch or another event such as Halloween. The support of the people of Liverpool, and indeed the wider area as well, however has bowled us over and the third event was as much a success as the previous two. Below you can see some pictures of the event which featured three authors giving readings: superb Twisted Tales debuts from Alison Littlewood and Joel Lane and a repeat performance from the ever brilliant Conrad Williams. Once again our readers were a joy to work with and we cannot express our gratitude enough, but big thanks also has to go out to the crowd of supporters who came along to hear the readings, ask questions, buy books and get them signed. I'd especially like to thanks Ramsey Campbell and his wife Jenny, Simon Bestwick, Allyson Bird, and Sharon Ring. Last but not least we should thank TTA Press's Roy Gray who sold copies of Black Static and Interzone on the night and helped to publicise the event, the support of such respectable publications and figures from the horror community fills us with confidence that we can keep running Twisted Tales events both in Liverpool and beyond promoting horror into the 21st century.

 
We'd love to get your feedback on the event so that we can improve future ones. Please enjoy the photos below and then leave us a comment or two:

Alison J. Littlewood giving her reading

Joel Lane reading with Alison and Conrad in the background

 

Joel reading to the crowd

Conrad giving his reading

Twisted Tales #3

On Friday the 28th of January we will be presenting you with your third helping of Twisted Tales.

Twisted Tales #3 will take once again take place at the same venue, Waterstone's Liverpool One, at the same time, 6pm, and it will bring you the same high quality short fiction from published authors. TTA Press's Black Static will also be reappearing to co-present the event and all three of our authors Conrad Williams, Joel Lane and Alison Littlewood, have graced its pages at some point in their careers.

For now I'm going to leave you with the sumptuous poster designed for us by TTA Press but check back here for more news, further information about our three authors, and possibly some interviews.

It might seem like the 28th of January is a long time away (being next year and all) but it'll be here before you know it and demand for tickets is expected to exceed previous events so don't miss out on this brilliant opportunity to see top quality authors reading their own work.

Friday 28th January, 6-8pm

Waterstone's Liverpool One

Tickets £2*

For more information, or to book, call 0151 709 9820

*Redeemable against the price of any horror fiction bought on the night AND they enter you into a draw to win fabulous prizes (see TT#2's prizes for examples).

Twisted Tales #2

Friday 26th November was our second Twisted Tales event. Obviously we knew that we had a hard act to follow with the great show and attendance of the last event. However, we were not to be disappointed. We had great attendance which is a brilliant result given that the first one had the advantage of being associated with Halloween. As for the performance, we can't praise our three authors (Simon Kurt Unsworth, Paul Finch, and Graham Joyce) enough - they provided the varied, entertaining and spirited readings we want to show off at Twisted Tales and were a joy to have in Liverpool. Initial feedback from the audience was also overwhelmingly positive and TTA Press seemed to get a good night of it too with a reasonable number of magazine sales and subscriptions taken out.

Overall it went really well and we'd  love to get your feedback on the night. Below are some of the photos taken:

Simon Kurt Unsworth reading his pirate horror tale "An Afternoon with Danny"

Simon Kurt Unsworth

Paul Finch reading "Elderly Lady, Lives Alone"

Paul Finch who got the best post story "Ooooo" from the audience

Graham Joyce at work

Graham Joyce

Graham Joyce reading a very moving section of new novel The Silent Land

Black Static

In Twisted Tales #2 (and incidentally, Twisted Tales #3 - but more on that another time) we are presenting a Black Static showcase. But what is Black Static? In answer to that question publicity director Roy Gray sent us this response:

Black Static #3 by David Gentry

Black Static is where an author, either aspiring or established, who wants to write horror or dark fantasy fiction can publish their short stories. The magazine offers a chance of recognition, an appearance in print, a few thousand readers, influential reviews, a professional sale, good editing, and an exceptional layout for their work. 

It began  life as The Third Alternative, founded by TTA Press in 1994 (hence the letters TTA). When TTA took on the already long running Interzone magazine in 2004 it provided an opportunity to remove the science fiction and fantasy from The Third Alternative, allowing it to focus on the darker side of speculative fiction. The magazine was rechristened as Black Static to emphasise that shift and to give prospective readers a clearer idea of what the magazine was all about.

Black Static has earned praise for its style, bravery, editorial and fiction content. Its stories are innovative and daring, never afraid to shock or disturb, yet always entertaining.

Black Static #10 by David Gentry

After only three years into what will hopefully be a long and successful life, the magazine has already published work by some of the finest horror writers working today, including: Christopher Fowler, Stephen Volk, Lisa Tuttle, Nicholas Royle, Conrad Williams, Tony Richards, Scott Nicholson, Steve Rasnic Tem, Cody Goodfellow, Mélanie Fazi, Michael Marshall Smith, Simon Clark, Graham Joyce, Gary McMahon, Paul Finch, and Joel Lane, to name just a few. Meanwhile, upcoming authors such as Simon Kurt Unsworth, Aliette de Bodard, Daniel Kaysen, Shannon Page, Roz Clarke, Ray Cluley, Sarah Totton, James Cooper, Nina Allan, and Eric Gregory are starting careers within its pages.

A unique fiction magazine requires unique presentation which Black Static duly delivers with the extraordinary original artwork in every issue (samples of which can be seen on this page) and a design that delights in breaking rules.

Every issue contains "White Noise": horror and dark fantasy news compiled by Peter Tennant. Peter also provides all the book reviews in his "Case Notes" column. Tony Lee reviews DVD/Blu-ray releases in his "Blood Spectrum" Column. Christopher Fowler, Stephen Volk and Mike O'Driscoll write thought-provoking comment columns, and every issue presents an opportunity for the reader to win a selection of great horror-related prizes.

Black Static is published bimonthly (in alternate months to Interzone). You can subscribe to the print version (with discounted joint subscription to both magazines) at the TTA Press website shop, or buy e-editions at Fictionwise. Free mp3 audio readings of some stories are also available to download at Transmissions From Beyond.

Black Static #14 Front and Rear Covers by Dave Senecal

New Promo Art For Twisted Tales #2

Those industrious fellows at TTA Press have put together a new poster/flyer to publicise the second Twisted Tales which is after all a Black Static showcase. If you're not familiar with Black Static we'll be doing in infomercial in a future post but for now just know that it's an awesome horror magazine which publishes short fiction and all of our Twisted Tales #2 authors have appeared in it (or in its precursor: The Third Alternative). All three authors will be reading short fiction and have agreed to a question and answer session, as well as signing books. Now, without further preamble, enjoy the flyer:

Feel free to copy the poster and repost it wherever you  like. Hell, you can even print it off and hand it out to all your friends. If reposting online just be sure to credit both Twisted Tales and TTA Press. Thanks all, hope to see you there!