The Library of the Dead is currently a BookBub selection. Snag this eBook now through the end of March 3rd for only $0.99 in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada.
Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology and illustrated throughout by gak, The Library of the Dead is an anthology of literary fiction inspired by Chapel of the Chimes, a crematory and columbarium founded in 1909 in Oakland, California, and one of the area’s most beautiful historic buildings. Thousands are entombed in golden books (urns) shelved from floor to ceiling in a glowing labyrinth of nearly countless rooms. The stories within represent a few of those golden books, and when opened, reveal the stories of those inside.
You, Human is currently a BookBub selection. Snag this eBook and other Written Backwards dark sci-fi anthologies now through the end of February 12th for only $0.99 in the US and UK, and discounted in Australia and Canada.
Bram Stoker Award-winning editor Michael Bailey brings you a genre-bending anthology of dark science fiction and poetry, with fiction illustrated beautifully throughout by world-renowned artist L.A. Spooner, poetry and spot illustrations by the always-impressive Orion Zangara, and an incredible introduction on humanness by New York Times bestselling author F. Paul Wilson. Cover artwork by George C. Cotronis. Also features the Bram Stoker Award-nominated short story “Jupiter Drop” by Josh Malerman. And the anthology itself won the Benjamin Franklin Award.
And coming in 2025 . . . You, Human, Vol. 2: Novelettes. So, this is the perfect chance to catch up on all things You, Human before then.
And if you enjoy dark science fiction and horror, you might be interested in the following anthologies, which are also running the $0.99 promotion:
MISCREATIONS: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors, an anthology of dark speculative fiction co-edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey. What happens when we make monsters? What happens when we make monsters of ourselves? Grotesque beings lurch from our darkest dreams. Vicious beasts stalk our twisted pasts. Lost souls haunt our deepest regrets. They are the blood on our hands. They are the obsessions in our heads. They are the vengeance in our hearts. They are Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors. Includes a foreword by Alma Katsu and illustrations by HagCult. Nominated for both the Bram Stoker Award and the Shirley Jackson Award.
ADAM’S LADDER, an anthology of dark science fiction. The future of humankind as an ever-changing organism is a subject of much debate. Where is our evolutionary path leading? Will the next rung take the form of mental transcendence, will it set humankind on a course toward divinity, or will this uncertain path involve a dark and terrible reversion? Co-editors Michael Bailey and Darren Speegle present eighteen tales that explore the course of evolution, written by some of the best literary minds in the fields of science fiction and horror, such as Laird Barron, John Langan, Tim Lebbon, Lisa Morton, Brian Evenson, and Roberta Lannes. It’s your future.
QUALIA NOUS, VOL. 2, an anthology of dark science fiction and fantasy edited by Michael Bailey and featuring artwork throughout by Pat R. Steiner. This second volume of the award-winning Qualia Nous series contains short stories, novelettes, and poetry from established authors and newcomers from around the world. Featuring the imaginations of Chuck Palahniuk, Stephen King, Eugen Bacon, Josh Malerman, Cynthia Pelayo, Lee Murray, Eric LaRocca, Gabino Iglesias, Linda D. Addison, Zoje Stage, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Gary A. Braunbeck, and more.
QUALIA NOUS, winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award and nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology, is a literary blend of science fiction and horror. Contains short stories, novelettes, and poetry from established authors and newcomers from around the world. Features Bram Stoker Award winning stories by Usman T. Malik and Rena Mason (both tied for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction), as well as stories by Stephen King, Emily B. Cataneo, Erinn L. Kemper, Patrick Freivald, William F. Nolan, Elizabeth Massie, John R. Little, Gary A. Braunbeck, and many others. *Due to contractual obligations/limitations, the eBook does not include Stephen King’s “The Jaunt.”
I am stoke(re)d to see Qualia Nous, Vol. 2 on the Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot for Superior Achievement in an Anthology. I’m “the editor,” so focus goes on me for a bit, but the following and their work are responsible for this book being what it is:
“Interstices” (found poem(s) from Vol. 1 as an intro) – Pat R. Steiner “A Story That Must Be Read Alone but Never at Night” (short story) – Chuck Palahniuk “Shattered in Daylight” (poem) – Linda D. Addison “We Come Apart and Then We Arrive” (short story) – Eric LaRocca “Here We Are” (poem) – Elizabeth Massie “An Invitation for the Uninvited” (novelette) – Scott Edelman “Set Me on Fire” (poem) – Cynthia Pelayo “Twice as Many Stars” (short story) – Paul Michael Anderson “Playground of the Gods” (poem) – Christina Sng “The Fallen Man” (short story) – Geneve Flynn “Lullabies of a Distant World” (poem) – Pedro Iniguez “Other” (short story) – Gordon Linzner “Vessel” (poem) – Lee Murray “Come Find Me” (short story) – Zoje Stage “Self-Discovery” (poem) – Ngo Binh Anh Khoa “The Song of Fools” (novelette) – Patrick Freivald “A Particle Accelerator Love Song” (poem) – Brent Baldwin “Blue-Red-Green” (novelette) – Peter Hagelslag “Sacrificing for the Path of Orbits” (poem) – Christopher Collingwood “Investigations into Hypnagogia” (novelette) – Sachin Baliga “My Memory Is as Time Is” (poem) – Mark Granger “The Infinite Hourglass” (short story) – Kehkashan Khalid “Common Sense, No More” (prose poem) – Maxwell I. Gold “The Sum of Our Parts Needs Only One Heart” (short story) – Michael Paul Gonzalez “Alive / Real / Exists / Human” (collection of poems) – Eugen Bacon “Bilocation in Liminal Space” (short story) – Erik Williams “Danse Sanguinaire” (poem) – Deborah L. Davitt “Choose Your Own Demise” (short story) – Richard Thomas & Repo Kempt “Crazy” (poem) – Jeffrey Oliver “Stuff She Put in a Box for Her New Room” (novelette) – Gary A. Braunbeck “What Weird Weather We Had” (poem) – Josh Malerman “Oil on Water” (short story) – Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki “Nightmare” (poem) – L. Marie Wood “Once, I Dreamed I Was Dead” (short story) – Rebecca J. Allred “Paranoid: A Chant” (poem) – Stephen King “Lucid Interval” (novelette) – Michael J. Riser “Deeply You” (poem) – Max Booth III “The Thing That Laughs in the Dark” (short story) – Gabino Iglesias “Some Days, Most Days” (poem) – Kaaron Warren “Dog-Whistles” (short story) – Cody Goodfellow “Ghost in the Machine” (poem) – Karen Poppy “Everyday Horror” (short story) – Steve Rasnic Tem “Me” (poem) – Jamal Hodge
The original Qualia Nous made the final ballot and was nominated for Superior Achievement in an Anthology, with two of its stories winning for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction (Usman T. Malik and Rena Mason, in a tie). The anthology also won the Benjamin Franklin Award. Let’s hope the second volume finds its way onto the final ballot as well!
December 11th through the end of December 17th, all Written Backwards eBooks are on sale for $1.99 US / £1.99 UK or cheaper on Kindle. One is even free for a limited time. See direct links below:
“Interstices” (found poem(s) from Vol. 1 as an intro) – Pat R. Steiner “A Story That Must Be Read Alone but Never at Night” (short story) – Chuck Palahniuk “Shattered in Daylight” (poem) – Linda D. Addison “We Come Apart and Then We Arrive” (short story) – Eric LaRocca “Here We Are” (poem) – Elizabeth Massie “An Invitation for the Uninvited” (novelette) – Scott Edelman “Set Me on Fire” (poem) – Cynthia Pelayo “Twice as Many Stars” (short story) – Paul Michael Anderson “Playground of the Gods” (poem) – Christina Sng “The Fallen Man” (short story) – Geneve Flynn “Lullabies of a Distant World” (poem) – Pedro Iniguez “Other” (short story) – Gordon Linzner “Vessel” (poem) – Lee Murray “Come Find Me” (short story) – Zoje Stage “Self-Discovery” (poem) – Ngo Binh Anh Khoa “The Song of Fools” (novelette) – Patrick Freivald “A Particle Accelerator Love Song” (poem) – Brent Baldwin “Blue-Red-Green” (novelette) – Peter Hagelslag “Sacrificing for the Path of Orbits” (poem) – Christopher Collingwood “Investigations into Hypnagogia” (novelette) – Sachin Baliga “My Memory Is as Time Is” (poem) – Mark Granger “The Infinite Hourglass” (short story) – Kehkashan Khalid “Common Sense, No More” (prose poem) – Maxwell I. Gold “The Sum of Our Parts Needs Only One Heart” (short story) – Michael Gonzalez “Alive / Real / Exists / Human” (collection of poems) – Eugen Bacon “Bilocation in Liminal Space” (short story) – Erik Williams “Danse Sanguinaire” (poem) – Deborah L. Davitt “Choose Your Own Demise” (short story) – Richard Thomas & Repo Kempt “Crazy” (poem) – Jeff Oliver “Stuff She Put in a Box for Her New Room” (novelette) – Gary A. Braunbeck “What Weird Weather We Had” (poem) – Josh Malerman “Oil on Water” (short story) – Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki “Nightmare” (poem) – L. Marie Wood “Once, I Dreamed I Was Dead” (short story) – Rebecca J. Allred “Paranoid: A Chant” (poem) – Stephen King “Lucid Interval” (novelette) – Michael J. Riser “Deeply You” (poem) – Max Booth III “The Thing That Laughs in the Dark” (short story) – Gabino Iglesias “Some Days, Most Days” (poem) – Kaaron Warren “Dog-Whistles” (short story) – Cody Goodfellow “Ghost in the Machine” (poem) – Karen Poppy “Everyday Horror” (short story) – Steve Rasnic Tem “Me” (poem) – Jamal Hodge
The anthology also contains 43 pieces of artwork by Pat R. Steiner, who also wrote the found-poem / introduction, which contains fragments of fiction and poetry from the original Qualia Nous.
Purchase directly from the publisher (US only, shipping included) . . .
Before the reveal, a little history about the series . . .
The first volume of Qualia Nouswon the Benjamin Franklin Award for science fiction, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology, had two of its short stories win the Bram Stoker Award (in a tie) for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction (with a third also making the preliminary ballot), was a silver medal finalist in horror for the Independent Publisher Book Awards, a finalist in science fiction and bronze winner in anthologies for Foreword Reviews Book of the Year (now the IndieFAB), a finalist in both science fiction and anthologies for the Indie Book Awards, a finalist in anthologies for the USA Best Book Awards, a winner in science fiction for the International Book Awards, included a poem that won the Rhysling Award, and a short story nominated for the Nebula.
The original Qualia Nouswas also the first time the press had the opportunity to publish Stephen King (now somewhat of a regular), and the first time any Written Backwards anthology included poetry. If you want to check it out, click the image below.
In other words, the first volume in what is now a series made some serious noise. Qualia Nous, Vol. 2, which is 428 pages, will also include 43 illustrations by Pat R. Steiner (see the thumbnails below), as well as 21 poems and 21 short stories (a handful of those novelettes). The anthology is going to be absolutely beautiful, alternating between fiction and poetry throughout by some of the most incredible writers of contemporary science fiction, horror, and dark fantasy.
Here’s a preview of the artwork (in poster form):
So, without further ado, the final Table of Contents for Qualia Nous, Vol. 2:
“Interstices” (found poem(s) from Vol. 1 as an intro) – Pat R. Steiner “A Story That Must Be Read Alone but Never at Night” (short story) – Chuck Palahniuk “Shattered in Daylight” (poem) – Linda D. Addison “We Come Apart and Then We Arrive” (short story) – Eric LaRocca “Here We Are” (poem) – Elizabeth Massie “An Invitation for the Uninvited” (novelette) – Scott Edelman “Set Me on Fire” (poem) – Cynthia Pelayo “Twice as Many Stars” (short story) – Paul Michael Anderson “Playground of the Gods” (poem) – Christina Sng “The Fallen Man” (short story) – Geneve Flynn “Lullabies of a Distant World” (poem) – Pedro Iniguez “Other” (short story) – Gordon Linzner “Vessel” (poem) – Lee Murray “Come Find Me” (short story) – Zoje Stage “Self-Discovery” (poem) – Ngo Binh Anh Khoa “The Song of Fools” (novelette) – Patrick Freivald “A Particle Accelerator Love Song” (poem) – Brent Baldwin “Blue-Red-Green” (novelette) – Peter Hagelslag “Sacrificing for the Path of Orbits” (poem) – Christopher Collingwood “Investigations into Hypnagogia” (novelette) – Sachin Baliga “My Memory Is as Time Is” (poem) – Mark Granger “The Infinite Hourglass” (short story) – Kehkashan Khalid “Common Sense, No More” (prose poem) – Maxwell I. Gold “The Sum of Our Parts Needs Only One Heart” (short story) – Michael Gonzalez “Alive / Real / Exists / Human” (collection of poems) – Eugen Bacon “Bilocation in Liminal Space” (short story) – Erik Williams “Danse Sanguinaire” (poem) – Deborah L. Davitt “Choose Your Own Demise” (short story) – Richard Thomas & Repo Kempt “Crazy” (poem) – Jeff Oliver “Stuff She Put in a Box for Her New Room” (novelette) – Gary A. Braunbeck “What Weird Weather We Had” (poem) – Josh Malerman “Oil on Water” (short story) – Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki “Nightmare” (poem) – L. Marie Wood “Once, I Dreamed I Was Dead” (short story) – Rebecca J. Allred “Paranoid: A Chant” (poem) – Stephen King “Lucid Interval” (novelette) – Michael J. Riser “Deeply You” (poem) – Max Booth III “The Thing That Laughs in the Dark” (short story) – Gabino Iglesias “Some Days, Most Days” (poem) – Kaaron Warren “Dog-Whistles” (short story) – Cody Goodfellow “Ghost in the Machine” (poem) – Karen Poppy “Everyday Horror” (short story) – Steve Rasnic Tem “Me” (poem) – Jamal Hodge
When will the anthology be available? If everything goes according to plan, October 31st, 2023, simultaneously in hardcover, paperback, and eBook. Yes, this lovely Halloween. And lastly, here’s a close-up of the illustration for Stephen King’s poem “Paranoid: A Chant,” which has a nice Dark Tower vibe . . .
Update: Submissions for for Qualia Nous, Vol. 2 closed at midnight on July 31st, 2023.Submissions will no longer be considered.
Written Backwards is not open to submissions at this time. Please do not use this opportunity (as many have in the past) to query the publisher or editor(s) about other potential projects. Written Backwards is not open at this time to fiction collections, poetry collections, novellas, novels, anthology ideas, or any other projects. This information below is now considered archived.
QUALIA NOUS, VOL. 2 (anthology)
The first volume of Qualia Nous(2014), edited by Michael Bailey, won the Benjamin Franklin Award for science fiction and was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology. It was a Foreword ReviewsBook of the Year finalist in horror, science fiction, and a bronze winner for anthologies, as well as a silver medal finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards, a finalist for the Indie Book Awards, and a winner of the International Book Award. It was also the first Written Backwards anthology (of eventually many) to contain work by Stephen King.
Usman T. Malik’s “The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family” was a finalist for the Nebula Award and tied to win the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction with Rena Mason’s “Ruminations.” And Marge Simon’s poem “Shutdown” (the only poem in the anthology) won the Rhysling Award from the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association. So, a second volume of Qualia Nous was inevitable, albeit 10 years later, and will again not only feature legends of the craft but showcase today’s emerging talent.
What does the title mean? It’s up to interpretation.
Qualia: instances of subjective, conscious experience; the internal and subjective component of sense perceptions arising from stimulation of the senses by phenomena; the way it feels to have mental states.
Nous: intellections; awareness; perception; understanding; reason; thought; intuition; the faculty of the human mind; having the ability to understand what is true or real; practical intelligence.
Written Backwards has always highlighted the work of a diverse cast of writers and will continue to do so, which is why this anthology is mostly open call and will pay above current professional rates. While not many like the term “literary,” that is what this anthology is looking for: groundbreaking work that break normal conventions and will stand the test of time, propelling emerging and undiscovered writers into the mainstream.
If unfamiliar with previous Written Backwards anthologies that blend science fiction with other genres, it is highly recommended to read previous titles, such as Prisms and/or Adam’s Ladder (co-edited by Darren Speegle), Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors(co-edited by Doug Murano), You, Human, any of the books in the Chiral Mad series, or the original Qualia Nous. Familiarizing yourself with these works will better your chances of landing a spot in Qualia Nous, Vol. 2.
All accepted works will meet active membership requirements for organizations such as the Science Fiction Writers Association (SWFA), the Horror Writers Association (HWA), the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA), and others.
Similar to previous Written Backwards anthologies, all contracts will protect the writer.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
Manuscripts should include a cover page with contact information, as well as name and page numbers on subsequent pages; 12pt font, double-spaced; there are no hard guidelines for auto-rejections, but understand the basics of manuscript formatting that reflect a level of professionalism.
Instant rejections: Nonfiction, hard science fiction, gore for the sake of gore, violence for the sake of violence, erotica, romance, works that contain hate speech or discrimination of any kind other than to fight against such horrible things, reprints, excerpts, young adult, or anything that doesn’t fall under the additional guidelines below.
Original fiction: 3,000 – 10,000words, or poetry (up to 100 lines).
Accepted genre(s): Dark science fiction and all blended sub-genres of science fiction (horror, fantasy, etc.)
Payment: $0.10 / word (ten cents) capped at 3,000 words for short fiction ($300), 5,000 words for long fiction ($500 for novelettes between 7,500 – 10,000 words); $50 for short poems, or $100 for long poems; along with monetary payment, a contributor copy of each edition will be provided.
Rights: First World Rights in English; all rights revert to the writer immediately upon publication, although 12 months exclusivity is requested, except for inclusion in a personal or “best of” collection published after the anthology.
Illustrations: Similar to previous Written Backwards titles, fiction and/or poetry may include illustrations.
Deadline: July 31st, 2023.
Reprints: No.
Publication: 2024 or 2025 (to be determined).
Formats: Hardcover, paperback, and eBook.
Special note about A.I.: all submissions will be checked for the use of artificial intelligence in their creation using detection software and will be automatically rejected if found to include influence. Likewise, any who submit such material will be banned from future submissions to Written Backwards anthologies.
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES
Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please notify if your submission is accepted by another venue. Please only submit one manuscript at a time (fiction or poetry) and wait for a non-acceptance (rejection) prior to submitting again, with no more than 2 submissions total.
Due to the number of submissions anticipated (typically 1,000 – 1,500), non-acceptances will be announced by way of a form response as quickly as manageable. Allow up to 3 months before inquiring about a submission. For fiction and poetry that reach the editor’s “maybe pile,” additional time for consideration will be requested until the anthology is full.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Email QN@nettirw.com with the story attached (.docx, .doc, .rtf only). Feel free to include a short bio and information about your particular demographic (representing the underrepresented is a passion of the editor), but no other information is requested.
PRISMS, an anthology of dark science fiction and fantasy co-edited by Darren Speegle and Michael Bailey, is now available! This anthology was previously published in limited hardcover by PS Publishing in March 2021 and re-released in trade paperback and eBook by Written Backwards.
Prisms are instruments, mirrors, metaphors, gateways humankind must pass through in order to achieve, to overcome, to realize, to become. Contained herein are nineteen transformative tales from some of speculative fiction’s most brilliant minds. So open your eyes and let the light pass through . . .
Purchase directly from the publisher (US only, shipping included) . . .
We Come in Threes – B.E Scully Encore for an Empty Sky – Lynda E. Rucker The Girl with Black Fingers – Roberta Lannes The Shimmering Wall – Brian Evenson In This, There Is No Sting – Kristi DeMeester The Birth of Venus – Ian Watson Super-Sad Mad Dog Sui-Homicidal Self-Sibs, All in a Leaky Tin Can Head – Paul Di Filippo Rivergrace – E. Catherine Tobler Saudade – Richard Thomas There Is Nothing Lost – Erinn L. Kemper This Height and Fiery Speed – A.C. Wise The Motel Business – Michael Marshall Smith Everything Beautiful Is Also a Lie – Damien Angelica Walters The Gearbox – Paul Meloy District to Cervix: The Time Before We Were Born – Tlotlo Tsamaase Here Today and Gone Tomorrow – Chaz Brenchley The Secrets of My Prison House – J. Lincoln Fenn A Luta Continua – Nadia Bulkin I Shall but Love Thee Better – Scott Edelman
Michael Bailey 4.4 was released upon the world yesterday. Today (and most of next week), you can grab the entire Michael Bailey collection for free on Kindle.
PSYCHOTROPIC DRAGON is the third composite novel (technically a fiction collection) by Michael Bailey. Part short novel, part novella, part novelette, with a few short stories and fables in between, Psychotropic Dragon is a mind-bending composite narrative about Julie Stipes and her experience with the street drug Drakein-5. The psychotropic eye drops blur reality, sending her through a horrific journey of self-discovery and recovery. Each act in this ensemble is further brought to life with illustrations by Daniele Serra, Glenn Chadbourne, L.A. Spooner, and Ty Scheuerman.
THE IMPOSSIBLE WEIGHT OF LIFE, an autobiographical collection of speculative fiction and poetry by Michael Bailey. contains Bram Stoker Award-nominated short stories such as “I Will Be the Reflection Until the End” and “Time Is a Face on the Water,” but also never-before-published mind-benders created during his “highly-medicated” state of recovery, including a story about memory loss called “Fragments of Br_an,” (composed on a typewriter that no longer exists, now ash), “Emergence of the Colorless,” a statement about the beginning of the end of prejudice, and the far future “Oll Korrect,” in which artificial intelligence is used to explore humankind. As for poetry, there are favorites such as “Loosed Earth” and “Shades of Red,” but many new poems to help with balance, including “Hurt People Hurt People,” “Night Rainbows,” and “Paper Earth.”
OVERSIGHT, a themed collection of two novelettes and a short story by Michael Bailey. Includes “Darkroom” and “SAD Face” (novelettes), and “Fade to Black” (short story).
OUR CHILDREN, OUR TEACHERS, a standalone novelette by Michael Bailey, nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction. Children are often our greatest teachers, but what happens if the lesson is too heavy to hold? A high school in rural Brenden, Washington is taken hostage by a gathering of unlikely students trying to teach the world a new lesson … a foreshadowing, perhaps, to darker times ahead for the American education system, if gun control is not addressed properly.
INKBLOTS AND BLOOD SPOTS, a painfully beautiful collection of short stories and poetry by Michael Bailey that reaches deep into the imagination, breaking hearts and boundaries along the way. Features an introduction by Douglas E. Winter, and illustrations and cover artwork by Daniele Serra. Stories include the Bram Stoker nominated “Fireman / Primal Tongue,” which also received an Honorable Mention for Year’s Best Horror; “Dandelion Clocks,” a haunting, melodic tribute to the tragedy of 9/11; “I Wanted Black,” where a young boy’s birthday is anything but cause to celebrate; “Mum,” a tale of two sisters unfolding like the bandages on their mother’s badly burned body.
PHOENIX ROSE, a composite novel. Michael Bailey returns to the strange town of Brenden, Washington to expand the events of Palindrome Hannah. A family is torn apart after a horse foaling goes terribly wrong; a sickly man recounts getting mauled by his neighbor’s dog; an undead priest is reborn into the world a hundred-fifty years after his untimely death; two brothers run for their lives through a dead field of wheat. Holding all of this together is a young boy named Todd, whose survival pivots on the balance of life and death, and a deranged mental patient with a burnt rose tattoo, whose reality is paradoxical. Cover artwork by Michael Ian Bateson.
SCALES AND PETALS, the debut fiction and poetry collection by Michael Bailey. Between writing the novels Palindrome Hannah and Phoenix Rose, Michael penned and published a number of these dark short fiction and poetry pieces, some of which can be found in literary magazines and anthologies around the world (Australia, Sweden, and South Africa). A few of these fallen dragon scales and flower petals are reprinted here, while others are original to the collection, hand selected and arranged by the author. Once you crack the spine, there’s no going back. Cover artwork by John Hornor Jacobs. Also includes a bonus graphic adaptation of the story “Plasty,” in collaboration with artist L.A. Spooner, as well as three previously unpublished flash fiction pieces.
PALINDROME HANNAH, a composite novel by Michael Bailey. Enter a cruel palindrome world: a symmetric place where disturbing situations displace the common; where good acts transmute to evil ones; where windows and mirrors are interchangeable. Within, characters influence each other through macabre arrangements of involuntary happenstance, and learn the inevitabilities of coincidence. A segmented story of a mother and daughter intertwines the others. This hidden sixth story, assembled from the five separate narratives, uncovers the sad life of a child who carries a palindrome name, and her struggling teenage mother. With five stories heading one direction, and Hannah traveling the opposite, the story unfolds like a palindrome. A puzzle within a puzzle.
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WRITTEN BACKWARDS 