Interzone Books, Spitalfields, London E1

If you’re in the vicinity of Aldgate over a weekend, be sure to drop in at The Tea Rooms, opposite The Vibe Bar and next door to 146 Brick Lane, E1, as Interzone books now have a superb stall there – vintage NEL, Sphere, Everest, Biker pulp, psychedelia, beatnik and sundry Black Magic atrocities, etc. He also has a stall in Spitalfields Market, Commercial Street on Thursdays. Nice, friendly guy is Milan. Tell him you’re from Vault and/ or Paperback Fanatic as he’s well aware of both, having had me drone on and on about ’em for ages.

They’ll not be open this weekend or possibly next, but after that the times are:
Every Saturday 11am- 6pm | Every Sunday 10am-5pm

Check with Milan first at:

infoATinterzonebooks.com (as ever, replace the AT with @ – i don’t wanna be responsible for giving him spam)

You can also visit the online store

Wordsworth Editions: Best publisher of the 00’s?

As far as i know they’ve never even been shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award but Wordsworth editions have my nomination for publishers of the decade. The good news is, the good work will continue just as soon as 2010 is upon us with a reprint of James Malcolm Rymer’s Varney The Vampyre in January followed by the James Doig edited anthology, Australian Ghost Stories, the following month.

Blurb
Murderous ghosts, horrific curses and monstrous beings haunt an unforgiving landscape into which travelers stray at their peril. Journey through the dark byways of Australia’s Gothic past in the rare stories gathered in this memorable new collection. Work by acclaimed Australian writers such as Marcus Clarke, Henry Lawson and Edward Dyson appears alongside many lesser-known authors such as Beatrice Grimshaw, Mary Fortune and Ernest Favenc. Many of the stories collected here have never been reprinted since their first publication in 19th and early 20th century periodicals and showcase the richness and variety of the Australian ghost and horror story.

James Doig provides an authoritative introduction full of fresh insights into Australian Gothic fiction with detailed biographical notes on the authors represented.

my pick of those i’ve read to date would include:

M. G. Lewis – The Monk
Mark Valentine (ed) – The Werewolf Pack
David S. Davies (ed.) – The Sexton Blake Casebook
Marjorie Bowen – The Bishop Of Hell
Anonymous – Sweeney Todd
E. Nesbit – Powers Of Darkness
George W. M. Reynolds – Wagner, The Werewolf
William Fryer Harvey – The Beast With Five Fingers
David Blair (ed.) – Gothic Short Stories
Dennis Wheatley – The Devil Rides Out

Happy Christmas and thanks for such a great selection, Derek and skeleton staff!

Paperback Fanatic #12

Justin Marriott (ed.) – Paperback Fanatic #12 (Nov. 2009)

Beyond the Silver Sky- an overview of Ken Bulmer’s work from Ace Doubles to Dray Prescott
The House of Bulmer- Andreas Decker looks at the enduring popularity Ken enjoyed in Germany
Masero Lives! Johnny Mains interviews the classic cover artist
Death Merchant- Andreas Decker gives the inside story on the outrageous men’s adventure series
The Four Gringos- saddles up with blood-thirsty western series Breed, Herne and Crow
Weird Tales at Panther- a much expanded and heavily illustrated 8-page reworking of The Paperback Dungeon checklist
When the Vile Take Over- at last we cover NEL’s Hells Angels poster mags

Just been unleashed! The usual eclectic, wildly entertaining celebration of  beautifully ugly and just plain hideous paperbacks from the ‘sixties and seventies.  Anthology fans will particularly enjoy the overview of Panther’s Weird Tales heavy output. Details  from Paperback Fanatic, and anti-review of sorts on the Vault forum.