Wonderful news: The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories has won the British Fantasy Award for Best Anthology! We’re absolutely thrilled and humbled by this honor. Thanks are due to many people: the writers who contributed their stories to The Weird, the translators who helped us bring new translations of great stories into print, the judges for the BFA, our fellow nominees (all wonderful books), and, of course, the readers who love The Weird and appreciate what we set out to do. Regrettably, we were unable to attend the British Fantasy Award ceremony, but our brilliant translator Gio Clairval did accept the award on our behalf, for which we are very grateful. We also taped an acceptance speech, which you can watch here:
Meanwhile, here at Weirdfictionreview.com this week, we’ve already seen new installments in the columns of regular contributors Edward Gauvin and Nancy Hightower on French fantasists and weird art, respectively. We are also featuring stories this week from two luminaries of weird fiction, one classic, one contemporary: Bruno Schulz’s “The Comet,” published here in a new translation from John Curran Davis, and Michael Cisco’s “The Vile Game of Gunter and Landau.” The latter story is reprinted from an anthology of stories written in tribute to Schulz, This Hermetic Legislature, published earlier this year by Ex Occidente Press in a beautiful, deluxe oversized hardcover edition. (Readers may recall another anthology from Ex Occidente previously featured on WFR, produced in a similar fashion.)
Ex Occidente is also providing an exclusive offer here on WFR: readers can purchase This Hermetic Legislature, normally offered at $150, for the special discounted price of $80, plus $10 for shipping. And, if you take advantage of this offer, Ex Occidente will add one free book to your order. This is an incredible deal well worth consideration, but in order to qualify for this offer, you must mention Weirdfictionreview.com when you place your order.
Readers can find more information about This Hermetic Legislature and ordering information on Ex Occidente’s website.
Congratulations to both of you! There wasn’t a doubt in my mind The Weird wouldn’t win the award! You deserve it!
Very well done (but entirely deserved)! I’m currently around the p800 mark, having begun when my partner bought me the book last Christmas, and I don’t think I’ve ever taken such pleasure (and discovery) from a single anthology previously. Hoping to finish before *this* Christmas, and also hoping you’ve plans for a follow-up, given the success — both critical & commercial — of the first. Best, Darren.
Congratulations!
This is so, so well deserved. The anthology is not only a treasure for readers of the weird, but a fantastic research reference for those with academic interest in the field. Congratulations, Jeff and Ann!
Thanks all!
Congrats indeed, very much deserved, in this or any other year; it’s a stand-out achievement. And I’ll second the suggestion/request for a follow-up, although I know how much leg work it must have been to get this first out there!
Congratulations on your well-deserved recognition. You both (and everyone involved) have every reason to be proud and even boastful at this accomplishment. The Weird is easily one of the finest anthologies every assembled. The range of writers, the organization, the love that went into every page and the thoughtfulness are but a few of the reasons everyone should own a copy. A truly stellar accomplishment that compliments your own genius in every way.
(and yes, it’s obvious I need an editor) ;)
Thanks again! I must admit, we are taking a break from another Weird for a bit, following up with a huge Time Traveler’s Almanac – 600k of time travel stories from the past 100 years. If you think that sounds mundane, note that a lot of the stranger, weirder, darker time travel stories haven’t been reprinted in the main time travel anthos. After that, we will get weirder again.
Congrats! Good to see the Weird and WFR getting the recognition it deserves!
Thanks, Saajan!