174 – State of the Horror Nation 2023, with Emily Hughes, Victor Lavalle & C.J. Leede

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And so we come to the end of another year in horror. Time to look back at the best that 2023 has had to offer, as determined by three of the best in the business.

My trusted horror chancellor, Emily Hughes joins me ­– alongside C.J. Leede, the author of this year’s gloriously transgressive Maeve Fly, and the maestro of the macabre himself, Victor Lavalle. Together we cover the year’s freshest nightmares in the macro and the micro, looking at wider trends and picking our own favourite horror fiction from this year’s epic crop.

This is a blast. We laugh, we yell, and we declare that the nation is strong, and good, and frightening.

Enjoy!

Books Picked:

• Our Share of Night (2023), by Mariana Enriquez
• Boys Weekend (2023), by Mattie Lubchansky
• Black Sheep (2023), by Rachel Harrison
• The Reformatory (2023), by Tananarive Due
• Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror (2023), ed. Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams
• Fever House (2023), by Keith Rosson
• Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology (2023) ed. Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
• Red Rabbit (2023), by Alex Grecian
• Whalefall (2023), by Daniel Kraus

Books Anticipated:

• Horror For Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You’re Too Scared to Watch (2024), by Emily Hughes
• American Rapture (2024), by C.J. Leede
• Ghost Roots (2024), by Pemi Aguda
• A Mask of Flies (2024), by Matthew Lyons
• The Z Word (2024), by Lindsay King-Miller
• Your Shadow Half Remains (2024), by Sunny Moraine
• First Light (2024), by Liz Kerin
• Bury Your Gays (2024), by Chuck Tingle
• I Was a Teenage Slasher (2024), by Stephen Graham Jones
• The House of Last Resort (2024), by Christopher Golden
• The Book of Love (2024), by Kelly Link
• King Nyx (2024), by Kirsten Bakis
• Moon of the Turning Leaves (2024), by Waubgeshig Rice
• In the Valley of the Headless Men (2024), by L.P. Hernandez
• Island Witch (2024), by Amanda Jayatissa
• The Haunting of Velkwood (2024), Gwendolyne Kiste
• The Redemption of Morgan Bright (2024), by Chris Panatier
• Horror Movie (2024), by Paul Tremblay
• You Like It Darker (2024), by Stephen King

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