When Things Get Dark: Stories inspired by Shirley Jackson

The Stoker Award-winning chilling anthology of 18 short stories in tribute to the genius of Shirley Jackson, collecting today’s best horror writers. Featuring Joyce Carol Oates, Josh Malerman, Paul Tremblay, Richard Kadrey, Stephen Graham Jones, Elizabeth Hand and more.A collection of new and exclusive short stories inspired by, and in tribute to, Shirley Jackson. Shirley Jackson is a seminal writer of horror and mystery fiction, whose legacy resonates globally today. Chilling, human, poignant and strange, her stories have inspired a generation of writers and readers. This anthology, edited by legendary horror editor Ellen Datlow, will bring together today’s leading horror writers to offer their own personal tribute to the work of Shirley Jackson. Featuring Joyce Carol Oates, Josh Malerman, Carmen Maria Machado, Paul Tremblay, Richard Kadrey, Stephen Graham Jones, Elizabeth Hand, Kelly Link, Cassandra Khaw, Karen Heuler, Benjamin Percy, John Langan, Laird Barron, Jeffrey Ford, M. Rickert, Seanan McGuire, Gemma Files, and Genevieve Valentine.

House Beautiful A joy for Jackson fans, but no Jackson knowledge is needed to enjoy this anthology. A gem in its own right. – SFX This anthology is the perfect example of how a vision in the right hands can produce amazing results. Every story captures the essence of what it feels like to read Shirley Jackson’s work. – LitReactor best of 2021

"This compilation of stories that make the mundane seem terrifying is chilling and uncanny, offering tropes that will be familiar to readers of Jackson’s work (witchy women, eerie suburbia) but with unique touches that could come only from these individuals authors." - New York Public Library Best Books  Other stories are equally memorable, but for me, the outstanding one is Skinder's Veil, a breathtaking blend of fairytale, dream and reality by the incomparable Kelly Link. – The Guardian Featuring short stories inspired by Shirley Jackson (aka one of the best horror writers ever) and written by today's greatest authors of the same genre, this collection is one-of-a-kind.

The Colorado Sun

"A truly spectacular and creepy collection."

Tor Nightfire's best collections of 2021 This is an absolute treat whether you’re a Shirley Jackson nut or not.

"Fascinating, a mix of dark humor, pastoral gothic, and intimate character sketches, very much of a similar flavor to Jackson’s works, but distinct to the authors you know and love."

About the Author

Seanan McGuire is the author of Every Heart a Doorway, the October Daye urban fantasy series, the InCryptid series, and several other works, both standalone and in trilogies. She also writes darker fiction as Mira Grant. She was the winner of the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and in 2013 she became the first person ever to appear five times on the same Hugo ballot.Josh Malerman is a New York Times bestselling author and one of two singer/songwriters for the rock band The High Strung. His debut novel, Bird Box, is the inspiration for the hit Netflix film of the same name. His other novels include Unbury Carol and Inspection. Malerman lives in Michigan with his fiancée, the artist/musician Allison Laakko.Others, as in, not youJoyce Carol Oates, an award-winning author of fiction, nonfiction, short stories, plays, and novellas, is the author of some of the most enduring fiction of our time, including two New York Times bestsellers. Her books have won the National Book Award, O. Henry Award, the Jerusalem Prize, and the National Humanities Medal, among others. Her work has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize several times. She has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for forty years as fiction editor of Omni magazine and editor of Event Horizon and Sci Fiction. She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited about one hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies.She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and was honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.She lives in New York and co-hosts the monthly Fantastic Fiction Reading Series at KGB Bar. More information can be found at Datlow.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter as @EllenDatlow. She's owned by two cats.

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