‘THEY'LL GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES ABOUT EVERYTHING FROM RAMPANT CHICKENS TO CLOUDY TEQUILA'
ack books
Christopher Lee might not have gained iconic status without the books of Bram Stoker
DEAD BY DAWN isn’t just for scary movie buffs. As Edinburgh prepares to hide behind the sofa Miles Fielder finds that it’s also got literature with a bite.
‘ ilL‘l'L‘ i\ “U gtititi litil'l‘til‘ iiiilil \\iliitilll gtittti I horror \xriting.‘ xa_\x .-\de|e Ilartle}. lounder and dit‘ct‘ltit‘ Hi. Dead H} l);t\\ti. the ['K.\ leading genre lilm l'exti\a|. llartle} ottglit to know. ha\itig eurated ten xho\\eaxex ol~ e\treme einema. hegitming haek in I‘M} \xith l-'\\' .\lurnau'x elaxxie Bram Stoker adaptation Mix/truth. But llartlevx not merel) regurgitating that old lloll}\\ood adage that good lilmx deri\ e l'rom good xeriptx: xhe‘x xuggexting that horror lilmx are indehted to horror literature. lrom Stoker otmardx.
lt’x thix thinking that'x hehind Dead B} l)a\\n‘x opening night llorror Stor_\ Readingx. an melting ol‘ xpeeiall) eommixxioned xhort xtoriex lrom lidinhurgh— haxed xpoken \xord pert‘ormanee group the \Vriterx' Bloe. "l‘he_\‘re hi/arre. odd. eruel talex. aitned at gi\ ing _\ou nightmarex ahotit e\er_\thing lrom rampant ehiekenx to eloud} tequila.’ \tl}\ Hartley. The readingx. \xhieh retttrn to the t'exti\a| alter a t\\o—_\eat‘ ahxettee. are perl‘ormed ax til\\;i}x h} the \Vriterx' Bloe'x lounding latherx. .v\ndre\\ .l \\'i|xon. .-\ndre\\ (' I-‘erguxon. (ia\ in Inglix and Stelan l’earxon.
'l‘hexe l‘our li‘ightenerx hoaxt pedigree. .-\mong their more outre otteriiigx are \\'i|xon'x tortheoming eontrihution to the attlholog} 'l‘ht [uni/ulnar! l’ot'kt'l (mu/t lo lft‘t'i'iiti'it' tutt/ {lixt'it't/ilt't/ lli'xt'ast'x. I5erguxon’x e\tenxi\ e non-tietion \\riting on the areane \\or|d ol‘ the Knightx 'l‘emplar and the llol} (irail. Inglix' ineluxion in the (‘anadian eolleetion (irtiitl A‘ (fruit/i: /./I(' New l-it'l/‘iiii .iiil/io/oet of lliirk (“Ill Set. and l’earxon‘x no\el ahottt \xeird goingx on ahoard a Buekie traxx let'. Hill‘xt‘ 'l'liiiigx.
This _\L‘;ll'. iitll‘lit‘} and liiL‘ \Vriterx‘ Bloe hope [U
'l'llttt'kt l‘_\' 'I‘
ptthlixh their o\\n hook. ati antholog) ol' the Dead It} l)a\\n readingx. Heioud that. xhe ix eonxidering de\eloping the te\tua| xide ol' the texti\a| with a
xereenpla) eompetition. l‘or all her enthttxiaxm lor
tttrning te\t into eelluloid there ix the age old prohlem
ol' raixing the mone} to work that partietilar triek ol alehem}. She might he a prolexxional dreamer lol'
nightmarixt l. httt Hartle} ‘x alxo xa\ \_\ enough to ktto\\ that raixing linanee ix akin to getting hlood lrotn a xtone. hen the t'elati\el) more xtraightloruard taxk ol‘ xeeuring a puhlixher l'or l'ietion ix h_\ no meanx ximple. "l‘hexe \\ riterx ha\ e no prohlem heing puhlixhed iii the [8. But here. theiex no loeal xttpport l‘or thetnf With the e\axperation exident iii her \oiee. xhe reeallx that one l'ix' puhlixher xtated that horror \xriting \xaxn‘t real lietion.
'l'hix. dexpite horror literature-x length} legae}. not leaxt in xhort lietion attlholog} lorm. l‘rom the .lamexex. Henr} and MR. through l’oe and l.o\eeralt. and on to ('li\ e Barker'x phenomenall} popular Him/xx Ul I))/(’IN/ attd e\en .ili'fi'u't't'ln'tK .‘Itllllllllll/l 'Ii‘t'uxiil'i til Hill/hit: Iii/M. ptthlixhed h} l)a\e i‘.gget'x and guext edited h} l’ulit/er l’ri/e \xinner \liehael (itahoti. ‘ltt an} hookxhop.' xa}x Hattie}. 'IhereK a \\ all oi Stephen King. propped tip on one xide h} Dean R Koont/ and on the other h_\ (‘li\ e Barker. it'x impoxxihle to hit) new xtul'l. But iuxt ax l)ead B} l)a\\n ix a dixeo\er_\ route t‘or lilmx. I hope the readingx \xill eneourage people to take rixkx \xith literature.~ .-\nd perhapx puhlixherx. too.
Penthouse Suite, Point Hotel, Edinburgh, Thu 21 Apr, 7.30pm. Call 07980 987779 for details.
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l .15
John Haskell A dark travelogue with a twist or two. American Purgatorio has bits of Buchan and a dash of Dante. See review. Canongate.
>i= Andrew Miller The author of the eccentric Ingenious Pain brings us The Optimists, the contemporary tale of a traumatised news photographer trying to pick up the pieces of his life. See review. Sceptre.
=i< Various An eclectic collection which brings together the likes of Grant Morrison and Garth Ennis for Hel/blazer: Rare Cuts. An annotated map of London is thrown in for good measure. See review. DC Vertigo/Titan.
>i= Lynne Franks The PR guru (pictured) returns after a successful jaunt to the Edinburgh lit fest last year. Just don't mention Ab Fab. for heaven's sake. Ottakar's, Edinburgh, Tue 79 Apr; Borders, Glasgow, Wed 20 Apr. * Denise Mina The ubiquitous crime scribe hosts a pair of Crime in the City shows in Glasgow and heads to the ‘Burgh to take centre stage with her own event. Ottakar's, Glasgow, Wed 20 Apr. Thu 28 Apr; Waterstone's, Edinburgh, Thu 27 Apr.
* Dead By Dawn For paragraphs and poltergeists, stanzas and spectres. and even some full stops and phantoms. here's the wordy bit to the horror test. See preview. Penthouse Suite, Point Hotel, Edinburgh, Thu 21 Apr.
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