Richard Thomas's Blog

The Best Horror Indeed – Advance Review: The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Seventeen

The Familial Reflections Campaign is (finally) live! Check it out for exclusive perks and rewards.

Terrifying stories by me, Sephera Giron, Michael Bailey, Stephen King, Richard Chizmar, Justin Zimmerman and Mercedes Yardley. Chilling poetry by Erin Al-Mehairi, Wrath James White, Maxwell Ian Gold and Maria Alexander with an introduction by John Palisano. #RT

http://www.lycanvalley.com/2026/01/familial-reflections-anthology-campaign.html

As you may have seen announced elsewhere, I’m joining the Bad Hand Books family as an Associate Editor. Doug is doing great work, and it’s an honor and a privilege to join the team. We’ve worked together for many years, and Doug has always been professional, kind, supportive, and super creative. Very excited. Keep your eyes and ears open for more announcements.

I’m selling a bunch of my signed, limited, and otherwise collectible books on Ebay. I’m also liquidating a lot of my other books (paperbacks and hardcovers) so if you’re looking for something in particular, email me or DM me. Happy New Year! https://www.ebay.com/str/vintagevaluesmodernmemorabilia

Best Horror 17 is out today, and it includes my story, “Sunk.” Pick up your copy ASAP.

Super creepy story, thrilled to have my story, “Sunk” in here, in great company.

I’m thrilled to announce that my story, “Sunk” will be in the Best Horror of the Year, Volume #17, out later this year. It originally appeared in The Off-Season: An Anthology of Coastal New Weird. This is my second time in TBHOTY (the first time in Volume #11 for a co-written story, “Golden Sun” with Michael Wehunt, Damien Angelica Walters, and Kristi DeMeester)—but the first time for something that’s entirely my work. Can’t believe it’s been SIX YEARS since #11.

Thank you to Ellen Datlow, Marissa van Uden, and Dark Matter for your support. Full TOC (in great company) below. Congratulations to everyone that got in.

The Cleaner by Victoria Dalpe
Summer Bonus by Lee Murray
Like Furies by Ephinany Ferrell
Body Worlds by Tom Johnstone
An Act of Sorrow by James Cooper
Fancy Dad by David Nickle
Only Children by Gemma Files
The Rock Statue by Mark Falkin
In Flickering Light by Dan Coxon
Davidson’s Son by Charles Wilkinson
The Boy in the Close by Douglas Ford
Blessed Mary by Stephen Volk
Mrs Crace by Cliff McNish
A Lullaby of Anguish by Marie Croke
Drive by Brian Evenson
Archies by Paul Tremblay
Sunk by Richard Thomas
Less Exalted Tastes by Gemma Amor
The Ribbon Rule by Mae Jimenez
The Night Birds by Premee Mohamed
Pages From a Diary by Steve Kilbey
Broken Back Man by Lucie McKnight Hardy
I Love the Very Flesh Off You by Robert Shearman

It’s release day for this amazing Neutral Milk Hotel-inspired anthology. My story, “Naomi Ascends” is in here—a puritanical witch story with a twist ending. Pick up your copy today. Congratulations, Patrick Barb! https://patrickbarb.com/and-one-day-we-will-die-order

Featuring fiction by:

Lillah Lawson
Helen Victoria Murray
M. Lopes da Silva
Camila Hamel
Briar Ripley Page
Joe Koch
Tiffany Morris
D. Matthew Urban
Christi Nogle
Tim Major
Dan Coxon
Matthew Kressel
Lindz McLeod
Erin Brown
Brian Evenson
Edward Barnfield
Dale Light
Corey Farrenkopf
Ai Jiang
Michael Horita
Richard Thomas
John Langan
And a Foreword by Adam Clair

Issue Eleven Intro
November 2024

As the seasons change, and the colors come out, so many interesting creatures and stories lurk in the woods, waiting to pounce. We have four fascinating new stories in this issue: “Had You Been a Dragonfly” by Charlotta Amato explores strong emotions as the title contemplates how things might have been different; “She-Wolf” by Arden Powell is a gruesome and original take on Little Red Riding Hood; “Families Are All Alike” by Kristin Peterson explores the manipulation and gaslighting of a charismatic cult leader; and “Aardvark” by Jackson Vrana taps into the uncanny for an original story about tiny elderly people hatched from eggs. As for reprints, we have three very cool stories: “Nelly’s World” by Arthur H. Manners explores grief and loss in a powerful tale about fatherhood; “Pepper Honey and Cedar Smoke” by K. S. Walker is an intense folk horror story; and “Mr. and Mrs. Kett” by Sam Hicks is a surreal, unsettling story—one of my favorites in recent memory. We have two original non-fiction essays this month: “El Rumbo de la Muerte” by Jess Simms, which explores the Day of the Dead and “My Greatest Irrational Fear: When Proteins Turn—The Insidious Horror of Prion Disease” by Veda Villiers which is a fascinating essay that really got under my skin (pun intended). And finally, our two non-fiction reprints are: “13 Tourist Destinations for Horror Lovers” by Annie Neugebauer, showcasing some captivating and haunted places around the world, as well as “In Defense of Anti-Science” by J.H. Siegal a controversial essay about science and anti-science that asks some compelling questions. Cover art this month is once again by the talented Lynne Hansen. Enjoy!

—Richard Thomas
Editor-in-Chief / Creative Director

Today, The Off-Season is out. It contains my 2,001-word, one sentence story, “Sunk.” A great TOC. Pick up your copy today. Thank you, Marissa van Uden and Dark Matter. Pick up your copy today.