Nicole Cushing's Blog

Soon I will be departing for my trip to Necronomicon Providence. This is by far my favorite convention, in large part due to programming. I’m grateful to be participating once again this year.

If you’re attending as well and would like to know where I’ll be during the event, check out the programming schedule below. As always, I’ll be happy to sign books for you. Just connect with me after the group finishes reading, or after the panel is completed, or almost any other time (provided I’m not exhausted) and I’ll be happy to say hi and sign your book.

 

Friday 3:30-4:45 p.m. 15-minute reading slot, Narragansett Bayview Room, Graduate Hotel, 17th floor  

Saturday  11:00 AM – 12:15 p.m.  Making it Strange: Literary Techniques for Writers – Biltmore Ballroom, Graduate Hotel, 17th floor

Saturday 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.  Transgressive Horror and Weird Fiction – Biltmore Ballroom, Graduate Hotel, 17th floor

Saturday 5:00 – 6:15 p.m.  W. H. Pugmire: Queen of the Sesqua Valley — South County Room, Omni 3rd Floor

Sunday 2:00-3:15 p.m. Dispatches from the Hollow Earth: The History and Influence of Subterranean Fiction – Providence Ballroom, Omni Hotel, 2nd floor

 

 

I’m excited to announce that The Plastic Priest has been shortlisted for the 2024 Indiana Authors Awards in the genre fiction category!

Every other year, the Awards honor the best books written by Hoosier authors and celebrate our state’s literary community. For those unfamiliar with the awards, they are organized by Indiana Humanities and funded through the philanthropy of the late Eugene and Marilyn Glick. For more info., visit their website.

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“I’ve never read anything quite like The Plastic Priest, and I’m delighted I have. A witty and incisive portrait of a priest beset by doubts, it mutates into a comedy of uncanny paranoia before exploding into weirdness that’s as disturbing as it’s liberating. Nicole Cushing’s tale is a stimulating challenge, and her spare precise prose is a constant pleasure.” – Ramsey Campbell, author of Alone With the Horrors

“Have you ever read a book so strange, and so arresting, that you can’t tell where one quality ends and the other begins? A book so lucid in its dark experimental weirdness and insight that you can’t look away? That was me while reading The Plastic Priest. I couldn’t look away. And I’m glad I didn’t.” – Matt Cardin, author of To Rouse Leviathan

Nicole Cushing is one of the sharpest, most innovative writers in the field today.” – Thomas Tessier

When the soul has been thoroughly poisoned, the body must abandon it. Everything feels unreal afterwards, but plastic heads shed no tears. Bram Stoker Award® winning author Nicole Cushing offers an excursion into the Weird, a quiet novella of a madwoman in a mad town, as an Episcopal priest grapples with the meaning of faith, reality, and if there is anything real to either of them, at the end of it all.

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“I’ve never read anything quite like The Plastic Priest, and I’m delighted I have. A witty and incisive portrait of a priest beset by doubts, it mutates into a comedy of uncanny paranoia before exploding into weirdness that’s as disturbing as it’s liberating. Nicole Cushing’s tale is a stimulating challenge, and her spare precise prose is a constant pleasure.” – Ramsey Campbell, author of Alone With the Horrors

Nicole Cushing is one of the sharpest, most innovative writers in the field today.” – Thomas Tessier

When the soul has been thoroughly poisoned, the body must abandon it. Everything feels unreal afterwards, but plastic heads shed no tears. Bram Stoker Award® winning author Nicole Cushing offers an excursion into the Weird, a quiet novella of a madwoman in a mad town, as an Episcopal priest grapples with the meaning of faith, reality, and if there is anything real to either of them, at the end of it all.

Today is the release date for my new novel Mothwoman.

Where should you buy it?

The absolute best option is to order it directly from the publisher, Word Horde. They can sell you the ebook (in your choice of format). Or, they can sell you the trade paperback edition with an exclusive signed bookplate bundled together with the ebook (in your choice of format).

It’s also available from at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc.

Preorder directly from the publisher (Word Horde) to receive the Mothwoman bundle. It includes a copy of the trade paperback, a signed bookplate, and the ebook version of your choice.

Had a great time. Greatly appreciated the con’s mask policy. Already looking forward to 2024.

Reading from Mothwoman Outdoor Guest Reception From Left to right, Ann VanderMeer, Michael Cisco, Elena Tchougounova-Paulson, and yours truly on the “World of Pain” (international pessimistic weird fiction) panel

Had a great time. Greatly appreciated the con’s mask policy. Already looking forward to 2024.

Reading from Mothwoman From left to right: Michał Choiński, Mystery Panelist (last minute addition in plaid), Michael Cisco, Elena Tchougounova-Paulson From Left to right, Ann VanderMeer, Michael Cisco, Elena Tchougounova-Paulson, and yours truly on the “World of Pain” (international pessimistic weird fiction) panel

“With this new take on legendary cryptid Mothman, Cushing (A Sick Gray Laugh) dives head-first into the surreal horror and humor lurking just below the surface of 2020 America…[F]ans of weird horror and surreal psychological fiction will find plenty to enjoy.”

You can read the entire review here.

It’s been over three years since I’ve been to a convention! So, I’m certainly looking forward to attending the upcoming Necronomicon Providence (August 18-21). I’ll be moderating two panels on international weird fiction, and also doing a reading. Here are the details, in chronological order.

Friday 9:30-10:45 a.m.

AUTHOR READINGS – Narragansett Bay Room, Graduate Hotel, 17th floor
F. Brett Cox, Nicole Cushing, Jon Padgett, Laura Tempest Zakroff

Friday 11:00 a.m. -12:15 p.m.

Central and Eastern European Weird Fiction – Waterplace Ballroom, Omni Hotel, 2nd floor
The nations of Central and Eastern Europe draw on related but different cultural traditions, and the period of the Cold War created a unique set of barriers to cultural exchange for decades. Panelists discuss the weird fiction of these nations, including work available in English translation and not.

Panelists: Michał Choiński, Michael Cisco, Nicole Cushing (M), Elena Tchougounova-Paulson

Friday – 7-9 p.m.

GUEST RECEPTION – Outdoor Terrace, Graduate Hotel, 3rd Floor
A private reception for Guests-of-Honor, Guests, and Golden Key holders – hors d’oeuvres provided, cash bar available. The reception will feature the presentation of the Robert Bloch and the new Joe Pulver (The Beastie!) Awards.

Saturday – 3:30-4:45pm

A World of Pain: Pessimistic Weird Fiction from Asia, Continental Europe, and the Middle East – Capital Ballroom, Graduate Hotel, 2nd floor
A discussion of the works of stellar (but under-recognized) writers such as Sadegh Hedayat, Witold Gombrowicz, Bruno Schulz, Mário de Sá-Carneiro, Sakutarō Hagiwara, Leonid Andreyev and others. Panelists discuss their work, their influence on English-language writers, and the publishers (often, small presses and university presses) who have done a good job of getting English translations of their work into print.
Panelists: Michał Choiński, Michael Cisco, Nicole Cushing (M), Elena Tchougounova-Paulson