New Carnacki Story!

Although the contents of the upcoming CARNACKI: THE NEW ADVENTURES have been finalized, I am still awaiting the return of contracts before announcing the line-up.  However, one of the stories that was accepted (“The Ghosts of Kuskulana” by Amy Marshall) is available on audio right now! (As we contract only for publishing rights, all the authors in the book retain full rights to audio or any other media adaptations they choose.)

This is an excellent story that is truly creepy and disturbing.  A perfect match for Carnacki!  You can read about the story on Amy’s blog and find the link for the download here:

http://www.akmarshall.com/2013/10/28/coffin-hop-day-5-the-ghosts-of-kuskulana/

This is just a sample of some of the amazing and terrifying stories that will appear in CARNACKI: THE NEW ADVENTURES!

 

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SARGASSO Available on Kindle!

For a limited time, I am making the first issue of SARGASSO available through Amazon on the Kindle.  As previously mentioned, the printed edition will not be reprinted but I have had a number of people asking for an e-book edition.  So, after much frustration, you can now buy a copy for your Kindle on Amazon.  I’ve done this for a couple of  reasons:

1) I want to see if there is any demand for this, or my other Hodgson books, electronically.  I am a traditionalist at heart and believe that nothing is as good as a printed copy.  However, I do know that many people prefer electronic books these days and particularly those who live overseas. So it will be available until November 30, 2013, at which time I will evaluate whether it is worth continuing to offer it.

2) The price is fairly low at $3.99 and this is primarily because of the formatting difficulties in the conversion to the Kindle format.  The version that is available is complete and contains everything that the printed version does (it is notated as the 2nd edition, however) but some of the margins, spacing and layout is hinky.  I offer this version with the caveat that it will not look exactly the same as the printed version.

3) The first printed edition will never be reprinted.  Collectors can be assured that they have the only printed copies of SARGASSO #1 that will ever be available.

4) If this is successful, it will greatly change my business model going forward where I will move from the more traditional publishing method of printing and then selling to incorporating more e-book versions and also possibly moving more towards a CreateSpace model for printed copies.  Although moderately successful, SARGASSO #1 was a significant financial burden and I don’t want to repeat that experience.

If you are interested in ordering a copy of SARGASSO #1 for your Kindle, you can do so here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G7WH5JE

It is also available on amazon.co.uk and other foreign amazon affiliates.

As always, we thank you for your support of SARGASSO and all things Hodgsonian!

Sam Gafford

Spanish Hodgson Comic

Recently, I’ve been complaining about how they are so few comic book adaptations of Hodgson stories.  Imagine my surprise when good pal Joey Zone pointed me to this little gem!  It’s an odd little thing.  This is a graphic novel adaptation of Hodgson’s THE HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND but published in Spanish. It’s small, only 4 3/8ths by 5 7/8ths and the interior pages are b/w.  Near as I can tell, it was published in April, 1983, but I’m not sure who the publisher is.  This is apparently # 282 in the series “Novelas Immortales” which I think means “Immortal Novels”?  Sadly, I do not know Spanish so cannot read this or say for certain who wrote or drew this adaptation.  It clocks in at 200 pages and, as the samples I have below show, was drawn in a style very similar to Marvel Comics of the 1980s.  From what I can tell, the author takes some liberties with the novel with a different ending and making the two main characters a couple rather than brother and sister.  At least I hope they’re a couple based on some of the panels!  If anyone can provide some translations, I’d be very grateful.  If the date of 1983 is correct, that makes this the FIRST comic adaptation of Hodgson’s work predating DC Comic’s graphic novel which did not appear until 2000.  But the adaptation of Hodgson’s novel aren’t the only there here as there is also a 20 page story called “El Tragico” which I believe to be an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “A Tragic Actor”. Here are some pages from the book.

Update on Carnacki Play

I’m pleased to announce that M. J. Starling has revised the free e-book of his Carnacki play, AN AUDIENCE WITH THE GHOST-FINDER, to include my WHH bio from this blog!  I am delighted to be included in the e-book and hope that everyone who can’t attend the play will enjoy the script as much as I have!  Here is a link to the “update” announcement.

http://mjstarling.com/2013/10/21/audience-with-the-ghost-finder-2nd-edition/

 

“After SARGASSO” by Phillip A. Ellis

Today, guest blogger Phillip A. Ellis talks about a few of his ideas regarding upcoming WHH projects. Give it a read and let him know what you think!

After Sargasso

Having received my contributor copy of Sargasso 1:1, I now find
that my thoughts are turning to what I will be writing next about the
poetry of William Hope Hodgson. I already have one item in an inchoate
stage, about The Voice of the Ocean, and I have fleeting ideas
for more.

I wanted to talk about two of my projected items, and to solicit your
feedback on them. I know that not many of us are interested in the poetry,
for whatever reasons. I won’t be discussing why this is, only noting it in
passing.

But… what would you say if there were a single, collected edition of the
poems of William Hope Hodgson? What I am thinking of is a single book,
with all of the extant poems, and with notes on where they have appeared,
and on features of note within them.

There isn’t much scope for notes about what has been written concerning
them: too little has; but I am interested in getting an affordable, easily
obtainable edition out there that can be used by readers and collectors.

After I have done that, what I want to do is as follows: using the texts
of the collected edition, I plan on compiling a concordance of the poetry.
That means that we would be able to study the language more carefully,
noting significant words and images, and where they appear.

So: what do you think and/or feel about both proposals? Do either or both
interest you? Would you use one or both of them? Feel free to leave your
comments below….

Carnacki On Stage… AGAIN!

Earlier this year, we spread the news that a new stage play featuring Carnacki was being produced in England.  The playwright, M. J. Starling, writes to tell me that the play is being staged again and, very appropriately, during October!

M. J. Starling writes:

“I’ve got a couple of bits of news you might be interested in. Still no recorded version of the Carnacki play, I’m afraid, but two of the next best things: it’s being performed again, this time as part of the London Horror Festival, with the original cast and production team; and I’ve made the script available as a free ebook … [in] the hope that other theatre companies might get their hands on it and devote themselves to putting it on again!).

“The script ebook also has all the original Carnacki stories and some DVD extra-type content – interviews and things – so it should be worth a look for Carnacki fans.”

Our thanks to M. J. for letting us know about the upcoming performance (yet another reason I wish I were in England!).  The play will be performed on October 22-24 at the Etcetera Theatre in Camden.  I encourage everyone to check out the play if they’re in London during this time and to forward any reviews.

For more information (along with a free e-copy of the script), please follow these links:

http://mjstarling.com/2013/09/05/carnacki-the-ghost-finder-will-return/

http://mjstarling.com/2013/09/19/the-ghost-finder-grants-another-audience-2/

http://mjstarling.com/2013/10/14/free-ebook-audience-with-the-ghost-finder-and-other-yarns/

 

 

SARGASSO Reviews

Here’s some nice reviews of the first issue of SARGASSO!

http://sgtjanus.blogspot.com/2013/09/sargasso-review.html

http://18thwall.com/2013/09/11/a-spot-on-the-bookshelf-sargasso-the-journal-of-william-hope-hodgson-studies/

It’s great to hear such nice reactions to the book after all the hard work that went into it.  If anyone knows of any other reviews, please let me know.

As of today, only four copies remain and then the book will be completely sold out.  I may do the second issue differently but haven’t decided yet.  There is also a possibility that I may offer subscriptions in the future but I haven’t decided that yet either.  If you have an opinion on subscriptions, please respond in the comments section!

HODGSON’S PUBLISHERS

It can be difficult to keep track of all of Hodgson’s different publishers.  Unlike some writers, he was published by more than one company.  This is, perhaps, a sign of his inability to create an audience and sell high numbers of books.  In his biography of Hodgson, noted scholar Sam Moskowitz often makes reference to WHH’s disappointment over his low sales.  It is likely because of this that WHH didn’t write any more novels and took to the more lucrative field of short stories.

I’ve compiled a short list of Hodgson’s publishers and their editions.  Due to the lack of manuscripts, the first editions of each work is generally considered to be the primary text.  The reasoning behind this is that theoretically Hodgson would have edited and/or revised each work before publication.  We cannot speculate, however, on how much (or little) in-house editors may have changed his texts.

(Note: This list only goes up to the Arkham House editions.  For later editions, that information is covered in the bibliography compiled by S.T. Joshi and myself along with others that will hopefully see print from Hippocampus Press as part of a collection of Hodgson essays in 2014.)

CHAPMAN & HALL

THE BOATS OF THE “GLEN CARRIG” (1907)

THE HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND (1908)

STANLEY PAUL & CO.

THE GHOST PIRATES (1909)

GEORGE BELL & SONS

THE NIGHT LAND (1912)

EVELEIGH NASH

THE NIGHT LAND (1912)

CARNACKI, THE GHOST FINDER (1913)

MEN OF THE DEEP WATERS (1914)

LUCK OF THE STRONG (1916)

CAPTAIN GAULT (1917)

MCBRIDE & SONS

CAPTAIN GAULT (1918)

SELWYN & BLOUNT

THE CALLING OF THE SEA (1920)

THE VOICE OF THE OCEAN (1921)

HOLDEN & HARDINGHAM

THE BOATS OF THE “GLEN CARRIG” (1920)

THE GHOST PIRATES (1920)

THE LUCK OF THE STRONG (1920)

THE HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND (1921)

THE NIGHT LAND (1921)

CARNACKI, THE GHOST-FINDER (1921)

MEN OF THE DEEP WATERS (1921)

CAPTAIN GAULT (1921)

ARKHAM HOUSE

THE HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND AND OTHER NOVELS (1946)

CARNACKI, THE GHOST-FINDER (1947)

DEEP WATERS (1967)