In this issue, as well as the usual reviews and interviews, there’s an excellent article on the history of the zombie from the Voodoo movies of the early 1930′s, right through to The Walking Dead and the sudden surge of mainstream popularity the living dead currently enjoys. Great stuff. You can get hold of copies from all branches of Forbidden Planet in the UK, or by clicking here.

Scream Magazine issue 9 is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

THE GOODREADS ZOMBIE GROUP

If you’re a Goodreads user and a zombie fan, why not join The Zombie Group? For one week from 24th October, Jonathan Maberry, Steven C Schlozman (author of The Zombie Autopsies) and I will be there talking about all things undead. By the way, I’m here on Goodreads if you want to add me as a friend.

ALL HALLOWS READ

Have you heard about this great initiative, brainchild of the great Neil Gaiman? Rather than me explain it, just click this link and listen to the man himself talking about his excellent idea for a new Halloween tradition.

EVENTS AND APPEARANCES

Just a reminder that I’m NOT now appearing at the Aliens to Zombies convention in LA this week – apologies to anyone who was heading there to say hello. However I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be signing at Cardiff Waterstone’s with Wayne Simmons on Friday 28th October from 12:30pm. Also, don’t forget to book your tickets for the Halloween Horror Night at Warwick Arts Centre where I’ll be reading and talking alongside Adam Nevill and Gary McMahon.

A few quick updates… is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

The team behind this most excellent campaign are at it again (to be fair, they’ve never stopped!). Please click here to read about their 2011 Halloween Challenge. They’re hoping to get more than 2000 signatures on their online petition before they present it to the BBC. They’re almost there, so please sign up and help smash the 2000.

There’s a serious aspect to this too. Kids today (wow, I’m starting to sound like my dad…) are missing out on a wealth of horror treasures – the same wonderful movies which originally attracted me and countless other writers and film-makers to the genre. In a world drowning in over-sanitized, over-stylized remakes, re-imaginings, reboots and sequels, we owe it to ourselves to get these films back in the public eye. Please sign the petition, and blog, tweet etc. about the campaign if you feel so inclined.

Oh, and if you’re in London on Sunday 13th November, why not head along to the Roxy Bar and Screen where the Classic Horror Campaign will be screening Konga and Frogs.

The Classic Horror Campaign 2011 Halloween Challenge is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

• So You Want to be a Writer? / So You Want to Write Horror?
• Where was that Stormtrooper going?
• Characters or Carnage?
• Seriously… You Write About Zombies?

…and more.

On another note, there has been a lot about the impact of self-publishing in the press recently. As well as last Friday’s Guardian article, I was also really pleased to get a mention in the new edition of SFX as part of an interesting piece which asks ‘are we witnessing the death of the book?’. It’s well worth looking at, for both readers and writers alike.

More nice press and more Babel Clashing… is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

You might remember a short while back I did a food-based interview with Jeremy Sus of Chicago Examiner.com when we talked, amongst other things, about the impact a zombie apocalypse might have on our eating habits. Jeremy posted a link on my Facebook page this week about beer, and that got me thinking back to my recent visit to Dublin.

Before the Sunday sessions began at Phoenix Con, my wife Lisa and I snuck off for a little sightseeing. Inevitably we ended up at the Guinness Storehouse – home of one of the most famous, and undoubtably one of the greatest beers ever created. The tour takes you up through several floors of exhibits describing the history and production of Guinness, before culminating in a complimentary pint in the seventh floor Gravity Bar. And the Gravity Bar, I remember thinking at the time, would be a damn fine place to find yourself stuck when the dead start to rise.

Where else are you going to get a). a virtually unobstructed, panoramic view of the chaos unfolding across Dublin, b). the security of being seven floors and a hundred feet above street level, and c). the luxury of a huge bar serving almost nothing but perfect pints of Guinness? Okay, so technically it wouldn’t be the most sensible place to hide (from memory there’s only one way in and out if the lifts are out of action – you’ll have to try and get down the same way the living dead are fighting their way up), but with all that Guinness on tap, who’d give a damn?!

You wouldn’t last long, and you’re out of luck if you don’t like Guinness, but I challenge you to find a better place to be stranded in the event of a zombie apocalypse!

Great places to be stranded in the event of a zombie apocalypse (part 1) is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

That said, this game trailer which is all over the Internet today, is completely stunning. If the game is even half as good, I’ll be there in a flash.

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Dead Island trailer is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

You’ll notice that the site is also home to a lot of superb artwork like this:

If you’re an artist and you’d like to get involved, click here to read the submission guidelines. (The illustration above, by the way, is Amy Steadman – Day 3 – by the very talented Craig Paton.)

Enjoy the new site – and the free stories – there’s a LOT more exciting stuff on the way very soon!

Last of the Living is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

This month – an in-depth EVIL DEAD retrospective, a wealth of A SERBIAN FILM coverage (including a fascinating list of all 49 BBFC cuts), and much more.

Scream Magazine Issue #3 – out now is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

Of course, Waterstone’s situation is, unfortunately, not that unusual in an industry which is changing almost by the day and which is struggling on many levels. Corporate decisions like this are easy to gloss over when they’re just another announcement amongst many on the TV news, and it’s easy to forget the impact they have on people’s lives.

So I just wanted to say thank you and good luck to the staff of the Culver Square branch. In particular, thanks to Mark Goddard (Mark’s also an author and runs the www.snakebitehorror.co.uk site), and Adam Hart, the store’s horror buyer. Back in 2006, Adam came across the AUTUMN books and got in touch. He was instrumental in helping me get my Infected Books editions into a decent number of Waterstone’s branches across the country (and as anyone who’s tried to get self-published books stocked in bricks and mortar bookstores will tell you, that’s no mean feat). He ended up appearing in HATER as a thank you!

So thanks again to all at Waterstone’s Culver Square. I wish you the very best for the future.

Waterstone’s, Colchester Culver Square is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series

The admins have just posted the results of a question and answer session I did with group members, so please head over and join up! (Thanks to Lee Hartnup, by the way, for the flattering photo!).

Interview with ‘Moody’s Survivors’ is a post from: David Moody - author of HATER, DOG BLOOD and the AUTUMN series