In London for a couple of meetings last Thursday, I called by to spend a few minutes at the Treasures of the British Library permanent exhibition. That’s the beauty of our free museums, as I found in the 70s when I was in the capital looking for a way into film or TV; when you’re…

Just back from a weekend of frolics, wine and conversation at 2016’s Fantasycon by the Sea in Scarborough, a town of shabby-chic Edwardian charm with a fantastic coastline and some, er, interesting after-dark streetlife. The Grand Hotel made for a highly sociable venue in a spectacular clifftop location. Dining options on the doorstep, and some…

The book’s now shipping and preorders are being filled. They’re preceded by an interview conducted by Gwenda Bond for Subterranean. It’son the company’s Facebook page; follow the link to see the whole thing. Today we’re bringing you a fascinating new interview with Stephen Gallagher about how he created the character of investigator Sebastian Becker. Gallagher…

Down by the British Museum in Bloomsbury runs Montague Street, a terrace of Georgian townhouses of the classic Upstairs/Downstairs kind. They’re now mostly brass-plate offices and boutique hotels, and I can never walk along it without thinking of Charlie Grant. Charles L to the literary world, Charlie to just about everyone who knew him. The…

Here’s a film I’d never seen before, and have finally caught up with. I don’t quite know what to make of it. As you might expect it’s a B-movie through and through, but the production values took me by surprise. With the Mexican locations, and widescreen cinematography, its look is great. Like the later Valley…

Neil Snowdon writes: 12th-18th September I’ll be hosting a celebration of Charlie and his work, with contributions from myself, Ramsey Campbell, Nathan Ballingrud, Mark Morris, Gary McMahon, Gary Fry, Christopher Golden, James A. Moore, Lynda E. Rucker, Stephen Bacon, Mark west, James Everington, Thomas F. Monteleone, Nancy Collins, Stephen Bissette, Stephen Gallagher, Jean-Daniel Breque, Tim…

This is weird. While sorting through some old files I came across this film review from the year of Jurassic Park‘s release. I don’t remember writing it, or for whom it was written. But dated references to video (ie, VHS), to the then-unbuilt Universal Studios ride, and to competing movies… they all have the feel…

You have written a considerable number of short stories, some of which have been published as collections (‘Out of His Mind’, ‘Plots and Misadventures’). What are your thoughts about the differences between writing short stories and novels? Have any of your short stories been developed further (in any media)? Short stories are tricky, and when…

Getting back to your novels, and thinking about your early work, where did the inspiration come from for books such as ‘Chimera’, ‘Oktober’, ‘Rain’ and ‘The Boat House’? I can answer for definite with Chimera because that came from a passage in Vance Packard’s book The People Shapers, where he quoted a Rand Corporation study…

You have been in the writing business for some time now. What would you say were your best and worst experiences? Fortunately the best way outnumber the worst, and they’ve mostly come out of the experience of researching the novels. I do try to achieve an authentic sense of place in the writing and that’s…