"S. Craig Zahler is certain to become one of the great imaginers of our time." ― Clive Barker “[C]harm and optimism ... infuse [this] dark story. [A] delightful combination of tones ... bound to leave readers both smiling and thoughtful.". ―Kirkus Reviews "The latest novel from the author of Mean Business on North Ganson Street (2014) is a Victorianesque tale set in twentieth-century America, featuring orphaned Hug Chickenpenny, a child born with several “anomalous” features, such as one red eye, a stump for his left arm, and lumps on his head. Hug’s mother dies giving birth to him, and he’s found by her best friend, Abigail, who brings him to an orphanage. A sweet and happy baby, Hug is cared for by George, one of the workers at the orphanage, and scorned by another, the icy receptionist Jennifer. George is dismayed when Hug is adopted by a scientist who studies anomalies in nature. Several years later, a tragedy returns Hug to the orphanage, which to Hug’s dismay is now being run by the cruel Jennifer. Throughout the ups and downs of his life, Hug remains cheerful and optimistic, pursuing his love of rockets and adventure. Readers will find themselves pulling for the lovable Hug and for a happy ending to Zahler’s unusual and unusually appealing tale.” -Booklist "A sharp look at family, deformity, community, and belonging. At once moving and merciless, this is a chronicle of a hapless but still altogether human life." ― Brian Evenson, author of A Collapse of Horses "I was intrigued (and still am) by the cover art on this new book. Detailed and beautiful, the cover is a good segue into what to expect from the story. (In case you’re wondering, the little boy looking off into the distance is Mr. Hug Chickenpenny. What is he looking at, I wonder?) Learn about Hug’s life by venturing into this aptly written wonder of fiction. You won’t regret it. " ― Michael Rodriguez, bookseller, Harvard Book Store (Staff Pick) "An exceptional, original, and inherently fascinating read from beginning to end." ― Midwest Book Review "Imagine a blend of Tim Burton's Big Fish, David Lynch's The Elephant Man, and the wonderful quirkiness of a Lemony Snicket book, and you might have some idea of what you're getting into here. I dare you not to fall in love with little Hug Chickenpenny." ― Max Booth III, Dark Moon Digest "The only thing a Zahler work seems to promise its audience is that it will be wildly different from the one that preceded it. With Hug Chickenpenny, Zahler has once again mashed seemingly incompatible genres to produce a story that is funny, heartfelt, and sumptuously, Burtonesquely gothic. Much like its title character, the novel is ghoulishly anomalous, but eminently lovable. One of the best reads of the year." ― Adam Cesare, author of Video Night and Zero Lives Remaining "A relentlessly readable, inimitable and heart-wrenching story. A lot of people try to create something that defies reader expectations; few succeed like S. Craig Zahler in Hug Chickenpenny. This is also a book that will stick with you." ― Robert Ashcroft, author of The Megarothke "Hug Chickenpenny is much more than literature. It's an experience." -horror talk .com “Complex, well-drawn characterizations, compelling imagery and a well-ordered story arc complete a trifecta of literary accomplishment here that is achieved by few elsewhere. Five-plus stars to Hug Chickenpenny.” – Publishers Daily Reviews Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child is a gothic, Dickensian take on the Elephant Man, as if David Lynch wrote a fable for unbalanced orphans.
Hug Chickenpenny is an anomalous child. Born from tragedy and unknown paternity, this asymmetrical and white-haired baby inspires both ire and pity at the orphanage, until the day that an elderly eccentric adopts him as a pet. The upbeat boy's spirit is challenged in his new home and as he is exposed to prejudiced members of society in various encounters. Will Hug and his astronautical dreams survive our cruel and judgmental world?
S. Craig Zahler is an award-winning screenwriter, director, novelist, cinematographer, and musician. He wrote and directed the films Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99, and is the author of several novels, including Wraiths of the Broken Land, A Congregation of Jackals, and Mean Business on North Ganson Street.

Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child

Zahler, S. Craig

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Cinestate

"A rowdy menagerie of the unexpected, this book will delight and disturb even the bravest of readers; all preconceptions of what to trust and what to fear are masterfully upended." —Alissa Nutting, author of Tampa
"Seidlinger takes the slasher-horror movie, snuff film, found footage, webcam porn, and serial killer docudrama, cuts them all to pieces, pulls out their internal organs, reorganizes them in an 'aesthetically pleasing arrangement,' and shows us a story that is at once hilarious, pathetically sad, and a brilliant social critique. This is one where you'll want to eat the offal." —Jamie Iredell, author of The Book of Freaks
Dexter meets Secretary in Michael J. Seidlinger's provocative, disturbing literary thriller that reinvents the serial killer genre, exploring the psychology of desire.
Claire studies forensic science, Victor is the Gentleman Killer. Subverting expectations, Clair seduces Victor and keeps him in her apartment as her pet, her darkest secret. Beautifully written, provocative to read, Seidlinger delves into Claire's motivations and impetus to present a compelling psychosexual portrait of a woman obsessed with performance, with power, with sex, and with gore.
Michael J. Seidlinger is an Asian American author of a number of novels including Falter Kingdom and The Strangest. He is director of publicity at Dzanc Books, book reviews editor at Electric Literature, and publisher in chief of Civil Coping Mechanisms, an indie press specializing in innovative fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He lives in Brooklyn, where he never sleeps and is forever searching for the next best cup of coffee. michaeljseidlinger.com | @mjseidlinger

My Pet Serial Killer

Literature & Fiction

Seidlinger, Michael J.

United States

Blade Runner meets Westworld via Resident Evil in this shocking, gripping debut sci-fi/horror novel infused with Nietzschean philosophy, exploring humanity's darkest desire for transcendence. 
Seven years after the limitless depths of the Hollow War decimated Earth, leaving only 50,000 humans to fight for survival in Los Angeles, Theo Abrams is sent on a mission to destroy the enigmatic being that initiated this apocalypse, confronting the fact that humanity's yearning to transcend reality caused its downfall . . .
Robert Ashcroft, trained as cryptologic linguist, has worked as a State Department contractor and was recently mobilized to serve abroad with the US Army Reserve.

Megarothke

Ashcroft, Robert

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE! Winner of the 2019 Independent Publisher Book Award for Horror Spring, 1983. Sally Ride is about to go into space. Flashdance is a cultural phenomenon. And in Times Square, two very deadly women are on a collision course with destiny-- and each other. At twenty-one, Ginny Kurva is already legendary on 42nd Street. To the pimp for whom she works, she's the perfect weapon-- a martial artist capable of taking down men twice her size. To the girls in her stable, she's mother, teacher, and protector. To the little sister she cares for, she's a hero. Yet Ginny's bravado and icy confidence hide a mind at the breaking point, her sanity slowly slipping away as both her addictions and the sins of her past catch up with her... At thirty-seven, Nicolette Aster is the most respected woman at the Staten Island Landfill. Quiet and competent, she's admired by the secretaries and trusted by her supervisors. Yet those around her have no idea how Nicolette spends her nights-- when the hateful madness she keeps repressed by day finally emerges, and she turns the dump into a hunting ground to engage in a nightmarish blood sport... In the Spring of 1983, neither Ginny nor Nicolette knows the other exists. By the time Summer rolls around, one of them will be dead.

Our Lady of the Inferno

Fassel, Preston

The day that Lorrie “accidentally” cuts off her little toe, she discovers what it’s like to be able-bodied and not want that body. After Bartholomew loses his left arm to a Sunni sniper, he’s inspired to start a new kind of church―one where both amputation and sex are types of performance art. Trice, a prosthetics engineer, receives the assignment of a lifetime when he’s asked to rebuild his son’s crippled frame. Haunted by the memory of his dead wife, George must take the ultimate measure to excise her ghost. For good. From sexual fetish to the clinical diagnosis of Body Integrity Identity Disorder, Headcheese makes the first cut, peeling back the epidermis to peer inside the minds and hearts of 26 people navigating the topography of flesh. Jess Hagemann is an award-winning author and accomplished biographer. She lives in a quiet Austin neighborhood surrounded on three sides by cows. Headcheese is her first novel.

Headcheese

Hagemann, Jess

Genre Fiction

Ted and Justin were once best friends, but over the years they've seen less and less of each other. Now, something's wrong with Justin. He can't sleep, he can't think straight, and he certainly can't explain why he keeps waking up naked and covered in blood. Ted might be the only person who can save him-- assuming he's okay with shooting his childhood BFF with a silver bullet. But that's what friends are for, right? From Max Booth III and FANGORIA comes Carnivorous Lunar Activities-- the ultimate werewolf bromance. It's a toxic cocktail of An American Werewolf in London, Old School, and Bubba Ho-Tep that dives deep into the well of childhood nostalgia, blood soaked horror, and irredeemable dick jokes to bring readers a slice of Southern Fried horror that proudly wears its heart--not to mention a few other internal organs--on its sleeve.

Carnivorous Lunar Activities

Booth III, Max

Humor & Satire

Darren Tasking is a slick who lives in Great Crown, Florida and considers himself an entrepreneur. Others might refer to him as a criminal or a pimp or an extortionist or all of these things, if they knew what he was doing at night. His income is derived from a number of brothels and gambling parlors that are secreted behind iron doors in what appear to be typical apartment buildings. The police—whom he refers to as “the machos”—are oblivious of his enterprises, but he was incarcerated years ago and is uncommonly careful.

The Slanted Gutter

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Thrillers & Suspense

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