klward

My essay, "The Danse Macabre", in The Macabre Modern and Other Morbidities has won the Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism in the 2019 Australian Shadows. That's another demon on the shelf! Thanks are due, once again, to my editor Danny.

"What exactly is a danse macabre?
The word macabre makes its first known appearance in the fourteenth century poem, “Respit de la Mort” (Respite From Death) by the French poet Jean Le Fevre. The line reads, “Je fis de macabre la danse” (roughly, “I did the macabre dance”). The context suggests that this qualifies the poet to pronounce on the ubiquity of death, the fate that ultimately awaits all who are born. Some commentators think Le Fevre must have narrowly escaped dying through accident or disease, and distilled the experience into this work. But why did he describe it as dance?..."

The Australian Shadow Awards are given out annually by the Australian Horror Writers Association, but this is the first year they have included a poetry category. Individual poems are nominated rather than collections. This is in no small part the work of Danny Lovecraft,  who has been a tireless lobbyist for the form. Anyway, "Revenants of the Antipodes", my piece in the HWA Poetry Showcase V has been granted the natty little trophy.

My sincere thanks to everyone and apologies I could not make the award ceremony. "Revenants of the Antipodes" will be reprinted in my forthcoming collection from P'rea Press, The Macabre Modern and Other Morbidities.

It appears I have my first-ever nomination for the Australian Shadow Awards. My essay "A Shared Ambition - Horror Writers in Horror Fiction" (Midnight Echo #12) has been shortlisted for the Rocky Wood Award for Non-Fiction and Criticism. This is both a surprise and an honour.