Christopher Barzak

Blog

  • James Sallis reviews Before and Afterlives

    Something really amazing came in this week: a review of my collection by James Sallis, in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. When I say it’s something amazing, I mean it. Because, man, I have never read a review that was written so eloquently and with its own poetic energy to it like this… Read more

  • Kirkus reviews Before and Afterlives

    A late but  better than never review from Kirkus Reviews came for Before and Afterlives at the tail end of last week. It’s a goodie. I’m happy. I can only post a couple of lines from the review without infringing on copyright stuff, lalala, so I’ll post two of my favorite lines here, and then link… Read more

  • Sneak Peeks of Before and Afterlives (The Ghost Hunter’s Beautiful Daughter)

    Today’s preview from Before and Afterlives is the opening of my story, “The Ghost Hunter’s Beautiful Daughter,” which originally appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction. It’s a story about a young girl named Sylvie, who has a talent for manifesting ghosts around her, making them visible to others. And it’s about how her father, an out-of-work laborer, recently widowed,… Read more

  • Sneak Peeks of Before and Afterlives (The Drowned Mermaid)

    There’s been a break in the sneak peeks of Before and Afterlives, but I’m back with the next one, the opening scene to my story, “The Drowned Mermaid”, which originally appeared in the magazine, Realms of Fantasy. This story is one of my few that take place in southern California, where I lived for a short… Read more

  • Sneak Peeks of Before and Afterlives (Born on the Edge)

    Today’s preview from Before and Afterlives is the opening of my story,”Born on the Edge of an Adjective”. It’s a story about two lovers who can’t get it together, one of whom moves across the country to find himself, and is instead found by a different sort of love, an alien love. I mean that, too. An… Read more

  • Sneak Peeks of Before and Afterlives (Vanishing Point)

    Today’s preview from Before and Afterlives is the opening of my story, “Vanishing Point”, which first appeared in the Canadian literary journal, Descant. It’s a story about a mother whose son has been afflicted with a mysterious disease that is plaguing her community. People begin to vanish slowly, to become invisible and to lose their solidity… Read more

Barnes and Nobles before and afterlives Birds and Birthdays book launch event Books Carter Smith christopher barzak collections dark fantasy dark fiction F&SF fantasy ghost hunters ghosts ghost stories horror Invisible Men James Sallis Jamie Marks is Dead jmid LGBT Literature love stories mermaids Million Writers Award nebula awards One for Sorrow paranormal Publishing Reading reviews science fiction shirley jackson awards short stories speculative fiction storySouth Sundance supernatural Surrealism Thank You The Gone Away Place Women Artists Wonders of the Invisible World YA Youngstown