Giving the Devil His Due (Running Wild Press, September 2021). Cover uncredited

I’m getting word from a number of readers that a recent charity anthology, Giving the Devil His Due, is well worth a look. Published in September by The Pixel Project in partnership with Running Wild Press, it contains reprints and new fiction from Stephen Graham Jones, Kelley Armstrong, Nicholas Kaufmann, Nisi Shawl, Peter Tieryas, Dana Cameron, Jason Sanford, and many others. It was compiled by ex-Ace/Roc editor Rebecca Brewer; here’s the intriguing description.

Giving The Devil His Due is inspired by award-winning Horror author Stephen Graham Jones’s story “Hell On The Homefront Too” about a battered wife who finally gets rid of her abusive war-hero-turned-zombie husband. The theme of the anthology is the comeuppance of men who commit violence against women and girls. With a Twilight Zone vibe, this anthology evokes the spirit of Rod Serling to tell compelling stories that will help get the conversation about violence against women started amongst book lovers and fandoms worldwide while sending a clear message that misogyny, toxic masculinity, and violence against women is unacceptable.

Clarence Young was the first one to tip me off to the book, and it wasn’t long before I found Seven Jane’s enthusiastic review at Nerd Daily. Here’s a slice.

Each [story] in its own unique, dark, delicious way, delivers. A few favorites:

“Hell on the Homefront Too” by Stephen Graham Jones paints a gruesome picture of breaking the death grip of violence when a battered wife finally gets rid of her abusive war-hero-turned-zombie husband, whose own vile cruelty rots him from the inside out.

Lee Murray’s “The Moon Goddess’s Granddaughter” is a whimsical exercise in the slow-building terror of entrapment when romance wilts, ensnares, and suffocates — stripping away the veneer of something once lovely to reveal the monster beneath — and how beauty will find a way to break free.

“Just Us League” by Angela Yuriko Smith gives new meaning to the phrase “cleaning up after someone else’s mess” when a female janitor comes across a card for the Just Us League, an unknown yet powerful organization that kindly wipes away a certain type of filth, in a tale of empowerment, atonement, and sisterhood.

Read the full review here.

In addition to the authors mentioned above, Giving the Devil His Due includes fiction from Angela Yuriko Smith, Christina Henry, Errick Nunnally, Hillary Monahan, Kaaron Warren, Kenesha Williams, Leanna Renee Hieber, Lee Murray, and Linda D. Addison. 100% of the net proceeds from sales will go towards supporting The Pixel Project’s anti-violence against women programs, campaigns, and resources.

The Pixel Project is also sponsoring a giveaway which features limited edition bookplates with a resource for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors in 205 countries. Just submit your receipt for the book here to get your free bookplate:

Giving the Devil His Due was published on September 1, 2021 by The Pixel Project and Running Wild Press. It is 288 pages, priced at $19.99 in trade paperback and $9.99 in digital formats. The cover artist is uncredited. Get full details at The Pixel Project.

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