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Category: Contest

Dreams with Eyes Wide: Dark Breakers, by C. S. E. Cooney

Dreams with Eyes Wide: Dark Breakers, by C. S. E. Cooney

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Greeting, Black Gate readers! C. S. E. Cooney here, hijacking Zig Zag’s post (with his permission).

I’m just popping in to say that Black Gate and Mythic Delirium are hosting an ARC giveaway for Dark Breakers: my forthcoming collection featuring all new stories and novellas from the world of Desdemona and the Deep. Goblins, bargains, battles, body paint, and talking statues abound!

Drop a line in the comments below with a favorite line from one of your favorite story collections, and we’ll put your name in our hat (probably one with sequins on it) to send you your very own Dark Breakers ARC!

Thanks for reading! Now, back to Zigs…

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Win the Complete Ring-Sworn Trilogy by Howard Andrew Jones!

Win the Complete Ring-Sworn Trilogy by Howard Andrew Jones!

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The third and final book in Howard Andrew Jones’ epic Ring-Sworn fantasy trilogy, When the Goddess Wakes, drops a week from today. And not only is the Kindle version of the first book on sale for $2.99 all through August, but St. Martin’s Press is also giving away a complete set of the trilogy to three lucky winners.

How do you enter? Just hand over your deets at the St. Martin’s website here, and then wait in breathless anticipation for good news.

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And the Winners of the All-Authors-Signed A Sinister Quartet Are…

And the Winners of the All-Authors-Signed A Sinister Quartet Are…

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A Sinister Quartet autographed-small

Dear Black Gate Readers,

Five days ago, we launched our Great Big Giveaway for four copies of all authors/all artists-signed A Sinister Quartet, out this year from Mythic Delirium. In addition, we promised four new postcards with original art by Paula Arwen Owen!

We asked you to comment at the initial link, or send your comments privately to Mike Allen at Mythic Delirium. We were delighted by the response!

This morning, I drew the lucky four from a virtual randomizer “hat!”

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A Sinister Quartet: An All Authors-Signed Giveaway, with 4 Original Postcards by Paula Arwen Owen

A Sinister Quartet: An All Authors-Signed Giveaway, with 4 Original Postcards by Paula Arwen Owen

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A Sinister Quartet postcards-small

We, the authors of The Sinister Quartet, have done it all this year!

We’ve done ZOOM readings! We’ve made up playlists, recipes, cocktails (and mocktails!) to go with our dark-hearted stories! We’ve done a Reddit AMA, and The Big Idea over at Scalzi’s blog!

Lately, we did that GINORMOUS interview with Zig Zag Claybourne here at Black Gate magazine!

And now, we’ve got PRESENTS! For YOU!

We’re doing a GIVEAWAY here at Black Gate magazine!

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS.

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Derek Runs the Slowest of All Possible Give-aways: Announcing the Winner of Les Klinger’s Annotated Watchmen!

Derek Runs the Slowest of All Possible Give-aways: Announcing the Winner of Les Klinger’s Annotated Watchmen!

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The Annotated Watchmen cover-small

I think I earned a new crown, folks! It took a lot of effort and waiting, but I think my patience has finally paid off: I am now officially the slowest book-give-away-runner at Black Gate!  *And the crowd cheers!* I would love to say that a trip to Egypt and two to China were the cause, but honestly, I was one hundred percent channelling Tree-Beard. Let’s not be hasty! Ho-hummmmm.

All that being said, when ents decide to act, they can also be downright precipitous, so I’d better do something!  More than a few weeks ago, I reviewed Les Klinger’s excellent new Annotated Watchmen edition, a giant coffee-table book. We had a slew of great entries, but alas, only one could win!

The entries consisted of one-line explanations of what the entrant thought the most influential element of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s Watchmen. We present here the seven runners-up and the winner!

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Win One of Ten Copies of Todd McAulty’s The Robots of Gotham

Win One of Ten Copies of Todd McAulty’s The Robots of Gotham

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The Robots of Gotham cover wrap-small

Todd McAulty was the most popular writer to appear in the print version of Black Gate magazine. Locus said “Todd McAulty is Black Gate‘s great discovery,” and in their wrap-up of our entire 15-issue run, Free SF Reader wrote: “McAulty appears to be world class… If I was crazy enough to want to be an editor, I’d be trying to poach him, or wheedle work out of him, or kidnap him and have him chained up and guarded by a woman with blunt weaponry.”

We’ve been waiting for a long time for a full-length novel from Mr. McAulty, and at long last the wait is almost over. His massive debut The Robots of Gotham, a fast-paced thriller set in a world on the verge of total subjugation by machines, will be published next month by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Early buzz has been mounting fast — Julie E. Czerneda calls it “Incredible,” Publishers Weekly says it “maintains breathless momentum throughout,” James Enge says it’s “The sort of book that makes people SF addicts for life,” and bestselling author Daniel H. Wilson calls it “A thrilling ride.” Early reviews from the public have been breathless as well — Joe Crowe was the very first to rate it at Goodreads, saying,

The whole story is a thrilling action flick in book form, with cool robots and conspiracies and things blowing up. Read it while walking in slow-motion away from an explosion.

You’ll have to wait until June 19th to buy the hardcover…. or if you can’t wait, jump over to The Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, where they’re giving away 10 advance copies! You’ll need a Twitter account to be eligible, but how hard can that be? Easier than surviving the coming robot apocalypse, that’s for sure. While you’re contemplating, click the image above to see the beautiful ‘splosiony cover in full detail, with the end flap text and all those cool blurbs.

The Robots of Gotham will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/John Joseph Adams Books on June 19, 2018. It is 688 pages, priced at $26 in hardcover and $12.99 for the digital version. The cover was designed by Mark R. Robinson. Get all the details here.

Last Chance to Win a Copy of Watchmen: The Annotated Edition from DC Comics

Last Chance to Win a Copy of Watchmen: The Annotated Edition from DC Comics

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The Annotated Watchmen Leslie S Klinger-small

Ack! Time is running out for you to win a copy of Watchmen: The Annotated Edition courtesy of DC Comics. And trust us, you really want this book.  It’s the definitive edition of the seminal graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, a retrospective edition of the story that landed on Time magazine’s 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

In Watchmen: The Annotated Edition, Leslie S. Klinger looks at each of the series’ twelve issues in detail, moving page by page and panel by panel, and drawing on critical and scholastic commentary, interviews with Dave Gibbons, and previously unseen original source material. Read Derek Kunsken’s review, and an interview with Leslie S. Klinger, here.

How do you enter? Simplicity itself. Just submit a one-sentence email explaining what you think is the most influential element of Moore and Gibbon’s Watchmen series. The most compelling entry — as selected by Derek Kunsken — will receive a free copy of Watchmen: The Annotated Edition, complements of DC Comics.

How hard is that? One submission per person, please. Winners will be contacted by e-mail, so use a real e-mail address maybe. All submissions must be sent to john@blackgate.com, with the subject line Watchmen: The Annotated Edition, or something obvious like that so I don’t randomly delete it.

All entries become the property of New Epoch Press. No purchase necessary. Must be 12 or older. The judge’s decision (capricious as it may be) is final. Sorry, US only. Not valid where prohibited by law. Eat your vegetables.

Win a Copy of The Annotated Watchmen by DC Comics

Win a Copy of The Annotated Watchmen by DC Comics

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The Annotated Watchmen Leslie S Klinger-small

I don’t think DC’s 1985 Watchmen needs a whole bunch of introduction (or any). As both a reader and a writer, I’ve read, re-read, analyzed, watched other people analyze, and blogged about the seminal work by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

DC Comics has released a retrospective edition of the story that landed on Time magazine’s 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In Watchmen: The Annotated Edition, Leslie S. Klinger looks at each of the series’ twelve issues in detail, moving page by page and panel by panel. Klinger drew on critical and scholastic commentary, interviews with Dave Gibbons, and previously unseen original source material.

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Announcing the Winners of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

Announcing the Winners of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

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The Watcher at the Door-smallWe had a near-record number of entries in our latest contest. Not too surprising, as this time we’re giving away two copies of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two, the latest archival quality hardcover from Haffner Press.

This gorgeous book is a massive collection of 30 early weird fantasy tales by Henry Kuttner, and readers have been asking about if for months. We first gave you a sneak peek back in April 2015.

How did you enter? All you had to do submit the title of an imaginary weird fantasy story. The most compelling titles — as selected by a crack team of Black Gate judges — were entered into the drawing. We drew two names from that list, and the two winners will both receive a free copy of The Watcher at the Door, complements of Haffner Press and Black Gate magazine.

So let’s get right to it. The first job was to select the Top 25 entries from the numerous submissions we received over the past 9 days — no easy task, let me tell you. But after much agonizing debate (and two brief fist fights), here are the judges selections.

  1. Bob Cooper — Give Me Back My Heads!
  2. Chris Dodson — Wrath of the Mad King in the Golden Tower
  3. Kyle Crider — O, Slime That Yearneth and Singeth Out
  4. Amy Bisson — The Crystal Scimitar of Doom!
  5. George Kelley — Vampires of the Obsidian Void
  6. William White — The Lilt in Her Voice, the Grin on Her Face

    7. …

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Last Chance to Win The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

Last Chance to Win The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two!

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The Watcher at the Door-smallAck! Time is running out for you to win one of the two copies of The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two we’re giving away. And trust us, you really want this book. The latest archival quality hardcover from Haffner Press is a massive collection of 30 early weird fantasy tales by Henry Kuttner, and we’ve been awaiting this gorgeous book for a long, long time. We first gave you a sneak peek back in April 2015.

The Watcher at the Door is the second volume in a three-volume “Early Kuttner” set collecting many of Kuttner’s earliest stories, most of which have never been reprinted. The first volume, Terror in the House, was released way back in 2010.

How do you enter? Simplicity itself. Just submit the title of an imaginary weird fantasy story. The most compelling titles — as selected by a crack team of Black Gate judges — will be entered into a drawing. We’ll draw two names from that list, and the two winners will receive a free copy of The Watcher at the Door, complements of Haffner Press and Black Gate magazine.

How hard is that? One submission per person, please. Winners will be contacted by e-mail, so use a real e-mail address maybe. All submissions must be sent to john@blackgate.com, with the subject line The Watcher at the Door, or something obvious like that so I don’t randomly delete it.

All entries become the property of New Epoch Press. No purchase necessary. Must be 12 or older. Decisions of the judges (capricious as they may be) are final. Sorry, US only. Not valid where prohibited by law.

The Watcher at the Door: The Early Kuttner, Volume Two is 700 pages in high-quality hardcover format, with an introduction by Dr. Garyn G. Roberts and a foreword by Robert A. Madle. It is edited by Stephen Haffner, and was published October 28, 2016. The cover price is $45. Cover art is by Jon Arfstrom. See the complete TOC here. The book is available directly from Haffner Press.