Exotic Gothic Explained

Exotic Gothic is an anthology series of original short fiction and novel excerpts in the gothic, horror and fantasy genres. A recipient of the World Fantasy Award [1] and Shirley Jackson Awards,[2] it is conceptualized and edited by Danel Olson, a professor of English at Lone Star College in Texas.[3]

According to the Houston Chronicle newspaper, "The collection includes contemporary ghost, werewolf, vampire, and beastly creature stories; weird and paranormal tales; and neo-Gothic romances....[prompted from] a sabbatical last fall [2006], after his own Gothic research led him to a walking tour of Transylvania and facing a gypsy woman's curse..."[4] The 2003 Bram Stoker Award-finalist webzine Horror World[5] concludes that Exotic Gothic "raises the question as to 'How does the contemporary global Gothic enlarge, transcend, scramble, subvert, or mock the genre?' Olson subdivided the Anthology into Sections for Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. Each Section then has various stories that are set within or relate to the particular geographic area.."[6] Inside the first volume, the editor "celebrates the loosening of geographic bonds, an emancipation of the genre."[7]

Volume 1

Exotic Gothic: Forbidden Tales from Our Gothic World (published Oct. 2007 by Ash-Tree Press, hardcover and trade ppk., cover photography from Anne Brigman-courtesy Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 306pp.) "showcases twenty-three stories (eight original to the anthology) that take place around the world."[8]

Africa

Oceania

Asia

Australia

Europe

Latin America

North America

Volume 2

Exotic Gothic 2: New Tales of Taboo was published Sept. 2008 by Ash-Tree Press, hardcover and trade ppk., original cover photography by Nicholas Royle, 318pp.[14]

Ellen Datlow described "Exotic Gothic 2 edited by Danel Olson (Ash-Tree Press) as a worthy follow-up to the editor's first, mixed reprint and original anthology. EG2 has all new stories taking place all over the world. The most notable were those by George Makana Clark, Barbara Roden, Nicholas Royle, Nancy A. Collins, Edward P. Crandall, Christopher Fowler, Reggie Oliver, Tia V. Travis, and Rob Hood."[15]

The second volume was a finalist for the 2008 Shirley Jackson Award[16] and had stories reprinted in the following year's round of "Best Of" collections.

Asia

Africa

Europe

North America

South America

Australia

Antarctica

Volume 3

Exotic Gothic 3: Strange Visitations was published in Dec. 2009 by Ash-Tree Press, hardcover, original art by Jason Zerillo, 277pp.[26]

In each successive volume of the Exotic Gothic series so far, women have assumed more presence on the table of contents, but it is a presence still shy of what one sampling of contemporary American-edited horror anthologies found: Black Static staff reviewer Peter Tennant discusses the disparity of women in US and British horror anthologies (not mentioning Exotic Gothic 3, but writing within ten months of Exotic Gothic 3s release), pointing out that women make up around 32% of the contributors for American-edited horror anthologies he examined, and merely 21% of the contributors for contemporary UK-edited horror anthologies he examined.[27] Reviewer Rich Horton in the March 2010 issue of Locus (magazine), praised Exotic Gothic 3 for its "evocations of ghost traditions unfamiliar to most Westerners." Horton wrote that "I found my favorite story to be the most traditional, Barbara Roden's "The Haunted House of Etobicoke," and it is so beautifully executed that we are moved again."[28]

Peter Tennant, writing in Black Static, noted that "Of the other overlapping anthologies, Exotic Gothic 3 scored with both [anthologists] Jones and Datlow" in 2010.[29] Author Stephen Jones found "The third volume in the series edited and introduced by Danel Olson, Exotic Gothic 3, was one of the more satisfying anthologies of the year\."[30] Humanities Librarian Richard Bleiler describes it as a "strong and often satisfying collection of stories."[31] Bleiler argues that some of the books best tales come out of Africa and Europe: Zimbabwe born contributor "George Makana Clarke's tale is gripping and nightmarish and carries an internal conviction," while "disastrous relationships ... figure prominently in the European section, and the horrors of the Third Reich and the Balkan Wars echo ... particularly [in] Peter Bell's 'The Barony at Rodal,' Christopher Fowler's 'Arkangel,' and David Wellington (author)'s 'Grvnice'." In a summary of international horror fiction from 2009, anthologist Ellen Datlow argues that Exotic Gothic 3 "is an all original collection ... with terrific ones from Simon Clark, Terry Dowling, Simon Kurt Unsworth, and Kaaron Warren, and good ones from the other contributors."[32]

The third volume was a finalist for the 2009 Shirley Jackson Award[16] and 2010 World Fantasy Award,[33] and had stories reprinted in the following year's round of "Best Of" collections.

Oceania and Australasia

Asia

Africa

Europe

North America

Volume 4

Exotic Gothic 4: A Postscripts Anthology was released as hardcover July 2012 and paperback January 2014 by PS Publishing, original cover photography by Apolinar L. Chuca, 301pp.[44]

Writing for LOCUS magazine Lois Tilton described the fourth incarnation as "Neo-Gothic stories, which the editor aptly characterizes as 'that genre of things wrongly hungered for and things wrongly alive."[45] Mario Guslandi, writing for Thirteen O'Clock,[46] echoes Tilton's fondness for the book's non-Western settings: "[The] stories by a distinguished group of genre experts, set in different locations, addressing a diversity of themes [still share] the character of modern gothic fiction [but] set in places of the world we either least associate with 'gothic' or fail to even consider in the genre."[47]

Making a case that the anthology represents social criticism, Morgan interprets Margo Lanagan's lead-story in the collection, "Blooding the Bride", as "a strong feminist subtext on the nature of the marriage rite as an oppressive trap for women, even in our modern, post-feminist movement time." According to Morgan the book is dominated by "themes of cultural oppression, the evil claws of colonialism still deeply embedded in the back of certain nations, feminine sacrifice to ancient traditions with hidden shackles, ... elavat[ing] them beyond mere horror stories."

A review in Dead Reckoning described the novel as "a sumptuous package," with stories "sensuous," "skewed and grotesque," "passionate," and "ambiguously ghostly."[48]

Eotic Gothic 4 won the World Fantasy Award for Best Edited Anthology on 3 November 2013, as well as the Shirley Jackson Award for Superior Anthology on 14 July 2013. In an interview after the awards in The Gothic Imagination, Olson described his approach to selecting the stories: "My hope is to choose stories that, like dreams, resurface long after our first experience with them, and often an indication of that power manifests in the images, rhythms, struggles, and secret identifications within [their] opening paragraph."[49]

Asia

Australasia

Latin America & Caribbean

Europe

Africa

North America

Volume 5

Exotic Gothic 5 was released 2013 by PS Publishing, hardcover, Vol. I original front and back cover photography by Marcela Bolívar, design by Michael Smith, 244 pages;[56]

One of the short stories, "The Open Mirror" from Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud, first appeared in its original French in the Catholic daily, La Croix in 2008.[57] "A Game of Draughts" from Joyce Carol Oates was published in similar form in her 2013 novel, The Accursed.[58]

Italian reviewer Mario Guslandi described the volume as "dark stories of modern gothic from every corner of the world ... apt to elicit pleasurable shivers without resorting to gore and violence."[59] Horror Novel Reviews agreed with Guslandi regarding the volumes' disinclination towards blood and grue: "Like the prior anthologies, [Olsen] focuses on the Gothic literary tradition of suspense, fear, and atmosphere rather than gore and violence." Comparing the two volumes, Horror Novel Reviews concludes that though it "reaches into the colonial fear of native sexuality" [60] A consensus by Locus editors and reviewers placed Exotic Gothic 5 on the 2013 Locus Recommended Reading List along with one dozen other original anthologies.[61]

A review in the print quarterly Gothic Beauty by Gail Brasie conclude that "the series [stops] the assumption that the only people reading neo-Gothic stories are white kids" and does so successful: "The storytelling is brilliant and as varied as the settings."[62]

Europe

North America

Australia

Africa

Latin America

Asia

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Winners. World Fantasy Convention. 24 June 2017.
  2. Web site: 2012 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners. Shirley Jackson Awards. 24 June 2017.
  3. Contributors. Essays and Studies. Spring 2008. 30. 8. 127. Marta. Dvorak. Institut du Monde Anglophone. Universite de Paris 3-Sorbonne, Paris, France. 0395-6989.
  4. News: Gothic Tales Focus of Prof's Book. 1 February 2012. 12 October 2007.
  5. Web site: 2003 Bram Stoker Award Nominees & Winners. Horror Writers Association. 14 February 2012. 24 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121024113222/http://www.horror.org/stokerwinnom.htm#2003. dead.
  6. Web site: Rubenstein. Norm. EXOTIC GOTHIC: Forbidden Tales from Our Gothic World Edited by Danel Olson (Review). Horror World Book Reviews. 14 February 2012. Jan 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130615124318/http://www.horrorworld.org/january_2008.htm. 15 June 2013.
  7. Book: Blouin, Michael J.. Japan and the Cosmopolitan Gothic. 2013. Palgrave Macmillan. London. 978-1137305213. 171.
  8. Book: Datlow, Ellen. The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21st Annual Collection. 2008. Macmillan. New York. 978-0-312-38048-9. xlvii-xlviii. Kelly Link. Gavin Grant.
  9. Web site: Podcast of original EXOTIC GOTHIC story, read by Author. LSC. 21 February 2012. Houston, TX. 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120519094010/http://faculty.lonestar.edu/dolson/podcasts.html. 19 May 2012.
  10. Book: Datlow, Ellen. "Honorable Mentions: 2007," in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21st Annual Collection. 2008. Macmillan. New York. 978-0-312-38048-9. 442. Kelly Link. Gavin Grant.
  11. Book: Re-released by Dowling, Terry. Amberjack: Tales of Fear & Wonder. 2010. Subterranean Press. Burton, MI. 978-1-59606-293-1. 167–194.
  12. Book: Beeler, Karin. Gothic Maternity: The Pumpkin Child by Nancy A. Collins. 21st Century Gothic: Great Gothic Novels Since 2000. Olson. Danel. 2011. Scarecrow Press. Lanham, MD. 978-0-8108-7728-3. 486–95. August 29, 2012.
  13. Web site: Released as a Cannes Film Festival Short Films Selection. Local Film Heads to Cannes: Lovecraft's Pillow (2008). Nexstar Broadcasting. 23 February 2012. dead. https://archive.today/20130209232528/http://yourerie.com/fulltext?nxd_id=2188. 9 February 2013.
  14. Book: Exotic Gothic 2: New Tales of Taboo. Ash-Tree Press. 2008. 978-1-55310-109-3. Ashcroft, British Columbia. back dustjacket. print. Danel Olson.
  15. Book: Datlow, Ellen. Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 1. 2009. Night Shade Books. San Francisco. 978-1-59780-161-4. 8–9.
  16. Web site: The Shirley Jackson Awards Website . 2012-04-14 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120731073612/http://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/sja_2009_winners.php . 2012-07-31 . 2009 Shirley Jackson Award
  17. Web site: Winner of Philippine Graphic/Fiction Award. Fully Booked and Neil Gaiman were presenters of these 3rd Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards. 23 February 2012. 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20111014172831/http://www.fullybookedonline.com/revelations/. 14 October 2011.
  18. Web site: Datlow. Ellen. Honorable Mention list from _Best Horror of the Year volume 1_ (2008 stories). 23 February 2012. 11 April 2010.
  19. Book: Re-released by Sedia. Ekaterina. Running with the Pack. 2010. Prime Books. Rockville, MD. 978-1-60701-219-1. 32–57. Print. registration.
  20. Re-released and re-titled by Pavic. Milorad. The Belly Dancer. La Revue JAT. 2010. 25 February 2012. English. https://web.archive.org/web/20110107211711/http://www.jat.com/active/fr/home/main_menu/travel_info/jat_review/jul_2008/trbusna_igracica.html. 7 January 2011. dead.
  21. Book: Re-released by Datlow. Ellen. The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 1. 2009. Night Shade Books. San Francisco. 978-1-59780-161-4. 135–144. Print.
  22. Book: Re-released into novel by Royle, Nicholas. First Novel. registration. Spring 2013. Jonathan Cape/The Random House Group. London.
  23. Book: Re-released by Jones, Stephen. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 20. 2009. Constable. London. 9780762437276.
  24. Web site: Datlow. Ellen. Honorable Mentions (2nd Half of _Best of the Year, Vol. I_). 23 February 2012. 11 April 2010.
  25. Book: Re-released into novel by Dowling, Terry. Clowns at Midnight. 2010. PS Publishing. Hornsea, UK. 978-1-84863-085-7 .
  26. Web site: Exotic Gothic 3 . 2012-02-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120206154835/http://www.ash-tree.bc.ca/atp143exoticgothic3.htm . 2012-02-06 . dead .
  27. Web site: Tennant. Peter. Women in Horror Anthologies. Black Static (print journal with web updates). TTA Press. 12 February 2012. Cambs, UK. 1. 26 Oct 2010.
  28. Web site: Horton. Rich. Short Fiction Reviews. Locus Magazine. 4 February 2012.
  29. Web site: Tennant. Peter. To Be the Best. Black Static (a print journal with web updates). TTA Press. Cambs, UK. 1. 12 Nov 2010.
  30. Book: Jones, Stephen. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 21. 2010. Running Press. 978-0-7624-3997-3. 34.
  31. Bleiler. Richard. Formula and Geography. Dead Reckonings: A Review of Horror Literature. Autumn 2009. 6. 75–76. S. T.. Joshi. Hippocampus Press. New York. Print. 1935-6110.
  32. Book: Datlow, Ellen. The Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 2. 2010. Night Shade Books. San Francisco. 978-1-59780-173-7. 10. 613524002. Print.
  33. Web site: World Fantasy Awards Home Page . 2012-02-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120204062922/http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/2010.html . 2012-02-04 . World Fantasy Award
  34. Web site: 2009 Australian Shadows Award: Finalist for Short Fiction. Australian Horror Writers Association. 23 February 2012. 2009.
  35. Book: Re-released by Datlow. Ellen. The Year's Best Horror, Volume 2. 2010. Night Shade Books. San Francisco. 978-1-59780-173-7. 213–228. Print.
  36. Book: Re-released by Sedia. Ekaterina. Beware the Night: Tales of Shapeshifters and Werecreatures. 2011. Prime Books. Rockville, MD. 978-1-60701-252-8. 203–219.
  37. Book: Datlow. Ellen. "Honorable Mentions" in The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 2. 2010. Night Shade Books. San Francisco. 978-1-59780-173-7. 305. Print.
  38. Book: Re-released by Jones. Stephen. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Volume 21. 2010. Running Press. Philadelphia, PA. 978-0-7624-3997-3. 286–309. Print.
  39. Book: Dowling. Ellen. "Honorable Mentions" in The Year's Best Horror, Volume 2. 2010. San Francisco. 978-1-59780-173-7. 306. Print.
  40. Book: Re-released by Jones. Stephen. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Volume 21. 2010. Running Press. Philadelphia, PA. 978-0-7624-3997-3. 247–266. Print.
  41. Book: Pavic, Milorad. Pozorište od hartije / Paper Theater. 2007. Zavod za udžbenike. Beograd (Belgrade, Serbia). 978-86-17-15036-3. (This work first appeared in Serbian, and the EXOTIC GOTHIC 3 excerpt is its first translation into English, according to "Biographical Notes," EG3, p. 272.)
  42. Book: Re-released by Zivkovic, Zoran. Impossible Stories II. 2009. PS Publishing. Hornsea, UK. 978-1-905834-30-3 . Print.
  43. Book: Re-released into novel by Tem, Steve Rasnic. Deadfall Hotel. 2011. Centipede Press. Lakewood, CO. 978-1-61347-012-1 .
  44. Book: Exotic Gothic 4: A Postscripts Anthology (28/29). 2012. Series Editors, Peter Crowther and Nick Gevers. Hornsea, UK. 978-1-84863-300-1 . Danel Olson. Print.
  45. Web site: Tilton. Lois. Lois Tilton Reviews Short Fiction. 15 July 2012 . LOCUS: The Magazine of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Field.. 27 September 2012.
  46. Web site: Guslandi. Mario. EXOTIC GOTHIC 4 -- review. Thirteen O'Clock. 27 September 2012.
  47. Web site: Morgan. Drake. Anthology 'Exotic Gothic 4: Postscripts 28/29' (Edited By Danel Olson) Review. 28 May 2013 . HorrorNovelReview.com. 1 June 2013.
  48. Blackmore. L.. Spring 2013. Rev. of Exotic Gothic 4. Dead Reckonings: A Review of Horror Literature. Print. New York, NY. Hippocampus Press. 13. Spring 2013. 35–37. 1935-6110.
  49. Web site: Townshend. Dale. Exotic Gothic 4 Winner of World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. University of Stirling, Scotland. 6 March 2014.
  50. Book: Re-released by Datlow. Ellen. The Year's Best Horror, Volume 5. 2013. Night Shade Books. San Francisco. 978-1597804745. Print.
  51. Book: Re-released by Haynes, Steve. The Best British Fantasy 2013. 2013. Salt Publishing. Cromer, Norfolk, UK. 9781907773358.
  52. Book: Re-released by Guran. Paula. The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror: 2013. 2013. Prime Books. Gaithersburg, MD. 978-1607013976. Print.
  53. Book: Re-released in modified form by Carmody, Isobel.. Metro Winds. 2012. Allen & Unwin. Sydney. 9781742697154.
  54. Book: Premiered in Oliver, Reggie. Mrs. Midnight and Other Stories. 2011. Tartarus Press. Leyburn, North Yorkshire, UK. 978-1-905784-43-1.
  55. Book: Re-released by Jones, Stephen. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 24. 2013. Constable. London. 978-0762449439.
  56. Book: Exotic Gothic 5, Vol. I. 2013. Hornsea, UK. 978-1-848636-18-7. Danel Olson. Print.
  57. Book: Exotic Gothic 5, Vol. I. 2013. Hornsea, UK. 33. 978-1-848636-18-7. Danel Olson. Print.
  58. Book: Exotic Gothic 5, Vol. I. 2013. Hornsea, UK. 205. 978-1-848636-18-7. Danel Olson. Print.
  59. Web site: Guslandi. Mario. The SF Site Featured Review. SF Site. SF Site: The Home Page for Science Fiction and Fantasy. 6 March 2014. 1. 2013.
  60. Web site: Morgan. Drake. Anthology 'Exotic Gothic 5: Volume 1 and Volume 2' Edited by Danel Olson (Review) . Horror Novel Reviews. 28 February 2014. 1. 30 August 2013.
  61. Web site: 2013 Locus Recommended Reading List. Locus. 1 March 2014. 1. 1 February 2014.
  62. Brasie. Gail. Book Reviews. Gothic Beauty. Fall 2014. 45. 11.
  63. Book: Re-released by Barron, Llaird. Year's Best Weird Fiction, Vol. 1. 2014. HarperCollins/Undertow/ChiZine. New York. 978-0981317755.
  64. Book: Re-released by Mains, Johnny. The Best British Horror 2014. 2014. Salt Publishing. Cromer, Norfolk, UK. 9781907773648.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Exotic Gothic".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.