Tag: short story

Guillermo del Toro is Writing a Spooky Book of Short Stories

Guillermo del Toro, the esteemed filmmaker behind both Pan’s Labyrinth and Shape of Water, is now working on a collection of short stories for Amazon Original Stories.

 

Guillermo del ToroImage via The Talk

 

While most of del Toro’s work is made to be viewed, though this isn’t his first publishing credit. Del Toro co-wrote The Strain novels with Chuck Hogan, a fiction series about the clashes between the vampire and human worlds.

 

The StrainImage via Amazon

 

Most of del Toro’s work deals heavily with the supernatural, and this upcoming work will be no exception. The publisher has stated that the collection “will introduce a world of strange happenings, otherworldly horror, and dark fantasy.”

 

 

While working on this project del Toro is also making a stop-motion adaptation of Pinnocchio for Netflix, and a live-action adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s novel Nightmare Alley, so it’s likely that his novel won’t be hitting shelves until 2021.

Right now the work is still untitled, though we look forward to future updates!

 

 

 

Featured Image via Rolling Stone

This Interactive Short Story Will Make You Feel Things

Ever wanted to choose your own profound and horrifying sci-fi adventure? This article is for you.

“With Those We Love Alive” is a strange, deeply atmospheric short story, told a few pieces at a time. You are an artificer, drawn into the service of the Skull Queen. The magic is strange and tangible, and though you don’t see much of the world, you get an impression of its vastness. Live the luminous sense of listless terror made ambiance through the simple but powerful backgrounds, the eerie soundtrack, and the world’s uneasy details. Wander the palace and the city. Look on the outer world. You will be prompted to hold your breath. Look. Look away. Draw all over yourself (cue weird looks from the rest of the editorial team).

 

Please don’t judge my lack of art skills

You make many choices, shape the world, or does it shape you? The pull of the plot is inexorable, subtle. This is a land of monsters, of gruesome beauty, and unlike any fantasy world you’ve ever seen. You will come to feel trapped. You will come to realize you are terribly in love. With a sense of both choice and inevitability, walk through this place, the palace of the Skull Queen, her city, and see what it makes you. Find an ending as sudden and vibrant as the rest of the story, and etch each choice into your skin.

Eerie, gorgeous, and coolly violent, this story will stay with you long after the sigils you’re instructed to draw have faded.

Things you’ll need: headphones, a marker or pen.

See other people’s sigils here.

 

Longlist for World’s Richest Short Story Prize Announced

‘Richest’ here does not mean substantial content of the short stories — although each of these eighteen stories undoubtedly has that too. ‘Richest’ here literally means the most money. The winner of this award will receive £30,000 ($38,074.95), which is the largest amount offered in any English language short story prize contest. 

The prize in question is for The Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. It is open to any writer who has been published in Ireland or the UK. The story must be under 6,000 words. The longlist has just been announced and the eighteen writers include both well known names and less familiar up and coming writers. 

 

Emma Cline and The Girls

 

The more well known names include A.M. Homes and Emma Cline. Homes, the author of over ten books, is nominated for her story, “The National Caged Bird Show.” Cline, the author of the bestselling novel The Girls, is nominated for her story, “What Can You Do With a General.” 

 

The full list:

Kathleen Alcott, “Natural Light”

Kevin Barry, “The Coast of Leitrim”

Emma Cline, “What You Can Do With a General”

Paul Dalla Rosa, “Comme”

Joe Dunthorne, “All the Poems Contained within Will Means Everything to Everyone”

Wendy Erskine, “Inakeen”

A.M. Homes, “The National Caged Bird Show” 

Caoillin Hughes, “Prime”

Louise Kennedy, “In Silhouette”

Toby Litt, “Impatience” 

Danielle McLaughlin, “A Partial List of the Saved”

Gerad Mckeague, “Wet Bloody Country”

Alecia McKenzie, “Trees”

Paddy O’Reilly, “All the Languages”

Nicholas Petty, “It is Summer at Camp Pomodoro”

Brian Van Reet, “Lazarus”

Kevin Wilson “Biology”

Olivia Cooke Will Star In Sci-Fi Romance “Little Fish” Adaptation

Olivia Cooke stole the show in Ready Player One. Jack O’Connell won our hearts with his performance in Unbroken. Now, these two actors are teaming up for an exciting new adaptation that you’ll be sure to remember for decades to come… even if its protagonists end up remembering nothing at all. (You’ll just have to wait and see!)

 

Images Via IMDb

 

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Cooke and O’Connell will star in Little Fish. The film is based off of Aja Gabel’s short story of the same name, an ambitious, speculative romance that tells the story of a couple struggling to stay together in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. And here’s where the speculative fiction comes in: the pandemic erases people’s memories, “Little Fish” was initially published in the literary magazine Phoebe. You can read a small excerpt of the story on Gabel’s website to get hyped for the film.

Though there is no word yet on a release date for the film beyond a general estimate (2020), other details are available: the film will be directed by Chad Hartigan and written by Mattson Tomlin. In addition to her starring role, Olivia Cooke is also among the many executive producers of the film. While we don’t yet know which roles these actors will play, Raul Castillo and Soko have also been cast in the adaptation.

Fortunately, shooting will begin later this month, so we don’t have to wait too long!

 

 

Featured Image Via Bustle

Rafiki

Film Depicting Lesbian Love Wins African Film Festival Award

Rafiki, a film by Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu that depicts lesbian love, has been recognized at the largest African film festival, Fespaco. The festival has awarded Samantha Mugatsia “best actress” for her portrayal of Kena Mwaura.

According to IMDb, the film tells the tale of Kena and Ziki, two girls who “long for something more. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.” It is inspired by the short story “Jambula Tree”  by Ugandan writer Monica Arac de Nyeko.

 

 

Rafiki Stars

IMAGE VIA HUMANMOVENT

 

The award is significant because the film is banned in Kenya, the country it was directed in—an extension of the laws against homosexuality in the country.

The laws, though “recent” as far as their imposition in 20th century by British colonial rule, seem to reflect public opinion of much of the country; 90 percent of respondents to a Pew survey conducted in Kenya in 2013 said that “society should not accept homosexuality.” The laws and public aversion to homosexuality fuel each other in a hateful cycle, since “family members and neighbors sometimes report suspected homosexuals to the police.”

 

Rafiki Stars

IMAGE VIA PINKNEWS

The country’s High Court is set to either uphold or overturn its ruling against gay sex on May 24th, several months after it was originally supposed to decide in February.

In the midst of such conflicting public opinion, the film’s being recognized by Fespaco is an undeniable achievement, and hopefully foreshadows what’s to come for gay rights in Kenya!

FEATURED IMAGE VIA SCREENAFRICA