It is fair to say that 2020 was a hard year for us all but I was very pleased to be contacted by the acclaimed editor Dan Coxon about a new project coming from one of the most interesting Indie publishers out there that is try to do some good.

Today sees the launch of a Kickstarter to create a brand new horror and dark fantasy collection where all the royalties and fees for the book will go to the charity Together for Mental Wellbeing.

“Out of the Darkness challenges some of the most exciting voices in horror and dark fantasy to bring their worst fears out into the light. From the black dog of depression to acute anxiety and schizophrenia, these stories prove what fans of horror fiction have long known – that we must understand our demons to overcome them.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, what began as a mental health crisis has rapidly become an unprecedented tsunami. The Centre for Mental Health has estimated that 10 million people will need mental health support in the UK as a direct consequence of Covid-19, with a staggering 1.5 million of those being under eighteen.

Edited by Dan Coxon (This Dreaming Isle) and featuring exclusive stories by Alison Moore, Jenn Ashworth, Tim Major and Aliya Whiteley, this collection harnesses the power of fiction to explore and explain the darkest moments in our lives.”

Sound excellent and I spy a lot of great authors to entertain you! I hope to have some more on this excellent idea to tell you about soon. But a for a full list of the authors; more details on the available rewards and plus where you can donate to a very good cause then go to the link below. I shall definitely be supporting this!

http://www.unsungstories.co.uk/out-of-the-darkness

And on the subject of the authors involved

• Jenn Ashworth, author of Fell, Cold Light and more

• Alison Moore, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Lighthouse, Missing and more

• Aliya Whiteley, Arthur C. Clarke Award-shortlisted author of The Beauty, Greensmithand The Loosening Skin

• Nicholas Royle, author of Ornithology, First Novel and more

• Laura Mauro, British Fantasy Award-winning author of Sing Your Sadness Deep

• Tim Major, author of Snakeskins and Hope Island

• Sam Thompson, Booker Prize-longlisted author of Communion Town

• Eugen Bacon, author of The Road to Woop Woop and Claiming T-Mo

• Simon Bestwick, author of Wolf's Hill and more

• Richard V. Hirst, co-author of The Night Visitors

• Ashley Stokes, author of Gigantic(forthcoming from Unsung Stories)

• Verity Holloway, author of Pseudotooth

• Gary Budden, author of Hollow Shores and London Incognita

• Anna Vaught, author of Saving Lucia and Famished

• Georgina Bruce, author of This House of Wounds