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Uncertainties 6

Estimated shipping late June 2023.

“I am writing only for my shadow . . . I must make myself known to him.” – Sadegh Hedayat

“Ghost stories,” as Elizabeth Bowen observed, “are not easy to write—least easy now, for they involve more than they did.” But these eleven writers take up the challenge, each in their own way, with expert awareness of the genre’s limitless possibilities.

Uncertainties is an anthology series—featuring authors from Ireland, France, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom—each exploring the concept of increasingly fragmented senses of reality. These types of short stories were termed “strange tales” by Robert Aickman, called “tales of the unexpected” by Roald Dahl, and known to Shakespeare’s ill-fated Prince Mamillius as “winter’s tales”. But these are no mere ghost stories. These tales of the uncanny grapple with existential epiphanies of the modern day, when otherwise familiar landscapes become sinister and something decidedly less than certain . . .

Hardback edition limited to 450 copies.
Signed or inscribed by the editor on request.

Cover art by David Tibet
Selected by Brian J. Showers

ISBN: 978-1-78380-045-2 (hbk)

Uncertainties 2

“Omnia exeunt in mysterium.” – Arthur Machen

“We think we know the world we live in, but we don’t—we very much don’t—and stories of the supernatural and strange, of the weird and the uncanny serve as a reminder of that.” – from the Foreword by Brian J. Showers

Uncertainties is an anthology of new writing—featuring contributions from Irish, British, and American authors—each exploring the idea of increasingly fragmented senses of reality. These types of short stories were termed “strange tales” by Robert Aickman, called “tales of the unexpected” by Roald Dahl, and known to Shakespeare’s ill-fated Prince Mamillius as ‘winter’s tales’. But these are no mere ghost stories. These tales of the uncanny grapple with existential epiphanies of the modern day, and when otherwise familiar landscapes become sinister and something decidedly less than certain . . .

  • Steve Duffy’s “The Ice Beneath Us” and Gary McMahon’s “What’s Out There?” were chosen for Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year 2016.

Our limited edition hardback is sold out.
Please check with our Booksellers for remaining copies.

Cover art by Chris Priestly
Selected and edited by Brian J. Showers
Foreword by Brian J. Showers

ISBN: 978-1-78380-015-5 (hbk)

Uncertainties 1

“Turn and face the strange.” – David Bowie

“It may be my own imagining, or perhaps the cumulative effect of reading the entire book over a couple of evenings, but the contents appeared to grow darker as the pages turned.” – from the Foreword by John Connolly

Uncertainties is an anthology of new writing—featuring contributions from Irish, British, and American authors—each exploring the idea of increasingly fragmented senses of reality. These types of short stories were termed “strange tales” by Robert Aickman, called “tales of the unexpected” by Roald Dahl, and known to Shakespeare’s ill-fated Prince Mamillius as ‘winter’s tales’. But these are no mere ghost stories. These tales of the uncanny grapple with existential epiphanies of the modern day, and when otherwise familiar landscapes become sinister and something decidedly less than certain . . .

  • Maura McHugh’s “The Light at the Centre” was selected for Stephen Jones’s Best New Horror #28

Our limited edition hardback is sold out.
Please check with our Booksellers for remaining copies.

Cover art by Chris Priestly
Selected and edited by Brian J. Showers
Foreword by John Connolly

ISBN: 978-1-78380-014-8 (hbk)

Uncertainties 3

“A stone’s throw out on either hand / From that well-ordered road we tread” – Rudyard Kipling

“What is happening all around us that is beyond the perception of our senses—and what happens when that perception changes?” – from the Introduction by Lynda E. Rucker

Uncertainties is an anthology of new writing—featuring contributions from Irish, British, and American authors—each exploring the idea of increasingly fragmented senses of reality. These types of short stories were termed “strange tales” by Robert Aickman, called “tales of the unexpected” by Roald Dahl, and known to Shakespeare’s ill-fated Prince Mamillius as ‘winter’s tales’. But these are no mere ghost stories. These tales of the uncanny grapple with existential epiphanies of the modern day, and when otherwise familiar landscapes become sinister and something decidedly less than certain . . .

Hardback edition limited to 400 copies.

Cover images by Tobia Makover
Selected and introduced by Lynda E. Rucker

ISBN: 978-1-78380-024-7 (hbk)

Uncertainties 4

“We live in Gothic times.” – Angela Carter

The Gothic tale, disreputable as it is, can, more readily than the realist short story, provoke unease and jolt us from complacency.

Uncertainties is an anthology series—featuring authors from Britain, America, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines—each exploring the concept of increasingly fragmented senses of reality. These types of short stories were termed “strange tales” by Robert Aickman, called “tales of the unexpected” by Roald Dahl, and known to Shakespeare’s ill-fated Prince Mamillius as “winter’s tales”. But these are no mere ghost stories. These tales of the uncanny grapple with existential epiphanies of the modern day, when otherwise familiar landscapes become sinister and something decidedly less than certain . . .

Our limited edition hardback is sold out.
Please check with our Booksellers for remaining copies.

Cover art by B. Catling
Selected and introduced by Timothy J. Jarvis

ISBN: 978-1-78380-031-5 (hbk)

Uncertainties 5

“Surely all this is not without meaning.” – Herman Melville

“Ghost stories,” as Elizabeth Bowen observed, “are not easy to write—least easy now, for they involve more than they did.” But these twelve writers take up the challenge, each in their own way, with expert awareness of the genre’s limitless possibilities.

Uncertainties is an anthology series—featuring authors from Canada, America, the United Kingdom, and the island of Ireland—each exploring the concept of increasingly fragmented senses of reality. These types of short stories were termed “strange tales” by Robert Aickman, called “tales of the unexpected” by Roald Dahl, and known to Shakespeare’s ill-fated Prince Mamillius as “winter’s tales”. But these are no mere ghost stories. These tales of the uncanny grapple with existential epiphanies of the modern day, when otherwise familiar landscapes become sinister and something decidedly less than certain . . .

  • Eoin Murphy’s “Three Sisters Bog” and Carly Holmes’s “Trap” were selected for Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year 14.
  • Deirdre Sullivan’s “Little Lives” won the An Post Book Award for Short Story of the Year.

Hardback edition limited to 400 copies.

Cover art by Ksenia Korniewska
Selected and introduced by Brian J. Showers

ISBN: 978-1-78380-038-4 (hbk)