Penny Ponders On Dread Cold
“Here comes the fear!”
Dread Cold will do what it says on the tin. Its guest editor is author Matt Adcock. As well as editing the collection, Adcock has also contributed to the anthology. He has an impressive track record. His debut novel sat alongside Philip Pullman and Margaret Atwood in Den of Geek’s Top Books.
Dread Cold is a horror anthology — in case you hadn’t guessed from the title, the cover, and the tagline. This raised two questions for me that I explored with the publisher and editor.
The book itself showcases horror across the spectrum. The starting point for all the stories was the image that is now on the cover. It was amazing to see the range that came out of that — is it a castle on a hill or a hotel in a ski resort, does the action happen now or far into the future, are we taken to the edges of the lake or deep inside that building, are we even on planet Earth as the action rolls?
If you want to delve into more detail, I recommend this review:
As part of my remit to dive into the spotlight books for Fantastic Books Publishing’s
I want to wind back a little and ask about how this particular award-winning author came to be the guest editor.
Why was the question asked, and why was the answer yes?
Don’t misinterpret my curiosity on this point. Matt Adcock has done an excellent job and it’s a great book, but on the face of it, he’s not a match.
Let me explain: Matt Adcock has rightly won awards for his Sci-Fi, and it’s Sci-Fi he’s best known for, so why would he agree to edit a horror anthology? But wait a minute, rolling back a little further, why did the publisher ask a Sci-Fi author in the first place?
Here’s what I learnt from the publisher:
“All our anthologies support named charities, and for this one we had decided to support organisations fighting slavery. It’s true we mostly focus on Sci-Fi and fantasy, but we had success with a horror anthology in 2015, and I felt it was time for another.
When I was looking for a guest judge, I learnt that Matt was active in the anti-slavery movement, and so he was the obvious first choice. He not only judged the shortlist and helped to edit the stories, he also contributed a chilling tale of his own.”
And as to why Matt said yes, here’s what he had to say:
I already liked their ethos, their anthologies all contribute to different charities, so when they approached me and said that this one was supporting anti-slavery organisations, I wanted to be a part of it.”
That didn’t immediately address the mismatched genre part of the question, but Matt went on to say:
“Horror fascinates me. Did you know that humans are the only species shown to purposefully scare themselves? Why do we do it? Why do we enjoy it?”
Those are good questions. I don’t have any answers. But I can shed some light on that “2015 horror anthology” that was referred to. It was called 666 and comprised stories of exactly 666 words.
MABLE 2022
All 19 of the Dread Cold authors, including Matt Adcock, are in the spotlight during this autumn’s online MABLE event that will run during September and October. Do sign up. It’s free and you’ll have the chance to chat with the authors.