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Darren Kerr

@xdkerr.bsky.social
224 followers 458 following 64 posts

Associate Professor and Head of School of Creative and Cultural Arts at Bath Spa University, UK. Co-director of screeningsex.com. Series Editor for EUP's Screening Sex book series. And a quiet author of short fiction inc NoSleep Podcast. Personal acc.

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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 6h
Thrilled that my new short story You Are Here is coming out with London Fog Literary. Small indie presses, driven by passion and often for little reward, are the beating heart of indie publishing. There's nothing quite like being supported by a team that really cares about it's writers. #BookSky
londonfoglit.com
London Fog Literary
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Saga Press Books @sagapressbooks.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Not every silent night is a holy one. ❄️👻 Happy publication day to Silent Nightmares, a chilling new anthology that resurrects the Victorian tradition of sharing ghost stories during the darkest nights of the year.
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Cynthia Pelayo @cynthiapelayo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Some numbers - 347 early reviews on Netgalley 256 early ratings on Goodreads 10,043 want to read on Goodreads 18 authors, including the intro, and all from across Latin America with something that continues to haunt us from home. Less than a week now. www.simonandschuster.com/books/Someth...
simonandschuster.com
Something Followed Us Home
“Insightful, humane, and original, Something Followed Us Home features the most exciting voices in dark fiction today and is a must read for any we...
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Nefarious Bat Press @nefariousbatpress.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Reader reviews are our lifeblood, as an indie press So: if you've read one of our books - any chance we might persuade you to post a review? You can even leave one on our website... We'd be very, very grateful ❤️🦇
payhip.com
Nefarious Bat Press
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
What a fab reading experience this was, as I found myself pausing, rereading ’Salem’s Lot, picked Monsters back up, and then put it down again to read Carrie (for the first time). A wonderfully rewarding reading experience. High, high recommend. Thanks @carolinebicks.bsky.social
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Dr Jen Baker @jendeavour.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Coming soon...
Front cover for New Directions in the Ghost  Story Vol. 2, the image is a c19th illustration of a group gathered around the fire while an "old wife" tells them a story.
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Have just sent a proposal to a publisher of fiction anthologies that I love in the hope of contributing a collection that others may love too. The wait begins...
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Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 08/01/2026
If you’re in Minneapolis and need a place to just BE right now, Big Hill Books and Birchbark Books & Native Arts are both open and ready to welcome you with open arms.
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
As always, and one of my favourite parts of Christmastime, a fab little haul to take me into the New Year.
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darkwinterlitmag @darkwinterlitmag.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
DarkWinter Press is thrilled to announce the release of The Wreckhouse, a short story collection by Christopher Butt! See below for details and how to purchase this awesome book in paperback or e-version for Kindle! www.darkwinterlit.com/post/darkwin...
darkwinterlit.com
DarkWinter Press New Release: The Wreckhouse by Christopher Butt!
DarkWinter Press is thrilled to announce our latest release, the short story collection The Wreckhouse by Christopher Butt!
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
What an absolute joy listening to the BBC Radio 4 Ghost Stories for Christmas with the Symphony Orchestra and getting a wonderful original from @classicghost.bsky.social Tony Walker. Proper treat!
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Mankiewicz/Rod Serling's Carol for Another Christmas (1964) is a remarkable take on the Dickens fave. Damning of how American politics uses warmongering, conflict and poverty to hold onto power. Not surprised it doesn't get dusted off every Dec. youtu.be/QGaWta4dM44?...
youtu.be
Carol for Another Christmas | Rod Serling | TV Christmas Movie
YouTube video by Classic Hollywood Movies
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Linda Dunn @dunn4authors.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
1. Books are easy to wrap. 2. Books don’t need batteries. 3. Books don’t hurt when you step on them in the middle of the night. 4. Books never come in the wrong color or size. 5. Books never need ironing. 6. Books don’t need to be assembled before being given.
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Jim'll Paint It @sirpaintalot.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Heroes of Great Britain advent calendar - door 10
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C. Robert Cargill @crobertcargill.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
BEYOND TOMORROW (aka BEYOND CHRISTMAS) 1940. Three wealthy, lonely, and kindly old men befriend two young people in NYC on Christmas Eve. After becoming fast friends, the three men die in a plane crash and use their last remaining time on Earth trying to help their new friends. Fucking ADORABLE.
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Sarah Coomer @sarahcoomer.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Spooky Advent Day 6: The Old Nurse’s Story by Elizabeth Gaskell. A proper wintry chiller of a ghost story featuring various really horrible people.
A black and white illustration of a small girl in ragged 18th century dress. Her feet are bare and she has white blonde hair. She's looking at the viewer and appears to be approaching. In the background a woman in a dark dress lurks under a tree (it's supposed to be a holly tree though you can't really tell from the picture). It's snowing.
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Sarah Coomer @sarahcoomer.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
The big thing I did this year and haven't been able to say much about up until now is that I was SOMEHOW asked to illustrate the new Folio Society edition of A Christmas Carol, introduced by Simon Callow. Bit of a dream job. www.foliosociety.com/uk/a-christm...
Limited edition of the Folio Society's A Christmas Carol, illustrated by me. It's bound in red leather with embossed gold wreath and lettering, and the box is lined by and illustration of a snowy night time Dickensian city scene. Surrounded by stuff on my desk (pens, glasses, glue etc).The standard edition of  the Folio Society's A Christmas Carol illustrated by me. The book itself featured a view of Scrooge in a long black coat with a top hat and red scarf from the back, surveying the snowy London skyline. The slip case is green and has vignettes of relevent scenes and motifs in the style of Georgian wallpaper. One of the vignettes is a circular cut out, so when the book is in the slipcase you can see Scrooge's head through it. Surrounded by the loads of rubbish I have on my desk.An illustration from the first stave of A Christmas Carol. Scrogge is sat by his fire eating his gruel when across his large but shabby drawing room, Marley's ghost appears.An illustration of the fourth stave, featuring Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas yet to come (who is a Victorian widow in high mourning, completely draped and almost invisible in black net and bombazine). They are in a graveyard, which is based largely on St Cuthbert's Kirkyard in Edinburgh. She points to his grave, and he looks at it in horror. There is a smaller gravestone to his right, capped with snow which features a skull in bas relief and the words 'MOMENTO MORI' in a motto scroll over the top. The moon shines from an Atkinson Grimshaw-esque greenish winter sky, illuminating the dome of St Paul's Cathedral.
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Eric LaRocca @ericlarocca.com · 25/10/2025
The Guardian asked me and a bunch of amazing horror authors about the stories that scared us the most. I love any opportunity I’m able to talk about THE AUCTIONEER by Joan Samson. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
theguardian.com
‘It’s insanely sinister’: horror writers on the scariest stories they’ve ever read
Bloodthirsty ghosts, sadistic supercomputers, creepy childhood games ... Mariana Enríquez, Paul Tremblay, Daisy Johnson and others on the tales that kept them up at night
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Dead Ink Books @deadinkbooks.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Wouldst thou step across the threshold, and dwell where walls do whisper and shadows keep their counsel? These pages do not comfort. Ten voices, dark and diabolical, do bid thee enter… and once thou art inside, thou shalt not depart unchanged. deadinkbooks.com/product/unqu...
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Little Ghosts Books @littleghostsbooks.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Hey @canconsffh.bsky.social pals- We have something extra special for you this weekend! Wet Screams, our monstrously erotic anthology, doesn’t drop until Nov.1st… HOWEVER we have pre-release copies sliding their way onto our table in Ottawa! Come by and cozy up with this in your hotel room. 😈🔥💦🥵
Wet Screams: A Monsterfucker Anthology edited by Mindy Rose & Chris Krawczyk. 

Test the boundaries between your most lurid nightmares and your wettest dreams with twenty new stories of paranormal romance. Gargoyles spring to life, creatures emerge from the depths of the forests to claim you, and your television will be touching your dial in this inclusive collection that blends romance and horror to get hearts pounding. You may need to wipe your brow (or change your sheets) after giving yourself to dragons, tentacles, ghosts & more...

This anthology includes first time authors and LGBTQA+ representation.

Monster Erotica from...

Kris Morra, Verna Lorne, Lena Moth, Tanya Pond, Cultivator Space, Grant Lange, Ramses Wolfe, Kari Kephali, Morgan Gage, D.O. Rackham, Lee Ohlson, Alex Appleton, Tristan Marlowe, Shannon Riley, Briar Ripley Page, Michael Louis Dixon, Bex Newton & Elle Waters, Megan Bontrager, Haven Valentin, LH O'Donoghue
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Alex Davis @alexdavis1981.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
Kicking off this November, I'll be taking a look at the world of WRITING SHORT STORIES for four weeks - and it's all happening online, so you can join us from anywhere! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/writing-sh... #shortstories #shortstory #writing #writers #authors #fiction
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
Hurrah! Finally... the finest bok club is back ⬇️
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Such a great idea but a missed opportunity. Rich pickings from Kid A and Amnesiac as a score but instead it played out like random jukebox cinema. Desperately wanted to love this being a big fan of both. Oh well, got to support indie cinema in the meantime.
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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
Hey, the ebook of Devil is only $2.99 for a limited time! It’s a Stoker and Shirley Jackson winner and nominee for a bunch of cool stuff, but I know that’s not enough to convince folks, so here are some 1-star reviews. Hope they help. Have an awesome day! www.amazon.com/Devil-Takes-...
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
The Leftovers The Outsider Channel Zero - Candle Cove
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
Might not be your typical choice for a holiday read on the shores of Lake Garda but hey, horror is for all seasons. And what a belting opener! Thanks @johnlangan.bsky.social
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
I need a good audio book recommendation... something that was a surprise, a shocker, a treat. Have recently enjoyed @briankeene.bsky.social, @pfracassi.bsky.social, @claymcleod.bsky.social, @ronaldmalfi.bsky.social so if you have a suggestion of something that reeeeally works on audio, send it on!
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
Absolute first rate gig last night watching #Mclusky at the Electric in Bristol.
Post-hardcore Welsh band Mclusky playing very, very loudly live on stage in Bristol, UK.
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
I love it when a book has you in the first couple of pages. Looking forward to what's to come @lphernandez.bsky.social !
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The Book of Darkness & Light @tbodal.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
OUR NEXT ONLINE EVENT: Join us Weds 18 June for a live-streamed performance of two original short ghost stories 'Girl, Dancing' and 'Plagued'. The event is Pay What You Feel. Tickets at 2ghoststories.eventbrite.com
2ghoststories.eventbrite.com
Two Ghost Stories - a live-streamed event
Join Adam Z. Robinson for two live-streamed original ghost stories - 'Girl, Dancing' and 'Plagued'
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Wonderful to see Carys Davies' fab book Clear win the Odaatje prize. Stunning stuff.
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The Ghost Story Book Club @ghoststorybookclub.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
In S2 E8, recorded in 2021, I was joined by writer and academic @bronteschiltz.bsky.social and we discussed Television Ghost Stories. Do you have any favourites? Listen and subscribe to The Ghost Story Book Club wherever you get your podcasts 👻 open.spotify.com/episode/7BpN...
Image from Ghostwatch: Three presenters look at the camera with screens in the background with the show's title onA man holds an ice cube in front of a blindfolded womanPoster for The Stone Tape. A woman looks seriously at us.A ghoulish, white face with wispy hair and a wide-open mouth. A death mask.
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Dr Diane A Rodgers @dianearodgers.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Woo! NIGEL KNEALE AND HORROR just arrived, exciting to see my chapter! And I now have a pile of actual things that have my work in! It still feels early days for me as a researcher, so this is a nice reminder that I have Done Some Stuff that's out in the world. And I work with some amazing folk!
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Wild Hunt Books @wildhuntbooks.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Why should you buy direct from an independent publisher? - Higher royalties (we don't have to give a 50-60% discount to retailers) - Paid right away (otherwise we wait 60-90 days for payment from retailers) - You get a groovy bookmark with your book post! (in the UK at least) - We pay our taxes
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Fab weekend on a self-directed collaborative writing retreat in the Cotswolds with my brother, working on an exciting horror project. Ended with a first draft of the first short story, which felt great.
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Jeremy Whitley @jeremywhitley.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Hey people, I need help. I am looking for an authenticity reader to help with a comic that involves a teenage girl with a prosthetic leg. The ideal reader would: 1) regularly use a prosthesis 2) be female and at moderately concerned with fashion 3) be South Asian/Indian-American. Any recs?
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Tenebrous Press @tenebrouspress.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
We 🖤 the crass degenerates over at @deadlanguagespod.bsky.social We always love to check out @scaresshapedus.bsky.social And @talkscaredpod.bsky.social is the big-gun go-to. Who are some other podcasts currently in production that focus on Horror WRITERS? Sound off, we wanna know!
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The Folklore Podcast @folklorepod.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
It is #womeninhorrormonth Help me to shine a light on the amazing women and female-identifying authors writing in the horror genre... Are you one? Do you have a recommendation for one? Get in touch with me and let's celebrate the genre. The podcast is open for reviews, features and more.
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Reeeeally trying to take my time reading @lucyrosecreates.bsky.social's The Lamb as I know when I finish it I'll be desperate to find something as exquisitely dark and beautifully written (and will probably fail). Recommendations would be very welcome!
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Very pleased with my latest for this weekend's #Frome #WindowWanderland
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Kit de Waal @kitdewaal.com · 09/02/2025
The Hosking Houses Trust supports women writers, artists and creative practitioners, usually over the age of 40 to develop their work through short-term residencies at Church Cottage nr Stratford-upon-Avon. Details in link. Please share :) hoskinghouses.org.uk
18th century cottage in England, whitewashed, roses round the door
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Gemma Amor @manylittlewords.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
I CAN FINALLY SHARE THE MOST GORGEOUS BOOK COVER REVEAL ARGH! I am BESOTTED 😍 ROOTS OF MY FEARS, an anthology of ancestral horror stories edited by me. Featuring: Onoh, Iglesias, Mohamed, Campbell, Piper AND MORE! Full TOC in next post. Out September, Titan. Cover: Julia Lloyd. shorturl.at/AzMj8
Cover reveal for ROOTS OF MY FEARS edited by Gemma Amor. Shows a rustic style green tree with spreading branches and roots against a black background with a red beating heart forming the trunk, wrapped with banners reading Gabino Iglesias, Nuzo Onoh, Hailey Piper, Premee Mohamed, Ramsey Campbell.
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Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Hello, all. Sorry for the delay in updating you on the reopening of the Bristol Short Story Prize (bssp.blogs.bristol.ac.uk). Our university finance team needs time to process the entry fees received before reopening, so the prize will reopen from 00:00 to 23:59 BST on Wednesday 5 Feb! Get in!
bssp.blogs.bristol.ac.uk
Bristol Short Story Prize
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The NoSleep Podcast @thenosleeppodcast.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
New Episode S22E06 Will you endure the fear long enough to make it out? Or will you remain trapped with us forever? Stories ✍️ Matthew Owen Jones, Manen Lyset, Darren Kerr, Venita Bonds, & EV Deal 🎧 www.thenosleeppodcast.com/episodes/s22... @hasaniwalker.bsky.social @brandonboone.bsky.social
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Absolutely delighted to have written my first piece for @thenosleeppodcast.bsky.social Let me know what you think ⬇️
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
New kitchen, new jump scare from George 😐
In the corner of a kitchen is a grey fridge with a microwave on top and on top of that a small digital radio. On top of the radio are three tiny ghosts. More importantly is that to the left of this is a long dark grey-blue kitchen cupboard fitted to the wall. Beneath the cupboard is a coffee machine. Sitting on top of the cupboard and therefore just below the ceiling you can make out the face of George the cat. A damn handsome cat who enjoys silently occupying high places.
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
You'll be glad to know that after a bit of a tidy up in the writing shed I was finally able to reunite Edgar with his leg that had been missing for some time. (Btw now it's reattached he doesn't look nearly as distressed)
A tiny plastic Edgar Allen Poe figure has his arms in the air looking dismayed as he lies on an old green leather topped desk near a keyboard. He is missing a leg but it has been found and is near him ready to be reattached. The desk looks like it could do with a good scrub.
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Bristol Short Story Prize @bristolshortstory.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
GET YOUR SKATES ON! Sometime tomorrow--we hope by 12 UK time--we will reopen the Bristol Short Story Prize for exactly 24 hours, which means you have all day today to pick out a story and dust it off! Full details: bssp.blogs.bristol.ac.uk
media.tenor.com
Tomorrow Annie GIF
ALT: Tomorrow Annie GIF
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Frome Writers' Collective @fromewriters.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
This will be our fifth year of running the Frome Festival Young Writer Competition. We're delighted to have popular children's author and UK Patron of Reading, Joffre White, as our judge again. Entries are welcome from young writers from 11-21 living in or near the BA postcode area. Free entry.
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Darren Kerr @xdkerr.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Not sure why this wine is shocked that I'm opening it on a Saturday night...
Wine has speckled the inside of a bottle top leaving what looks like a surprised face.
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