Burnt Tongues: An Anthology of Transgressive Short Stories - Softcover

Chuck Palahniuk; Dennis Widmyer; Richard Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 178329552X ISBN 13: 9781783295524

Publisher: Titan Books, 2014

Synopsis

Transgressive fiction authors write stories some are afraid to tell. Stories with taboo subjects, unique voices, shocking images nothing safe or dry.

Burnt Tongues is a collection of transgressive stories hand-selected by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, as the best of The Cult Workshop, his official fan website, selected by a rigorous nomination and vetting process.

These stories run the gamut from horrific and fantastic to humorous and touching, but each leaves a lasting impression.

Some may say even a scar.

About this title

About the Author

Chuck Palahniuk's thirteen novels are the best-selling Fight Club, which was made into a film by David Fincher, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, Choke, which was made into a film by Clark Gregg, Lullaby, Diary, Haunted, Rant, Snuff, Pygmy, Tell-All, Damned, and Doomed. He is also the author of Fugitives and Refugees, a nonfiction profile of Portland, Oregon, published as part of the Crown Journeys series, and the nonfiction collection Stranger Than Fiction. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Richard Thomas is the author of three books--Transubstantiate, Herniated Roots, and Staring into the Abyss. His over 100 publications include Cemetery Dance, PANK, Gargoyle, Weird Fiction Review, Midwestern Gothic, Arcadia, Pear Noir!, Chiral Mad 2, and Shivers VI (with Stephen King and Peter Straub). He is also the editor of two anthologies out in 2014: The New Black (Dark House Press) and The Lineup: 25 Provocative Women Writers (Black Lawrence Press). In his spare time he writes for The Nervous Breakdown, LitReactor, and is editor in chief at Dark House Press. For more information visit www.whatdoesnotkillme.com.
Dennis Widmyer is the cofounder of ChuckPalahniuk.net, the official website of Chuck Palahniuk, as well as LitReactor.com, an online magazine, workshop, and educational program. He is also a Los Angeles-based filmmaker with three feature films to his name and a number of shorts, videos, and festival bumpers. For more information visit www.denniswidmyer.com.

Review

This is a book of spores. These stories, you breathe onto the page and they float up into your mucous membranes, their spiky edges lodging characters and voices in your head that shudder to life when you least expect it. Just when you think you’ve closed the book, it opens up all over again, inside you.”

Stephen Graham Jones, author

"Burnt Tongues' 20 stories "are as eclectic as the authors themselves", said Titan Books, which has just acquired the book in the UK, with titles ranging from Zombie Whorehouse to Mind and Soldier."

The Guardian

"Anyone looking for boundary-breaking tales that also pack a haunting, powerful punch will find hours of entertainment here."
Carl Hays, Booklist

Fans of transgressive fiction authors such as Palahniuk will enjoy this selection. . . .”
Brooke Bolton, North Manchester P.L., IN, Library Journal Review

Dark, subversive and disquieting fiction for readers ready to go all the way down.
Kirkus Reviews

Within the covers of this wonderfully disturbing, squirm-inducing collection, you’ll find all the mortifying, self-inflicted scars you go through great pains to hide from even our closest intimates. . . . Sometimes you’ll want to avert your eyes or silently close the book, never to touch it again, but stay with it. There’s real soul and humanity lurking under all the fluids and scars, and you’ll emerge all the better for tackling it head on, albeit in want of a shower or two afterwards.”
Dino Parenti, Pantheon Magazine

The off-the-wall subject matter is balanced well with pathos and compassion, and the end result is a powerful bunch of stories that you won’t soon forget.”
Josh Black, Hellnotes

Edition details

• Publisher: Titan Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 178329552X
• ISBN 13: 9781783295524
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 320