This week saw the unveiling of the 2021 Splatterpunk Awards ballot. Now, this is an award I’ve been paying close attention to since its inception – in fact, it’s an annual tradition of mine to post a review of every single finalist – so naturally, the announcement grabbed my attention.
A few thoughts on this year’s finalists:
- Each category has seven titles, rather than the traditional five. Looks like reviewing them will take more time than usual this year…
- A whole lot of Kristopher Triana: he has two novels, one collection, and at least one of the anthologies has a short story by him. But hey, I’m not complaining – I’ve found him one of the strongest writers in the extreme horror field.
- Some other familiar names from past iterations: Matt Shaw, Kenzie Jennings, Christine Morgan, Ryan Harding, Lucas Mangum… but also some newcomers. Ross Jeffrey makes his debut as a Splatterpunk Award-nominated writer with both a novel and a novella.
Full ballot below the fold:
BEST NOVEL
1. Pandemonium by Ryan Harding and Lucas Mangum (Death’s Head Press)
2. Tome by Ross Jeffery (The Writing Collective)
3. Dust by Chris Miller (Death’s Head Press)
4. Slaughter Box by Carver Pike (Self-Published)
5. Gone To See The River Man by Kristopher Triana (Cemetery Dance Publications)
6. They All Died Screaming by Kristopher Triana (Blood Bound Books)
7. The Magpie Coffin by Wile E. Young (Death’s Head Press)
BEST NOVELLA
1. The Slob by Aron Beauregard (Self-Published)
2. Bella’s Boys by Thomas R. Clark (Stitched Smile Publications)
3. Juniper by Ross Jeffery (The Writing Collective)
4. Red Station by Kenzie Jennings (Death’s Head Press)
5. True Crime by Samantha Kolesnik (Grindhouse Press)
6. The Night Silver River Run Red by Christine Morgan (Death’s Head Press)
7. How Much 2 by Matt Shaw (Self-Published)
BEST SHORT STORY
1. “The Incident at Barrow Farm” by M. Ennenbach (from Cerberus Rising, Self-Published)
2. “Full Moon Shindig” by Patrick C. Harrison III (from Visceral: Collected Flesh, Death’s Head Press)
3. “Phylum” by Tom Over (from The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces, NihilismRevised)
4. “Footsteps” by Janine Pipe (from Diabolica Britannica, Keith Anthony Baird)
5. “Next In Line” by Susan Snyder (from Devour the Earth, Madness Heart Press)
6. “My Body” by Wesley Southard (from Midnight In the Pentagram, Silver Shamrock Publishing)
7. “The God In The Hills” by Jon Steffens (from The God In the Hills, Filthy Loot Press)
BEST COLLECTION
1. War of Dictates by John Baltisberger (Death’s Head Press)
2. Cerberus Rising by M. Ennenbach, Chris Miller and Patrick C. Harrison III (Self-Published)
3. The Essential Sick Stuff by Ronald Kelly (Silver Shamrock Publishing)
4. Rhapsody In Red by Peter Molnar (Stitched Smile Publications)
5. Visceral: Collected Flesh by Christine Morgan and Patrick C. Harrison III (Death’s Head Press)
6. The Comfort Zone and Other Safe Spaces by Tom Over (NihilismRevised)
7. Blood Relations by Kristopher Triana (Grindhouse Press)
BEST ANTHOLOGY
1. Chew On This edited by Robert Essig (Blood Bound Books)
2. Brewtality edited by K. Trap Jones (The Evil Cookie Publishing)
3. Welcome To the Splatter Club edited by K. Trap Jones (Blood Bound Books)
4. Worst Laid Plans edited by Samantha Kolesnik (Grindhouse Press)
5. Crash Code edited by Quinn Parker (Blood Bound Books)
6. If I Die Before I Wake Vol. 3: Tales of Deadly Women and Retribution edited by R.E. Sargent and Steven Pajak (Sinister Smile Press)
7. Psi-Wars: Classified Cases of Psychic Phenomena edited by Joshua Viola (Hex Publishers)
Doris V. Sutherland 