Summer Thunder Announced for Cemetery Dance Anniversary Anthology

Summer Thunder has just been announced as a brand-new Stephen King short story, and it’s already generating excitement among King fans and collectors. The story is set to appear in Turn Down the Lights, a special anthology edited by Richard Chizmar and published by Cemetery Dance to celebrate the magazine’s 25th anniversary. For anyone who enjoys tracking Stephen King’s latest publications, Summer Thunder is shaping up to be one of the most interesting upcoming releases on the horizon.

What We Know About Summer Thunder

At the moment, details about Summer Thunder are limited, but the announcement alone is enough to get collectors talking. The story will be featured alongside original works from an impressive lineup of authors, including Clive Barker, Peter Straub, Jack Ketchum, Bentley Little, Norman Partridge, and several other well-known names in horror fiction.

Why Stephen King Collectors Should Pay Attention

One reason Summer Thunder is attracting so much interest is that original Stephen King short fiction doesn’t appear every day. Magazine and anthology appearances have always been a popular area of collecting, especially when they feature previously unpublished material. With Turn Down the Lights being released as both a trade hardcover and special collector editions, this is a publication many King fans will want to keep on their radar.

For collectors who enjoy owning every Stephen King appearance, Summer Thunder looks like a release worth watching closely. Whether you’re a fan of King’s short stories or simply enjoy tracking down new additions to his bibliography, this upcoming anthology is already looking like a must-have item for the collection.

Turn Down the Lights

Editor: Richard Chizmar
Page Count: 176 (trade hardcover); 200 (signed editions)
Pub. Date: December 2013 (trade hardcover); 2014 (signed editions)
ISBN: 978-1-58767-437-2
Status: Forthcoming: At the Printer Now!

Featuring original short stories by Stephen King, Norman Partridge, Jack Ketchum, Brian James Freeman, Bentley Little, Ed Gorman, Ronald Kelly, Steve Rasnic Tem, Clive Barker, and Peter Straub!

Artist Edition and Lettered Edition feature artwork by Mark Geyer, Steven C. Gilberts, Will Renfro, GAK, Erin S. Wells, Keith Minnion, Jill Bauman, Glenn Chadbourne, Chad Savage, and Alan M. Clark!

Turn Down the Lights
edited by Richard Chizmar

Update for Collectors:
To be published in three states including a trade hardcover for general readers (shipping in December) and two special hardcover editions for serious collectors (shipping in 2014), but there are no other versions planned at this time!

About the Book:
Free US ShippingIt was December 1988: George Bush had just defeated Michael Dukakis in the Presidential Election. Pitcher Orel Hershiser and the Los Angeles Dodgers had beaten the Oakland A’s in five games to win the World Series. People were waiting in line at movie theaters to watch Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. Tom Clancy’s The Cardinal of the Kremlin and Anne Rice’s The Queen of the Damned were atop the bestseller lists. The most acclaimed genre books of the year were Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs and Peter Straub’s Koko.

And twenty-two year old college student Richard Chizmar had just published the premiere issue of a horror magazine named Cemetery Dance.

Twenty-five years later, there have been seventy issues of Cemetery Dance magazine. There have been more than 275 signed Limited Edition hardcovers in the Cemetery Dance book line. There have been awards including the World Fantasy Award, the International Horror Critics Guild Award, and the HWA Board of Trustees Excellence in Specialty Press Publishing Award, as well as nominations for the British Fantasy Award, the American Horror Award, and the Bram Stoker Award, just to name a few.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of that premiere issue of Cemetery Dance, we’re proud to announce Turn Down the Lights, an anthology of authors who helped make the magazine what it is today. These original horror stories by Stephen King, Norman Partridge, Jack Ketchum, Brian James Freeman, Bentley Little, Ed Gorman, Ronald Kelly, Steve Rasnic Tem, Clive Barker, and Peter Straub capture the genuine love of the genre that pushes Cemetery Dance Publications forward year after year.

Now, turn down the lights, flip the page, take my hand, and start the dance…

Table of Contents:
“Turn Down the Lights…” an introduction by Richard Chizmar
“Summer Thunder” by Stephen King
“Incarnadine” by Norman Partridge
“The Western Dead” by Jack Ketchum
“An Instant Eternity” by Brian James Freeman
“In the Room” by Bentley Little
“Flying Solo” by Ed Gorman
“The Outhouse” by Ronald Kelly
“Lookie Loo” by Steve Rasnic Tem
“Dollie” by Clive Barker
“The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero” by Peter Straub
Afterword by Thomas F. Monteleone

Artists for the Artist Edition and Lettered Edition:
“Summer Thunder” by Stephen King — Mark Geyer
“Incarnadine” by Norman Partridge — Steven C. Gilberts
“The Western Dead” by Jack Ketchum — Will Renfro
“An Instant Eternity” by Brian James Freeman — GAK
“In the Room” by Bentley Little — Erin S. Wells
“Flying Solo” by Ed Gorman — Keith Minnion
“The Outhouse” by Ronald Kelly — Jill Bauman
“Lookie Loo” by Steve Rasnic Tem — Glenn Chadbourne
“Dollie” by Clive Barker — Chad Savage
“The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero” by Peter Straub — Alan M. Clark