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Call For Proposals

Eldritch: New Critical Developments in the Lovecraftian Mythos

Details

• Genre Fiction and Film Companions Series
• Peter Lang Publishing, Oxford
• Editor: David K. Goodin
• Series Editor: Simon Bacon

We are inviting scholars, authors, and other creatives to submit essays on recent developments in the mythos of cosmic horror developed by H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937), especially with respect to critical engagements with his life and works, but not exclusively.  The short essays would seek to explore the Lovecraftian inspiration and new creative undertakings in these derivative works.  The aim is to show the ongoing influence of Lovecraft.

For example, The Ballad of Black Tom (2016) by Victor LaValle is written from the perspective of a black protagonist who sees Cthulhu as a savior from racist oppression: it is a wry recasting of the Lovecraftian Mythos as a liberation theology for oppressed minorities!  This is the kind of developments we are proposing to explore in this volume.

With the Genre Fiction and Film Companions Series we are seeking short essays (2,500 - 4,500 words) that aim to be descriptive of the Lovecraftian inspiration and new developments in derivative works, seeking to deepen reader appreciation of themes and significance. 

Please submit a short bio / CV and your abstract of 250-300 words (indicate whether you plan on using images), to David K. Goodin ([email protected]) by March 1, 2025.  Following approval from the publisher, contributors will be notified via email with final submission deadlines. 

We are interested in a broad range of voices and are happy to hear from both academic and independent scholars. All essays published are peer reviewed. Authors whose submissions are accepted for publication will be required to secure permissions for any images that are to be reproduced.

A short list of candidates for possible essays is provided below. 

Proposals for other titles are welcome too!

• Film and Film Shorts
  • The Empty Man (2020), Lovecraft inspired film with a Buddhist twist
  • AM1200 (2008), Lovecraftian film short with an Evangelical twist 
  • Haselwurm (2011), Italian horror meets Lovecraft (short film)
  • DemiUrge Emesis (2010), short film with a mummified cat as the protagonist
• Books and TV-adaptions
  • The Ballad of Black Tom (2016) by Victor LaValle, Tordotcom Press
  • Lovecraft Country (2020, HBO) and Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff (2016, Harper Perennial)
  • The Destroyer of Worlds: A Return to Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff (2014, Harper Perennial)
• Graphic Novels
  • The Wake, a Graphic Lovel by Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy
  • Alan Moore’s Trilogy, The Courtyard / Neonomicon / Providence
  • Nameless, the Image Comics limited series by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham
  • Gideon Falls, Image Comics, Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino
• Video Games
  • Dredge (2023), Black Salt Games, a Lovecraftian love story
  • Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (2023), Frogwares
  • Scorn (2022), Ebb Software (video game) – H.R. Giger and H.P. Lovecraft fusion
  • Signalis (2022), Rose-Engine Games – Lovecraft meets cyberpunk
  • World Of Horror (2023), Ysbryd Games – Lovecraft and Japanese manga
  • Moons Of Madness (2019). Funcom – Lovecraft and SciFi
• Music
  • NINGEN ISU, “The Colour out of Space” (人間椅子 / 宇宙からの色), Japanese Metal
  • Electric Wizard, “Dunwich,” British Stoner Metal
  • Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, “Goin’ down to Dunwich,” Canadian Folk-Punk Metal
  • Metallica, “The Thing That Should Not Be”
  • Portal, “Swarth,” Australian Death Metal
  • Shub-Niggurath, “Incipit Tragaedia,” Dark Jazz

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