Stitched Lips: An Anthology of Horror from Silenced Voices edited by Ken MacGregor

It is rare to run across a collection of stories that both stands out from the crowd and highlights the sorts of authors who are often overlooked. Stitched Lips manages that delicate balance in spades! A phenomenal collection of stories well worth your attention!

James A. Moore, author of the Seven Forges series of books and co- editor of The Twisted Book of Shadows

At the start of the year I was contacted by Ken MacGregor and Linda Nagle the editors  behind  Stitched Lips: An Anthology of Horror from Silenced Voices.  It was an honour to be considered to writer the introduction, and I gladly accepted the opportunity to provide and introduction for a charity anthology.  It was only when I sat down to write the introduction that I was hit by a massive dose of imposter syndrome, and thoughts of why am I writing an introduction to an anthology for silenced voices authors?  

It took a lot soul searching, but after a while I was sure I had came up with an angle that was respectful and in tone with the contents of the anthology.  I know get the feeling of dread authors get when submitting work, after sending a rough draft to Linda to ensure i wasn't going in a direction that they didn't want, I was wracked with, thoughts of "Oh my God, they are going to hate it".  Thankfully Linda didn't and here we are with the book now out in the wild world.  It's a fantastic anthology featuring authors who I would never in a million years have dreamed of sharing a table of contents with.  

R.L. Meza, Sarah Hans, Linda Nagle, Lucy A. Snyder, Lee Murray, Z.Z. Claybourne, Joanna Koch, Gabino Iglesias, Hailey Piper, Patty Templeton, Michael Paul Gonzalez bring you some of the most horrifying tales available today. ​

The line up is so great this would be a must buy, but add in the fact that proceeds are going to a very worthy cause, you really need to go and pick up a copy now.  

In a moment of arrogance on my part I have included a small excerpt from my introduction, below 

In those days, my attitude came purely from a place of ignorance and isolation from people who weren't carbon copies of me. When I went to university, I grew, and started the journey of change into the person I am today. 

At university, I met and people from all walks of life. As I became friends with more and more diverse people, my attitudes changed. I realised that things like skin colour, sexuality, race, religion, or disabilities were not things that I should judge people on, those things while they define the individual, they do not define their worth, relevance or their right to be heard and represented as equals.  

Those old attitudes of mine were not only harmful, dangerous and despicable, but they prevented me from experiencing things that would only bring me joy. In the four years of being a student, I went from brutish oaf to active ally of such things as the LGBTQ society the Society  Black Students.  

I am not that man anymore, to paraphrase the songwriter Jason Isbell, "There's a man who walks beside me, It is who I used to be, and I wonder if you see him and confuse him with me." The teenage me is still there; he always will be; I can't change my past; he sits there on my shoulder each day to remind me of the man I am now. I will carry the shame of who I was with me to the grave. 

Tired of the same old thing? So much of we read is homogenous, Far too often, the people whose voices we need to hear most are silenced by the louder ones of the majority.

STITCHED LIPS pushes back on that. Within these pages, you'll find eleven staggeringly original and well-crafted horror stories, from amazing authors who are People of Color, LGBTQ+ folks, and writers who identify as women. All profits from this anthology will be donated to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization whose goal is the advancement of human rights for all people.

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$13.00
ISBN 97A1715123149
90000
Drama Reset Press
9178173511233451