Провиденсовские tutti quanti: Ч. 10 (Post-NecronomiCon: the Grand Emporium of Weird; En)

It’s well known that one of the most essential parts of the NecronomiCon convention is its book/memorabilia fair, the Grand Emporium of Weird: I was looking forward to attending it eagerly as I already left space in my suitcase for all the good stuff I was about to find. And oh boy, was I not disappointed: the fair exceeded my wildest expectations!

First of all, I met the legendary Derrick Hussey, the best ever publisher of “Hippocampus Press”, and the number of remarkable new editions that he presented, was grand:

• academic Lovecraftiana with the outstanding “Lovecraft Annual” edited by S.T., and “Lovecraftian Proceedings”, which holds a special place in my heart;

• the Weird fiction, classical and new, from Arthur Machen to John Langan (“Sephira and other betrayals”) and Joshi’s journal of Weird poetry and fiction “Penumbra,” and many, many more.

Then, I was honoured to meet the renowned American writer of Weird fiction, Darrell Schweitzer, who is a true giant of the field: he is a prosaic, an essayist, a literary critic, a former editor of the legendary “Weird Tales” magazine, and a four-time World Fantasy Award winner. His take on the Cthulhu Mythos lore was combined with the most exquisite mythopoeic, and I still find it astonishing that I was so extremely lucky as to see him at the convention. I bought “That is Not Dead: Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos Through the Centuries ” (PC Publishing, 2015), an anthology of original horror short stories edited by him, and he was so kind and signed my copy.

Then, I purchased two collections of Northern New England Gothic stories, “Horror Guide to Northern New England: Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont” by David and Scott T. Goudsward (Post Mortem Press, 201 7) and “Horror Guide to Massachusetts” by the same authors (Post Mortem Press, 2014), and the descriptions of both books look more than promising, as a horror map to geographical locations, real and fictional, utilised in horror tales and films set in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Overall, it was a unique experience, and my only wish is to make it even longer.