Ann Arbor Book Festival 2014 with David Hayes and Ken MacGregor

The Ann Arbor Book Festival resurrected its Street Fair, and Doktor Leech braved the blinding sunshine to haunt a table shared by fellow HWA members David Hayes and Ken MacGregor. Hayes, shown here arranging some of his many publications for sale, is perhaps even better known for his contributions to B-grade horror movies, as writer, producer and actor. Check out A Man called Nereus on the istore.

His “splatire” book series blends extreme horror with social commentary. Seriously, they’re smarter than they might first appear, although the covers themselves are pretty awesome. Cannibal Fat Camp, the first in the series, aptly recalls a Garbage Pail Kid and the second Die, You Zombie Crackers! echoes the prolific Goosebumps series. I opted for the deluxe hard bound edition put out by Brian Keene’s Thunderstorm Books White Lightning series. The limited edition is sold out through the publisher but David had a few copies in reserve. Check out his webpage for more details.

Ken MacGregor‘s first collection An Aberrant Mind caught the eye of many passersby at this all-ages bookshow. Kids seemed particularly attracted to the ‘smiling clown’ on the cover, so we became adept at giving the NSFYA (Not Safe for YA or younger) wave. Ken released this new volume at a book launch reading that demonstrated both his twisted sense of humor and fresh take on the horror story.

Doktor Leech sold the last few copies of last year’s anthology, 13 Quick Shivers: from Dailynightmare.com, though they’re still available through Amazon. A second printing will be available in time for the second annual anthology’s launch.

We anticipate being back for Ann Arbor Book Festival 2015 armed with more books hot off the presses– and lots of sunscreen.