HORNS by Joe Hill (William Morrow)

ROT AND RUIN by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster)

DEAD LOVE by Linda Watanabe McFerrin (Stone Bridge Press)

APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD by Joe McKinney (Pinnacle)

DWELLER by Jeff Strand (Leisure/Dark Regions Press)

A DARK MATTER by Peter Straub (DoubleDay)

BLACK AND ORANGE by Benjamin Kane Ethridge (Bad Moon Books)

A BOOK OF TONGUES by Gemma Files (Chizine Publications)

CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES by Lisa Morton (Gray Friar Press)

SPELLBENT by Lucy Snyder (Del Rey)

THE PAINTED DARKNESS by Brian James Freeman (Cemetery Dance)

DISSOLUTION by Lisa Mannetti (Deathwatch)

MONSTERS AMONG US by Kirstyn McDermott (Macabre: A Journey through Australia’s Darkest Fears)

THE SAMHANACH by Lisa Morton (Bad Moon Books)

INVISIBLE FENCES by Norman Prentiss (Cemetery Dance)

RETURN TO MARIABRONN by Gary Braunbeck (Haunted Legends)

THE FOLDING MAN by Joe R. Lansdale (Haunted Legends)

1925: A FALL RIVER HALLOWEEN by Lisa Mannetti (Shroud Magazine #10)

IN THE MIDDLE OF POPLAR STREET by Nate Southard (Dead Set: A Zombie Anthology)

FINAL DRAFT by Mark W. Worthen (Horror Library IV)

DARK FAITH edited by Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon (Apex Publications)

HORROR LIBRARY IV edited by R.J. Cavender and, Boyd E. Harris (Cutting Block Press)

MACABRE: A JOURNEY THROUGH AUSTRALIA’S DARKEST FEARS edited by Angela Challis and Marty Young (Brimstone Press)

HAUNTED LEGENDS edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas (Tor)

THE NEW DEAD edited by Christopher Golden (St. Martin’s Griffin)

OCCULTATION by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books)

by Laird Barron (Night Shade Books) BLOOD AND GRISTLE by Michael Louis Calvillo (Bad Moon Books)

FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King (Simon and Schuster)

THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY by Stephen Graham Jones (Prime Books)

A HOST OF SHADOWS by Harry Shannon (Dark Regions Press)

TO EACH THEIR DARKNESS by Gary A. Braunbeck (Apex Publications)

THE CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE HUMAN RACE by Thomas Ligotti (Hippocampus Press)

WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE by Jonathan Maberry and Janice Gable Bashman (Citadel)

LISTEN TO THE ECHOES: THE RAY BRADBURY INTERVIEWS by Sam Weller (Melville House Publications)

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Weird horror fiction is again enjoying a strong presence on the Stoker Award ballots. Finalists for each category were announced earlier this week. Thomas Ligotti and Laird Barron head up the purely weird, for superior achievements in non-fiction and short story collections, respectively.Laird Barron's nightmare stirring collection, Occultation reviewed last year ), is a strong contender amid fierce competition. It's battling Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars , among others. Another Barron tale shows up in, edited by Ellen Datlow and Nick Mamatas, and a finalist for superior anthology.Thomas Ligotti's pessimistic assessment of human existence, The Conspiracy Against the Human Race reviewed at length here ), faces three other works in a death match. This nomination and potential win is near perfect timing for the book, which sold out its first edition in late 2010.is due for a paperback re-release by Hippocampus Press later this spring. Ligotti holds the possible advantage of being a previous Stoker winner, with numerous past nominations and several outright wins, thanks toin 1996 andin 2002.Voting for the awards should conclude by late March. Here's a full list of the finalists:Superior Achievement in a NOVEL:Superior Achievement in a FIRST NOVEL:Superior Achievement in LONG FICTION:Superior Achievement in SHORT FICTION:Superior Achievement in an ANTHOLOGY:Superior Achievement in a COLLECTION:Superior Achievement in NONFICTION:-Grim Blogger