02/16/23-Horror Novel Reviews says, "After I read the first four pages in Bad Chili, I found myself laughing so hard that I literally started crying and then got stomach cramps." People Magazine says it "packs one hell of a wallop." The Chicago Tribune describes it as "Colorful ... lunatic ... like a twister" while the New York Times Book Review says it's "Funny ... flashy ... true art." Stephen Graham Jones in The Huffington Post includes it among twenty books that are as great today as they were in the '90s; A.J. Devlin in The Strand Magazine declares it one of the top five mytery-comedy novels of all time; Bookgasm implores you, "If you haven't met Hap and Leonard yet, please get to it." So ... get to it! Grab your copy of Champion Joe's Bad Chili!

02/16/23-Champion Joe says, "Pandi Press, home to some of my backlist, will release its new title by my buddy Del Howison in April. Be on the lookout. The Survival of Margaret Thomas." Author James Sallis adds, "Memories are what we take with us, and what we leave behind. As Americans, we all carry, like memories we can't shake off, rich veins of the frontier myths that gave birth to our literature. Del Howison mines these wonderfully."

02/16/23-Champion Joe says,
Writers these days run in fear. I get questions like: Why do you have black people and gay people in your novels? Answer, because there are black people and gay people. Why do you have beautiful young women, and then have an older woman who is just described as older. Answer, people can be ugly, beautiful or plain. Sometimes older women in my novels are beautiful, Brett Sawyer for one. Books and characters vary. Characters perceptions vary. Guys are ugly in my books — handsome, good, evil, likeable, unlikable, funny, and not so funny. Same for women. Like real life.

Why do you have male characters notice attractive women and think sexual thoughts?
Answer: Biology. Women also notice attractive men in my books and have sexual thoughts. We are not without sexual thoughts and attraction. The crime is when that's all a person notices, and makes people sex objects. Sometimes, however, I'm writing about people who do just that. But people notice each other and biology is a factor. We are usually first attracted to someone due to appearance. Not everyone is attracted to the same kind of appearance. And sometimes their appearance doesn't matter. You just click. But no sexual attraction doesn't seem likely for most people in the world. I had a woman say to me once that when she was younger she hated when men whistled at her, and believe me, I can understand that. But she said that now that she was older she hated that they didn't. I can see that too.

Why do you have black characters in your books and gay characters since you are not black or gay?
Because I don't believe in segregated fiction where one group only writes about their group and no one can make an appearance that isn't of your group. That's just stupid. We are all humans and we need to try and know one another. I can get it wrong, but I'm trying to get it right. Write about white people if you like, black, gay, animals, what have you. Writers shouldn't be subject to that kind of thinking, and the fact people want some form of segregated fiction isn't good for any of us. We should celebrate our connections, and not forget there are those who are less celebrated than they ought to be. But if you only want to write about one group, go for it. Just don't tell me that I have to.

If you write about characters unlike you, not of your race or sexual persuasion, then you hear that you shouldn't. You don't write about them, then you hear, why aren't you including them in your work?

I get shit from those who think I'm Woke, and from those who think I'm not.

I'm not a fan of Woke due to the bully aspect. I'm not a fan of the rabidly anti-Woke for the same reason. Neither group gets to tell me what I think or how I think. I think everyone deserves a fair shake.

Why did you make a minority a villain?
Answer, same reason I made a non-minority a villain. Villains come in all colors, sexual orientation, and political persuasion. It's real life, I choose my good people on the basis of good, and my bad people on the basis of bad. Fiction reflects this. You don't get a pass for being white, black, gay, or anything else.

Why did you kill the dog in your book?
Because dogs can die.

Why did you let the dog live? That seems so sentimental.
Sometimes in the course of a story I decide they don't need to die. Maybe that is sentimentality, and maybe I pay more attention to story than opinion. I, by the way, am a fanatic lover of dogs, and right by me at this moment is Roo-Roo, our beautiful pit bull. Whoa, is it alright to think Pit Bulls can be beautiful? Or is that a discrimination against Chihuahuas? Who said anything about them? Oh, me.

Cats may die in my novels because they are evil.

Just messing with you. I like cats, too. Mostly. Some of them. I knew a cat once that was okay. I wouldn't turn my back on him, though, because like so many cats he had the soul of a serial killer.

Guarantee you, that will set someone off, even if it is a joke. For some, everything is literal and superficial and there is no nuance.

I can joke. You can joke. I can like your joke or hate it. Same for mine. We don't need police telling writers how to write and what to write about. I like satire and irony, and sometimes people don't understand satire and irony. Whatcha gonna do? Send them to school? Give them CliffsNotes on your work? Send a cat over to stalk them?

So many complaints these days are more about gothcha moments and eat-my-self-righteous-dust than about common sense. And that comes from both directions.

Look. I can stumble with my thoughts and characters, but I'm out here walking. You do you. I'll do me.

02/09/23-Champion Joe says, "I think Hap and Leonard are coming to town soon, in a new book. Stay alert. They bring a lot of oddness and excitement when they arrive. Just a warning. They're coming. Not tomorrow, not this year, but not too far off in the future, along with Jim Bob Luke and Vanilla Ride, and a few more surprises. That is all."

02/02/23-Champion Joe says, "'The Next 60: Where are my Flying Cars?' was written in 2014, and though I wouldn't call it an overly optimist piece, it seems more so after four years of Trump, the orange turd, and a congress that in general is mainly about getting over on the other guy. Still, I am hopeful. This is what I thought in a New Years style piece I wrote for Texas Observer. Ah, nostalgia, and learning that something can go off the rails in no time flat." To read the article, click here.

02/02/23-"If you shoot a man in your living room — even if the man was an intruder, creeping around your house in the middle of the night looking to visit who knows what sort of mayhem upon you and your family; even if your house is located in East Texas, where shooting intruders is considered a God-given right; even if the cops eventually clear your name and the press declares you a hero — you’re still responsible for getting rid of the blood." To read the rest of Josh Rosenblatt's review of the film adaptation of Cold in July, click here.

02/02/23-Back in the nineties, Champion Joe's "The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance" received a Bram Stoker Award and appeared to be the start of a series. But it wasn't. So now we’re taking a time machine back to the original story, involving jobless Plebin Cook, his daughter Jasmine, a used-bookstore owner named Martha, circus dogs, mannequins, and a serial killer, and we’re adding a quirky, short novel, "The Events Concerning Two Stabbed Clowns in a Bloody Bathtub." The novel is wilder than the original tale and answers the question: What did Plebin and the gang do next? Check out The Events Concerning, coming this month from Subterranean Press! Ben A says, "I didn't want it to end." Jim Andrew Clark says, "Made me laugh out loud. I loved every word." Dave Writes and Draws says, "Pick up The Events Concerning. I promise you’ll be entertained."

02/02/23-Publishers look at a lot of things when they decide how to promote the books. A few things you can do to support authors that don't all cost money are:

1. Pre order their books. (okay, this one costs) BUT... If there are early orders, publishers interpret that as excitement and push the book more on the front end. It's a huge help for creators as there is a self fulfilling prophecy that can take place.

2. You can add titles to your "want to read" bookshelf on Goodreads. Same as above. If people are interested in the book, publishers will do more to push it.

3. Good reviews on all platforms are also very helpful. Social proof is a big element for these companies to get behind you.

4. Posting on social media. Publishers love to see tweets, posts, reels etc about the new book. Whether you have read it or not, just knowing people want to gives the book a valuable boost. Tagging the publisher in these posts is even better!!

5. Letting your local library know you would like them to carry the books is another way to support the author.

So that's the flash tutorial on how to support your favorite authors. I hope you will find the time to do one or more of these things. We spend months with the work, so it feels great to see the readers excited to read it. Thank you to everyone who continues to support, discover, recommend and participate in the dialogue on social media.

02/02/23-"Un libro facile da leggere ma difficile da abbandonare, di quelli da tenere a portata di mano per rubare ancora qualche riga di lettura nei tempi morti della giornata." To read the rest of the review of Joe and Kasey's Non aprite quella morta, click here.

01/12/23-Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews says Born for Trouble is "like slipping into a pair of comfortable old shoes, which ... may also happen to be a little bloodstained." Library Journal says, "This is the 20th 'Hap and Leonard' book and it’s just as good and fresh as the first, offering high voltage action mixed with down-home humor." The Houston Chronicle says Champion Joe "possesses a gift for intricate storytelling. This collection is a welcome addition." Ace Atkins says, "Lansdale isn’t just a brilliant storyteller with heart, he’s also funny as hell, with tales of mummified dachshunds, homicidal bookmobiles, and a psychopathic hunt club. [Born for Trouble] is an absolute blast and a gift to all of us devoted fans." Ed Brubaker says, "Joe Lansdale’s Hap and Leonard stories are right up there with Richard Stark’s Parker books to me ... Born for Trouble is yet another masterclass in how it’s done." Dave Writes and Draws says, "Settling down with this collection is like getting together with old, cherished friends — the kind of friends who you just know are going to get you in trouble, and you just don't care." S.A. Cosby says it's "a road map through 20th-century crime fiction, and your guides are two of the greatest, most intriguing characters ever created, Hap and Leonard. Rambunctious, complex, and endlessly fascinating, these two best friends offer a clear yet sometimes painful view of America in general, and East Texas in particular." Michael Langston says, "Not since the late great Elmore Leonard has a writer so completely revamped the genre of crime-fiction — Lansdale takes it to places it's never been before in ways you never imagined." Ginger Nuts of Horror says, "This is binge-worthy stuff!" Nonstop Reader says it's "violent, outlandish, over the top, and hysterically funny (often at the same time and with a suddenness which leaves the reader with whiplash)." So ... what say you?

01/12/23-When you meet him, Hap Collins seems just like a good ol’ boy. But even in his misspent youth, his best pal was Leonard Pine: black, gay, and the ultimate outsider. Together, they have mostly found their way as partners in crime-solving and, at least as often, as hired muscle.As Hap wrestles with his new identity as a father, and Leonard finds love in a long-term relationship, the boys continue their crime-solving shenanigans. They uncover the sordid secret of a missing bookmobile, compete in a warped version of the Most Dangerous Game, regroup after Hap’s visit to the psychologist goes terribly awry, and much more. So sit yourself back and settle in - Born for Trouble is East Texas mayhem as only the master mojo storyteller Lansdale could possibly tell. Available now from Tachyon Press!

01/05/23-Booklist says it has plenty of "smart-ass humor, fisticuffs, broken hearts, and gunplay." Kirkus says, "The dialogue throughout is worth the price of admission ... [an] irresistible combination of relaxed badinage and playful threats that sometimes spiral into serious consequences while still remaining playful." Publishers Weekly says it's "Full of humor, gritty drama, and insightful observations." Fort Worth Weekly says it's "manna from redneck heaven — especially if your idea of rednecks includes a liberal white man and a gay, Republican black man — both of whom are backwoods brawlers to boot." It's Of Mice and Minestrone – Hap and Leonard: The Early Years, and it's available now!

01/05/23-Conversations with Joe R. Lansdale by Andrew J. Rausch and Mark Slade is available now from University Press of Mississippi. The book compiles interviews from newspapers, magazines, and podcasts conducted throughout Champion Joe's prolific career, including conversations with noted peers like Robert McCammon and James Grady; two podcast transcripts that have never before appeared in print; and a brand-new interview, exclusive to the volume. In addition to shedding light on his body of literary work and process as a writer, this collection also shares Lansdale’s thoughts on comics, atheism, and martial arts. Get your copy now!

12/29/22-Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year from the Lansdale family to you.

Some of my favorite ornaments on the tree this year. @joelansdale @JeffStrand @KealanBurke @RonaldKelly4 @PhilipFracassi @KristopherRufty @constantvoice @BevVincent @CSHumble @KoyoteKris @scottsigler @CemeteryEbook @Night_Worms @deathsheadpress pic.twitter.com/GTzaM0VFiu

— Paul Preston ??? (@pbanditp) December 14, 2022

12/15/22-"Waiting in line at a concert, a guy has naively asked what you do for a living. When you gather that he might be a potential reader, you ask whether he thinks a story about a monk could be interesting if the monk has gone back on his blood-promise of loyalty to family by joining a monastery." This and more fun from Blake Sanz, in "Ten Ways of Being in the Weeds With Your Novel, and Ten Ways Out," from Poets & Writers! (And, hey ... aren't poets writers, Poets & Writers?)

12/01/22-Paul Carro on Dark Delicacies II: Fear, in his article "The best horror anthology story standouts – cream of the crop": "Solid anthology but the cream of the crop standout is bar none, 'Dog' by Joe R. Lansdale. A tale about a man on a bike being chased by a dog is like Cujo on steroids. Highly intense and fast-paced, the story never lets up from the first page. It never slows down and the poor character’s bike trip just gets worse and worse. This one will keep you on the edge of your seat and thinking about it long after." To purchase the book, click here!

12/01/22-The famed Ellen Datlow has her own list: "Recommendations for Best Horror #14-long list." You might find some Lansdales among the alphabetical listings if you click here!

12/01/22-And then there's "The 10 Best Scariest Zombie Movies to Watch This Holiday Season."

12/01/22-Champion Joe says, "I was joking with someone a few years back, and as we were both Edgar Rice Burroughs fans, they said Travis McGee was in the lineage of Tarzan or one of the all-connected hero biographies Philip Jose Farmer constructed. I said, That's cool. I once had Hap and Leonard called the illegitimate sons of Travis McGee. And that's when whoever it was I was talking to was most likely part of the same peerage. That's funny and cool. And the more I know the fellas, the more I believe it."

12/01/22-"I think on some level that [writing screenplays is] not an art—it’s a craft. You’re writing something, and as soon as you write it, even if you’re artistic in your moment, as soon as you finish and hand it to somebody to interpret, it’s already got other eyes, other ideas and visions involved. Once the actors come into it, they all have their own take on the material—they have their own sound and their own look, their own body movements which change it to some degree. The director has their own ideas about it, even the stage direction, the cinematography, that combination of things. I don’t believe in the auteur theory at all. I believe the director’s the general and I believe the writer’s the engine. Everything after that is just different philosophies and interpretations." To read the rest of this 2017 Cemetary Dance interview with Champion Joe, click here!

11/24/22-Champion Joe says, "HAPPY THANKSGIVING." Just like that -- in all-caps. So you best be sure to make it happy!

11/24/22-How about this headline?! "Karen Lansdale Silver Hammer Award." From the release: "The Horror Writers Association is delighted to announce the immediate renaming of the Silver Hammer award to the Karen Lansdale Silver Hammer award in honor of the tremendous amount of work Karen did starting the HWA." To read the whole story, click here!

11/24/22-Patton Oswalt says,"It’s an fun blend of crime, character, and high weirdness. UFO cultists, donuts, and a homicidal chimpanzee. Feels like a movie Alex Cox would have made if they’d given him the script to 'Any Which Way but Loose.'" Author Eli Cranor says, "Joe employs his signature dark humor to shine a supremely strange and unflinchingly honest light on our present-day madness. Highly Recommend!" Get ready for something sweet. The Donut Legion by Joe R. Lansdale. March 2023.

11/24/22-Want to get a signed copy of The Donut Legion, Champion Joe's next novel? Preorder now through Murder by the Book and that's exactly what you'll get! So what are you waiting for? Click here to pre-order The Donut Legion!

11/17/22-AUTHOR TV is coming. Check out the promo trailer beloew. Besides Champion Joe, the show will have programs featuring David Morrell, Dean Koontz, Craig Johnson, and too many other authors to name, but you can check out who and what in the video.

11/17/22-Champion Joe says, "Oh, hell yeah. You need this. Brilliant. Strange. Marvelously and stylishly written. One of my favorite writers, Owen King kicks this dude out of the park. So unique. The Curator. You can check it out here, and preorder if it grabs you. And it should."

11/17/22-"It’s incredibly silly, incredibly violent and it’s easy to imagine this tale playing out in the form of an Adult Swim animated series." That's how Midnight Shift describes Big Lizard. Damaged Skull adds that it's "a five-star reading experience that offers relief from the real life horrors that the world is facing right now!" And Monster Librarian says, "I loved this book from start to finish. Highly recommended." So go get your silly, violent, highly recommended five-star Adult Swim distraction here!

11/10/22-Strange monsters, wild fights, beautiful ghosts, JFK, John Henry, and ... Elvis! It's the audiobook adaptations of Bubba Ho-Tep and Bubba and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers, together in one package, narrated by Jude Gerard Prest! by Champion Joe and Kasey Lansdale hits next week! Check it out!

11/10/22-Heads up, Italy! Non Aprite Quella Morta by Champion Joe and Kasey Lansdale hits next week! Check it out!

10/27/22-"The Sabine is a long and narrow river, but it has a sense of mystery about it. Jack Kerouac called the river and its banks the Mansion of the Snake in his famous novel, On the Road. He called it an “evil old river” and said, “We could almost hear the slither of a million copperheads." That's from Champion Joe's essay, "The Tall Tale of the Sabine River Goat Man and the Haunted Cemetery." To read the rest of the essay, published in Texas Monthly, just click here!

10/27/2022-Joe R. Lansdale is celebrated across several continents for his dark humor, his grimly gleeful horror, and his outlaw politics. Welcome to Texas. With hits like Bubba Ho-Tep and The Drive-In, the Lansdale secret was always endangered, and the spectacular "Hap & Leonard" Sundance TV series blew whatever cover Joe had left. Backwoods noir, some call it; others call it redneck surrealism. Joe's signature style is on display in in all its grit, grime, and glory in Miracles Ain’t What They Used to Be, beginning with a couple previously unpublished Hap and Leonard tales revealing the roots of their unlikely partnership. Plus... a hatful-and-a-half of Joe’s notorious Texas Observer pieces that helped catapult him from obscurity into controversy; and "Miracles Ain't What They Used to Be," Lansdale’s passionately personal take on the eternal tussles between God and Man, Texas and America, racism and reason—and religion and common sense.

10/27/22-Normally we're partial to pithy pull quotes, but here's the eloquent guts of what Publishers Weekly had to say about Champion Joe's prequel to Bubba Ho-Tep, Bubba and the Cosmic Blood-Suckers: "As this prequel opens, Elvis Presley is glumly making crappy films and crappier songs, but it’s for a good cause: supporting his other job of fighting things that go bump and squish in the night. Colonel Parker, Elvis’s manager, claims something awful has pushed through the interdimensional boundaries, rolling its victims up into human donuts and sucking the insides out of them. Along with psychic Blind Man, logistics man Jack, singer Jenny Jo Dallas, hammer-wielding John Henry, and body man Johnny Smack, Elvis and Parker head to a New Orleans house to face the bloblike Big Mamma and her minions. "

10/27/22-Champion Joe says, "Ascension by Gregory Dowling is a way-cool historical mystery in Venice. Complicated, but smart plot. It was a nice change up." Check it out!

10/20/22-You'll find soup-to-nuts Lansdale on this episode of The Dark Tome!It's a radio-play of their story "Blind Love," with Kasey playing the role of Jana!

Behold the cover for the signed limited edition of @joelansdale 's THE DRIVE-IN: MULTIPLEX, edited by myself and @ChristophGolden, forthcoming from @ThunderstormBks.

This thread will update you with the latest info on this anthology.

(cont) pic.twitter.com/kbSx5iCbv5

— BrianKeene (@BrianKeene) October 14, 2022

10/13/22-"We wrapped principal photography on Night of the Cooters back in August, you may recall,” George R.R. Martin said in a statement. “That’s our adaptation of the classic short story by the one and only Howard Waldrop. Shot entirely in greenscreen in Santa Fe, from a screenplay by Joe Lansdale. Directed by Vincent d’Onofrio, who also starred. After that, we turned it over to the wizards at Trioscope, who have been busily working on it ever since with their groundbreaking animation process.” To read the rest of this story from Deadline — including details of the forthcoming screening at the Santa Fe International Film Festival this Wednesday —click here!

09/29/22-Champion Joe says, "What I love about The Nightrunners is that it's still pissing some people off, disgusting others, and giving a different set of readers an exhilarating ride. It's a tough one still, all these years later, still retaining its power, or so I think. Check it out here." Adrenalin-charged horror and vintage Lansdale at its finest, The Nightrunners is brutally violent. Part pulp-noir, part splatter, this is a tale of survival and revenge. In this newly reimagined collection alongside the original 1987 novel, the reader is treated to two additional stories inspired by the novel, including the first appearance of the God of the Razor. Check it out!

09/22/22-"Bruce Campbell Offers Cheeky Response to Austin Butler's Acclaimed Elvis Performance." With a headline like that, how can you not read this MovieWeb article?

09/15/22-"They’re like brothers. Quarrelsome, but they love each other and stand for each other come what may." To read all of Champion Joe's interview with Paul Semel, click here!

08/25/22-Champion Joe says, "I love The Burglar Who Met Fredric Brown by Lawrence Block. I had the privilege of reading this book early, and it knocked me out. Vibes of Fred Brown and Jack Finney."

08/18/22-Champion Joe says, "George R.R. Martin asked me to spread the word about 'House of the Dragon.' It's coming quick -- August 21. Here's some information for it."

08/18/22-Champion Joe says, "We saw The League of Super Pets today, and loved it. Krypto fan here, and Ace the Bat Hound." No mention of the stale popcorn or the Dr. Pepper, but I think we can safely assume that was good, too.

08/04/22-The Mucho Mojo graphic novel hit bookstores this week! Did you get your copy?

07/28/22-"I did it because I wanted to celebrate Joe, that’s what it is. If it turns more people on to him, that’s great. He doesn’t need my help with that. It’s just a matter of getting his name out there to people who might not have heard of him. That’s great, it’s been really rewarding. They’re all telling me about all the books they’ve read." That's Hansi Oppenheimer on her reason for making the documentary "All Hail the Popcorn King." To read the rest of the interview with her and Champion Joe, check out this piece on Cemetery Dance!

07/21/22-"Joe Lansdale shares what it was like experiencing the Elvis cultural phenomenon as a young man; the power of black music and Presley’s relationship to it; youth culture and sex; and Luhrmann’s new movie as a work of art and a type of true lie." If that sounds like your jam, listen to this episode of "The Chauncey DeVega Show"!

07/21/22-Check out this interview with Champion Joe's brother, John L. Lansdale!

07/14/22-Champion Joe wants all his fellow Edgar Rice Burroughs fans to know about this special letterpress edition of At the Earth’s Core!

07/07/22-Available for $2.99 on Kindle for a limited time! Publishers Weekly called Edge of Dark Water a "chillingly atmospheric stand-alone," and the reviewer at Library Journal said it "puts me in mind of Daniel Woodrell with a touch of To Kill a Mockingbird." The New York Journal of Books said it "has all the potential of becoming a classic, read by generations to come." It was picked as one of the 100 best novels of 2012 by Kirkus. Booklist placed it among the year's Best Adult Books for Young Adults. The Boston Globe listed it among the ten best crime books of 2012 and LitReactor included it among the best of 2012. You can read an excerpt by clicking here, and you can order your copy here!

06/30/22-Champion Joe says, "Of Tim Bryant's cool and unique books, Bywater may well be the coolest. Loved it."

06/30/22-And while you're checking out other books, add Stephen Mertz's Say it was Murder to that list!

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06/16/22-All hail Champion Mojo Instagrammer Joe R. Lansdale!

06/09/22-Champion Joe's "Sweet Potato" is one of 29 tales of monsters and the monstrous in Screams from the Dark, a new anthology from Ellen Datlow!

06/09/22-The Locus Science Fiction Foundation has announced the top ten finalists in each category of the 2022 Locus Awards ... and they've included Moon Lake for best horror novel! Check it out!

Joe R. Lansdale on Austin Liti Limits from Larry Brill on Vimeo.

06/09/22-Ghost Stories LIVE! is a free show telecast on YouTube and Facebook presented bi-monthly at Blue Umbrella Books, a brick-and-mortar indie bookshop in Westfield, MA. They are raising funds to support the bookshop they've made their home, and giving an opportunity to their far-flung friends who cannot personally patronize the shop to still ensure that great events are produced and shared there. Want to help? click here!

06/02/22-Champion Joe says, "We had a wonderful experience with family and our friend Antonello Grimaldi experiencing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana for the first time as we presented the new book, Moon Lake. If you're ever in Milan, I recommend you stop by. Tell them Joe sent you."

05/19/22-Conversations with Joe R. Lansdale brings together interviews from newspapers, magazines, and podcasts conducted throughout the prolific author’s career. The collection includes conversations between Lansdale and other noted peers like Robert McCammon and James Grady; two podcast transcripts that have never before appeared in print; and a brand-new interview, exclusive to the volume. In addition to shedding light on his body of literary work and process as a writer, this collection also shares Lansdale’s thoughts on comics, atheism, and martial arts. Check it out! Shipping December 2022!

05/12/22-"[O]ne of [Vertigo]’s first notable little hits didn’t just reject any kind of sex appeal, it took down its drawers and took a giant turd on the very idea. In fact, Joe R. Lansdale, Tim Truman and Sam Glanzman’s revival of the classic Western character Jonah Hex were arguably the least sexy comics Vertigo ever published, revelling in filth and dirt to a truly disquieting degree." To read all of Robert Smith's "Ornery, Dusty, and Gross: The Oddball Jonah Hex Comics of DC’s Vertigo Imprint," click here!

05/05/22-Congratulations to Champion Joe on his Bram Stoker Award nomination for "Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection" for Apache Witch and Other Poetic Observations! You can read a bit about the five nominees by clicking here!

04/28/22-The most evil and powerful criminals in the world are sequestered in a prison on a remote island. When that island is rocked by a violent storm, the prison staff goes out looking for a missing member of their crew. But instead they find the burial site of prisoner 489 -- a prisoner who required multiple surges of electricity for his execution -- has been unearthed. And the body that was inside is nowhere to be found. Champion Joe's Prisoner 489 is now available as an ebook as well as a paperback!

04/28/22-Champion Joe swung by "The Bookshop Podcast" -- listen here!

04/28/22-Champion Joe is one of more than twenty contributors to Revelations: Horror Writers for Climate Action! Whether you're a fan or horror or a fan of the climate, this one's for you!

04/28/22-Dot waitresses on roller skates at the Dairy Bob, doesn’t care for smoking, at least partly on account of her dad having never returned from a cigarette run, and carries on the family tradition of philosophizing. Life hasn’t done her any favors in her seventeen years so far. But if there was ever a heroine built for turning things upside down and seeing what shakes out, it's Dot. Determined to find out who she is and why she’s the way she is, an opportunity presents itself when her heretofore-unknown uncle suddenly moves his camper into the front yard. It's Fender Lizards, Champion Joe's coming-of-age classic, available in audio, as performed by Kasey Lansdale! Check it out!

04/21/22-This week, "Staring Into The Abyss" — the roundtable podcast about all things horror — dissects Champion Joe's "Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back"! Listen here!

04/21/22-Peculiar weather settles over a bustling Texas sea port, a city made prosperous off the cotton trade and thick with racial inequality. The sky above Galveston, Texas darkens to the sickly green of a healing bruise, the sea turns black, and the inhabitants of the city have no idea the force of the hammer about to drop on them. The wild wind blows boxer John McBride into town, a white prize fighter with seemingly superhuman fury and skill. As black boxer Jack "Li'l Arthur" Johnson prepares to fight this fierce opponent, the storm closes in. If he can survive the ring and the vicious undercurrents of the Jim Crow south, Li'l Arthur will still have to fight his way through the storm winds, the rising flood waters, and the violent night. On September 8th, 1900, a hurricane ripped apart Galveston, Texas, killing nearly 8,000 people and nearly obliterating the town. Lansdale's The Big Blow brings dimension to many who lost their lives that day, and a few who survived.

04/21/22-Champion Joe says, "Friend, actor, and author Bruce Campbell writes a funny satire that I greatly enjoyed. Light, but insightful." Check out House Divided: A Political Satire!

04/21/22-Champion Joe says, "Met an author at a signing in Vernon named Roger Browning. He gave me two of his books. They are unique. The Reckoning of Rance and Last of the Knowers. I think they are worth you checking out. Unique, almost experimental at times. He has written hundreds of novels by hand that he threw away. Interesting fellow. I liked him. Anyway, check him out."

04/14/22-Announcing the official line-up for The Drive-In:Multiplex — a tribute to Champion's The Drive-In trilogy, with blood and popcorn. Featuring all-new stories and novellas. Edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene. Signed, limited edition hardcover. Published by Thunderstorm Books Pre-orders begin this summer!

04/14/22-One death is only the beginning for Tom and his wife Kelly who witness a fast-driving car killing their innocent neighbor in the street. Hot in December by Champion Joe is a fast-paced psychological thriller in the vein of Dean Koontz and Lee Child -- check it out!

04/07/22-What would it look like if George R.R. Martin, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Champion Joe stayed up a bit late one night, eating greasy popcorn, drinking Dr. peppers, and talking about Howard Waldrop? Maybe something like this:

04/07/22-Black is the Night is an anthology of exclusive new short stories in tribute to the master of pulp-era crime writing, Cornell Woolrich. It's a gritty and thrilling anthology of 28 new stories by authors including Neil Gaiman, Kim Newman, James Sallis, AK Benedict, Samantha Lee Howe, and our very own Champion Joe! Joe R. Lansdale and many more. Check it out!

03/31/22-Champion Joe says, "I want to thank everyone who picked up a copy of Born for Trouble, and all my works, really. It's been fun to see the boys come together again and hear from so many of you about your time with them. These stories were available so briefly in different collections, it's a joy to see them all in one place for anyone who may have missed them previously. Bringing stories together that were only briefly available in limiteds and small runs in this way allows for an affordable edition for the more casual reader who may not be picking up those hardbound collections. I appreciate the continued support, and look forward to what's coming around the bend..."

03/10/22-Hey, Italy! Your edition of Moon Lake is out now. Godere! Luca Briasco -- who translates Champion Joe's books into Italian -- was online and answering questions in support of the release of Moon Lake! Check it out!

03/03/22-Champion Joe says, "I STAND WITH UKRAINE." He adds, "Being for Ukraine is not the same as being for war. I could find things to dislike about most sides. But Putin is clearly the aggressor here. He can end it by stopping. Hitler could have stopped from invading Poland, but he didn't. I'm anti-war, but there are times when you do take a stand against aggression, and you want it stopped before it broadens. I think sanctions are the right approach, and supporting the Ukrainians with weapons and food. Those with magic wands who can stop it by that method, wave those wands. Otherwise, we have to hope sanctions drive out the Russians and the war doesn't spread."

02/03/22-Want a signed copy of Born for Trouble? Murder by the Book can help you out.

02/24/22-Del Howison is a journalist, author, and the Bram Stoker Award-winning editor of the anthology Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre by the World’s Greatest Horror Writers. He's also the latest author to join Pandi Press! Check it out!

02/24/22-Congratulations to Champion Joe on his latest Bram Stoker Award nomination, for "Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection" for Apache Witch and Other Poetic Observations!

02/17/22-Fantasy & Science Fiction says that High Cotton collects "the stories that built Lansdale's reputation as one of the most audacious writers... [O]nly for the strong at heart, the fearless reader who can face its powerful subject matter as unflinchingly as did the author." The Denver Post says, "The tales are as weird and hard-edged." High Cotton is a strange mixture of dark crime, even darker humor, and adventure tales. The stories are varied in setting and theme, but they are all pure Lansdale: eerie, amusing, and occasionally horrific. In “The Pit,” modern gladiators square off against one another using Roman methods. An alternate-history tale called “Trains Not Taken” shows Buffalo Bill as an ambassador and Wild Bill Hickok as a clerk. Lansdale’s love of large lizards and humor are evident in the stories “Godzilla’s Twelve Step Program” and “Bob the Dinosaur Goes to Disneyland.” Check it out!

02/17/22-"Put your ass in a chair and write. My own advice is that, and write like everyone you know is dead. Write for yourself, and then hope others like it." This and more from Champion Joe in his interview with AdviceToWriters.com!

02/17/22-The Big Blow! Freezer Burn! A Fine Dark Line! Three of Champion Joe's classics, all available now from Pandi Press!

02/10/22-Champion Joe says, "I love comics, but I’ve satisfied a lot of my itch there, but now and again I get a bit of comic hives and I want to scratch. I would and probably will do more comic work. I no longer have any characters I’m dying to do, as I’ve done many, but who knows. A Batman comic would be fun." To read the entire interview Joe did with Cat Rambo, click here!

02/10/22-Kirkus called A Fine Dark Line a "Funny, scary, heartwarming, heart-pounding, Tom Sawyer–ish, Huck Finn–ish, provocative, evocative, sometimes actually wise: the best ever from talented Lansdale -- a genre-crossing tour de force to spark the most jaded appetites." To get your copy, click here!

02/03/22-Champion Joe says, "We lost our lovely red-nose pit bull, NICKY, to bladder cancer. He was almost nine years old. I learned from having him that we are especially fond of pit bulls. They are great dogs. We miss him terribly. Someday, another.... Someday."

02/03/22-Champion Joe says, "Keith and I at a '50s diner on a road trip not too long ago. We're in California here. Not far down the street was an identical diner. I can't remember their names, but they were something like Betty Lou's and Bobby Sue's."

01/27/22-"Big Lizards, Tiger Kings & Other Weird Fiction." If this title of the recent episode of "The Brig" isn't enough for you, maybe the sebheader will clinch it: "Keith Lansdale chats about his books and screenplays, how Bruce Campbell became Elvis, and his famous dad, Joe." Check it out!

01/27/22-The Magic Wagon takes place at the turn of the century, 1909, and the West as we think of it was gone, but there is a residual, somewhat ghostly residue of its existence, though much of what we think about the West is wrong and is built on movie images. That's part of what the story is about. We don't even know if this is Wild Bill's body, not actually. But in Billy Bob's mind it is for certain. And for him the Dime Novel idea of what the West was is pervasive with him. He prefers the myth to the truth. The myth gives him comfort. What's going on here is a story told by a kid who has had a rough life in a short time, and he's telling a story that manages to be about age and race and broken dreams. It deals with some real historical figures, but the truth is, Buster is an unreliable narrator. He tells what he thinks he knows, and senses what he thinks is going on, a kind of supernatural aspect, but that may or may not be more in his head than in reality. And hey, you get a wrestling chimpanzee.Check it out! — now with added features, including a short story, an introduction, and a cool essay about Champion Joe by his wonderful son, Keith Lansdale!

01/27/22-Champion Joe says, "Halloween Nights: Tales of Autumn Fright looks like great fun. James Moore is involved, so that elevates the possibilities." Check it out!

01/20/22-Champion Joe says, "Back in the day a lot of us tried our hands at 'sword and sorcery.' I even wrote several very bad ones, a couple collaborations with Ardath Mayhar, but even she couldn't save them. They were published, however. Ramsey Campbell, on the other hand, wrote some good ones. I remember reading some of them in the short-lived Sword and Sorcery anthology. The heat for 'sword and sorcery' tales of that era came and went so fast I forgot I wrote a few. In Far Away & Never, a collection by Ramsey, you can read some good ones. Check it out."

01/13/22-A very Lansdale Christmas! MIA: Danni Trest & Nicky (okay, & Buster)

01/13/22-Champion Joe says, "Old friend Willie Siros has passed away. His impact on Texas Science Fiction conventions, for one, his love of books and how he supported writers is unmeasurable. He and his bookselling friend, Scott Cupp, supported my early work and always went out of their way to give a Texas boy some exposure on the literary scene. They've done the same for so many. I wish all his loved ones my condolences and best wishes, though at a time like this, either feels hollow. Willie will be missed."

01/13/22-Champion Joe says, "The hits keep on coming. Jim Bardwell posted the announcement of his wife Suzanne's death on his page for the Daily Mirror. A newspaper in Gladewater, Texas, my hometown, where Jim and Suzanne operated the newspaper. Suzanne was a wonderful person, and we hopefully thought we would have a visit soon. I'm glad we had the emails of late. She was a smart, talented, dedicated, and funny friend. Jim and Suzanne are good people, and I have a hard time thinking of Suzanne in the past tense."

01/13/22-Last month on the BIG Hap & Leonard Read-Along with Mother Horror, the group took a look at Mucho Mojo. Up this week: Two-Bear Mambo! It's an online book group, where everyone reads every Hap & Leonard novel in order, then discusses it online. Join now!

01/06/22-"Martial arts is a construct for life, if you study it correctly. It doesn’t make everyone a good person, but it certainly has helped a lot of people get to that location. I’m grateful for it. I owe almost everything to it. I still teach, but only private lessons. I hurt more, but if I don’t practice, I hurt a lot." To read the entire interview with Champion Joe from The Mystery Tribune, click here!

12/30/21-Champion Joe says, "Today I'm thinking of my brother Andrew Vachss, who has died. What a loss to the world. A great writer, but more importantly a great advocate for children. He was a true warrior. I miss him. My thoughts to Alice Vachss. My thoughts to those whose lives he touched, including mine."

12/23/21-If you're a professional reviewer and use Netgalley, Born for Trouble: The Further Adventures of Hap and Leonard, is up and available for request.

12/16/21-"When a machine gun accidentally goes off and destroys the puppet, the image of bullets ripping through Scarface’s body—graphically animated and held for long, agonizing seconds— becomes one of the most disconcertingly violent moments imaginable, not just on a kid’s show, but on television in general." That's Champion Joe's contribution to "Ten WTF-Did-I-Just-Watch? Moments in SFF Television"!

12/09/21-Daniel Russell was only thirteen years old when his father tried to kill them both by driving their car into Moon Lake. Now Daniel returns to the site, to try to put the traumatic incident behind him by recovering his father's car and bones. But he discovers something even more shocking among the wreckage: a twenty-year-old relic that has ties to a series of strange murders. Moon Lake, a standalone novel by Champion Joe, is available now. Find your copy here!

12/02/21-Champion Joe wrote the introduction to Research into Marginal Living: The Selected Stories of John D. Keefauver! Keefauver -- who could be quirky, humorous, ribald, or macabre, in varying measures -- was a favorite of Joe's. He was a mainstay of magazines like Omni, Playboy, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Check it out!

12/02/21-When you meet him, Hap Collins seems just like a good ol’ boy. But even in his misspent youth, his best pal was Leonard Pine: black, gay, and the ultimate outsider. Together, they have mostly found their way as partners in crime-solving and, at least as often, as hired muscle.As Hap wrestles with his new identity as a father, and Leonard finds love in a long-term relationship, the boys continue their crime-solving shenanigans. They uncover the sordid secret of a missing bookmobile, compete in a warped version of the Most Dangerous Game, regroup after Hap’s visit to the psychologist goes terribly awry, and much more. So sit yourself back and settle in - Born for Trouble is East Texas mayhem as only the master mojo storyteller Lansdale could possibly tell. Available March 2022 from Tachyon Press!

Older updates here!