Simon Vance

• Biography

  Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.

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• Praise for Books

  “Harlan was not just a great fantasist and/or science fiction writer; he was a great writer, period. When he was at the top of his form, from the late 60s through the 70s and well into the 80s, there was no finer short-story writer in all of English literature.”  —George R. R. Martin

  “A mix of classics from the past as well as original contributions by popular living writers, such as Laurell K. Hamilton and R.L. Stine…Readers who hope for a comprehensive history of Weird Tales or a definitive collection of its most notable or representative stories will find that the book includes elements of both but in fact is neither. It’s a wild mashup of uneven content, in the custom of the monthly magazine it seeks to celebrate.”  —Wall Street Journal

  “A remarkable collection of interviews with some of the most important writers working in the world today. I loved this book.” —Don Winslow, #1 internationally bestselling author of The Force and The Cartel

  “This ancient Chinese text is still utilized by both militaries and business schools around the world…The Art of War is the essential strategy guide of our time.” —Time

  “You should buy this book immediately, because this is a book that knows perfectly that you are seething inside.” —Algis Budrys, winner of the Pilgrim Award for Lifetime Achievement in Speculative Fiction

  “An interesting celebration of the century that has passed since the start of the titular fiction magazine. This anthology is highly recommended for fans or students of the classic magazine, as well as enthusiasts of the genres it helped nurture.”  —Mystery & Suspense

  “[A] fresh compendium…Particularly revelatory are the authors’ anecdotes about their previous jobs—as reporters, psychiatrists, veterinarians, and lawyers—and the range of perspectives makes for a breezy introduction to the writing game. Thriller writers—and fans curious about the process—are in for a treat.” —Publishers Weekly

  “Absorb this book, and you can throw out all those contemporary books about management leadership.” —Newsweek

  “In his stories of fantasy and horror, he strikes closest to all those things that horrify and amuse us (sometimes both at the same time) in our present lives…Most of all, we sense outrage and anger—as with the best Ellison stories, we sense personal involvement, and have a feeling that Ellison is not so much telling the tale as he is jabbing it viciously out of its hiding place. It is the feeling that we are walking over a lot of jagged glass in thin shoes, or running across a minefield in the company of a lunatic.” —Stephen King

  “Just look at this lineup: Lee Child, Patricia Cornwell, David Mamet, Meg Gardiner, Scott Turow, Kathy Reichs, James Rollins—and that’s only a small fraction of them…A nice companion piece to the slew of more traditional how-to-be-a-writer books on the market.” —Booklist

  “The book has long been heralded for its advice on military success…It’s a smart book.” —Business Insider

  “Categories are too small—even the catch-all category of science fiction—to describe Harlan Ellison. Lyric poet, satirist, explorer of odd psychological corners, moralist, one-line comedian, purveyor of pure horror and of black comedy; he is all these and more.” —Washington Post

  “A brilliant book…Mark Rubinstein has fashioned a book that offers the final word on all things related to the craft of telling tales that are impossible to put down…Rubinstein has penned one of the best author-centric studies of writers and writing ever created, and one of the few ever attempted for popular fiction. This book is destined to stand the test of time, with great storytelling in its own right that for this thriller writer was impossible to put down.” —Jon Land, Providence Journal

  “The Art of War [is] as relevant now as when it was written…A fascinating mixture of the poetic and the pragmatic.” —Irish Times (Dublin)

  “A furiously prolific and cantankerous writer [who] looked at storytelling as a ‘holy chore,’ which he pursued zealously for more than sixty years. His output includes more than 1,700 short stories and articles, at least 100 books, and dozens of screenplays and television scripts…ranked with eminent science fiction writers like Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov.” —New York Times

  “Engaging and honest interviews populate the book…Rubinstein’s who’s who of thriller and suspense authors is astonishing and the interviews are sober and sound, as if rubbing elbows with the world’s elite storytellers is an everyday occurrence…Part advice, part tell-all, Rubinstein’s collection encases a treasury of truths from writers whose stories we’ve enjoyed for years. Thrilling indeed.” —Mountain Times

  “The most useful and important book ever written for aspiring leaders.” —Toronto Sun Times

  “Harlan Ellison was, after all, one of the most interesting humans on Earth. He was one of the greatest and most influential science fiction writers alive. He marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, lectured to college kids, visited with death row inmates, and once mailed a dead gopher to a publisher. Ellison brought a literary sensibility to sci-fi at a time when the entire establishment was allergic to any notion of art. To say he was one-of-a-kind would be trite, and he would likely hate that. What he was, was a legend.” —NPR

  “The Storytellers is a gift to aspiring writers of mysteries and thrillers, readers and fans, and academics alike. An instant classic.” —New York Journal of Books

  “Recommended as a guide to success in any competitive activity, from business to sport.” —Asian Review of Books

  “There’s a real power to the way he uses the language and how he draws pictures in your mind.” —Ron Moore

  “The Storytellers is the most interesting and engaging work of nonfiction I have read in ages, literally filled with golden nuggets of history, background influences and revelations on every page. I envy the reader who goes on this great adventure and inhales the book as I did.”" —BookReporter

  “Military theory comes in two forms. The first is an attempt to understand the nature of war and its relation to politics…The second and more prevalent form falls into the ‘how to do it’ category…Most military professionals would agree that Sun Tzu’s The Art of War remains at the top of the former list.” —Washington Times

  “You see Ellison’s unswerving social conscience throughout his fiction and critical essays…forcefully and eloquently—and at some length—lamenting the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment and railing against the scourge of misogynistic ‘knife-kill’ films.” —RogerEbert.com

  “The wisdom in the form of military strategy that Sun-Tzu offers in The Art of War is something you can apply to your life’s daily conflicts, obstacles, and goals. This is why The Art of War is a great read and one that is highly recommended.” —Serious Reading

  “The words—there is an attention to the words. There is an attention to the sound of the words. You’re reading them in your head, and they sing.” —Neil Gaiman

  “The spellbinding quality of a great nonstop talker, with a cultural  warehouse for a mind.” —New York Review of Books

  “Feisty, furious, yet extraordinarily kind and generous; Harlan Ellison was one of a kind.” —Leonard Maltin

  “Harlan Ellison—terrific prose, razor-sharp intellect, pulp gut punches and invention when needed, terse poetics…An original.” —Guillermo del Toro

  “An original and valuable writer…A twentieth-century Lewis Carroll.” —Los Angeles Times

  “Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Norman Mailer, stand aside. Harlan Ellison is now a better short-story writer than you will ever be again during the rest of your lives.” —Ray Bradbury

  “The incredible Harlan Ellison writes as if an inner fuse is about to blow before he can get all the words on his pages.” —Anne McCaffrey

  “He doesn’t write like anybody else. What emerges is a surprising, eclectic, almost protean series of visions, often disturbing, always strongly felt.” —Michael Crichton

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• 

  • Weird Tales Magazine No. 368

  • Edited by Jonathan Maberry

    Stories by various authors

    Read by Bronson Pinchot, Eric G. Dove, Kevin Kenerly, Andrea Emmes, Robin Miles, Sarah Mollo-Christensen, Tim Campbell,Kevin J. Anderson, Robert Fass, Joel Froomkin, Frankie Corzo, Scott Aiello, Simon Vance, Hillary Huber, Zura Johnson, Heath Miller, Marc Thompson, and Kyla Garcia

  • Release Date: 4/30/24

  Weird Tales magazine is known for launching a number of sub-genres of fiction—cosmic horror, swords & sorcery, dark fantasy, and others. It has also greatly added to existing genres like science fiction, horror, and—a personal favorite of editor Jonathan Maberry—weird mystery stories. Or, as they became known—occult detective tales. Here are all-original tales about people who peer into the shadows in order to solve a mystery. Sometimes successfully … and sometimes the darkness wins. The stories range from nail-biting horror to very dark comedy, and there’s a generous mix of short stories, flash fiction (shorter works of about 1500 words), and poems. The lineup is killer, as you’ll discover, and the interpretations of what constitutes “occult fiction” is unique to each writer.

  “The Eyrie” by Jonathan Maberry
  “Dead Jack and the Mystery of Room 216” by James Aquilone
  “Beneath the Scarred Pulpit” by Kenneth W. Cain
  “Denizen of Deep Holler” by Jennifer Brody
  “The Ephemera of Dreams” by Carina Bissett
  “Forming Threads” by Jody Lynn Nye
  “The Painted Unseen” by Taylor Grant
  “Bull Runs” by Kevin J. Anderson
  “Shimmer” by Keith Strunk
  “Hold My Beer” by Jeff Strand
  “La Silla Del Diablo” by Sofía Lapuente & Jarrod Shusterman
  “The Three-Headed Problem” by Rachel Aukes
  “Inception” by Brian Lumley
  “Laurel Caverns” by Lisa Diane Kastner
  “The Taxidermist” by Lyndsey Croal
  “Within You, In Time” by Brian Keene and Steven L. Shrewsbury
  “Sins Will Find You Out” by Cavan Scott
  “Night’s Disease” by Colleen Anderson

  • Weird Tales Magazine No. 368

  • Edited by Jonathan Maberry

    Stories by various authors

    Read by Bronson Pinchot, Eric G. Dove, Kevin Kenerly, Andrea Emmes, Robin Miles, Sarah Mollo-Christensen, Tim Campbell,Kevin J. Anderson, Robert Fass, Joel Froomkin, Frankie Corzo, Scott Aiello, Simon Vance, Hillary Huber, Zura Johnson, Heath Miller, Marc Thompson, and Kyla Garcia

  • Release Date: 4/30/24

  Learn More
• 

  • Dangerous Visions

  • Edited by Harlan Ellison

    Stories by Harlan Ellison, Philip K. Dick, Robert Silverberg, Samuel R. Delany, and various authors

    Foreword by Isaac Asimov

    Read by various narrators

  • Release Date: 3/26/24

  • Formats: Hardcover, Trade Paperback

  WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY PATTON OSWALT

  Dubbed “the most significant and controversial SF book” of its generation, Harlan Ellison’s groundbreaking collection launched an entire subgenre: New Wave science fiction. With contributions from legendary authors and multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards, Dangerous Visions returns to print in a stunning new edition perfect for new and returning fans alike. 

  A landmark short story collection that put the more character-based New Wave science fiction on the map, Dangerous Visions won several prestigious awards and was nominated for many others. This now-classic anthology includes thirty-three stories by thirty-two award-winning authors, over half of whom have won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards. Contributing authors include: Robert Silverberg, Frederik Pohl, Brian W. Aldiss, Philip K. Dick, Larry Niven, Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson, Theodore Sturgeon, J.G. Ballard, Samuel R. Delany, and Ellison himself.

  As relevant now as it was when first published, Dangerous Visions is a phenomenal collection that deserves a place on every bookshelf.

  • Dangerous Visions

  • Edited by Harlan Ellison

    Stories by Harlan Ellison, Philip K. Dick, Robert Silverberg, Samuel R. Delany, and various authors

    Foreword by Isaac Asimov

    Read by various narrators

  • Release Date: 3/26/24

  • Formats: Hardcover, Trade Paperback

  Learn More
• 

  • Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird

  • Edited by Jonathan Maberry

    Classic and New Tales by R. L. Stine, Laurell K. Hamilton, Ray Bradbury, Victor LaValle, Robert E. Howard, Hailey Piper, H. P. Lovecraft, Tennessee Williams, Usman T. Malik, James Aquilone, and more

    Read by Scott Brick, Bronson Pinchot, Richard J. Brewer, Natalie Naudus, Joe Hempel, Dion Graham, Neil Hellegers, Zura Johnson, Simon Vance, Peter Berkrot, James Patrick Cronin, Gabrielle de Cuir, Grover Gardner, James Anderson Foster, Ramiz Monsef, Eric G. Dove, Hillary Huber, Stefan Rudnicki, Edoardo Ballerini, Robin Miles, Kirsten Potter, Vikas Adam, and Kimberly Alexis

  • Release Date: 10/10/23

  • Formats: Hardcover

  Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first issues of Weird Tales Magazine, 100 Years of Weird is a masterful compendium of new and classic stories, flash fiction, essays, and poems from the giants of speculative fiction, including R. L. Stine, Laurell K. Hamilton, Ray Bradbury, H. P. Lovecraft, Tennessee Williams, and Isaac Asimov.

  Marking a century of uniquely peculiar storytelling, each part of this anthology features a different genre, from Cosmic Horror, Sword and Sorcery, Space Opera, to the Truly Weird—things too strange to publish elsewhere, and the magazine’s raison d’etre. Landmark stories such as “The Call of Cthulhu,” “Worms of the Earth,” and “Legal Rites” stand beside original stories and insightful essays from today’s masters of speculative fiction.

  This visually stunning hardcover edition is a collector’s dream, illustrated throughout with classic full-color and black & white art from past issues of Weird Tales Magazine.

  • Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird

  • Edited by Jonathan Maberry

    Classic and New Tales by R. L. Stine, Laurell K. Hamilton, Ray Bradbury, Victor LaValle, Robert E. Howard, Hailey Piper, H. P. Lovecraft, Tennessee Williams, Usman T. Malik, James Aquilone, and more

    Read by Scott Brick, Bronson Pinchot, Richard J. Brewer, Natalie Naudus, Joe Hempel, Dion Graham, Neil Hellegers, Zura Johnson, Simon Vance, Peter Berkrot, James Patrick Cronin, Gabrielle de Cuir, Grover Gardner, James Anderson Foster, Ramiz Monsef, Eric G. Dove, Hillary Huber, Stefan Rudnicki, Edoardo Ballerini, Robin Miles, Kirsten Potter, Vikas Adam, and Kimberly Alexis

  • Release Date: 10/10/23

  • Formats: Hardcover

  Learn More
• 

  • Weird Tales Magazine No. 367

  • Edited by Jonathan Maberry

    Stories by various authors

    Read by Scott Brick, Robert Fass, James Anderson Foster, Heath Miller, Neil Hellegers, Roger Clark, Joe Hempel, Edoardo Ballerini, Eunice Wong, Simon Vance, Holly Adams, Chris Henry Coffey, Ralph Lister, and Natalie Naudus

  • Release Date: 8/29/23

  The first issue in the second century of Weird Tales features a new HELLBOY story by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. Editor Jonathan Maberry has built a collection of cosmic horror that will destabilize your worldview.

  “The Eyrie” by Jonathan Maberry
  “The City in the Sea: A Hellboy Story” by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
  “When the Stars Are Right: The Weird Tales Origins of Cosmic Horror” by Nicholas Diak
  “A Ghost Story for Christmas” by Paul Cornell
  “The Forest Gate” by Samantha Underhill
  “Night Fishing” by Caitlín R. Kiernan
  “The Traveler” by Francesco Tignini
  “Cosmic vs Abrahamic Horror” by F. Paul Wilson
  “The Last Bonneville” by F. Paul Wilson
  “Lost Generations” by Angela Yuriko Smith
  “Concerto in Five Movements” by Ramsey Campbell
  “Mozaika” by Nancy Kilpatrick
  “Inkblot Succubus” by Nikki Sixx
  “Laid to Rest” by Tim Lebbon
  “Call of the Void - L’appel du vide” by Carol Gyzander

  • Weird Tales Magazine No. 367

  • Edited by Jonathan Maberry

    Stories by various authors

    Read by Scott Brick, Robert Fass, James Anderson Foster, Heath Miller, Neil Hellegers, Roger Clark, Joe Hempel, Edoardo Ballerini, Eunice Wong, Simon Vance, Holly Adams, Chris Henry Coffey, Ralph Lister, and Natalie Naudus

  • Release Date: 8/29/23

  Learn More
• 

  • Weird Tales Magazine No. 366: Sword & Sorcery Issue

  • Stories by various authors

    Read by various narrators

  • Release Date: 1/10/23

  Tales of blood, magic, and steel by masters of the craft! Stories, essays, and poetry by:

  Kevin J. Anderson
  Bruce Boston
  Greg Cox
  Dana Fredsti & David Fitzgerald
  Neil Gaiman
  Teel James Glenn
  Maxwell I. Gold
  Howard Andrew Jones
  Brian W. Matthews
  Greg Mollin
  James A. Moore
  Weston Ochse
  Marguerite Reed
  Charles R. Rutledge
  Jane Yolen

  • Weird Tales Magazine No. 366: Sword & Sorcery Issue

  • Stories by various authors

    Read by various narrators

  • Release Date: 1/10/23

  Learn More
• 

  • The Storytellers

  • Edited by Mark Rubinstein

    Read by various narrators

  • Release Date: 9/29/20

  • Formats: Trade Paperback, Hardcover

  Have you ever read a suspense novel so good you had to stop and think to yourself, “How did the author come up with this idea? Their characters? Is some of this story real?” For over five years, Mark Rubinstein, physician, psychiatrist, and mystery and thriller writer, had the chance to ask the most well-known authors in the field just these kinds of questions in interviews for the Huffington Post.

  Collected here are interviews with forty-seven accomplished authors, including Michael Connelly, Ken Follett, Meg Gardiner, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, and Don Winslow. These are their personal stories in their own words, much of the material never before published. How do these writers’ life experiences color their art? Find out their thoughts, their inspirations, their candid opinions. Learn more about your favorite authors, how they work and who they truly are.

  • The Storytellers

  • Edited by Mark Rubinstein

    Read by various narrators

  • Release Date: 7/20/21

  • Formats: Trade Paperback, Hardcover

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• 

  • The Art of War

  • By Sun Tzu

    Edited and with a foreword by James Clavell

    Read by Simon Vance

  • Release Date: 8/13/19

  • Formats: Hardcover

  The words held within these pages, written over two and a half thousand years ago, ring just as true today as they did in fifth century BC China. Bestselling author and master storyteller James Clavell (Shōgun) brought The Art of War to greater prominence in the West in the 1980s and showed how the book’s instruction was applicable on a smaller scale and could be used for personal betterment. Clavell’s wonderfully evocative foreword and helpful notes throughout the text guide the reader through preparations and battle plans, correct use of weapons and knowing when to fight—and when not to fight.

  With a deep understanding of both strategy and human nature, this military treatise illustrates the fine craft of knowing one’s enemy and oneself. From military officers to CEOs to those simply looking to be more powerful in their own life, The Art of War has become required reading for anyone seeking a path of success through the modern world.

  • The Art of War

  • By Sun Tzu

    Edited and with a foreword by James Clavell

    Read by Simon Vance

  • Release Date: 8/13/19

  • Formats: Hardcover

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