Joe Hempel

• Biography

  Joe Hempel, best known for his rich narrations, has entertained listeners with over one hundred audiobooks in genres ranging from horror and mystery to science fiction, romance, and personal development.

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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

  “Get out your steely knives…this story collection from some of today’s top thriller writers makes for bloody good reading.” —Brian Freeman, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep, Deep Snow

  “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

  “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

  “With its edge-of-your-seat scenarios, shady personalities, and occasional touch of the supernatural, Hotel California delivers a gripping series of adventures with a mix of hopeful and horrifying outcomes.” —Foreword Reviews

  “[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

  “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

  “If you like mysteries and twisted endings, you will love Hotel California, an anthology of new mystery short stories, by evilly talented mystery authors…These eight authors will captivate you with amazing details, history, and diabolical character development…If you love a good mystery, these stories are a must-read.” —Book Junkie Reviews

  “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

  “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

  “Eight tales with a twist. Make that eight twists…Expect, and enjoy, the unexpected.” —Kirkus Reviews

  “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

  “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

  “Don Bruns has gathered eight solid writers who do justice to the Eagles’ anthem and the album’s other songs while putting a spin on the stories behind the songs…Each story in Hotel California is well thought out.” —Oline Cogdill, South Florida Sun Sentinel

  “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

  “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

  “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

  “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 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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  • 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
• 

  • Hotel California

  • Edited by Don Bruns

    Stories by Heather Graham, Andrew Child, John Gilstrap, Reed Farrel Coleman, Amanda Flower, Don Bruns, Jennifer Graeser Dornbush, and Rick Bleiweiss

    Read by Scott Brick, James Patrick Cronin, Joe Barrett, Joe Hempel, Sophie Amoss, Hillary Huber, Richard Ferrone, and January LaVoy

  • Release Date: 7/12/22

  • Formats: Hardcover, Large Print Hardcover, Signed Hardcover, Trade Paperback

  Featuring a new Jack Reacher story by Andrew Child!

  A dangerous drifter, a hired gun, a grisly corpse—you never know who you’ll run into at the Hotel California.

  Eight deliciously talented mystery authors have lent their skills of crafting murder and suspense to this collection of gripping short stories. Each of these eight provocative tales is designed to entertain and mystify—and maybe even chill you to your core. Get lost in the wild imaginations of such New York Times bestselling writers as Andrew Child, Heather Graham, Reed Farrel Coleman, and John Gilstrap, plus authors Rick Bleiweiss, Jennifer Graeser Dornbush, Amanda Flower, and Don Bruns. From the titular tale “Hotel California” to a new, original Jack Reacher adventure, these stories have a little something for every mystery lover.

  Go ahead. Check in, enjoy some room service, and stay until the very last tantalizing page. Just don’t forget to search the closet or behind the curtains.

  • Hotel California

  • Edited by Don Bruns

    Stories by Heather Graham, Andrew Child, John Gilstrap, Reed Farrel Coleman, Amanda Flower, Don Bruns, Jennifer Graeser Dornbush, and Rick Bleiweiss

    Read by Scott Brick, James Patrick Cronin, Joe Barrett, Joe Hempel, Sophie Amoss, Hillary Huber, Richard Ferrone, and January LaVoy

  • Release Date: 7/12/22

  • Formats: Hardcover, Large Print Hardcover, Signed Hardcover, Trade Paperback

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• 

  • 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

  Learn More

Coming Soon

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