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"A Who's Who of the Top Women Writing Weird Fiction Today" - Cassilda's Song earns two WFA nominations

Posted by Michael O'Brien on 19th Jul 2016

Cassilda’s Song is Chaosium's collection of weird fiction and horror stories based on the King in Yellow Mythos created by Robert W. Chambers—entirely authored by women

Chaosium's fiction anthology Cassilda's Song: Tales Inspired by Robert W. Chambers King in Yellow Mythos has been named as a finalist for two World Fantasy Awards—for the Anthology itself, and for one of the stories in the book, "The Neurastheniac" by Selena Chambers.

Laird Barron (in his Feb 2016 review of Cassilda’s Song in Locus) said, "2015 was a good year for horror and weird fiction anthologies. Cassilda’s Song is an able demonstration of why. It’s also a pleasant, if macabre, signal that the field is flourishing.... The table of contents is exceptional not for the fact that it’s composed entirely of women, but rather for the high level of quality."

About Selena Chambers' tale in Cassilda's Song, Barron writes, " -- Gorgeous, intricately layered, and extremely strange, this piece may be the blue ribbon exhibit in an exemplary batch …this is top shelf stuff."

Cassilda editor Joe Pulver said of the nominations:

"I’m absolutely thrilled to see Cassilda’s Song receive the WFA nomination in the anthology category and I am humbled to be in the company of my fellow nominees. Being nominated is high tribute to the ladies who contributed to Cassilda’s Song, tribute they well deserve. Each of them brought their A-game to the project and it was a great pleasure and honor to work with them. With their hard work, far-reaching vision, and storytelling gifts, the contributors are the reason this voyage is praiseworthy.”


Chaosium congratulates Pulver and the Cassilda authors Selena Chambers, Allyson Bird, Nadia Bulkin, Chesya Burke, Nicole Cushing, Helen Marshall, Anya Martin, Maura McHugh, S.P. Miskowski, Ursula Pflug, Lynda E. Rucker, Ann K. Schwader, Lucy A. Snyder, Molly Tanzer, E. Catherine Tobler, Damien Angelica Walters, and Mercedes M. Yardley.

Selena Chambers, author of "The Neurastheniac" said of the nominations:

"Out of all the things that I expected to happen this year, or any year for that matter, a World Fantasy Award nomination for a short story I’d written wasn’t on the radar. So, I am still euphorically shocked by it. It is an extreme honor, and I am humbled to be in such eminent company as my fellow nominees. Congratulations to my epic editor, Joe Pulver (and my Cassilda sisters) for his anthology nomination and to all the other WFA finalists. Last, but not least, I’d like to express my gratitude and thanks to the judges for recognizing “The Neurastheniac”.

The WFA awards will be presented during the World Fantasy Convention, held October 27-30, 2016 in Columbus Ohio

ABOUT CASSILDA'S SONG

"One stand-out in late 2015 is the “wonderful” and historic Cassilda’s Song, edited by Joseph S Pulver Sr. and featuring a who’s who of not just the top women writing weird fiction today but some of the very best authors and stories of the year period"

- Scott Nicolay, The Outer Dark podcast

Cassilda's Song: Tales Inspired by Robert W. Chambers King in Yellow Mythos.

Available now from Chaosium:

Cassilda’s Song is a collection of weird fiction and horror stories based on the King in Yellow Mythos created by Robert W. Chambers—entirely authored by women. There are no pretenders here. The Daughters of the Yellow Sign, each a titan of unmasked fire in their own right, have parted the curtains. From Hali’s deeps and Carcosa’s gloomy balconies and Styx-black towers, come their lamentations and rage and the consequences of intrigues and follies born in Oblivion. Run into their embrace. Their carriages wait to take you from shadowed rooms and cobblestones to The Place Where the Black Stars Hang.

The 1895 release of Chambers’ best-remembered work of weird fiction was salted with nihilism and ennui, and ripe with derangement, haunting beauty, and eerie torments. Poe’s influence was present in the core tales and one could easily argue Chambers may have been influenced by the French Decadents and the disquieting transfigurations of the Symbolists. All this and more can be said of the works collected in this anthology. Carcosa, accursed and ancient, and cloud-misted Lake of Hali are here. The Hyades sing and the cloud waves break in these tales. The authority of Bierce’s cosmic horror is here. The talismantic Yellow Sign, and the titular ‘hidden’ King, and The Imperial Dynasty of America, will influence and alter you, as they have the accounts by these writers. Cassilda and other unreliable narrators, government-sponsored Lethal Chambers, and the many mysteries of the mythical Play, are boldly represented in these tributes to Chambers.

Have you seen the Yellow Sign?

Check out the extensive range of other Chaosium fiction.