Deathrealm
Encyclopedia
Deathrealm was a small-press magazine of horror fiction that ran from 1987 through 1997, edited by Stephen Mark Rainey
. In its ten-year history, Deathrealm featured hundreds of stories by writers ranging from talented first-timers to the best-known professionals in the horror field. Some of the authors whose work appeared in the magazine include Gary Braunbeck
, Fred Chappell
, Douglas Clegg
, Mary Elizabeth Counselman
, Charlee Jacob
, Joe R. Lansdale
, Elizabeth Massie
, Rex Miller
, William F. Nolan
, Jeffrey Osier, Tom Piccirilli, Jessica Amanda Salmonson
, William R. Trotter
, Manly Wade Wellman
, J. N. Williamson
, David Niall Wilson
, W. H. Pugmire
and many others.
Deathrealm was best known for its high-quality fiction and stunning artwork. One cover illustration by artist Ian McDowell (issue 27), which featured an Adobe Photoshop
-altered image of the artist as a baby, was considered too controversial by Canadian censors, who banned the sale of that issue. The final issue (#31, Summer 1997) featured a cover by renowned artist Richard Corben
.
Though Rainey edited the magazine for its entire run, Deathrealm had the following three publishers: issues 1 through 17 -- Stephen Mark Rainey (independent publisher); issues 18 through 22 -- Tal Publications; issues 23 through 31 -- Malicious Press (a partnership of screenwriter Terry Rossio
and novelist Lawrence Watt-Evans
). The first 14 issues of Deathrealm were digest-sized (5.5" x 8.5"), but as of issue 15, the editor opted to change the format to full magazine size (8.5" x 11") to increase newsstand circulation. It continued in this format until the end of its run.
Deathrealm won several awards, including the Small Press Writers and Artists Organization's Best Magazine/Editor Award of 1990, the Small Press Genre Association's Best Magazine/Editor Award of 1994, and the International Horror Critics Guild Award for Best Publication of 1995. Numerous stories from the magazine were selected for DAW Books
' Year's Best Horror anthology, edited by Karl Edward Wagner
, and St. Martin's Press
' Year's Best Fantasy and Horror
edited by Ellen Datlow
and Terri Windling
.
In 2004, Rainey compiled an anthology of stories from the magazine, titled Deathrealms
, which was published as a signed and limited edition hardcover by Delirium Books
.
Stephen Mark Rainey
Stephen Mark Rainey is an author of novels, short stories, and various works of nonfiction. From 1987 to 1997, he edited Deathrealm, a magazine of horror and dark fantasy fiction, for which he won several awards for Best Editor.-Biography:...
. In its ten-year history, Deathrealm featured hundreds of stories by writers ranging from talented first-timers to the best-known professionals in the horror field. Some of the authors whose work appeared in the magazine include Gary Braunbeck
Gary A. Braunbeck
Gary A. Braunbeck is an American science fiction, fantasy, mystery and horror author.-Biography:Braunbeck was born in Newark, Ohio . He writes in a number of different genres, but principally horror...
, Fred Chappell
Fred Chappell
Fred Davis Chappell is an author and poet. He retired after 40 years as an English professor at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was the Poet Laureate of North Carolina from 1997-2002...
, Douglas Clegg
Douglas Clegg
Douglas Clegg is a horror and dark fantasy author, and a pioneer in the field of e-publishing. He maintains a strong Internet presence through his website and LiveJournal.-Biography:...
, Mary Elizabeth Counselman
Mary Elizabeth Counselman
Mary Elizabeth Counselman was an American writer of short stories and poetry.- Biography :Mary Elizabeth Counselman was born on November 19, 1911 in Birmingham, AL and began writing poetry as a child. She later moved to Gainesville, Georgia where her father was a faculty member at the Riverside...
, Charlee Jacob
Charlee Jacob
Charlee Jacob is an American author specializing in horror fiction, dark fantasy, and poetry. Her writing career began in 1981 with the publication of several poems under the name Charlee Carter Broach...
, Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
, Elizabeth Massie
Elizabeth Massie
Elizabeth Massie is an American author.Elizabeth Massie is a two-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of horror novels and short fiction. She won her awards for Sineater and Stephen. She has also written historical fiction for young adults....
, Rex Miller
Rex Miller
Rex Miller, born Rex Miller Spangberg, wrote novels detailing the investigations of Jack Eichord, a fictional homicide detective who specialized in tracking down serial killers. Slob, the first novel of the series, introduced Daniel Bunkowski, a half-ton killing-machine serial murderer...
, William F. Nolan
William F. Nolan
William Francis Nolan is an American author, who wrote stories in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres. He is best known for coauthoring the novel Logan's Run, with George Clayton Johnson. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1976 horror film Burnt Offerings which starred Karen Black and...
, Jeffrey Osier, Tom Piccirilli, Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Jessica Amanda Salmonson, born January 6, 1950, is an author, editor and writer of fantasy and horror fiction.-Author:Salmonson is the author of the Tomoe Gozen trilogy, a fantasy version of the tale of the historical female samurai Tomoe Gozen...
, William R. Trotter
William R. Trotter
William R. Trotter is an American author and historian.- Writings :Trotter's work has covered a variety of genres and markets. His first published work was "Sibelius and the Tides of Taste" for High Fidelity in 1965. Lawyer Rob Newsom III invited him to write Deadly Kin, a true crime book, which...
, Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman was an American writer. He is best known for his fantasy and horror stories set in the Appalachian Mountains and for drawing on the native folklore of that region, but he wrote in a wide variety of genres, including science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, detective...
, J. N. Williamson
J. N. Williamson
Gerald Neal Williamson wrote and edited horror stories under the name J. N. Williamson.Born in Indianapolis, IN he graduated from Shortridge High School. He studied journalism at Butler University. He published his first novel in 1979 and went on to publish more than 40 novels and 150 short...
, David Niall Wilson
David Niall Wilson
David Niall Wilson is an American writer primarily known for his works of horror, science fiction, and fantasy fiction.-Background:...
, W. H. Pugmire
W. H. Pugmire
Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire is a writer of horror fiction based in Seattle, Washington. His works typically are published as W. H. Pugmire. His adopted middle name derives from the story of the same title by Edgar Allan Poe. Lovecraft scholar and biographer S. T...
and many others.
Deathrealm was best known for its high-quality fiction and stunning artwork. One cover illustration by artist Ian McDowell (issue 27), which featured an Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
-altered image of the artist as a baby, was considered too controversial by Canadian censors, who banned the sale of that issue. The final issue (#31, Summer 1997) featured a cover by renowned artist Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
.
Though Rainey edited the magazine for its entire run, Deathrealm had the following three publishers: issues 1 through 17 -- Stephen Mark Rainey (independent publisher); issues 18 through 22 -- Tal Publications; issues 23 through 31 -- Malicious Press (a partnership of screenwriter Terry Rossio
Terry Rossio
Terry Rossio is an American screenwriter.Rossio was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating from Saddleback High School in Santa Ana, California, he went on to study at California State University, Fullerton where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications, with an emphasis in radio,...
and novelist Lawrence Watt-Evans
Lawrence Watt-Evans
Lawrence Watt-Evans is one of the pseudonyms of American science fiction and fantasy author Lawrence Watt Evans...
). The first 14 issues of Deathrealm were digest-sized (5.5" x 8.5"), but as of issue 15, the editor opted to change the format to full magazine size (8.5" x 11") to increase newsstand circulation. It continued in this format until the end of its run.
Deathrealm won several awards, including the Small Press Writers and Artists Organization's Best Magazine/Editor Award of 1990, the Small Press Genre Association's Best Magazine/Editor Award of 1994, and the International Horror Critics Guild Award for Best Publication of 1995. Numerous stories from the magazine were selected for DAW Books
DAW Books
DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company therefore claims to be "the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy." The first DAW Book published was...
' Year's Best Horror anthology, edited by Karl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner
Karl Edward Wagner was an American writer, editor and publisher of horror, science fiction, and heroic fantasy, who was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a psychiatrist. His disillusionment with the medical profession can be seen in the stories "The Fourth Seal" and "Into...
, and St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
' Year's Best Fantasy and Horror
Year's Best Fantasy and Horror
Year's Best Fantasy and Horror is a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition includes a number of retrospective essays by the editors and others....
edited by Ellen Datlow
Ellen Datlow
Ellen Datlow is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist.-Biography:Datlow was the fiction editor of Omni magazine and Omni Online from 1981 through 1998, and edited the ten associated Omni anthologies...
and Terri Windling
Terri Windling
Terri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. Windling has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award...
.
In 2004, Rainey compiled an anthology of stories from the magazine, titled Deathrealms
Deathrealms
Deathrealms is an anthology of horror, science-fiction, and dark fantasy short stories collected from the award-winning Deathrealm magazine, edited by Stephen Mark Rainey. The anthology was released in 2004 by Delirium Books, in an edition of approximately 350 copies...
, which was published as a signed and limited edition hardcover by Delirium Books
Delirium Books
Delirium Books, launched in the Summer of 1999 by Shane Ryan Staley, is currently recognized as one of the premiere horror publishers in the collector's market, producing low print run limited editions intended for both collectors and readers alike...
.
See also
- Science fiction magazineScience fiction magazineA science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard copy periodical format or on the Internet....
- Fantasy fiction magazine
- Horror fiction magazineHorror fiction magazineA horror fiction magazine is a magazine that publishes primarily horror fiction with the main purpose of scaring or frightening the reader. Horror magazines can be in print, on the internet, or both.-Defunct magazines:*The Arkham Collector...
- MagazineMagazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...