October 1, 2024 marks a very, very important for fans of Stephen Graham Jones’s work. If you’ve ever tried to hunt down a copy of It Came From Del Rio or Three Miles Past, you know that not only are these books out of print and a bit elusive, but they are incredibly valuable. Fret no longer, Open Road Media has come to the rescue and is reissuing FIVE of Stephen Graham Jones’s titles on October 1st! This obviously calls for celebration, and here is a (hopefully) helpful guide to help you plan your holiday accordingly:
BOOKS AND PREORDERS
Zombie Bake Off (First published in 2012)
Synopsis: It’s time for the annual Recipe Days bake-off in Lubbock, Texas. Soccer moms and grandmothers gather to show off their family recipes, learn new secrets for the perfect shortcake, and perhaps earn a chance to be on the famous cooking show, “How Would You Cook It, Then?”
When the bake-off is crashed by a federation of pro wrestlers — including American Badass, Jersey Devil Jill, Tiny Giant, The Village Person, Jonah the Whale, the Hellbillies, and fan favorite Xombie — all hell is set to break loose. An infected batch of donuts has transformed most of the wrestlers into mindless brain-eaters and the doors of the convention center have been chained shut, leaving the survivors locked inside, forced to fend for themselves against the hungry dead. Who will come out on top in the ultimate showdown of the century, soccer moms or pro wrestlers?
Why I’m Excited to Read: Zombies, wrestlers, and donuts, truly, what more could you want? This has been pitched as one of the most fun SGJ books, and I know it’ll be a blast based on the cover alone.
Pre-Order Options:
– Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/zombie-bake-off-stephen-graham-jones/21550252
– Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/zombie-bake-off-stephen-graham-jones/1108527477?ean=9781504096331
– Boulder Bookstore: https://www.boulderbookstore.net/book/9781504096331
– Amazon: https://amzn.to/4gwkXho
The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti (First published in 2008)
Synopsis: If drinking mercury from a thermometer didn’t kill him, maybe spray painting in an unventilated garage would. Or so Nolan’s father thought. One inspired yet failed suicide attempt after another, each with a note to his son—with only a hint of accusation.
But as Nolan sits in an empty office building, the last customer service employee for a nearly obsolete video game, those many suicide notes come back to haunt him. As do the levels of the game that no one plays anymore. And now a homicide detective is on the phone.
Maybe his father was right when he wrote that he was teaching Nolan not to give up, that the only way to understand what happened was to make it to the end of the game. But there’s no cheatcode that’s going to get Nolan through this . . .
Why I’m Excited to Read: I have been warned IN ABUNDANCE to make sure I have a box of Kleenex nearby for this one. Who doesn’t love getting emotionally wrecked by SGJ?
Pre-Order Options:
– Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-long-trial-of-nolan-dugatti-stephen-graham-jones/21550257
– Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-long-trial-of-nolan-dugatti-stephen-graham-jones/1013833346
– Boulder Bookstore: https://www.boulderbookstore.net/book/9781504096478
– Amazon: https://amzn.to/3MZ3wbH
Three Miles Past (First published in 2012)
Synopsis: Take a road trip into your darkest nightmares with three stories from the modern master of horror and “one of the best writers working today” (NPR). Here, Bram Stoker Award–winning author Stephen Graham Jones gives evil an all-too-familiar face, whether it’s the man from the dog shelter, a colleague at a work convention, or even just your phone. Horror can reach you everywhere and when you least expect it . . .
In “Interstate Love Affair,” a serial killer’s unique way of disposing of his victims’ bodies gives roadkill an even more gruesome meaning. “No Takebacks” tracks how an app goes from an idea to coding to letting loose its creator’s darkest impulses. And there’s nowhere to hide during “The Coming of Night,” when a predator’s latest kill sets off a creepy-crawly timebomb inside of him.
Why I’m Excited to Read: I have been looking for a copy of this collection for what feels like forever. A few folks have mentioned it’s one of SGJ’s most gnarly sets of stories that are not easily forgotten so this one feels extra special.
Pre-Order Options:
– Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/three-miles-past-stories-stephen-graham-jones/21550248?ean=9781504096324
– Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/three-miles-past-stephen-graham-jones/1112774077?ean=9781504096324
– Boulder Bookstore: https://www.boulderbookstore.net/book/9781504096324
– Amazon: https://amzn.to/4gzLB94
It Came From Del Rio (First published in 2010)
Synopsis: Smuggler Dodd Raines just got the job of a lifetime. He’ll finally earn enough money to secure a decent future for his young daughter and start over on the right side of the law. There’s just one his cargo is made up of moon rocks—with mass-casualty levels of radiation.
Getting across the border from Mexico into the United States isn’t easy, even though Raines has done it hundreds of times. If the blazing sun and hungry coyotes don’t take him down, the border cop obsessed with catching him will. And then there are the moon rocks. No one delivering them is meant to survive—especially after already being killed. But that’s the twist. One that transforms Raines into an undead rabbit-eared monster starving for vengeance, on a path straight into his orphaned daughter’s life . . .
Why I’m Excited to Read: Like Three Miles Past, getting your hands on a copy of Del Rio has felt impossible until now. While this is only an eBook reissue, I’m still eagerly anticipating all of the insanity the promise of radioactive bunnies holds.
Pre-Order Options:
– Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/it-came-from-del-rio-stephen-graham-jones/1028378676?ean=9781504096263
– Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ZwxCuD
Sterling City (First published in 2013)
Synopsis: A moon explodes and a marriage dies. An impossible creature rises from the tall grass, watches a farmer’s circle system crawl across the field like a giant insect. That farmer watches back. His wife’s footprints are there in the dirt. The fire in the sky leaves his shadow crisp and deep. This is Texas without the cowboy hat. This is Texas with a soft rain of cosmic debris sifting down over it. This is a dark, dangerous thing hiding in the cellar, but this is also a girl threading her bangs out of her face and smiling with her eyes at a boy. This is that impossible creature, love. This is Sterling City.
Why I’m Excited to Read: This is another eBook only release! Most of SGJ’s works have been classified in the category of horror, but Sterling City seems to fall more in the sci-fi genre. But honestly, I think SGJ’s works shine for their humanity. He writes love stories and tragedies that exist in extraordinary circumstances without regard for genre. This feels as though it will be just the same.
Pre-Order Options:
– Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sterling-city-stephen-graham-jones/1120593756?ean=9781504096300
– Amazon: https://amzn.to/4evwJGW
WHERE TO GET MERCH
No bookish holiday should pass without some kind of commemorative piece of merchandise. Thankfully, the wonderful Greg Greene has an Etsy shop for all of your SGJ swag needs: JadeDaniels4Ever. In addition to t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies, special SGJ Day pins can be found in this shop that are PERFECT for bags, denim jackets, and so much more.
EXTRAS
In addition to the five reissues from Open Road Media on October 1st, Stephen Graham Jones also has two other novels releasing in the future, one a reissue and one a new story entirely. Here’s a similar reference point for those titles:
After the People Lights Have Gone Off (Reissue by Open Road Media – First published in 2014)
Release Date: December 4, 2024
Synopsis: This is not your cookie-cutter horror collection. Stephen Graham Jones has taken nightmarish visions from his fevered imagination and crafted them into pieces of literary genius. If the absolute fear doesn’t sweep you away, his lyrical and haunting prose will. As Joe R. Lansdale states in the introduction, “You need this book. If you like anything close to horror, and also like your stories to have elements other than just standing in the darkness with a bloody knife, you have the right book. Enjoy.”
Does holding your breath for two minutes during the scariest part of a horror movie invite the terror in? Just ask the kids who go to the local theater in “Thirteen.” In “Doc’s Story,” even the most beloved family tales have teeth—that’s what happens when you’re born into a werewolf pack. And a father doesn’t have to think twice when he’s given one chance to make the ultimate sacrifice in “Snow Monsters.”
In these fifteen stories, Jones coaxes our greatest fears from the shadowy corners of our minds, and we can’t turn away.
Why I’m Excited to Read: I can’t even begin to count the amount of times stories from this collection have been marked as “must reads” for any SGJ fan. It really seems like there is something for everyone with this collection given there are a whopping FIFTEEN stories featured.
Pre-Order Options:
– Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/after-the-people-lights-have-gone-off-stories-stephen-graham-jones/21550245?ean=9781504096317&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwurS3BhCGARIsADdUH50AyjV35BFzW240ngpip6sSVFze37wDWptSCwiprc8k4V-dvYlZDo0aApiREALw_wcB
– Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/after-the-people-lights-have-gone-off-stephen-graham-jones/1118973711?ean=9781504096317
– Boulder Bookshop: https://www.boulderbookstore.net/book/9781504096317
– Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XRzHAr
*** Nightworms Subscribers: If you’re subscribed to Nightworms (a monthly horror subscription box), a signed copy of People Lights will be included in the November box. If you aren’t subscribed to Nightworms yet and are interested in doing so, you can check them out here: https://nightworms.com/. Availability may be limited and renewals/additions to their subscription list happen at the beginning of each month. More information can of course be found at their website.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (New Release from Saga Press)
Release Date: March 2025
Synopsis: A chilling historical horror novel set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.
A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones.
Why I’m Excited to Read: New SGJ is ALWAYS exciting. BHH promises a unique setting with compelling perspectives. This feels like the perfect playground for SGJ’s style, and I cannot wait until I can get my hands on it.
In conclusion…
Whew. I *think* that covers just about everything Stephen Graham Jones related. I sincerely hope you all partake in celebrating in SGJ Day on October 1st whether you pick up a reissued title, spread the good word, or just celebrate fantastic stories. It’s been a real treat to discover Stephen’s works, and I can’t wait to uncover more. If you decide to take any pictures or share any posts on social media preparing or celebrating October 1st, make sure you tag it “#SGJDay”! We want to see all of the love!
Special thanks to Open Road Media, Greg, Amber, Marguerite, Lorin, Robb, AKA, Tony, Cat, Matt, Lisa, Heather, Michael, Jesse, and Billy for all of their help in making the fast-approaching SGJ Day something special!
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