Kratke horor priče za ukletu Noć vještica

Naša zbirka horor priča Posljednja kuća u Šenoinoj ulici, u kojoj se našlo osam domaćih autorica i autora, sada je dostupna za čitanje u e-formatu! Taman idealni provod za ovu strašnu noć koja nas danas čeka. Ali i neovisno o Noći vještica i kako ćete je proslaviti (ili nećete), ova će vas zbirka počastiti fantastičnim pričama o ukletim kućama. Zbirka je dostupna na Smashwordsu, Everandu, Kobu i drugim dućanima za e-knjige. Meki uvez možete naručiti s webknjizara.hr.

Sumnjivo jeftini stanovi, nasljedstva koja dolaze za cijenu prolivene krvi, zidovi koji skrivaju mračne obiteljske tajne, kuće koje vas ne puštaju da izađete, gospodske kuće koje mame – što biste vi rekli, koliko vrijedi jedna ukleta kuća?

Jedno je sigurno: ako možete proći jeftinije, možda ćete morati prihvatiti i kosti u ormaru.

Za vas krvlju žbukaju Jelena Dunato, Ivana Geček, Petra Pine, Luna Tatjana Val, Vesna Kurilić, Igor Rendić, Lea Katarina Gobec i Antonija Mežnarić.

Dodajte knjigu na Goodreadsu i Storygraphu i podijelite svoje dojmove o pričama.

Knjiga je objavljena uz potporu Grada Rijeke.

Otkrivamo fasadu Posljednje kuće u Šenoinoj ulici

Na društvenim mrežama već smo najavili, a sada je vrijeme i da otkrijemo tajni projekt! Iz naše nakladničke kolibe uskoro nam izlazi zbirka horor priča o ukletim kućama: Posljednja kuća u Šenoinoj ulici.
Ova zbirka priča domaćih autorica i autora provest će vas po stanovima i kućama sumnjive kvalitete i još upitnijeg zlokobnog statusa, a našli su se unutra i jedan dvorac i jedna skrivena klijet.

Autor naslovnice je Antonio Filipović – Athan, koji nas je počastio pravom, tradicionalnom, hrvatskom kućom bez fasade i sakrio jedan poseban detalj u krvi koja se lije niz ulicu. Jeste li ga odmah ubrali?

U zbirci vaš očekuju priče:

Jelena Dunato: Eho
Ivana Geček: Ujakova ukleta kuća
Petra Pine: Melitina kuća čudesa
Luna Tatjana Val: Savršeno suglasje
Vesna Kurilić: Cimerice
Igor Rendić: Djeva u bunaru
Lea Katarina Gobec: Iskra što čini vatru
Antonija Mežnarić: Hiža

E-knjiga izlazi za Noć vještica, u četvrtak, 31. 10. 2024., a detalje o mekom uvezu, kada izlazi i odakle će ga se moći nabaviti objavit ćemo uskoro. E-knjiga već je dostupna za prednarudžbu na platformama Kobo, Smashwords i drugim dućanima, a knjigu možete dodati i na Goodreadsu i Storygraphu. Knjiga izlazi uz potporu Grada Rijeke i puno im hvala što su nam omogućili da realiziramo ovaj projekt!
Jedva čekamo da uzmete knjigu u ruke jer vas s ovom zbirkom čeka prava horor poslastica hrvatskih autora.

Na domaćem tržištu nekretnina, koliko vrijedi jedna ukleta kuća?

Posljednja kuća u Šenoinoj ulici čeka na nove stanare i vi, dragi čitatelji, odlični ste kandidati!

Možete odabrati između:

…dvije obiteljske kuće u Zagorju koje se samo malo raspadaju (ali čujemo da jedna ima odličan izbor knjiga)
…sumnjivo jeftinog stana u Zagrebu, u koji možete useliti sami, ili drugog zagrebačkog stana, koji ćete dijeliti s prijateljicom (što bi moglo poći po krivu?)
…otmjene kuće iz 19. stoljeća na Sušaku (kojoj treba samo malo ljubavi)
…obiteljske kuće s mračnom povijesti (i još mračnijim tapetama)
…raskošnog dvorca s odličnom akustikom (spremno za koncert!)
…gospodske kuće u alternativnoj Rijeci (bunar bez dodatne naplate)!

Ovih osam kratkih horor priča o ukletim stambenim jedinicama domaćih autorica i autora pokazat će vam, dragi čitatelji, različite intimne životne trenutke i pobrinuti se da se zabavite, ali i užasnete. Od gotičke atmosfere, preko crnog humora, do istinski zastrašujućih obiteljskih tajni – sve se to skriva u Šenoinoj ulici.

Jedno je sigurno: ako možete proći jeftinije, možda ćete morati prihvatiti i kosti u ormaru.


Out Now: Bye-Bye, Babaroga

Our new sapphic horror novella by debut author Ivana Geček is now available in print and ebook!

Ivana Geček is a writer and comic artist currently based in Varaždin, Croatia. Horror, dark fantasy, and satire inspired by folklore are right in her wheelhouse. In her spare time she likes to read about cryptids, pick at the banjo, and watch good and bad horror movies.

The cheeky, bloody novella Bye-Bye Babaroga iz Ivana’s first solo book, combining her background of growing up in Zagorje, the remote (and idyllic) hillside region in the north of Croatia, and her love of over-the-top horror, with a good dose of humor.

If you’re into dark humor, corporate subversion, modern-day folk horror and sapphic ladies who have just had it with their constricting lives, jump right in.

Blurb

Getting a job at a plastic surgery clinic working with a man everybody calls “Butcher” wasn’t bad enough for Kaja—she had to go and join the company’s team building in the remote woodlands of Kalnik, too. Pestered by the heavy rain and heavier fog, all the while navigating booze, hunting, and more unwanted advances from her straight colleagues than could fit into the lodge’s hot tub, Kaja has a personal nightmare to deal with as well—the one who has been haunting her ever since she was a child.

Inviting an old wives’ tale into a modern-day marketing plan as her final chance of making it in the clinic is only bound to make it worse.

Because Kaja’s nightmare visitor seems to have followed along, too… straight back to the place where the legend itself began, bathed in the blood of a long-forgotten tale of sacrifice and forbidden love.

Read today. Add it on Goodreads and The Storygraph.

“A beautifully unhinged tale of beating your repression to a bloody pulp. Satirical, bloody, tense, atmospheric, creepy, and romantic, the queer horror novella Bye-Bye, Babaroga will show you the worst of the beauty industry, the toxic corporate world, and oppressive societies, but also the most beautiful of human connections, and finding courage to live your life free of the damaging heteronormative expectations.” Antonija Mežnarić, author of Mistress of Geese

A Win for The Lost Treasure Hunters!

Recently the new Artefakt Awards were announced, and our very own author Antonija Mežnarić has been recognized in the mid-lenght fiction category, by receiving the Artefakt Award for her novella The Lost Treasure Hunters, included in the eponymous anthology, originally published in Croatian here. Big congrats to all the winners!

The Artefakt, one of the major Croatian genre awards for speculative fiction, is awarded every year by the jury of the Rikon convention, which will be held Oct 11th—13th, 2024, in the center of Rijeka, the Exportdrvo hall.

Come join us in the celebration and we’ll make sure to sneak a covert signing session by Antonija at the awards ceremony if you sneak us your copy of the book!

A Beautifully Beautiful Cover Reveal

In the world of impossible beauty standards reaching for artificially sculpted perfection, it’s time for the famous conventionally unattractive fairy tale monster to shine! Here comes Babaroga, crawling out of her cave, among the pages of this book, and on the cover we’re revealing today!

The cover of this debut horror novella by Ivana Geček is the work of our dear cover artist Antonio Filipović.

How do we see ourselves; what changes, if any, do we want to make to our faces and our bodies to fit in, and what does it all have to do with the creature known mostly for her horn and the habit of eating bad-behaving children? To answer all that, and more, you’ll have to pick up Bye-Bye, Babaroga, a modern-day sapphic horror about the cost of beauty, love, and belonging, spanning across centuries, out this September 26th, 2024!

Getting a job at a plastic surgery clinic working with a man everybody calls “Butcher” wasn’t bad enough for Kaja—she had to go and join the company’s team building in the remote woodlands of Kalnik, too. Pestered by the heavy rain and heavier fog, all the while navigating booze, hunting, and more unwanted advances from her straight colleagues than could fit into the lodge’s hot tub, Kaja has a personal nightmare to deal with as well—the one who has been haunting her ever since she was a child.

Inviting an old wives’ tale into a modern-day marketing plan as her final chance of making it in the clinic is only bound to make it worse.

Because Kaja’s nightmare visitor seems to have followed along, too… straight back to the place where the legend itself began, bathed in the blood of a long-forgotten tale of sacrifice and forbidden love.

It’s time for Babaroga to crawl out of her cave and set her story straight… so to speak.

Pre-order the ebook now! The paperback will be available on Amazon, September 26th 2024. Add it on Goodreads and Storygraph.

ESFS Awards News

It is with the greatest glee and not a small amount of pride that we can now say that the cover for our anthology Slavic Supernatural, lovingly illustrated and designed by Antonio Filipović – Athan, has been recognized by the European Science Fiction Society, who have awarded it the Achievement Award for Best Work of Art! The award was announced at Erasmuscon, the 2024 Eurocon in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

The cover, portraying the ancient Slavic goddess Morana in characteristically Slavic attire has been one of the biggest points in favor for this Slavic-inspired fantasy and horror anthology which includes stories by eleven authors, three of whom played with different versions of the goddess herself. Antonio also used various symbolism connected to Morana, referencing her connection to winter and death, to both her young form and old, which he hints at with her arms (since in one of the myths she turns from a beautiful maiden to the old crone after the murder of her brother-spouse Jarilo). And following the cold atmosphere of the stories and the recurring motif of seasonal changes, you can see the hints of spring sprouting on the cover (both front and back).

The anthology is available in ebook and paperback, so if you’re interested in reading these tales of seasonal changes, life, folklore, and Slavic wonder, and to see this, now awarded, cover from up close, this is the perfect opportunity to get the book!

Antonio Filipović – Athan is a young Croatian illustrator and comic book artist who’s just finished his first solo book of comics, Sinestezija, soon available in print in Croatian. His main interests lie in the ancient, pre-Hellenistic cultures and the intersection of mythology and queer identity. You can follow his illustrated adventures on IG @a.th.a.n and ArtStation Antonio Filipović – Athan. 

While we’re at the ESFS awards, another member of the Shtriga family has been recognized this Eurocon by receiving the Chrysalis Award for an emerging writer!

Ivana Geček, whose debut queer horror novella Bye-Bye, Babaroga is our upcoming release, is a multitaletend Croatian artist. Originally a comics artist and illustrator, she has in the past few years started making forays into writing speculative fiction, with works published in our Slavic Supernatural anthology and multiple issues of Morina kutija magazine. Her fiction features Slavic motifs and while she often deals in dark themes, she is prone to infusing her work with humor.

Big congrats to Antonio, Ivana, and all other winners! To see the full list of winners you can check out this article at File 770, and for the Chrysalis Awards go to the official ESFS site.

Out Now: The Lost Treasure Hunters

Celebrating this Pride Month with a new release! The collection of queer folk horror stories, The Lost Treasure Hunters and Other Tales of Folk Terrors by Antonija Mežnarić is now out and ready to chill you to your bones. Which is perfect for this summer heat rolling on.

Are you ready to learn what happened to the missing “treasure hunters” who went up Velebit mountain through the Turkish Door pass, but only one returned? When the travel vlogging couple, Lorena and Marina, planned their newest trip, they didn’t expect for it to end in the media sensation over the disappearance of their group. Five went on an adventure, and one came back, and to uncover the truth, you need to dive into the collected materials they’ve left behind: messages, emails, notes, and diary entries. What happened next will shock you!

The collection contains: the found footage folk horror novella, a short story of a she-wolf who moved to the pictoresque mill village Rastoke only to learn it’s already a hunting ground for another monstrous woman, a story of a tired new mother filled with regret and repression who just can’t deal with the weird pink house and the strange, beautiful neighbour and her yappy dogs.

And an epistolary novelette of strange sightings of the woman in white in a high school dorm and the teacher-educator who needs to get to the bottom of it.

Get the book now in ebook and paperback!

Add it on Goodreads and The Storygraph or read it with your book club on Fable.

You can also check out the Turkish Pass on our Pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.com/shtrigabooks/the-lost-treasure-hunters/

Girls at the End of Their Adventures

On this day, April 18th, we’re celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Croatian writer Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić. Her role in our literature as someone who put the spotlight on Croatian folk tradition, writing new fairy tales for children, is of great importance, her influence a constant that follows generations, inspiring new children and authors. Not to mention that her Croatian Tales of Long Ago are part of obligatory reading in elementary schools, securing her position in our history of literature.

And while we celebrate the 150th aniversary of her birth, we can hop into another world, to 1947, where the Mažuranić dynasty has a celebration of their own. We’re, of course, talking about the last book of our queer retrofuturistic mystery series, Ranger Paraversum by Vesna Kurilic…

What happens when you take the final mask off?

The rumors are true.

Her Imperial Highness, Empress Mazuranich of Croatia, is ready to abdicate in early 1947.

For Lina, a Ranger Cartographer turned amateur detective, it means one more trip to her doppelgänger lover Karol’s parallel world and one last chance at bringing the rogue Potsdamer Cartographer Association to justice before they take over the paraversum with their subterfuge.

Join Lina and Karol at their final joint mission to the glittering, heavily-guarded Imperial island of Krk, where the ruins of an old monastery provide shelter to a modern-day empire and the backgrop to the grandest masquerade ball of the century.

A dead bodyguard, a string of old friends and reluctant family allies, and the choice of a lifetime: what happens after the end of the final mission?

Girls at the End finishes what Johnny’s Girls started, in a grand, glittering, fabulous—and murderous—finale.

Watch this space to find out more about the cover reveal and preorder links—coming soon!

Cover reveal: The Lost Treasure Hunters

It’s that time when we’re revealing the cover art for our newest release, coming up on June 20th 2024!

Are you interested in horror and South Slavic folklore? Found footage? Epistolary form? Short form? Queer horror? Then you need to check out the new title coming from Antonija Mežnarić, The Lost Treasure Hunters and Other Tales of Folk Terrors, which contains the titular found footage folk horror novella, two novelettes, and a short story.

This amazing cover was done by the no other than Antonio Filipović who you can follow on IG as @a.th.a.n. Antonio is our local illustrator and comic book artist with a love for mythology and queer themes, so he’s perfect for our horror titles inspired by South Slavic folk tales and myths. He’s managed to catch the distortion aspect of the found footage novella The Mystery of the Lost ‘Treasure Hunters of Velebit’: Overview of the Materials while depicting the real location where the story takes place. Do you know where on Northern Velebit this is?

And to learn what happened to the lost treasure hunters and what kinds of other terrors await you in this book, you can pre-order the ebook or sign up to get an ARC.

Add the book on Goodreads and The Storygraph!

Out Now In Paperback

From fall to summer, a krsnik’s job stays the same.

It’s not summer, or fall, but the first days of spring brought us the paperback format of our action-packed Slavic urban fantasy novel Seasons of the River by Igor Rendić, book two of A Town Called River trilogy.

For all lovers of physical copies, you can now take this book with you to the park and enjoy the adventure, Slavic mythology, love, friendship, cozy slice-of-life, and action, of Paul and his fairy love and witchy gang of supernatural protectors. Get the paperback now from your closest Amazon marketplace. Ebook is available in a wide distribution.

Becoming a krsnik, a magic user from Slavic myths which have turned real in the streets of Rijeka, was not what Paul expected upon his return to his hometown, but an intense first few days in his new role in A Town Called River helped him settle into his newfound life as the town’s protector.

Now a new threat looms over his town, growing ever larger and more dangerous, ready to wreak havoc once it spreads out from the river’s canyon in the hills. Conflicted  about his private life and his duties as a krsnik, fixing issues big and small, making enemies and dangerous allies along the way, Paul will have to solve the mystery while balancing the weight of his new responsibilities.

As the seasons change and summer sweeps over the horizon once more, Paul and his friends may just find themselves facing a battle they can’t win… a battle that their town cannot afford to lose.

The gorgeous cover illustration is by the talented Korin Hunjak, go and check out their work at Instagram, Facebook or webpage.