The Curious Case of the Longevity of the New Flesh

Last week we discussed the book bail-out.

In the course of the week, though, I’ve not seen too many author brethrens step up to this challenge, though. This saddens me, as I was hoping it would rekindle my intent to hold this site up. We’ll have to see how long I can sustain.

Perhaps it comes down to the cost of the printed word. Are books too expensive? Sure, they’re pricey, but unlike gas, produce, and seafood, though, they’re not on the rise. They’re pretty stable.

If it is a monetary situation, then you need to find free outlets (like the libraries or book exchanges, which is something we referenced). Try out The New Flesh – http://newfleshmagazine.blogspot.com/.

For nearly two years, the New Flesh has been cranking out flash fiction by some amazing artists – we’re not talking just newbies. Kevin Shamel, Jordan Krall, and loads of others have been providing free fiction to the masses. And, now, the New Flesh, I’m proud to announce, has upped their game. The New Flesh is going to the printers! And they’re seeking longer short fiction (not flash) to be included. So, this is exciting news for writers, readers, book connoisseurs the world over. Like the Cronenberg film this site pays homage to, I think we can all say: “Long Live the New Flesh.”

But what’s this all about?

Allow me to let William Pauley III tell you in his own words. (William Pauley III is the author of the books The Doom Magnetic and The Brothers Crunk.)

Humble Origins of the New Flesh, in the words of the esteemed WP3

THE NEW FLESH has been around for nearly two years now. I published the first story on August 11th, 2009. It was a story of mine called THE LUMP. It was about a paraplegic man who one day discovers that he can move during thunderstorms. I sent invites to every writer I knew, which at the time was not very many at all, and submissions started rolling in. TNF took off immediately, so much so that I had to hire a second editor, Mrs. Suzie Bradshaw, to help me out with submissions.


About 6 months or so after TNF opened for business, Suzie and I were struggling to get submissions. The well dried up and we had no idea what to do other than to beg our close writer friends to let us post some reprints of theirs. There were several moments when I felt like hanging up my hat and closing the site down for good, but something in me wouldn't allow it. I knew there was a market for weird fiction, but I was struggling to find that audience and enough writers to support it. A few months later, Suzie decided to leave TNF to pursue other interests outside of writing. I immediately asked my friend and co-editor of the TOE TAGS anthologies, Mr. Brian Barnett, if he would be interested in the co-editor position and he gladly accepted. This was right before TNF's one year anniversary.


I remember discussing several ideas with Brian about how to generate more submissions and one of those ideas was to make a free ebook of our favorite TNF stories over our first year. We called the book LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH: YEAR ONE, got permission to republish the stories from the authors, and made it available for download on the site the day of our anniversary. This idea was truly genius and I don't think either Brian or I really knew initially how successful it was going to be... but it was incredibly successful. Altogether we had around 500 or so downloads in just the first month! This was shocking to us, because we felt at the time that we were just barely keeping our heads above the water, but man, we were wrong. We had a dedicated following, I just wasn't making the website as user-friendly as it should have been. I added several ways for readers to subscribe to the site, to alert them when new posts were made, and that made all the difference in the world. We now have hundreds of subscribers and thousands of dedicated readers. We also have a large group of dedicated writers producing great material for TNF. Writers from all over the world. We've actually been so busy for the last year that we had to close to submissions for the first time since we opened! It's amazing to see how much it's grown in such a short amount of time.


About a month or so ago, I was approached by Mr. Jonathan Moon about possibly publishing some sort of anthology for The Library of Bizarro Horror. I called him up one day, we discussed our many ideas and decided to bring TNF to the world of print. It's pretty insane to think about, but TNF desrves it. It's been publishing the best in weird/bizarro fiction for a long time now. I'm glad it's finally getting the attention it deserves. Christ! It's like one of my children, man! It's growing up right in fornt of my eyes! It's goddamn beautiful...

So, I'm not sure I need to tell you much more than that.  Joe Lansdale and the New Flesh Magazine - providing free fiction for all those readers out there.  Enjoy it.  And, if you're a writer, you should think about submitting.

Until next time, keep reading...