Morbid Curiosity magazine
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| Editor | Loren Rhoads |
|---|---|
| Categories | Nonfiction, First Person, Creative Nonfiction |
| Frequency | Annual |
| First issue | 1997 |
| Final issue | 2006 |
| Company | Automatism Press |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Website | http://www.charnel.com/morbidcuriosity |
For 10 years, San Francisco-based Morbid Curiosity magazine was devoted to first-person nonfiction essays. Helmed by editor and publisher Loren Rhoads, Morbid Curiosity explored "the unsavory, unwise, unorthodox, and unusual: all the dark elements that make life truly worth living."[1]
In September 2009, Scribner published a collection of some of the editor's favorite pieces, called "Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues".
Contents |
[edit] History
The cult magazine debuted in May 1997, but took a while to settle into a purely first-person vein. Early issues included straight nonfiction (a history of auto-erotic strangulation) and interviews (particularly with ceramics artist MJ Bole). Eventually, editor Rhoads realized that what interested her most were survivor narratives:
"There is an undiluted power in reporting what you experienced and testifying about how it changed you. Those are the stories that I like best: the authors' records of When Life Changed. They provide mirrors so that we -- voyeurs and survivors in our own rights -- can examine our own lives." -- Loren Rhoads, introduction to Morbid Curiosity #10
[edit] Contributors
Contributors to the magazine included Michael Arnzen, M. Christian, Aaron Cometbus, Ray Garton, T.M. Gray, Michael Hemmingson, Brian Hodge, Charlee Jacob, Brian Keene, Jasmine Sailing, Julia Solis, Jill Tracy, Don Webb, David Niall Wilson.
[edit] Press and Notices
In 2005, Morbid Curiosity was a finalist for the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction.
Morbid Curiosity obituary in the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/19/AR2006061901543.html
Interview with Morbid Curiosity’s editor Loren Rhoads http://www.sfstation.com/dance-around-in-your-bones-a488
[edit] Morbid Curiosity Open Mics
A Morbid Curiosity Open Mic was held at the Death Equinox '99 convention. Editor Loren Rhoads hosted it, and contributors to the magazine told "improvised true stories about past morbid curiosity episodes in their lives". [2]
[edit] External links
Editor Loren Rhoads’ web site
Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues book
[edit] References
- ^ review in Azrael Project Newsletter, Westgate Gallery, 1998
- ^ Death Equinox '99 Features
