Personal / Website News
This is my first News Roundup post for 2026. This is also my first post of moving to my new schedule of publishing these once a month at the end of each month.
2025 Accomplishment Recap
My recap of 2025 – writing I got done (published or reprinted), vidcasts, podcasts, conferences, etc. is now online.
Last year was a pretty good year! I did not get to everything I wanted to (Emmanuelle book), but I was pretty prolific! Feel free to read the recap here.
Panthans Journal #344 and #345
The newest issue of the National Capital Panthans Journal has been published. This issue contains a re-print of my review of issue five of of the adult/neo-jungle girl series Vanya: The Lost Warrior. The original version of my review can be read right here.
The February Panthans issue #345 came out a day earlier on January 31st. This issue has a reprint of my review of Vanya #7, and the original can be read here.
As a preview of things to come, the March issue of the National Capital Panthans Journal will contain a reprint of one of my short stories that has been OOP for a few years. Stay tuned!
Paraphrased from the zine: The National Capital Panthans Journalis a monthly publication issued as a .PDF file on the Saturday before the first Sunday of each month. Contribution of articles, artwork, photos, and letters are welcome. Send submissions to the editor: Laurence G. Dunn at laurencegdunn AT gmail.com in a Word document for consideration.
Sincere appreciation to Laurence for the opportunity to have my work published in the journal.
Fan2Fan Podcast Appearance
The cool kids at the Fan2Fan Podcast have been dropping episodes recently about collecting physical media (see below).
They just dropped an episode about CD collecting and both Michele and I are on it. The episode can be streamed at this link here, via the embedded player below, or via your podcast app of preference.
The One Where We Talk About CDs – Fan2Fan Podcast
Following that they have another episode about how Michele and I’s collection of movies, games, etc. and how we collect lots of media.
That episode can be heard here or in the player below.
Physical Media: Heavy Boxes, Special Editions, and Video Games – Fan2Fan Podcast
Check out both episodes!
H. P. Lovecast Podcast
H. P. Lovecast Podcast will return in February! We’ve already recorded our discussion on the 80s creature feature classic, The Deadly Spawn, it just needs to be edited and published.
The New Peplum Citations
It has been a hot minute, but new citations for The New Peplum have just popped up!
The open access collection, Audio-Visual Roman Women: Gender, History & Screen Media, contains two essays that reference The New Peplum. Martin M. Winkler’s essay “Caesar’s Daughter: Lucilla on Screen” while Panayiota Mini’s essay “British Women in a Roman World: Female Figures in Audio-Visual Works about the Ninth Legion” cites Kevin Wetmore’s essay. Always wonderful to see The New Peplum continue to be cited by others.
Audio-Visual Roman Women can be read online here.
Scholars from the Edge of Time
The last episode of Scholars from the Edge of Time in 2025 was on the David Carradine/Roger Corman 80s S&S classic, The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984).
The cover promises a lady with four boobies and a Cthulhu and gosh darn it, the movie actually delivers four boobies and a Cthulhu. Our discussion of The Warrior and the Sorceress can be watched on YouTube. Check it out!
For January 2026 we kick of a new year of Scholars on the comedy side by discussing Hercules Returns (1993). An Australian movie that is essential a comedic redubbing of Samson and His Mighty Challenge (1964) with a thin plot of sorts that act as bookends. It’s a hilarious film.
Our discussion of Hercules Returns can also be watched on YouTube.
Publishing Recap
Below is a recap of my external publishing endeavors so far in 2026.
“All E.T.’s Aren’t Nice: Vanya 06” reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #344, January 2026.
“The Prehistoric Purge: Vanya 07″ reprinted in National Capital Panthans Journal #345, February 2026.
Calls for Papers/Proposals
Here are some new pop culture CFPs that have crossed my path or I am sharing on behalf of my colleagues. Links to these will also be in the CFP page on the navigation bar.
Werewolf Media Journal
Seeking paper abstracts for an upcoming WEREWOLF MEDIA-themed literary journal. Abstracts are open for critical theory papers discussing ANY MEDIA OR FRANCHISE WITH WEREWOLVES. The Horror Scholar Journal Vol 8 aims to be made available online in July 2026. This opportunity is paid 50 USD upon receipt of the final paper. Abstracts should be ~300 words briefly describing the scope and topic of your paper.
Final papers must be anywhere from 2000-5000 words. Not accepting reviews or previously published papers. This journal attempts to prioritize underserved or less published horror academics. Proposals and papers should be submitted in a readable, neutral size 12 font.
CUT OFF DATE FOR ABSTRACTS: FEB 3rd, 2026
CUT OFF DATE FOR FINISHED PAPERS: JUNE 1st, 2026
STEPS FOR APPLICATION:
- Submit your abstract via email to horrorscholar@gmail.com, along with your name, a 3-sentence bio, and social media links.
- Once your abstract is accepted, a finished paper can be submitted via email any time until the cutoff date above.
- Payment for your work will be sent upon reception of the first draft.
- Each paper will have 1 round of edits.
ABOUT HORROR SCHOLAR
HS is an independent horror research brand and one-woman publishing operation. It strives to make academic publishing more accessible and to celebrate both critical theory and fandom. @scholarhorror on Twitter or horrorscholar@gmail.com for questions.
Contemporary Indigenous Horror – Creative Writing
Contemporary Indigenous Horror (University Press of Mississippi, 2027) solicits original, unpublished short horror fiction, poetry, and experimental works by self-identifying Indigenous creatives. No work produced with AI will be accepted.
Honorarium: $250 (Canadian) per accepted piece
Deadline for submissions: July 14th, 2026
Name of organizer: Dr. Naomi Simon Borwein and Dr. Krista Collier-Jarvis
Contact email: Naomi Simone Borwein (nborwein@uwo.ca) and Krista Collier-Jarvis (Krista.Collier-Jarvis@msvu.ca)
As a companion to analysis in Contemporary Indigenous Horror (contracted with University Press of Mississippi), we are looking for creative pieces to be published within this academic volume.
To acknowledge the various ways in which Indigenous scholarship may engage in an ongoing conversation with other forms of expression and writing, we welcome both traditional as well as more exploratory approaches to fiction, poetry, flash, and related hybrid, experimental intertexts that rupture settler-colonial categorizations of genre. Word/line count should be as follows:
- Flash Fiction: about 500-1000 words
- Short Stories: about 1000-4000 words
- Poetry: maximum of about 110 lines
- Experimental, hybrid words: some flexibility
Please send submissions and a 100 word bio to editors Naomi Simone Borwein (nborwein@uwo.ca) and Krista Collier-Jarvis (Krista.Collier-Jarvis@msvu.ca) by July 14th, 2026.
Autographs from the Archive
Here are some autographed treasures I’ve shared on social media recently.
Student Bodies
Student Bodies (1981) is one of, if not the first, slasher comedy film. It is fairly rough around the edges if I recall, but still an important film in the early days of the genre. It would take a while to kind of juggle the two genres successfully, perhaps the first Scary Movie (2000)?
Way back in the 2000s, I was hooked on buying Mike Nelson commented movies from Legend Films, and they released Student Bodies, so of course I plucked it up. I sent my copy off to actress Robyn Flanery who graciously signed it.
The Strangeness
Two decades before The Descent (2005) there was The Strangeness (1985), though The Strangeness did come 5 years after Alien 2: On Earth (1980), when it comes to subterranean horror.
The Strangeness was one of those films I discovered during my Stephen Thrower/Nightmare USA phase in the 2000s. This movie was talked about in great detail in Thrower’s book, and I was tracking down all the movies I could. The only copy of The Strangeness I could find at the time was a British import from 23rd Century, a DVD label of dubious quality. I mean, look at that skull on the back. Generic much?
Regardless, I plucked up this film to add to my growing Nightmare USA collection. I did reach out to Mark Sawicki, who worked on the film and asked if he could autograph it for me, and he said sure!
Years later Code Red released a much better version of this film. Time for a re-watch!
New Sword and Sandal Acquisitions
The ever growing peplum research library grows with these recent sword and sandal acquisitions.
The Last Legion and Seventh Son
Michele and I took our periodic trip to Zia Records the other weekend. I’m always on the lookout for some peplum and peplum-adjacent movies when we are out and about and this time I scored two!
The first is The Last Legion (2007). I’ve been on the prowl for this one for a while, especially since it is mentioned in Dr. Wetmore’s essay in The New Peplum. That’s on the to watch pile for sure, and possible Peplum Ponderings article?
The second is Seventh Son (2014). I’ve never heard of this movie before and bought it because it looked like a post LOTR cash grab. Turns out I was wrong and it is based off a series of grim dark young children’s fantasy novels from the Spook’s series by Joseph Delaney. So, this is more of a post-Harry Potter cash grab as kids fantasy was in. Didn’t no one learn from Eragon (2006) a decade earlier? Regardless, it could be fun, so I look forward to checking it out.
News from Friends
Cool kids I know have been busy lately! Here are some signal boosts I’d like to give out.
New Ride the Stream Episodes
Michele Brittany and Travis Lakata have some brand new episodes of their Ride the Stream vidcast where they dive into season 2 of the cult television series Lost.
Here is their discussion of season two episode ten:
And season two episode eleven:
Their discussion on Season 2 Episode 12:
John 3:16 Remix
Philippe Gerber has a new remix that just dropped.
Under his John 3:16 moniker, Philippe has done a remix of the song “V Bezdne” by Sobaki Tabaka that appears on the remix album Sobaki Tabaka Remixes. The album is released by Industrial Complexx and is available at Bandcamp.
New Janet Joyce Holden Books
My friend Janet Joyce Holden has two books that are coming out at the very beginning of February.
They are titled Palladium’s Resolution and Palladium’s Insurrection. Blurb below for what these are all about.
Here is the Amazon link for all of the books in Holden’s Palladium series.
Press Blurb
Rogan is a troubled clairvoyant who can see more than most, but when he teams up with the monstrous Jake, a Khir’gham Guardian of the Void, it’s for an undeniably good cause. Keeping the hungry Void from invading Jake’s home of Palladium, and thereby saving Rogan’s own world from destruction.
Except a hitherto mysterious threat has now fully revealed itself. Carl Drake, visionary CEO of Stormquell and secretly one of Palladium’s mighty dragons, is not only hellbent on breaking his exile and reclaiming what he has lost, he has greedy ambitions regarding Rogan’s world, too.
The series reaches its climax in the final two novellas, Palladium’s Insurrection, and Palladium’s Resolution. The confrontation they always feared is now on the horizon, its arena shifting from the glossy mansions of Benedict Canyon, to the Southern California high desert, and finally into the fragile world of Palladium, and it’s up to Jake and Rogan to save the day. Except the task of killing dragons, not only seems impossible, its consequences will prove devastating and unforgivable. Perhaps Rogan and Jake will survive, but at what terrible cost?
Palladium is a series of high fantasy and dark adventure, containing monsters, dragons, interdimensional worlds, along with the all too human attributes of trust, courage, and family treachery.
Arriving on Tuesday 2nd February.
New Fan2Fan Episodes
Brand new episodes of the Fan2Fan podcast are now online. Aside from the CD collecting episode above, there’s a plethora of other episodes since the end of December. Check these all out:
First there is “2025 Horror: The Monkey, 28 Years Later, Good Boy & More“:
2025 Horror: The Monkey, 28 Years Later, Good Boy & More – Fan2Fan Podcast
Then “Best of 2025: Movies, Music, and More“:
Best of 2025: Movies, Music, and More – Fan2Fan Podcast
Followed by their first episode in their physical media series “The One Where We Talk About Physical Media“:
The One Where We Talk About Physical Media – Fan2Fan Podcast
And “VHS Collecting with Cory Gorski“:
VHS Collecting with Cory Gorski – Fan2Fan Podcast
And then “VHS Collecting with Jim Karl“:
VHS Collecting with Jim Karl – Fan2Fan Podcast
Older episodes of Fan2Fan can be found at its Libsyn page or via your podcast app of preference.
Apocalypse Later Film Review: The Giant of Marathon
Hal A. F. Astell has a new film review up at his Apocalypse Later website, this one on the sword and sandal classic The Giant of Marathon (1959).
Check out the review at the Apocalypse Later website.
