Upcoming Events & News
American Magdalene:The Life Behind the Scandalous Book : Madeleine: An Autobiography Release Date
American Magdalene:The Life Behind the Scandalous Book : Madeleine: An Autobiography is set for release November 20th 2025.
The Best Horror Of The Year.Vol 17~Ellen Datlow
Ellen Datlow, the Mother of Horror, has included four poems from Bestial Mouths (Raw Dog Screaming Press) in The Best Horror of the Year vol.17! This is a tremendous honor for my debut poetry collection and for my work exploring feminine themes through horror!
Hillary Leftwich Book Launch
At The Inkwell Denver Celebrates Saint Dymphna’s Play Book By Hillary Leftwich, Saturday on Zoom, May 3, 2025 at 2:30 Mountain Time. Celebrating with Hillary will be~ Carol Guess, Jeff Alessandrelli, Erin, K Barns, Alex DiFrancesco, Chris Campanioni, and Brenda S. Tolian.
FOLK RIOT MAGAZINE SPRING 2025
Some of my poems from a forthcoming collection have been published in one of the South’s most evocative creative magazines. Folk Riot Magazine is the publication of Folk Riot: A Southern Arts + Culture Company. FOLK RIOT is a queer, BIPOC-owned independent company based in New Orleans, LA. Folk Riot is a revolutionary arts, culture, and entertainment company designed to celebrate and amplify diverse creative voices!
Bestial Mouths has been nominated for a 2025 -The Elgin Awards by SFPA
Bestial Mouths has been nominated for a 2025 Elgin Award!! The Elgin Awards are presented annually by SFPA in two categories, chapbook, and book, for speculative poetry collections published in the preceding two years. It’s so wonderful to have my work recognized!
Devils and Justified Sinners Conference
I will be presenting at the Devils and Justified Sinners Conference. Romancing the Gothic presents its fourth annual online conference over two days - the 24th and 25th of August. The conference celebrates 200 years of James Hogg's Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner with a series of talks, events, and workshops. Aug 24th and 25th. Tickets can be found HERE.
PseudoPod 883: Ba’alat Ov
I forgot to add this in my news. PseudoPod 883 is a dynamic reduction of my story Ba’alat Ov.
Author : Brenda Tolian
Narrator : Victoria Marklew
Host : Alasdair Stuart
Audio Producer : Chelsea Davis
Listen HERE
Update
Life is super busy! I am finishing up my doctorate at Murray State (Graduation in May). I have a non-fiction book in the finishing stages and a fiction undergoing edits. The Poetry book is in the edits stage with the publisher. New Orleans is also offering its own special inspiration as expected. What a glorious city to call home! I have a poem in the Listen To Your Skin Anthology along with some of the best writers and poets out there-More on that soon.
GRAMARYE
Gramarye- The University of Chichester Center for Fairy Tales, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction- Publication 23 is available now order here-http://www.sussexfolktalecentre.org/journal/
The University's esteemed journal represents my story and so many other artists and writers’ amazing fiction, poetry, essays, and art in the summer publication!
GRAMARYE- The Chichester Center for Fairy Tales, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction-Publication
My short work will be forthcoming this summer in the Gramarye- Summer Journal 2023- More details coming!
Incoming Reviews for Blood Mountain on Goodreads
Reviews continue to come in for Blood Mountain- Read them here and leave your own: HERE
TOR NIGHTFIRE ALL THE HORROR BOOKS WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT IN 2022
TOR NIGHTFIRE-ALL THE HORROR BOOKS WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT IN 2022- HERE
Cemetry Dance- Night Time Logic Interview
Interview with Cemetery Dance- Night Time Logic- Here
STOKER- HORROR WRITERS ASSOCIATION
I will be at the STOKER- Horror Writing Association the whole conference!. On Friday I will deliver Gaia Screaming research into Horror and Climate Change during the Ann Radcliffe Conference . Saturday morning I will be reading from Blood Mountain along with Gordon B White and David Rose-so bring your coffee and a doughnuts for early morning frightful storytelling! Later in the afternoon I will be speaking on the Digging up Graves: Researching and Writing Horror Non-Fiction with Lisa Kroger, Melanie Anderson and Gavin F. Hurley! You can also find me at the Raw Dog Screaming publishers table with very early copies of Blood Mountain I might be willing to part with! Hope to see you there!!
Writing in the Dark
Writing In The Dark Workshop- Featuring Tim Waggoner author of the Stoker Award winning dark curriculum . Join us to improve your writing! Click the link below!
BLOOD MOUNTAIN
Early Praise for Blood Mountain
What are they saying?
“…a bloody mosaic novel that brings together smart writing and pure horror with beautiful prose and important topics. At once a powerful chant about Earth and womanhood, a shapeshifting narrative packed with blood that centers Otherness, and a strange literary creature that slides into your flesh…” —Gabino Iglesias, Coyote Songs
“A blood-beating, ancient survival song from Tolian and one hell of a first novel. Blood Mountain unearths the voices long-buried, many of whom should have stayed put in their graves. Still, Tolian doesn’t allow for pardons in this brutal landscape with characters carrying the burdens of beauty and grief, heartbreak and sins. Tolian never falters when the dead demand to be heard and the living is forced to reckon with the land and the mountain—just as alive as the people that claim her—watching, waiting.”—Hillary Leftwich, Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How to Knock and Aura
“Brenda Sue Tolian never flinches at staring into the abyss and reporting precisely what she finds in the darkness. Her stark, provocative prose sticks in your memory like a fish hook into your eye.”—Stanley Wiater, host of Dark Dreamers
“Along the face of Tolian’s mountain: real horrors exist beside sudden, lavish declarations. Angsts and awes, polished and raw. A mosaic of mountain songs that penetrate all the way to the beating, blood heart. A tremendous knotting of setting, mood, and mind.”—Josh Malerman, New York Times best selling author of Bird Box and Goblin
Reserve your copy here!! RAW DOG SCREAMING-BLOOD MOUNTAIN
Southwestern American Pop Culture Association Confrence
I’ll present research at the Conference on bibliographical / textual studies of an obscure Victorian writer who attempted to write the American West! One must study and read to write strong fiction!
CFP – ANGELA CARTER: A RADICAL PRESCIENCE? Symposium: Saturday 5 March 2022
Wonderful news I will be presenting my story-Ba’lat Ov from the Jewish Book of Horror at the University of Chichester in March 2022. The Angela Carter Society, which was established in 2017, seeks to celebrate and promote the study and appreciation of the life and work of Angela Carter, one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. This society aims to create an international community of Angela Carter scholars and passionate readers to share and discuss historic and contemporary developments in the field of Angela Carter studies. This is a huge dream come true!!
New Story In Upcoming Anthology!
My story BA’ LAT OV is coming out in a new anthology in December-details to follow!
REVIEW: The Jewish Book of Horror
Publishers Weekly just gave our anthology a big thumbs up! Find the review here!
PROMT! ZINE
I have some flash in PROMT Zine this Month find it here
https://promptzine.gumroad.com/?fbclid=IwAR3ZpMFbHXetVmLzp0L7_na17RYmsR2pKiYi-RrT9Qz8wmI2jONhSPfkUzw
Listen To Your Skin-Horror Reading
I will be reading some DARK HORROR with the Great Kim Vodicka at the Listen to Your Skin Event. Info can be found at https://sisterrainbowscream.com
Mile High Con
Mile High Con-Seems I will be both reading and on a panel for short fiction on October 2nd. So come out and see some really cool stuff. Click here for information!
COLORADO FESTIVAL OF HORROR 2021
Are you going to the festival of horror? I am and I will be joining the great Mario Acevedo on a panel Sunday at 2: The Horror Of Writing Horror in the Dracula Room. Information is here!
New Interview with KD Webster
Recently I was interviewed by the writer KD Webster! Find that interview here! It’s always a pleasure to chat with and read the work of KD!
BOOK DEAL WITH RAW DOG SCREAMING PRESS!!!!
Book deal with RAW DOG SCREAMING PRESS!! They will publish Blood Mountain in coming months!! Look out for more big things coming!
Vol.8 of The Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase
My poem was accepted to the prestigious Horror Writers Association Showcase Vol.8 . More details to follow. I am very aware of the honor of inclusion with the very best of the best of those who write dark poetry. To simply say I am honored does not fully capture how thrilled I am. I look at this as a learning experience to be savored in the progression in my ongoing education in dark fiction.
Find the announcement here!
As soon as I have more info I will post.
MFA Defense
Coming up soon my MFA defense and Graduation! Then onward to my Doctorate work in August. Don’t worry I am adding chapters as we speak to the next novel!