Stefan Grabinski Gets an Ebook

Weird fiction's migration to the electronic medium is quickening. Polish author Stefan Grabinski is the latest to join the likes of contemporaries and grand masters from literary horror's past on e-book shelves everywhere. Or, more appropriately, the marketplace of Amazon's Kindle, which currently dominates the e-publishing world.

Grabinski's debut in e-book form arrives with a definitive edition of his collection, The Motion Demon. This edition includes all the contents of the increasingly expensive and out-of-print hardcover published by Ash-Tree Press. Fortunately, unlike some e-book efforts, this is no mere bundle of stories cobbled together by an amateur.

The Motion Demon is edited by Miroslaw Lipinski, the world's foremost authority on Grabinski translation and scholarly analysis. He has arguably done for the "Polish Poe" what S.T. Joshi managed to do for Lovecraft. Meanwhile, the most affordable English paperback which nicely introduces his strange stories remains The Dark Domain by Dedalus European Classics.

The curious transition of Stefan Grabinski is just the latest one to round out 2011, as the weird fiction community begins invading e-publishing. This year has also seen small presses like Tartarus dipping into e-books, and a large blast of new titles related to H.P. Lovecraft on Kindle.

-Grim Blogger

Stefan Grabinski Gets an Ebook

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The Changing Face of Stefan Grabinski Readership

Interest in the "Polish Poe," Stefan Grabinski, appears to be on the upswing in his homeland. Agharta Press has just released a new anthology called Tragedy on the Tower. The book collects previously unseen stories from Grabinski, as well as works by fellow writer Jan Huskowski.

Oddly enough, Grabinski's following in Poland is small and possibly less passionate than abroad. Translated books like The Dark Domain in English have been the main purveyors of weird Grabinskian ideas and style to literary horror lovers in recent times. Now, with Agharta's new release, a flicker of change could be starting.

It's well deserved, since reading Grabinski in his native tongue undoubtedly yields additional curiosities not carried over well in translation. Look for the devoted Grabinski cult to remain small in the near term. However, thanks to renewed interest in Europe and beyond, it's likely that Grabinski's readership may soon undergo a more international transformation.

Changes may be in order for Grabinski scholarship too, where Miroslaw Lipinski has dominated the field for several decades. Here, new voices are joining the fray. Check out Marek Wilczynski's new electronic article, "Secret Passages Through Poe: The Transatlantic Affinities of H.P. Lovecraft and Stefan Grabinski" for a fresh look at Stefan Grabinski within a broader weird fiction context.

-Grim Blogger

The Changing Face of Stefan Grabinski Readership

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New Stefan Grabinski Collection Planned

After several years of inactivity on the Stefan Grabinski front, his admirers should find much cause to celebrate in the pending publication of a new short story collection, On the Hill of Roses. Grabinski's fan Facebook account reports that the book is being tuned for an independent publication sometime in the near future. It will contain six stories translated by the Polish author's longtime emissary, Miroslaw Lipinski, and presumably fabricates the content of the Polish collection by the same name, first published in 1918. It may be the tip of the spear in an effort to round out Grabinski's full oeuvre not yet brought to English.

These translations have ironically resulted in more admiration for his work in weird fiction's traditional spheres (the UK and United States) than in Poland. The Dark Domain, previously printed and reissued by Dedalus Books was the first "full" appearance of Grabinski in English. Ash-Tree Press followed up with The Motion Demon in 2005, and was said to be planning subsequent volumes of Grabinski tales, but little news about follow ups has materialized since. The latest Grabinski collection is In Sarah's House, a recent paperback by CB Editions.

-Grim Blogger

New Stefan Grabinski Collection Planned

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Stefan Grabinski Inspired Illustrations

Due to a pause in the flurry of interesting weird fiction news, I thought I would bring forth this art thread inspired by Stefan Grabinski's tales. This rough contemporary of Lovecraft, who lived half a world away and who has garnered the pet name of "Polish Poe," really needs no introduction. Those familiar with his work know there's nothing else in weird literature quite like the darkly beautiful vistas, accursed train rides, and warped erotica woven into Grabinski's tales. Best of all, there are still a few untranslated pieces by the writer lurking outside his recent English language collections: In Sarah's House, The Motion Demon, and (most famously) The Dark Domain.

A detailed sketch from Grabinski's "A Tale of the Gravedigger

Another macabre drawing, this time from "The Grey Room."

Like other writers, the enduring strength of Stefan Grabinski's power is expressed in his ability to inspire visual images lifted from his stories. Many excellent fan images have crept slowly across the soft pages and online voids as his reputation quietly spread. The pictures here are just a few of the splendid horrors summoned in Grabinski's name, and round out his best stories collected in The Dark Domain.

-Grim Blogger

Stefan Grabinski Inspired Illustrations

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