Josh Winning is a nostalgia nut, book/film lover and author of The Shadow Glass, which is perfect for fans of Henson Company puppet classics like Labyrinth and Dark Crystal, and The NeverEnding Story.
He is senior film writer at Radio Times, contributing editor at Total Film magazine, writer at SFX and Den of Geek, and the co-host of movie podcast Torn Stubs. He has been on set with Kermit the Frog (and Miss Piggy), devoured breakfast with zombies on The Walking Dead, and sat on the Iron Throne on the Dublin set of Game of Thrones.Josh lives in London with his cat Penny and dreams of one day convincing Sigourney Weaver to yell “Goddammit!” at him.
Her Wicked Roots (2025) Tanya Pell "This gorgeous, haunting story coiled tight around my heart and refused to let go. An intoxicating tale of secrets, desire, hurt and bravery, rooted in the fear of losing the ones we love. Tanya Pell is such an exciting voice in horror, and this gothic mystery is truly unforgettable."
House of Idyll (2025) Delilah S Dawson "This was a trip and a half - part rock anthem, part isolation horror, and totally intoxicating. Delilah S. Dawson delivers this story with a guitar in one hand and a knife in the other. A seductive exploration of art, fame, and the desire to be seen that is every bit as consuming as an 80s power ballad - and twice as difficult to get out of your head."
Breathe In, Bleed Out (2025) Brian McAuley "I absolutely inhaled this holistic horror hack-em-up. Brian McAuley knows how to twist the knife and have us scream for more. This is sharp, witty, compulsive slasher storytelling at its finest. Check in and bliss out."
The Man Made of Smoke (2025) Alex North "I tore through this gritty tale of guilt, grief and the ghosts that haunt us. The twists are exceptionally well executed, the emotional through line compelling, and the mercurial baddie is genuinely unsettling. With this book, Alex North dares to peer into the darkest corners of the human psyche, and the results are eerie and moving in equal measure. If you loved The Whisper Man, you'll love this, too. Nightmares guaranteed!"
Senseless (2025) Ronald Malfi "Sensational! A spellbinding dive into the devil's playground that is Los Angeles, where everybody is simultaneously hunter and hunted. Ronald Malfi is the real deal - you don't read this book, you live it."
Blood on Her Tongue (2025) Johanna van Veen "Johanna van Veen embroiders a rich tapestry of dark secrets and disturbing monsters, then delights in smothering you with it. A chilly gothic horror story that begs to be read by a roaring fire while the wind howls outside your window."
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes (2025) Clay McLeod Chapman "A modern American classic. Clay McLeod Chapman's panic-inducing, adrenaline-fueled epic digs its fingers into the cracks in twenty-first-century life and pries them open to expose the rot beneath."
Cold Snap (2024) Lindy Ryan "Steals through your soul like a winter chill - a heart-rending, darkly humorous hymn to grief, guilt and love. This is a perfect Christmas horror story that's so crisp and cool, it'll leave your fingers frostbitten."
So Thirsty (2024) Rachel Harrison "Rachel Harrison is one of the sharpest, most engaging voices in horror, and So Thirsty is her most captivating yet. Injecting fresh blood into the vampire genre, this one has it all - fun, fury, and a friendship that'll make your heart bleed. You'll drink it down in one big, gleeful gulp."
Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend (2024) MJ Wassmer "The end of the world has never been so fun! Explosively funny and terrifyingly plausible in its depiction of the apocalypse, this cinematic debut had me LOLing, cringing and cheering throughout. I absolutely blazed through this earth-shattering action romp."
Bury Your Gays (2024) Chuck Tingle "RIP gay cliches! Wickedly funny and hella entertaining, this takes great pride in digging up Hollywood's skeletons and gleefully pounding them to dust. I loved every eerie, nostalgic, blood-spattered, rainbow-flag-waving page."
The Strange (2023) Nathan Ballingrud "Star Wars meets True Grit in this cinematic tale of a human girl fighting to keep hope alive on a Martian world. Nathan Ballingrud compellingly blends frontier western with rootin-tootin space opera, and the result is epic in scope, thematically rich, and gleefully spooky in places. This is an atmospheric, immersive delight, and so evocative that I kept expecting red sand to trickle out from between the pages."
The Nightmare Man (2023) J H Markert "Absolutely devoured The Nightmare Man by James Markert, a masterful, atmospheric horror novel that has delicious/terrifying shades of The Silence of the Lambs and The Exorcist. It's one of my favorite reads of the year."
Glitterati (2022) Oliver K Langmead "Fabulous! A sensory powder keg of a book that bursts with wit, poise and oh-so cutting-edge style. Literary but feather-light, this is the most elegant and charming thing you'll read all year. It had me grinning from ear to ear the whole way through."
