Happy Halloween!
Today happens to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of a little anthology that ended up having a disproportionate impact on the zombie scene of 2005. THE UNDEAD was the first release from PERMUTED PRESS, who went on to have a string of HUGE successes with early printings of books like DAY BY DAY ARMAGEDDON by JL BOURNE, PLAGUE OF THE DEAD by the late Z A RECHT, and JOHN DIES AT THE END by JASON PARGIN (originally writing as DAVID WONG).
Personally, I got on really well with JACOB KEIR, the man behind Permuted, and I’m grateful for him inviting me to contribute to THE UNDEAD all those years ago. Before then, I’d not really entertained the idea of writing AUTUMN short stories, but once I’d finished HOME (which you can read here), I was hooked. Another forty-or-so shorts later, and AUTUMN: THE HUMAN CONDITION was born.
A few further UNDEAD volumes appeared, then Permuted turned into a mass producer of (predominantly) zombie fiction, before Jacob called it quits and sold the business on. It’s still going strong by all accounts, though the focus now is far less specifically zombie-orientated.
So, happy 20th birthday to this little collection which, I believe, punched well above its weight and had a disproportionate impact on the post-apocalyptic publishing landscape of the time. You can still grab a Kindle copy if you haven’t yet had the pleasure.
