CHILDREN OF THE NEW FLESH is a new book on the early work of master horror auteur David Cronenberg from editors Chris Kelso and David Leo Rice. (Published by 11:11 Press, 2022)

Often overlooked, Cronenberg’s early short films are picked over here in essays, short stories, poetry, and artwork by a host of brilliant writers and artists, including Elle Nash, Graham Rae, Brian Alessandro, Brian Evenson and many more, including some great work by Kelso and Rice themselves.

The crown jewel of the collection is a fantastic interview with Cronenberg himself, which contains one of my new favourite quotes on creativity:

“I think we will have to remember that being creative is a very childlike thing, not childish, but childlike. It’s fun to invent things and creatures and interact with them. Even though you might be now an old serious filmmaker on some level, you’re still a child underneath it all, and there is a very playful part of any creative endeavor that I never lose sight of.”

I was lucky enough to have been asked my thoughts on Cronenberg’s THE LIE CHAIR (1975) by Chris and you can find the resulting spooky Q&A in the book here.

Long live the new flesh!