Gauntlet Press is now taking pre-orders for He Is Legend: Celebrating Richard Matheson, a “spectacular anthology of original, never-before published stories by today’s best writers—stories set in Richard Matheson’s own fictional universes, and published with Mr. Matheson’s complete cooperation!” The book will be published in February 2009.
Contributors to the anthology, which is edited by Christopher Conlon, include: F. Paul Wilson, Joe Lansdale, Whitley Strieber, Richard Christian Matheson, William F. Nolan, Gary Braunbeck, Thomas Monteleone, John Shirley, and Ramsey Campbell. The book will also have “the first collaboration ever between Stephen King and his son Joe Hill, the novella ‘Throttle’, their take on Matheson’s classic ‘Duel’.”
In addition to the other writers, Matheson himself will appear in the book, with his 20,000-word, never-before-published full-length screenplay “Conjure Wife”, on which he collaborated with the late Charles Beaumont. The screenplay was released in 1962 as, variously, Burn, Witch, Burn! or Night of the Eagle.
Cover art and six interior illustrations will be provided by Matheson’s favorite artist Harry O. Morris.
Gauntlet is taking pre-orders now through this page (although they say they won’t charge credit cards until January 2009). They are offering it in various forms:
* a 750-copy, signed, numbered edition (signed by all the contributors except Matheson, but including both King and Hill) for $150
* the same signed, numbered edition with a special beveled bonded leather slipcase with the cover art inset into the slipcase for $200 (must be ordered before 1 November 2008)
* a 52-copy lettered edition in a special bonded leather traycase (the only edition that Matheson will sign) for $500