The Hungry Moon (Paperback)

Born Liverpool in 1946, Ramsey Campbell has written that his first memories of childhood are of being scared. Inspired by the horrible aspects of fables by Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm, he had written his first collection of stories by the age of 11. Shortly after, he stumbled across the work of H. P. Lovecraft and started to write pastiches that he began to send to Lovecraft's publisher, August Derleth. Though Derleth didn't initially publish them, the two struck up a correspondence, with Derleth giving Campbell pointers as to improving his stories. Leaving school and taking the advice, Campbell spruced up his work and was rewarded with a story publication, "the Church in High Street," in 1962. Two years later when Campbell was only 17, Derleth published a collection of Campbell's work called THE INHABITANT OF THE LAKE. Not enough of a success to allow him to quit work, Campbell was employed in a tax office at the time, writing during his lunch breaks and in the evenings. Working there for four years, he eventually quit, going to work instead in a library, where he remained for seven years. In 1975, his second short story collection was published--and quickly followed the next year by his first novel, THE DOLL WHO ATE HIS MOTHER. In 1978, Campbell's story "The Chimney" won the World Fantasy Award. Two years later, he won a second time with "Macintosh Willy." In 1981, his novel TO WAKE THE DEAD won the British Fantasy Award--an award the Campbell has won numerous times since. Though much of his work is in the horror genre, more often than not Campbell's work is grounded in the real world, a feature that has made him an important and influential figure in the horror field--Clive Barker, for example cites Campbell as a particular inspiration. In 1994, Campbell's collection ALONE WITH THE HORRORS was published. It compiled an number of his favorites from among his own work and was awarded both the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award--his third. Somewhat unique among his peers, Campbell is still a constant writer of both short fiction and novels. In addition to being the President of the British Fantasy Society, Campbell has given numerous lectures and readings, exploring the limits of both the fantasy and horror genres.