News - Dark Worlds
We're delighted to announce that Abrams Books is set to publish Clive Barker's Dark Worlds, a wide-ranging book
covering Clive's decades of creative work as he celebrates his 70th birthday in October 2022.
Assembled with Clive's full input and assistance, drawing on his archive and
covering all aspects of his work, this richly illustrated volume showcases a creative life
unconstrained by genre or medium.
Released under the Cernunnos imprint which highlights the creative spirit and passion in contemporary art and icons from painters, photographers, fashion influencers, filmmakers, and writers, Dark Worlds is available for pre-order now.
Abrams : "A deep dive into the creative world and personal archive of master
of horror Clive Barker.
'I've seen the future of horror . . .
and his name is Clive Barker.'
"In the mid-eighties, Stephen King inducted a young novelist into the world of great genre writers, and since then, the
genius creator has only continued to expand his field of activity, within and well beyond horror.
"Created by his two closest collaborators and with the help of Barker himself, Clive Barker’s Dark Worlds spans his
fantastical body of work, highlighting classic characters like Pinhead, an icon in the pantheon of horror cinema;
the Hellraiser series; and cult films Nightbreed and Candyman. Barker’s anthology series Books of Blood and epic tales
like Weaveworld, Abarat, The Thief of Always, and Imajica have made him a massive name in literature as well as film.
"Barker has also created visual narratives for the worlds of comics, toys, and video games, while his art — his
incredible paintings, drawings, and photographs, which fill these pages — has been exhibited in galleries all over the world."
Clive : "You’ve created a mirror for me to look into, and it’s a bit of a mindblower, frankly,
in the best possible way.
"When you look at yourself through the lens of art, as opposed to the lens of biography, you realise they’re one and
the same – yes? So when I started to read the book, I found myself overwhelmed by it... This incredible abundance,
this incredible diversity. The fact that I am a singular mind viewing what seems to be a great plurality of minds is
bewildering, actually, in a great way.
"Every page is different to the page before it, and the page that follows; every one. And the material itself is
always different."
Phil & Sarah : "We were approached by an editor at Abrams back in the summer of 2020 who wanted to explore the idea of a monograph that covered every aspect of Clive's work. That's quite a tall order but we’ve thoroughly enjoyed drawing on the archive to give new insight (we hope!) into the thoughts and processes behind Clive's creations in a wealth of different media. All in just 300 pages... In the end we had to stretch that to just over 350 pages and at last count we got to over 350 images as well, so hopefully it strikes the right balance between showing and describing just what makes Clive's creations resonate with such a wide audience."
See Clive's recent interview for his full comments on Dark Worlds and updates on his current projects.
Phil & Sarah chat to Looper about writing Dark Worlds
Abrams has scheduled a 18 October 2022 US publication date as follows:- 18 October 2022
- Hardcover
- ISBN: 9781419758461
- 8 1⁄2 x 11 1⁄4 inches, 352 pages
- 300 color illustrations
- $50.00
- 18 October 2022
- eBook
- ISBN: 9781647005078
- 296 pages
- 300 color illustrations
- $31.10
[SOLD OUT] Clive is partnering with Book Soup in Los Angeles to offer a limited number of signed copies of Dark Worlds. These are available for pre-order with worldwide shipping options now!
*UPDATE*
Phil & Sarah will be signing copies of Dark Worlds at BFI Southbank, London on 30 October, 2022 between screenings of Hellraiser and Nightbreed, as part of the BFI's In Dreams Are Monsters season. Click the banner for tickets and more info on the screenings:
