#274: October Country with Peter Cameron

This week, we're running a takeover in collaboration with Peter Cameron, an Emmy-nominated screenwriter and supernatural enthusiast whose credits include Amazon Prime’s Carnival Row and WandaVision, Moon Knight, and Werewolf by Night for Marvel Studios. His latest project, the deliciously spooky Agatha All Along, is now streaming on Disney+. This contest’s winner will not only be awarded $250 — they’ll also receive a special bonus prize: personal feedback from Peter! Here's what he has to say about his special takeover:

Ray Bradbury's work first transported me to October Country in middle school, and I'm not quite sure I ever left. To me, this literary world deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Oz, Middle Earth, or Neverland. If you've never had the pleasure, here's a description from the man himself: 

“October Country... that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay… That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain...”

Get the gist? This week, let’s pack our bags and explore the territory for ourselves. 'Tis the season for cozy horror, after all. So here we go... Anchor yourself in an emotional truth, don't let the genre trappings distract you too much, and let's run headlong into the Weird. Warning: here be monsters… if we're lucky! 

Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ReedsyOctober to share your creepy tales (and potentially be featured on our social accounts)!

Special Update: The Results

Peter Cameron's top three picks for this takeover were: 1) "Sweetbread: An Epilogue" 2) "RE: The Heat Death of the Sun" and 3) "THAT THING ON THE HILL"

Here's what he had to say about the winning story: "That Bradbury-October feeling was woven into every word of 'Sweetbread: An Epilogue.' The concept is deceptively simple, the coda to a fairy tale we know and know well, but Madeleine Pasquale is a sly storyteller indeed. Between their shell-shocked narrator, keen sense of atmosphere, and poetic execution, I couldn't have enjoyed it more!"

Congratulations to contest winner Madeleine Pasquale and the runners-up, Katy Lindsey and Liam Morris!