"A mighty slab of a book in which Stephen covers an awful lot of ground with his writings on film and TV, directors, writers, books, musicians, record labels and so on... from Bagpuss to Jane Weaver, The Eccentronic Research Council to John Carpenter, Excalibur, Quatermass, Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz, Delia Derbyshire, Cosey Fanni Tutti and so much more. If you know about Stephen and his fine work you won't be hesitating to pick up a copy of this mighty tome." Neil Mason, Moonbuilding
"A Year In The Country make excellent music and excellent books about all things dark rural, folk horror, liminal England and hauntology." Stuart Maconie, Freak Zone, BBC Radio 6
A Year In The Country: Wyrd Explorations collects writing from the first decade of the A Year In The Country project, which has explored and documented the interconnected rise of interest in the wyrd, eerie and re-enchanted landscape, folk horror, the further reaches of folk music and the parallel worlds of hauntology.
The book includes a selection of revised and at times extended writing from the first five A Year In The Country non-fiction books and the first ten years of posts on the project's website alongside previously unpublished work from the A Year In The Country archives.
It reflects a personal journey through hidden pathways in the cultural undergrowth, a "wandering through spectral fields" that across 52 chapters includes writing on amongst many others the films, television series, directors, writers, books, musicians, record labels etc:
The Wicker Man, Ghost Box Records, Vashti Bunyan, Broadcast, The Changes, The Radiophonic Workshop, Quatermass, Castles In Space, The Hare And The Moon, Excalibur, The Black Meadow, Penda's Fen, Howlround, Rob Young's Electric Eden...
The Day Of The Triffids, The Delaware Road, Mark Fisher, Kill List, Jonny Trunk, Gone To Earth, Weird Walk, The Watcher In The Woods, The Heartwood Institute, Detectorists, The Stone Tape, Sapphire & Steel, Peter Strickland, The Book Of The Lost, Wolfen, Benjamin Myers Tam Lin...
Raven, Folklore Tapes, Sproatly Smith, Delia Derbyshire, The White Reindeer, John Carpenter, Curse Of The Crimson Altar, Boards Of Canada, Robert Macfarlane, The Company Of Wolves, Burial, Finders Keepers Records and The Owl Service.
"The list of subject matter on offer in A Year In The Country: Wyrd Explorations is truly mindblowing... there is absolutely something for everyone. The Wicker Man, John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness, Children of the Stones, The Owl Service, Ghost Box Records, Quatermass, Vashti Bunyan, Broadcast, Boards Of Canada, Burial in amongst lesser-known gems including Raven, Howlround and Oss Oss Wee Oss. And this is just scratching the surface as Prince treats us to 52 chapters of his spectral wanderings, merging themes and topics deftly and often unexpectedly. This is a wonderful tome and a wonderful testament to a wonderful project." Sarah Gregory, Shindig!
"A Year In The Country is steadily building up a body of work that presents an alternative view of rural Britain and the project's output is consistently fascinating." Psychogeographic Review
