I called this issue the LAST BIG ISSUE. That's because, due to other commitments, I'm increasingly pushed for time, and you'd be surprised at how much work's involved in slotting together a whole new issue. This is not in any way an indicator that the end is nigh for Noir Originals. Far from it. My intention is to update both the New Writers and Noir Zine sections as and when I receive suitable submissions. So from now on, hopefully, the whole process will be easier to manage. Contributors to the site won't have such a long wait for me to upload their work, and, since more regular updates is the single most common request from Noir Zine readers, everybody wins.

Since issue #3, a lot's happened. James McKimmey's Squeeze Play and James Reasoner's Texas Wind are both back in print. Previous Noir Originals New Writers, Tim Wohlforth, Ray Banks, Duane Swierczynski, Dave Zeltserman and Charlie Williams have all either signed contracts for first novels, or have had first novels published. And the good folks at Serpent's Tail have seen fit to quote from Ray Banks's Noir Originals review (read it in full here) on the back cover of Charlie Williams's Deadfolk. Noir Originals has arrived!

Once again, issue #4 features some excellent writing. Noir Zine is full of eloquent edification for the eccentric e-noirist, including interviews with Charlie Stella and Steve Gerlach. And the New Writers section continues to provide very strong evidence that despite what you might read in the trade press, noir is very much alive. 

Allan Guthrie
Contact Allan