10p036: Tenebrous Press presents SPLIT SCREAM - wait, what?
We came here to fuck shit up and have a good time We came here to fuck shit up and have a good time We came here to fuck shit up and have a good time We came here to fuck shit up and have a good time
Hey Ho 10p Cult!
A happy, random turn of events led to what we’re announcing today:
DISCORPORATE MERGER (probably doesn’t mean what I want it to mean but it sounds cool)
Long story long:
At StokerCon in June, Alex and I tabled alongside our long-time online buddy Alex Ebenstein, the mastermind of Dread Stone Press. DSP and 10p have long shared similar principles, aesthetics and a mutual appreciation, and we’ve been cheering one another on since each of us got up and running in 2020.
(For our part, we’ve always been a wee bit envious of Dread Stone’s so-simple-it’s-brilliant series of paired Weird Horror novelettes: the excellent, highly regarded Split Scream, currently three volumes deep.)
Well, one thing led to another—Tenebrous Alex was nowhere in sight, having ducked out to barnstorm a panel or sleep in a closet or something—and Dread Stone Alex and I got to commiserating over the hours of the day it takes to successfully run an indie press…something I def know a thing or two about. Spreadsheets, emails, royalties, formatting, emails, order fulfillment, editing, social media, marketing, promotion, emails, writing these damn newsletters, art direction, advertising, distribution and emails…and that’s just my half of the ledger, to say nothing of all the shit that Tenebrous Alex does. I’m lucky to have a 50/50 partner in this endeavor, whereas Dread Stone Alex has been grinding more or less solo for the last three years.
Sure, sure, purity of vision an’all, but…it’s a lot; particularly for a full time job that doesn’t really pay. At all. (Yet. But that’s another story for another time). And it can be hell when you add family commitments and one’s own creative goals into the mix.
So Tenebrous Alex and I reconvened later that evening. I recounted our conversation to her; she intuited precisely what I was thinking, which is why she’s the other half of Tenebrous; and by morning we had a handshake deal with Dread Stone Alex. It took a little finagling—with nine individuals having to sign new contracts—but now we can finally announce publicly what the image up above has spelled out for you:
The SPLIT SCREAM line will continue as an imprint under the 10p banner, with Alex Ebenstein as Editor/Mastermind
Pretty simple, really: no format changes, no meddling with something that works; just a chance for Alex Ebenstein to worry less about the behind-the-scenes rigamarole and focus his attentions on putting out kickass Weird Horror novelettes. And in turn, we get to slap the 10p Skull & Laurel on the cover, push ‘em through our own distribution chains, and sit back and watch the tens upon tens of dollars pour in.
Indie publishing, y’all. Seriously, screw the Penguin Random House-Simon & Schuster billionaire corporate merger bullshit; this is where magic is happening.
The three Split Scream volumes pictured above are all still available in their original print runs; and right now is a great time to pick up these last remaining copies, because Dread Stone is going out with a bang and donating the proceeds to a truly great cause: The Maui Strong Fund.
The Maui Strong Fund (Hawaii Community Foundation) is providing financial resources to support the immediate and long-term recovery needs for the people and places affected by the recent devastating Maui wildfires. HCF is working in close collaboration with state and county leaders, nonprofit organizations, and community members to get an understanding of the quickly evolving priorities.
Everything at the Dread Stone webstore is going to help the situation in Maui:
Aside from all three existing Split Scream volumes, you can also pick up:
Nineteen Little Stab Wounds, an extraordinary chapbook from Alexis Dubon
Field Notes from a Nightmare - An Anthology of Ecological Horror (featuring our own Alex Woodroe, Joe Koch, Sara Tantlinger, Gordon B. White & a host of others)
Curse Corvus - a novella by Alex Ebenstein
All these purchases will go to help support The Maui Strong Fund.
Once these copies of Split Scream are gone, all future versions will be distributed directly by Tenebrous.
But what about the next volume of Split Scream, you ask? Well…
SPLIT SCREAM v4 ARRIVES HALLOWEEN DAY
The first official release through Tenebrous arrives Tuesday, October 31st, and features two brand new novelettes:
Bone Light by Holly Lyn Walrath
Nonsense Words by D. Matthew Urban
To carry a little 10p continuity into this new endeavor, our may-as-well-be-house-artist-at-this-point, Echo Echo, will be providing interior illustrations for each story.
We’ll have a lot more to say about this in the coming weeks, and preorder info coming shortly; but for now, we’re friggin’ chuffed to have Alex Ebenstein gumming up the Tenebrous works.
The Cult grows.
Bow to THE BLACK LORD in two weeks
Colin Hinckley’s debut novella (which I just realized is lucky number thirteen in Tenebrous’ catalogue!) is out September 12th, and it’s been racking up some wonderful early reviews from readers.
About THE BLACK LORD:
Contains an exclusive bonus short story from author Hinckley: “A Mouth Filled With the Teeth of Trees”!
There will be an official launch party for THE BLACK LORD at Village Well Books & Coffee in Culver City, California! You can RSVP for that here, if you’re in the neighborhood.
Cover art by Matt Blairstone. Interior art by Echo Echo.
Final Words
Team Tenebrous will be at Jan’s Books in Beaverton, Oregon this Saturday, September 2nd with authors Danger Slater (House of Rot) and Carson Winter (Soft Targets) in tow, from 11a-1p. We’ll be signing and slinging books and spreading the Weird Word, so if you’re around, come say hi.
Next week: we announce the Table of Contents for our anti-AI charitable magazine, THANK YOU FOR JOINING THE ALGORITHM, due out in November. And we showed you Becca Snow’s jaw-dropping cover for this already, right? It’s worth another look:
Next week we’ll also be revealing the spectacular Trevor Henderson cover art for our other big Halloween release—POSTHASTE MANOR, by Jolie Toomajan and Carson Winter—and sharing a whole lot more about this very special novel (including preorder info). Seriously, my brain is swimming with all things POSTHASTE MANOR right now and I can’t wait to talk more about it. It’s Weird, it’s disturbing, it’s dark as hell and it’s super horny (I wanna blame Carson for that, but to be honest it’s just as much Jolie’s fault). Most of all, it’s an absolute blast.
I imagine I’m forgetting a couple dozen other things; it’s been a hectic week, Alex is off gallivanting around the Romanian countryside and I’m losing my grip on the duct tape and popsicle sticks that hold this place together in her absence. Whatever I missed, we’ll pick up next time.
Be good to each other.
Hail Indie Publishing.
Hail New Weird Horror.
Hail the Tenebrous Cult.
Hail Split Scream.
Matt & Alex (& Alex)
Yooooooo this is awesome. Two of my favorite presses collaborating!
Well this is awesome. Both as a writer and as an upcoming publisher. Congrats all around!