Tenebrous079: THE SKULL & LAUREL is here
Weird tales just got Weirder.
Hey Ho, Tenebrous Cult!
It’s been a chaotically-good couple of weeks; more on that below, but first:
Carson Winter’s SOFT TARGETS nominated for Wonderland Book Award
BizarroCon takes place in Astoria, Oregon this year, November 7-10th. They’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of OG Bizarro publisher Eraserhead Press, and loaded up with a ton of rad panels and immersive experiences as usual.
But also:
We couldn’t be more pleased to see SOFT TARGETS still having an impact over a year and a half after its initial release.
(Another of our titles—Carson and Jolie Toomajan’s POSTHASTE MANOR—made the Honorable Mentions list; mucho congrats to Jolie as well!)
If you’ve ever attended BizarroCon in the past, or are attending this year, you are eligible to vote for the Wonderland Awards. Simply send your votes (one per category) to bizarrocon@gmail.com.
Last year, M.Shaw’s ONE HAND TO HOLD, ONE HAND TO CARVE won the Wonderland Book Award for Best Novel, and I can attest that the bump in attention that something like this gives a small press is noticeable. We’d love to see the same thing happen for Carson and SOFT TARGETS. He deserves the win, even if he did recently commit the unforgiveable sin of moving away from the Pacific Northwest.
THE SKULL & LAUREL: Issue 001 Out Now!
Today is the day! Issue 001 of THE SKULL & LAUREL is here and it’s stacked with Weirdness.
Fiction from Rain Corbyn; Wailana Kalama; Renan Bernardo; Abigail Guerrero; Jeannie Marschall; Tiffany Michelle Brown; Samir Sirk Morato; and Avra Margariti. Non-fiction from Mo Moshaty. An Exquisite Corpse collaborative story, the return of Dread Stone Press’ Dose of Dread feature, classified ads and more!
We have grand plans to keep this thing running far into the future; but we’re keeping our sights set firmly on the *now*. All our energies are focused on making this first year—four quarterly issues—the best it can possibly be.
Though there is a sure-fire way that you can help us all but guarantee that this Weird train keeps on chugging indefinitely: subscribe to THE SKULL & LAUREL.
THE SKULL & LAUREL is seeking Advertisers and Classified Ad Buyers
Got something you’d like to shout out to our readers? Take out a classified ad!
Classifieds in THE SKULL & LAUREL currently run at just $3 a piece and appear in both magazine (current circulation almost 500) and our newsletter (current circulation almost 4,000).
Subject, of course, to editorial approval:)
If you need more space than a classified can get you, you can also grab a half-page ad. Ads in THE SKULL & LAUREL currently run at:
$30 for a color inside cover half-page
$60 for the full page color back cover (one slot per issue only)
An extra $20 fee if you would like us to design the ad ourselves with the information you provide (photos, links, offers, your website, whatever makes sense for you)
If you represent a charity drive or organization, we will likely comp your fee entirely. Let us know in the form!
THE SKULL & LAUREL is seeking Volunteers to be First Readers
One last bit of magazine business: we’re looking to add more volunteer readers to THE SKULL & LAUREL editorial. If you want to have a hand in shaping our creative direction, here’s your chance.
You don’t need any special experience, nor will you have set deadlines or work volumes; you read however much you can and want to. You would be entrusted to respect the privacy of the submitters and the other readers. All you need is online access, a little reading time, a love for strange stories, and respect for the writers who entrust their work to us.
Alex and I had the pleasure of hanging with some of our favorite indie horror folks last week during her visit to the PNW…and we somehow managed to not take any pics with any of them. Regardless, you can rest assured that a lovely time was had with Danger Slater, Jacy Morris, Wailana Kalama, Laura Cranehill, Kelsea Yu, Rhiannon Rasmussen and several supportive partners and pals.
The actual event that Alex traveled halfway around the world for—the HP Lovecraft Film Festival, held once again at the gorgeous Hollywood Theatre—was a blast. It was our second time tabling there, and our success at the first one proved to be no fluke.
Getting in front of an audience of strangers whose interests run parallel to our own is absolutely the way to go, and has made us drastically reconsider the kinds of events we want to be part of in the future. There’s a hunger for something new and Weird that we experienced and felt invigorated by, along with the opportunity to sharpen the way we speak to Horror fans who had no clue who the hell we were. Everyone we talked to was having a blast being there, and their energy was infectious.
Festival organizers Gwen and Brian Callahan put on a spectacular weekend. It’s evident how deeply their love of horror—and the Weird in general—runs. We hope to hold court at HPLFF for years to come.
Next up: SPLIT SCREAM - The Parents Ain’t Alright
The acclaimed series of paired novelettes goes to its darkest corners yet with these twin odes to horrible parents!
COME TO DADDY by Ryan T. Jenkins
A damaged man endeavors to put the pieces back together after a lifetime of destruction; to reckon with his wife and son leaving him; to attend to the dreams of his dead mother’s well-manicured hand scuttling around at night; and the haunted movie poster of a B-list actor coming to life before his eyes.
Distilled from the classic Gothic haunted house narrative comes this twisted ode to punk rock and fatherhood.
MOTHER IS COMING HOME by David Corse
When Otis discovers an undulating, flesh-like portal near his barn, he believes he’s finally found a way to escape his hometown and travel the world. All he has to do is sell the oddity to the highest bidder and leave home for good.
His plans crumble when, during a drunken argument, he tosses his sickly, cruel mother through the portal. His elation is brief, though, as Otis realizes he must rescue his mother and protect the strange opening from prying eyes, no matter the cost.
“Jenkins doesn’t think like other people. I’m laughing, wincing, cringing, thinking what the hell is this guy talking about? Then I’m misty eyed at the emotional bass drop.”
Alex Gonzalez, REKT
"Compelling and beautifully paced. Corse has a knack for balancing dread, humanity, and delightfully visceral goo…and quickly earns his place as an auto-buy author."
Laurel Hightower, Below and Day of the Door
That’s enough for now, but we’ll be back next week with the cover reveal for our first book of 2025: Koji A. Dae’s CASUAL, as well as some other news. So much news.
Keep it Weird.
Hail the Tenebrous Cult.
Hail Indie Publishing.
Matt + Alex
Congrats on issue one!