We're excited because you're excited
and if you're not excited, well, we're excited anyway
Hey Ho Tenebrous Cult!
Last week we revealed our first title of 2026 (OLYOKE by Vincent Endwell); how about another?!
KAYAK is epic. Unfolding over the course of a year-plus, it’s an alien invasion/creature feature/coming-of-age/wilderness adventure all rolled into one. It might be the closest that Tenebrous has come to a widescreen popcorn movie, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible; there are moments in this book that bring the vibes of everything from Tremors to Independence Day.
Author Kristal Stittle brings a ton of authenticity, too; you can feel it on the page. Each time we’ve talked to her she’s either just back from a deep-woods Canadian trek, or heading back out on another. Like her character, she practically lives in her kayak. (Hopefully) unlike her character, she can avoid any encounters with terrifying monsters that emerge in seconds from the dirt beneath our feet.
KAYAK is currently slated for early 2026. Cover art comes courtesy of Kerisson Wemerson and interior illustrations will be provided by our old bud Blacky Shepherd.
BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror + More, Vol. 3, out June 24th
There are several new Q&A’s up with this year’s BNW Award winners on our blog; go get to know the current crop of Weirdos!
Check out the full Table of Contents + more here.
WE LIKE IT CHERRY is “Not For the Faint of Heart”
…I mean, we could have told you that. We have told you that! But Booklist is telling you that now, so that makes it legit.
I texted Jacy that this was our first starred review with Booklist; that reviews of this nature—those that appear in industry trades—often encourage booksellers to take a shot on a book from an indie press that they might not otherwise give the time of day to.
To which he replied, “I’m excited because you’re excited.”
…
…unflappable motherf&$ker, that one. Then again, Jacy teaches public school, so I know he at least comes by the thousand-yard-stare nonchalance honestly.
Regardless: we are excited, because CHERRY is a kickass, bloody chiller of a book.
About WE LIKE IT CHERRY:
Documentarist Ezra Montbanc thinks he's hit the jackpot when he receives an invitation to document the rites of a mysterious, hitherto unknown tribe: the Winoquin, who reside in the harrowing, inhospitable Arctic.
It’s a shot at the prestigious journalism career he's long envisioned, and a path out from the borderline-exploitative series detailing the celebrations of Indigenous tribes he’s been mired in with his life and filmmaking partner, Stu.
Buzzing with possibility, Ezra and his crew depart for the home of the Winoquin, only to find themselves in a frozen and bloody battle for survival atop an inaccessible glacier ritual site, where men and mythical horrors hunger for sacrifice.
We Like It Cherry is a story about identity and the quest for success, splashed with supernatural slasher vibes and the nailbiting relentlessness of survival horror.
Get excited because we’re excited. WE LIKE IT CHERRY spills blood on the ice this August.
Friends With Benefits
Look, clearly we like this Carson Winter fella. He’s written a novel and a novella for us; appeared in the first volume of SPLIT SCREAM, the first BRAVE NEW WEIRD, and our anti-A.I. magazine; and he was propped up by badass word surgeon Jolie Toomajan co-wrote the book that I consider to be Tenebrous’ secret weapon for selling at cons.
Now, Carson’s publishing his first collection—not through us, but through our friends at Salt Heart Press. PORTRAITS OF DECAY is up for preorder now!
Obviously we’re fans of Carson’s writing, so our endorsement here is a no-brainer. But we also quite dig how he blew the whole but I’m a self-published author with no budget, of course I had to use an A.I. cover, I had no choice! argument to pieces by saying “f&%k it, I’ll paint my own cover.” Hell yeah.
Support indie artists who do it right.
StokerCon is coming up in a couple weeks. Alex and I shan’t be in attendance—we’ve got other plots n’ plans that week—but a couple of our authors will be, promoting their upcoming Tenebrous books:
Hazel Zorn—whose ocean-invasion-body-horror novella REEF MIND releases in September—and Mo Moshaty—whose Tarot-themed Weird Horror collection CLAIRVIOLENCE is out just in time for Halloween—will each have swag on hand for their upcoming books, so be sure to flag them down. They’re doing the Good Work.
That’s all we got for now.
Hail Indie Publishing.
Hail New Weird Horror.
Hail the Tenebrous Cult.
Matt + Alex