The Dark Forest Press Newsletter

It has been another month, and thus it is time for another missive from the forest. How the heck is everyone out there in this insane world?!

I(J.W.) am doing well. I’m keeping busy. Trying to distract myself from the constant barrage of existential crisis that is the news. But enough of that. We gotta maintain ourselves as well as engage with the world.

It’s a lot of work staying on top of publishing projects while at the same time living my everyday life. But it is all worth it. There’s a lot in the works at the moment, and I’m excited to share it with you all.

First up, The Mourning Fields by David Beaumier comes out next week! I am beyond elated to publish this out into the world.

The stories in The Mourning Fields reimagine Greek myths to address love, obsession, lust, and harm. What’s most mesmerizing about this book is its steadfast, moving undercurrent of kindness, something this world desperately needs.

— Sharma Shields

And @schism.art did an amazing job with the cover, as always.

You can order your copy at your favorite independent book store, or direct from DarkForestPress.com starting on 9/23.

Also, on October 1st, the 2nd issue of Scattered comes out! This one will have stories from Bridget D. Brave and Al Song as well as a poem from Wonderland Book Award winning author John Baltisberger and another movie review from Leslie Edens. P.L. McMillan returns as the cover artist, and there is some surprise art inside from Schism.Art. Here is a peek at the cover:

To keep things moving, I’m already working on gathering content for future issues. Keep watch on the DFP socials for updates.

The DFP Patreon is still going strong as well. I’ve recently changed things up a bit there. I’ve added a podcast called Bedtime Stories with Ranger J.W. where I read some strange fiction from the public domain to you every week. Currently you must be a paid patron for access. Next week I will be starting my reading through The King in Yellow, a collection of weird fiction by Robert W. Chambers who was an inspiration for Lovecraft. This is replacing the weekly new short story; but, no fear, there will still be a new short story once a month, plus a new chapter of my serialized novel, Project Fungal Punk.

https://www.patreon.com/darkforestpress/redeem/B7CAD

We’re still working on Cairn: Voices from the Cold book 2 by Clay Vermulm. Currently we’re shooting for a Spring release.

There is also another project coming from John Baltisber that I can’t wait to share more about.

In other news, I may be a part of anthology of essays about how different creatives use occult practices in their work. I’ll share more when I can.

Oh, and I plan on releasing a collection of my own short stories in 2026. I’m editing the stories now, and plan on a Summer release. (or possibly earlier)

I’m not reading a lot of fiction at the moment. Instead I’m doing a bunch of research into many different interests. I’m currently working through a translation of the Corpus Hermeticum. I do hope to have some time to pick up some good horror or strange fiction soon.

I am definitely writing! At the moment I’m doing some editing on a medieval horror story in prep for submission by the end of the month. I’m also always working on my serialized weird/scifi/horror novel for my patrons. And there are rumblings of a possible joint book project with Leslie Edens, so keep your eyes peeled for updates on that.

To close out this issue of the Newsletter of DOOM, I want to leave you all with hope.

These are wild times, and there is a lot of uncertainty. Be there for your friends and loved ones, and do what you can when you can. But do not over stretch yourselves, we all want you to stand against the insanity for the long haul. Stand with us and always remember to continue creating. Create as an act of defiance.

-JDubs

P.L. McMillan who did the first three covers of Scattered

J.T. Paton who did the cover for Crevasse by Clay Vermulm

Leo Corbett who did the cover for Cats of the Pacific Northwest by J.W. Donley

and Schism who did the covers for The Mourning Fields by David Beaumier and 100 Unusual Prompts for Writers of Horror, Weird, and Bizarro Fiction by J.W. Donley et al.