Alan M. Clark grew up in Tennessee in a house full of bones and old medical books. As a writer and illustrator, he is the author of 22 published books, including 15 novels, a lavishly illustrated novella, a lavishly illustrated novellette, four collections of fiction, and a nonfiction full-color book of his artwork. His illustrations have appeared in books of fiction, non-fiction, textbooks, young adult fiction and children's books. Awards for his work include the World Fantasy Award and four Chesley Awards. Mr. Clark's company, IFD Publishing, has released 46 titles of various editions, including traditional books, both paperback and hardcover, audio books, and ebooks by such authors as F. Paul Wilson, Elizabeth Engstrom, and Jeremy Robert Johnson. www.alanmclark.com

Bryan Smith is a two-time Splatterpunk Award-winning author of more than forty horror and crime novels and novellas, including 68 Kill, the cult classic Depraved and its sequels, The Killing Kind, Slowly We Rot, Last of the Ravagers, and many more. Bestselling horror author Brian Keene called Slowly We Rot, "The best zombie novel I've ever read." 68 Kill was adapted into a motion picture starring Matthew Gray Gubler of the long-running CBS series Criminal Minds. 68 Kill won the Midnighters Award at the SXSW film festival in 2017 and was released to wide acclaim, including positive reviews in The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting. Bryan also co-scripted an original Harley Quinn story for the House of Horrors anthology from DC Comics.

Follow him on Substack for news about new book releases and more: https://bryansmithhorror.substack.com/

John Skipp is a New York Times bestselling author, editor, film director, zombie godfather, compulsive collaborator, musical pornographer, black-humored optimist and all-around Renaissance mutant. His early novels from the 1980s and 90s pioneered the graphic, subversive, high-energy form known as splatterpunk. His anthology Book of the Dead was the beginning of modern post-Romero zombie literature. His work ranges from hardcore horror to whacked-out Bizarro to scathing social satire, all brought together with his trademark cinematic pace and intimate, unflinching, unmistakable voice. From young agitator to hilarious elder statesman, Skipp remains one of genre fiction's most colorful characters.

Kelli Owen is an American author, editor, reviewer, podcaster, and indie film producer, who has spoken at the CIA Headquarters in Langley, VA regarding both her writing and the field in general. While her nonfiction has appeared in various places—including the Bram Stoker Award-winner It's Alive: Bringing Your Nightmares to Life—she is primarily known for her fiction.

As a member of both the Horror Writers Association and the International Thriller Writers, she has published over a dozen books, including THE HEADLESS BOY, TEETH, and WILTED LILY (a YA series). Her short fiction has appeared alongside Stephen King, Robert McCammon, F. Paul Wilson, and Josh Malerman, among others, and was in both Bram Stoker Award-nominated anthologies Arterial Bloom (2020) and Lost Highways: Dark Fictions from the Road (2018).

A book lover from a young age, Kelli spent a decade as a reviewer and editor, while running a large genre website, before returning to her roots behind the keyboard. Born and raised in Wisconsin, she now lives in the dark woods of Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit her website.

Robert Ford has written the novels Burner, The Compound, No Lipstick in Avalon, and Blood Roses, a horror-western. He also has a collection of his short fiction The God Beneath my Garden, a novella collection, Inner Demons, and the novella Larva Me Tender.

He collaborated, with John Boden, on the novellas Rattlesnake Kisses, Cattywampus, and Black Salve, in the Knucklebucket Thang series.

With author Matt Hayward, Robert co-wrote the novel A Penny for Your Thoughts.

Robert lives in Central Pennsylvania, and is usually hard at work on at least two projects at a time. You can find out more about his upcoming releases at www.robertfordauthor.com

Max Booth III is a writer, publisher, editor, podcaster, and indie bookstore owner. They are the author of numerous works, including I Believe in Mister Bones, Abnormal Statistics, Maggots Screaming!, Touch the Night, and many others too spooky to name here. Their novella, We Need to Do Something, was adapted into a feature film from their own screenplay and distributed by IFC Midnight in 2021 after debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival. They co-run Ghoulish Books, a publisher/bookstore hybrid, with their wife Lori Michelle Booth. Together, the two of them also co-founded the annual Ghoulish Book Festival. Additionally, Max serves as the head editor and publisher of Ghoulish Tales. Born and raised in Northwest Indiana, they now live in San Antonio, TX.

Adam Cesare is a New Yorker who lives in Philadelphia.

He is the author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning Clown in a Cornfield series, the graphic novel Dead Mall, and several other novels and novellas including the cult hit Video Night. An avid fan of horror cinema, you can talk movies with him on YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and the rest of his socials.

www.adamcesare.com

Jonathan Janz is a husband, father, novelist, screenwriter, and public schoolteacher. He’s represented for film and television by Ryan Lewis (executive producer of Bird Box), and his literary agent is Priya Doraswamy. His ghost story The Siren and the Specter was selected as a Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Horror. Additionally, his novels Children of the Dark and The Dark Game were chosen by Booklist and Library Journal as Top Ten Horror Books of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children. You can sign up for his newsletter (http://jonathanjanz.us12.list-manage....), and you can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok, and Goodreads.

Hailed as “one of the best new voices in horror fiction” by horror grandmaster Brian Keene, Matt Serafini is a screenwriter and author whose books include Rites of Extinction, Feral, and Under the Blade, which FilmThrills called “one of the best slasher films you’ll ever read.”

His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthology collections and he has written extensively on the subjects of film and literature for numerous websites including Dread Central and Shock Till You Drop. His nonfiction has appeared in the pages of Fangoria and HorrorHound.

Matt lives on the East Coast with his wife and children.

Doug Murano lives somewhere between Mount Rushmore and the mighty Missouri River. He is the Bram Stoker Award-winning editor of Behold! Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders and the co-editor of Bram Stoker Award-nominated Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories.

Since 2008, his short stories have appeared in a number of venues. He is an Active Member of the Horror Writers Association, and was the organization's promotions and social media coordinator from 2013-15. He is a co-recipient of the HWA's 2014 Richard Laymon President's Award for Service.

Follow @muranofiction on Twitter.

Patrick Lacey was born and raised in a haunted house. He currently spends his nights and weekends writing about things that make the general public uncomfortable. He lives in Massachusetts, in a hopefully non-haunted house, with his wife, daughter, and over-sized cat. Follow him on Twitter (@patlacey), find him on Facebook, or visit his website at https://patrickclacey.wordpress.com/.

"Rolfe is a vital part of this horror generation." - Brian Keene, World Horror Convention Award Grandmaster of Horror, and author of GHOUL and THE RISING

Glenn Rolfe is an author from the haunted woods of New England. He has studied Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University and continues his education in the world of horror by devouring the novels of Stephen King, Richard Laymon, Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, and many others.

He is a Splatterpunk Award nominee and the author of Until Summer Comes Around, August's Eyes, Blood and Rain, The Window, Becoming, The Haunted Halls, Chasing Ghosts, Abram's Bridge, Things We Fear, Boom Town, Something in the Groove, It Came from the Lake, Are We Out of the Woods?, and the collections, Slush, Nocturnal Pursuits, and Land of Bones.

Check out his latest novel, When the Night Falls.

Richard Chizmar, New York Times and USA Today Best Selling-Author of Gwendy’s Button Box, says of Rolfe’s Blood and Rain: “A wonderful throwback to the fun and bloody days of paperback horror glory!”

Adam Cesare, author of Clown in a Cornfield adds: "Many authors nowadays get lauded for writing 'throwback' horror fiction, but none of them quite goes the distance as Rolfe does in Blood and Rain. Werewolves, silver samurai swords, and small New England towns: it all makes you wish this was twenty years ago so you can take the paperback off a supermarket spinner-rack and huff the yellowed pages."

Booklist says of Rolfe’s Until Summer Comes Around: “Rolfe is a rising talent in the horror field. Fans of The Lost Boys film will enjoy this, and Rolfe puts his own spin on the standard summer bloodsucker tale."

Rolfe is a singer, songwriter, and author of over eighteen books. He has studied Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University, toured in a minivan with his stinky friends, played the Hard Rock Cafe in Denver, won Best Dad two years in a row (2012 & 2013), had a radio show at Bates College, and dreams of surfing in the Pacific Ocean one day with his future pet goat.

He is hard at work on many more books and songs. Stay tuned!

Instagram: grolfehorror

TikTok: glennrolfe561

RACHEL AUTUMN DEERING is an Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated writer, editor, and book designer from the hills of Appalachia. Her debut prose novella, HUSK, was published in 2016 and drew praise from critics and fellow writers alike. Her upcoming novel, Wytchwood Hollow, is set for publication in 2018.

She has also written, edited, lettered, designed, and published comics and short prose for DC/Vertigo Comics, Blizzard Entertainment, Dark Horse Comics, IDW, Cartoon Network, and more.

Deering is a rock 'n' roll witch with a heart of slime. She lives with a bunch of monster masks in the wild, wild midwest.

Matt Hayward is an author of horror fiction. His first novel was released in 2017, and his latest, Those Below The Tree House, in 2020.

Since its founding in August 2012, Crystal Lake Publishing has quickly become one of the world’s leading publishers of Dark Fiction and Horror books in print, eBook, and audio formats.

While we strive to present only the highest quality fiction and entertainment, we also endeavour to support authors along their writing journey. We offer our time and experience in non-fiction projects, as well as author mentoring and services, at competitive prices.

With several Bram Stoker Award wins and many other wins and nominations, Crystal Lake Publishing puts integrity, honor, and respect at the forefront of our publishing operations.

We strive for each book and outreach program we spearhead to not only entertain and touch or comment on issues that affect our readers, but also to strengthen and support the Dark Fiction field and its authors.

Not only do we find and publish authors we believe are destined for greatness, but we strive to work with men and woman who endeavour to be decent human beings who care more for others than themselves, while still being hard working, driven, and passionate artists and storytellers.

Crystal Lake Publishing is and will always be a beacon of what passion and dedication, combined with overwhelming teamwork and respect, can accomplish. We endeavour to know each and every one of our readers, while building personal relationships with our authors, reviewers, bloggers, podcasters, bookstores, and libraries.

We will be as trustworthy, forthright, and transparent as any business can be, while also keeping most of the headaches away from our authors, since it’s our job to solve the problems so they can stay in a creative mind. Which of course also means paying our authors.

We do not just publish books, we present to you worlds within your world, doors within your mind, from talented authors who sacrifice so much for a moment of your time.

There are some amazing small presses out there, and through collaboration and open forums we will continue to support other presses in the goal of helping authors and showing the world what quality small presses are capable of accomplishing. No one wins when a small press goes down, so we will always be there to support hardworking, legitimate presses and their authors. We don’t see Crystal Lake as the best press out there, but we will always strive to be the best, strive to be the most interactive and grateful, and even blessed press around. No matter what happens over time, we will also take our mission very seriously while appreciating where we are and enjoying the journey.

What do we offer our authors that they can’t do for themselves through self-publishing?

We are big supporters of self-publishing (especially hybrid publishing), if done with care, patience, and planning. However, not every author has the time or inclination to do market research, advertise, and set up book launch strategies. Although a lot of authors are successful in doing it all, strong small presses will always be there for the authors who just want to do what they do best: write.

What we offer is experience, industry knowledge, contacts and trust built up over years. And due to our strong brand and trusting fanbase, every Crystal Lake Publishing book comes with weight of respect. In time our fans begin to trust our judgment and will try a new author purely based on our support of said author.

To date we’ve published around 100 books, and with each launch we strive to fine-tune our approach, learn from our mistakes, and increase our reach. We continue to assure our authors that we’re here for them and that we’ll carry the weight of the launch and dealing with third parties while they focus on their strengths—be it writing, interviews, blogs, signings, etc.

We also offer several mentoring packages to authors that include knowledge and skills they can use in both traditional and self-publishing endeavours.

We look forward to launching many new careers.

This is what we believe in. What we stand for. This will be our legacy.

Welcome to Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

Somer Canon lives in Eastern PA with her husband, two sons, and five cats. Her preferred escape has always been reading and writing and horror has always been the hook that catches her attention best. Feel free to find her on social media and never fear, she's only scary when she's hungry!