The ARC Party

StokerCon 2026 took place in Pittsburgh at the beginning of June, and this year I was part of the programming team. Me and my good pal Greg Greene were tasked with managing the virtual panels for the con, which was an honor and a lot of fun! We pulled together a couple dozen virtual panels that were incredible, including my own panel where me and some rock star panelists asked and answered the que...

New to the ARC Party? If you’re new here, I’ll explain why this episode is so cool. Every six months, I get together with two of the most informed and well-read people in the horror book world… Becky Spratford: Becky Spratford [MLIS] is a Librarian in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the...

As you are about to hear, my Paul Tremblay story goes a long way back. I’ve read almost every book he’s written, and in that time some titles have stood out to me as being extra special. THE PALLBEARER’S CLUB is one of those books, and now DEAD BUT DREAMING OF ELECTRIC SHEEP too. At the risk of being hyperbolic, Paul took a damn swing with this book, and he connected. That is to say that he wrote...

Joshua Millican was first introduced to me through his novella TELEPORTASM, part of Shortwave Publishing’s great series Killer VHS. What became immediately clear about Josh from reading TELEPORTASM is that he is talented. He knows writing, he’s skilled at storytelling, and he can take something as absurd as euphoric teleportation and take it to hilarious, compelling, emotional, or existentially te...

Introducing Virtual StokerCon 2026 Greg Greene joined me to talk briefly about the virtual programming for StokerCon 2026! We spend a little time explaining what the virtual con is, tease some of the content, and tell you what it costs and how to get it. What you get * Access to all 23 virtual panels for 2026 * Access to all 45 live streaming panels from StokerCon 2026 * Access to previous year’s...

Introducing: Horror TBR episodes! This episode begins a new series of episodes on the podcast, where every month I will have someone on to talk about the books we’re excited for each month! I have enjoyed doing my Horror Preview episodes with Becky Spratford and Emily Hughes - and those will continue! But I feel like there’s an opportunity to do more, and I’m taking that opportunity. The format Me...

I first met Josh Malerman in 2014, not long after the release of BIRD BOX. A friend, Nikki Guerlain, said “you gotta read this book, you’re going to love it.” Nikki was never wrong, so BIRD BOX got put on the roster for a review on my podcast, and through Nikki’s extensive connections, Josh agreed to join the podcast for an interview. I remember it was his Wife Allison’s birthday when the clock st...

David James Keaton has been a friend and a peer since the waning days of 2011. Back then, I was starting a podcast and didn’t really know what I was doing. He was promoting a book about zombies at a bed and breakfast and podcast were kinda brand new. Since then I’ve read a ton of his books, he’s been on a ton of my podcasts, and we’ve even gone to a baseball game. But this is a first! Finally, the...

Rapture Party again? Honestly, I really just wanted to have a chance to talk to Mitch and Chris again, so when Rapture announced a hefty double release for December, that was all I needed. For those who are not aware, Rapture Publishing has created (and therefore dominated) the market for premium chapbooks, and for the last year has put out some great books. They’re beautiful, they’re rare, and th...

2026 is around the corner, and if you’re worried you’ll have no idea what to read in the coming year, you can breathe easy. I’ve assembled a team of the most informed and well read folks to ease your book-finding burden. Every six months, Emily Hughes , Becky Spratford , and myself congregate to share what we think some of the best upcoming books are going to be. We do every six months for two rea...

Recently, Sean O’Connor of Macabre Daily’s series Paper Cuts asked me to do an interview, and that’s what you get to hear/see today! Sean has been highlighting some of the folks in the horror community who do the work of promoting authors and publishers. So if you’re looking for other folks like me, if you want to expand your horizons of book-loving podcasters and influencers, I’d suggest checking...

Mitch Hull is a brewer and reader who loves books and reading, and is meticulous when he creates a thing. Chris Panatier has a unique and eye-catching artistic style that compliments the stories that Mitch finds. Mitch is also kind of insane, and will get a wild hair to do something nobody’s ever done before… like using hand-marbled paper as dust jackets on his high quality chapbooks. Or hand-sewi...

Waaaaaay back in early 2023, Adam Godfrey’s novella NARCISSUS landed on my radar. I don’t know how or why, but it caught my attention and I was hooked by that evocative cover image. Then by then hook of the story. So I read it and I loved it! Then I had to have Adam on and he talked about how great his experience was working with Shortwave Publishing. So when Chloe Spencer’s novella MEWING caught...

What could happen if you whistle in the dark? Henry Hotard might just find out in The Whistler - the upcoming novel by Nick Medina. I met Nick back when Paul Tremblay was in town promoting Horror Movie. Paul had a great event, and then an amazing group of folks went out for dinner afterward. Along with Paul and myself, Becky Spratford, Ananda Lima, Gus Moreno, Nick Medina, John Milas, and a few ot...

Annie Neugebauer’s novella showed up as part of my quarterly box from Shortwave Publishing not so long ago, and the back cover copy just grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. Ten people head out on a backpacking trip, but the first night eleven set up camp. Everyone remembers everyone else. Who is the extra? Simple, compelling, chilling. Well if that kind of hook brings you in, you’re going to love this...

Joshua Hull is from a small town in Indiana, in which his home address was 8114. He has written a book where the protagonist is from a small town in Indiana, in which his home address is 8114. That’s where the similarities begin, but it’s far from where they end. Inspired by a horrible and terrifying nightmare, Hull has written a homecoming story chocked full of nostalgia, old trauma, witches, hig...

Pre-Order SHITSHOW directly from Sobelo books HERE Chris Panatier came back onto the podcast for my 75th episode to talk about his imminent release: SHITSHOW. It’s a book about a guy who is taking care of his mother who is suffering from dementia. It’s a book about a dark carnival trying to break into our world by the shittiest of means. It’s about fear and grief and generational trauma. And yeah,...

Folks, a while back I sat down to record a virtual panel for StokerCon about horror’s most vocal champions - the podcasters. Hosted by William Sterling, the panel consisted of Myself, Anna Dupre from Anna Rose Reads, Neil McRobert from Talking Scared, and Trevor Williamson from the Sley House Presents podcast. William brought us together to talk a bit about our own experience podcasting, about our...

Pre-Order all of these books at my Bookshop page. It’s that time of year, where I am graced with the presence of two of Horror’s biggest and most esteemed advocates to talk about what books we’re looking forward to in the next half-year. Becky Spratford is gearing up for a massive launch for her non-fiction essay book WHY I LOVE HORROR: Essays on Horror Literature - an excellent collection of 18 e...

Preorder here! Preorder here! Back in January during our 2025 Horror Preview, Emily Hughes picked GIRL IN THE CREEK by Wendy Wagner as one of her June books that she was looking forward to. So that’s when I first saw the cover, heard the pitch. Man, it sounded good. Cut to I’m taking a quick business trip to Phoenix and need something to read on the plane. Well, I just got this ARC in the mail - t...

Buy Sam’s Books and preorder GALLOWAY’S GOSPEL Something’s Wrong in the Hudson Valley Guys, if there’s one thing I’ve been consistent on when it comes to author Sam Rebelein, it’s dragging my ass — to my own detriment. Back when his debut novel EDENVILLE released last about a year ago, I heard great things about it, listened to Sam talk about it on podcasts, and failed to actually read the thing....

Preorder signed copies here! Hey, neighbor! When I heard Todd Keisling — an author I knew as a writer of Appalachian horror/cosmic horror — was writing a book about a widower moving to a retirement home… I couldn’t resist. There was no way this was going to be anything but awesome. And I was right, but Todd also plunged his hand into my chest and ripped my still-beating heart out. Which is to say...

Preorder directly from This Is Horror I was on ‘Naked Attraction’ Michael David Wilson has established himself as a horror institution over the last decade and a half, and so naturally when there’s a new novel out with his name on it, it’s gonna be horror right? Nah. But don’t let that deter you, horror heads, because this is a dame fine read even if it’s lacking in vampires or werewolves. DADDY’S...

Buy this book and support the podcast! This guy walks into a bar… Nick Kolakowski has been in the writing business for a long time, and his come up has been sort of split between horror and crime. He’s got impressive credentials in horror and crime anthologies and magazines, as well as his own published works. The book of the hour, however, is solidly, fantastically a crime book. Detective, to be...

Buy Jon’s Books! Reunited after all these years The last time I interviewed Jon Bassoff about a book, Barack Obama was president. Yeah. Jon has had a rewarding career of great book releases since then, and when I saw the synopsis for THE MEMORY WARD, I knew I had to read it and get him back on a call to catch up. This book is going to invite comps like crazy, to stuff like Stepford Wives, Truman S...