Mallory Smart is an author, editor, publisher, and podcaster. She has had a prolific year with multiple stories published and a chapbook, We All Go A Little Mad Sometimes, from Thirty West Publishing. Her newest horror story collection is Book of David from House of Vlad, out October 7, 2026. An authentic encapsulation of Midwest gothic, Book of David is certainly a haunting collection just in time for Halloween. I sent her a list of questions to learn more about David.
There are many reasons to pick up Greg Tate’s recently-reissued Flyboy in the Buttermilk, beginning with the fact that it’s a triumphant, wide-ranging collection of nonfiction and cultural commentary. Add in the presence of introductions by both Questlove and Hanif Abdurraqib, each of whom does an excellent job of pointing out why Tate’s work mattered when at the time it was written and continues to matter, and you have the makings of a classic returning to print.
Like her characters, author Diana Rojas certainly doesn’t take the easy route toward closure or redemption. In her latest novel They Hold Grudges she writes from the perspective of Roberto, someone who refuses to “stir the pot” – even when his own reputation is being cooked.
It’s September, and the weather outside is starting to feel a little autumnal. (At least it is in New York….sometimes after dark, when a breeze picks up.) If you’re looking to get some more reading some this month, we have some recommendations for you, from surreal fiction to a glimpse inside a literary life. Read on, friends…
The guiding principle of Six Ridiculous Questions is that life is filled with ridiculousness. And questions. That only by giving in to these truths may we hope to slip the surly bonds of reality and attain the higher consciousness we all crave. (Eh, not really, but it sounded good there for a minute.) It’s just. Who knows? The ridiculousness and question bits, I guess. Why six? Assonance, baby, assonance.
Writer’s block? Gaaah, have a punt on the page. Take off without a map, see what you find. Here are some tips for when my mind’s a real mess and I reckon I’ll suck it and see.
The last decade has seen an increase in works from Katherine Dunn’s archive seeing print, from her ruminations on profanity to a posthumous story collection. Dunn’s bibliography covers a lot of thematic territory, and while Geek Love is her best-known work, it’s far from her only book worth discussing. Also notable about Geek Love: among the accolades it’s received is a nomination for the Bram Stoker Award.
Some horror stories play on primal fears and anxieties; others work by creating monsters so unsettling the reader will have no choice but to flinch. David Simmons’s stories often pursue a third path: creating a profound sense of a world where nearly everything has gone wrong, like a trap door carved in morality that you can’t avoid.