Joshua Viola is a Splatterpunk Award nominee, Colorado Book Award winner, and editor of the StokerCon™ 2021 Souvenir Anthology. He is the co-author of the Denver Moon series with Warren Hammond. Their graphic novel, Denver Moon: Metamorphosis, was included on the 2018 Bram Stoker Award™ Preliminary Ballot. Viola edited the Denver Post #1 bestselling horror anthology Nightmares Unhinged, and co-edited Cyber World—named one of the best science fiction anthologies of 2016 by Barnes & Noble. His first novel, The Bane of Yoto, won awards from the USA Best Book Awards, National Indie Excellence Awards, International Book Awards, and Independent Publishers Book Awards. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies, including DOA III: Extreme Horror Anthology, Doorbells at Dusk and Classic Monsters Unleashed. In 2022, he became the creative director of comics and novelizations for Random Games’ new videogame franchise, Unioverse. As a video game artist, he worked on Pirates of the Caribbean, Smurfs, and TARGET: Terror. Viola is the owner and chief editor of Hex Publishers in Denver, Colorado.

James Aquilone was raised on Saturday morning cartoons, comic books, sitcoms, and Cap'n Crunch. Amid the Cold War, he dreamed of being a jet fighter pilot but decided against the military life after realizing it would require him to wake up early. He had further illusions of being a stand-up comedian, until a traumatic experience on stage forced him to seek a college education. Brief stints as an alternative rock singer/guitarist and child model also proved unsuccessful. Today he battles a severe chess addiction while trying to write and edit in the speculative fiction game.

He is the founder of Monstrous Books, and has edited the bestselling anthlogies CLASSIC MONSTERS UNLEASHED, KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER - 50TH ANNIVERSARY and SHAKESPEARE UNLEASHED.

His first novel, DEAD JACK AND THE PANDEMONIUM DEVICE, has been optioned for film and TV. His short fiction has been published in such places as Nature's Futures, The Best of Galaxy's Edge 2013-2014, Unidentified Funny Objects 4, and Weird Tales Magazine.

He lives in Staten Island, New York, with his wonderful wife.

Sign up for his newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/hYar1D

JG Faherty is the Bram Stoker Award®- and ITW Thriller Award-nominated author of 8 novels, 10 novellas, and more than 75 short stories. He writes adult and YA horror/sci-fi/fantasy, and his works range from quiet, dark suspense to over-the-top comic gruesomeness.

A lifelong resident of New York's highly haunted Hudson Valley region, JG grew up amid Revolutionary War graveyards, haunted roads, and woods filled with ghostly apparitions. His varied professional career includes working as a resume writer, laboratory manager, accident scene photographer, zoo keeper, scientist, and salesman. He began writing fiction in 2001, and his short stories, poetry, and articles have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies.

For more information about his books, or to arrange signings or readings, visit www.jgfaherty.com, www.facebook.com/jgfaherty, or www.twitter.com/jgfaherty.

Alessandro Manzetti (Rome, Italy) is a three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author, editor, scriptwriter and essayist of horror fiction and dark poetry. His work has been published extensively (more than 40 books) in Italian and English, including novels, short and long fiction, poetry, essays, graphic novels and collections.

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English publications include his novels Shanti - The Sadist Heaven (2019) and Naraka - The Ultimate Human Breeding (2018), the novella The Keeper of Chernobyl (2019), the collections The Radioactive Bride (2020) and The Garden of Delight (2017) the poetry collections Dancing with Maria's Ghost (2021), Whitechapel Rhapsody (2020), The Place of Broken Things (2019, with Linda D. Addison), War (2018, with Marge Simon), No Mercy (2017), Sacrificial Nights (2016, with Bruce Boston) Eden Underground (2015), Venus Intervention (2014, with Corrine de Winter), the graphic novels Calcutta Horror (2019), Her Life Matters (2020), The Inhabitant of the Lake (2021), Kraken Inferno (2022), and the essay/guide 150 Exquisite Horror Books (2021)

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He edited the anthologies The Beauty of Death (2016), The Beauty of Death Vol. 2 - Death by Water (2017, with Jodi Renee Lester), Monsters of Any Kind (2018, with Daniele Bonfanti) and 2021 Rhysling Anthology (2021)

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His stories and poems have appeared in Italian, USA, UK, Australian, Canadian, Russian and Polish magazines such as Weird Tales Magazine, Dark Moon Digest, Splatterpunk Zine, Disturbed Digest, Space and Time Magazine, Darker Magazine, The Horror Zine, Dark Moon Digest, Illumen, Devolution Z, Hinnom, Recompose, Polu Texni, Nothing’s Sacred, Okolica Strachu, and anthologies such as The Best Horror of the Year Vol. 13, Splatterpunk Forever, Best Hardcore Horror of the Year Vol. 2, 4, 5, 6, Classic Monsters Unleashed, The Big Book of Blasphemy, Midnight Under the Big Top, Rhysling Anthology (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), HWA Poetry Showcase Vol. 3 and 4, The Beauty of Death Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, World of Light and Darkness, One of Us, Professor Charlatan Bardot's Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World, Tales of the Lost Vol. 3, Hope: Poems of Hope and Resilience From the Pandemic, Sorrow and many others.

​Awards and Nominations:

• Bram Stoker Awards 2021 winner

• Bram Stoker Awards 2019 winner

• Bram Stoker Awards 2015 winner

• SFPA Elgin Awards 2019 winner

• Bram Stoker Awards 2020 two-time nominee

• Bram Stoker Awards 2019 three-time nominee

• Bram Stoker Awards 2018 nominee

• Bram Stoker Awards 2017 two-time nominee

• Bram Stoker Awards 2016 two-time nominee

• Bram Stoker Awards 2014 nominee

• Splatterpunk Awards 2019 nominee

• Splatterpunk Awards 2018 nominee

• Rhysling Awards 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 nominee

• Elgin Awards 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 202, 2022 nominee

• This is Horror Awards 2017 nominee

• Indie Horror Book Awards 2019 nominee

• HWA Specialty Press Awards 2017 winner (as CEO of Independent Legions Press)

Website: www.battiago.com

Rena Mason is a three-time Bram Stoker Award® recipient for The Evolutionist and “The Devil’s Throat,” as well as a 2014 Stage 32 /The Blood List Search for New Blood Screenwriting Contest Quarter-Finalist. She has published fiction and nonfiction in various anthologies, magazines, and books on writing.

She is a member of the Horror Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, The International Screenwriters' Association, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, and the Public Safety Writers Association. Please visit her website for more information: www.RenaMason.Ink

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.

Geneve Flynn is a two-time Bram Stoker Award winner and a winner of the Shirley Jackson Award. She is a freelance editor from Australia who specialises in speculative fiction. Her horror short stories have been published in various markets, including Flame Tree Publishing, PseudoPod, and Crystal Lake Publishing. Her works have been nominated and shortlisted for the Locus, British Fantasy, Aurealis, Australian Shadows, Rhysling, and Elgin awards, and for the Pushcart Prize. She loves tales that unsettle, all things writerly, and B-grade action movies; if that sounds like you, check out her website at www.geneveflynn.com.au