Head Down and Just Go
Mar 11, 2026 1:31 pm
Hey Ho Tenebrous Cult!
Portland-area Cultists got together for pizza, drinks and to catch up a bit at Pinky's last week:
Alex has now returned to her compound in the Carpathians after a slightly-abridged trip to the states (abridged due to some multi-day flight cancellations and delays), but not before we ripped through an absolute whirlwind of business.
Logistics for the distribution shift to IPG in the coming months; catching up on a severely bloated submissions portal; planning the calendar for 2027, into 2028 and beyond; and oh yeah:
The YOUR BODY IS A FEVER DREAM Table of Contents has been finalized! 28 writers & 11 artists excruciatingly extracted from hundreds upon hundreds of incredible submissions.
We'll reveal the full list on International Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31st; tune in then for more Cosmic Weird Horror than you can shake a swan at.
DIVE by Allison Mick - Cover Art Reveal!
DIVE is grimier than the beer-soaked floor of the infamous dive bar it takes place in. Welcome to The Liz, a "goddamned Oakland institution" whose loyal barflies spend all their time wasting away, wrapped in personal beefs both real and imagined, paranoid breakdowns and supernatural crimes.
Also, day in, day out, there's a vampire faithfully holding the end of the bar down, more than happy to tell you all about The Liz's sordid history.
Vibes-wise, this is early 90s indie film all the way through—like Jim Jarmusch directing Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, but funnier.
Now, check out this gorgeous Matias San Juan cover, our final cover reveal for our 2026 titles!
DIVE is scheduled for release on November 17th. You'll have to provide your own hangover.
BizarroCon is in new hands...and comes to Portland proper!
BizarroCon is an annual gathering of Bizarro Fiction writers, artists, performers, filmmakers, publishing professionals and fans. Now in its 18th year, 2026 marks the first year that BizarroCon will be hosted on Portland's Eastside at The Jupiter Hotel.
Under new Director Constance Ann Fitzgerald (and assisted by Tenebrous author Danger Slater!), BizarroCon is looking to retain its long-standing cult reputation as a gathering of boundary-bending genre writers (plus filmmakers, artist and more) while welcoming in a new wave of both fans and creators of the Weird!
I'm gonna pass the mic to Constance to tell you a little more:
15 years ago I attended my first BizarroCon and damn, was it something!
I vividly recall standing in the Ad House with a group of folks, talking about some of our favorite weird things and realizing that if I were to have this exact same conversation at home, everyone would just be staring at me and thinking how weird I am.
But not here. It was welcome, it was honored, it was reciprocated. I felt so at home.That experience of belonging and sharing the things that mean the most to me is something I want for everyone.
It's wild to me to be in a position to bring all of these people together, curate the experience and make sure it is just as magical as ever. We’re back from our Coastal Vacation (BizarroCon 2024, Astoria) and our vacation from our vacation (Wonderland Awards-only in 2025) and now we’re in Portland proper!
My team and I have been referring to 2026 as the NEW BizarroCon: the Rebirth! We’re at a more centralized and accessible location, one that is just as excited to have us as we are to be there! The Jupiter Hotel on Burnside is lovely, affordable and a brief streetcar ride away from the legendary Powell’s Books.
We’re also holding the convention in spring; the season of rebirth! A potentially less rainy season in Portland—please don’t hold me to that, the weather does what it wants these days and we all know it—with cherry blossoms exploding down by the waterfront and potential sunshine.
I am so excited to throw a great party for my friends and anyone who wants to be a part of it. While the world feels heavy and completely on fire, we can gather and recharge and give each other all the reasons in the world to keep moving forward in spite of it.
We are still nailing down things like programming, catering, new graphics, and other logistics, but I wanted to share my excitement sooner than later so everyone can 1.) join me in my excitement 2.) start planning to come out!
Come out to BizarroCon 2026 - Home for Literary Misfits- May 14th - 17th and find your people!
The BizarroCon homepage has more information on the hotel (plus discount code!), tickets, and just about everything you need to know. Learn more here.
While Tenebrous has never specifically considered itself a Bizarro press, we definitely feel a spiritual kinship with this scene. These are our people. We'll be in attendance (and involved in some capacity that we're still nailing down) and we hope you'll join us! Let's get Weird.
Tenebrous Tour 2026
Beyond BizarroCon, our show schedule is rapidly filling up. We don't have the entire year sorted out yet but so far you can catch us tabling at the following:
Norwescon - April 2-5 - The Pacific Northwest's longtime, massive Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Speculative Fiction convention, and the home of the Philip K. Dick Awards (for which Koji A. Dae's CASUAL is nominated, and Koji will be in attendance too!)
BizarroCon - May 14-17
Books & Brews: Once Upon a Summer Market -June 13 - we'll be in Lacey, WA alongside WE LIKE IT CHERRY author Jacy Morris for this curated indoor author market celebrating independent voices from across the Pacific Northwest!
Ghosts of Summer PDX - August 7-8 - Portland's celebrated Halloween themed night market returns after a year off!
There are at least two and maybe three more shows that we haven't yet confirmed but are hoping to attend around the U.S.; plus whatever else may arise over the rest of the year.
OLYOKE is out in two weeks
March 24th sees the release of Vincent Endwell's brilliant "Appalachian Twin Peaks" oddity, OLYOKE. This one is for the real adventurous Weirdos, you know who you are:
Welcome to Olyoke, Tennessee: home to a Dollywood-style theme park, generations of troubled families, mysterious plagues, and the prophecies of a dead architect turned cult leader who has foretold a fiery cataclysm.
As the time of the fire nears, inexplicable events compound:
Darcy, a Dolly Parton impersonator, finds strange worms in the swamp and feeds them to her dog, who begins to speak with the voice of Darcy's dead mother;
Recently divorced Lyle Knox is called through its dreams by a strange house, and soon discovers that Lyle Knox itself is not a person, but a structure;
Maggie Warner organizes a theater production to stave off her gnawing misery and becomes convinced that only the people she sees in her dreams are real. Moreover, the Whistler—the man Maggie becomes when she sleeps—welcomes the town’s impending Judgment with open arms.
Many destinies will converge in Olyoke. None will escape unchanged.
Cover art by Jenna Cha. Interior art by Echo Echo.
“Lures you into the crevice between Weird fiction and Appalachian horror where something inscrutable yet warm has been gestating. You will come back different.”
- Michael Wehunt, author, The October Film Haunt
And if you're in the Brooklyn area, check out this killer event at The Twisted Spine! Author Vincent Endwell will be in conversation with O.F. Cieri, author of the rad and Weird-as-hell BACKMASK.
Get your tickets for the event here; ticket includes a copy of OLYOKE!
Friends With Benefits
Luciano Marano appeared in our inaugural BRAVE NEW WEIRD anthology with his exceptional story “The Mythologization of Tymber Prescott in Five Selected Photos”.
I've enjoyed everything I've read of Luciano's, and he's got a new collection of some of his best stories—including the aforementioned—out now through JournalStone!
From the publisher:
Cults, criminals, monsters, and maniacs abound in the highly anticipated debut collection from a writer quickly becoming known as one of the most unique and stylish voices in contemporary dark fiction.
This collection gathers 12 of the author’s best and most celebrated stories published to date, as well as two brand new pieces, for a nightmarishly beautiful blend of hardboiled horror and occult noir ideal for fans of Keith Rosson, Johnny Compton, and Laird Barron. These tales meld terrors both subtle and shocking, classic and cutting-edge…
That's it for now. We'll see you next week with a new book announcement for 2027!
Hail Indie Publishing.
Hail New Weird Horror (+ More!)
Hail the Tenebrous Cult.
Matt + Alex
