Margins | No. 1

The Drek Death and Doom Newsletter

I. Editor’s Note
II. Open Calls
III. Calling Banners
IV. A Call to Arms
V. What’s New
VI. Coming Soon
VII. What You Missed
VIII. What to Watch Out For

I

Editor’s Note:

What started as a branding for a blog has become a name in small publishing responsible for seven new indie books thrust onto the waves of the market. It’s a little name. Maybe hidden most places you look. The name of the business is not what’s to be seen, only the books, only the work.

The name moved from my blog, it moved to follow me, to umbrella and brand the work I began selling.

It doesn’t belong to me, though. It belongs to us.

Drek means trash. Filth. Rubbish. Critics and dismissers of horror often use these terms without consuming a story. Often brushing it aside with a wave of the hand, sometimes a scoff. It used to summon the phrase, “pearlclutching,” which, although used a little more specifically these days, made me think of prophetic old movie advertisements for King Kong and similar—these big block words banging onto the screen with loud vibrato screeching strings. DREK, people run, DEATH, black and white 30s scream-queen pearled out, digging at her face, with that tiny little fascinator shivering in her hair, DOOM, scenes of Kong blasting planes out of the sky, clutching Fay as Ann Darrow.

I like trope imagery because I want to put out horror that is poetically complex, syntactically stylistic, eloquent and erudite. I want to subvert expectations and emerge as a small, high-tier curator, with a reputation for distinctive, boundary-pushing storytelling.

Consider this use of Drek Death and Doom in contrast to the Trope Kong:

Dark astral sigils brand their bruised backs with eyes disembodied,
Enshroud them in black.
Moaning, defeated, mere inches from death,
We reach out to you master with this offering of flesh.
Cremation of the captured,
Inhaling the funeral plumes.
Torches besoaked and then set ablaze,
Accept now this token of drek, death, and doom.

-Carbonized in Cruciform
The Black Dahlia Murder
Ritual (2011)

This, instead, invokes ritual and divine acceptance. Divine in this case, is referring to Lucifer, but hey, it’s metal, and we’re horror. They go hand in hand.

Nascent Night Press was the imprint that came with finding writers who really fit that whole “poetically complex, syntactically stylistic, eloquent and erudite” thing, but they were not in the horror realm. Still, it was the emotion, the evocation, the specific sacred geometry of the work that made me say, “Why is this not published, and why the hell am I limiting myself to horror?”

I created Nascent Night with Pablo Báez in mind after reading a story of his that fit more in line with what I wanted from horror than any horror I was reading. I created it, not with the intention of publishing him, but with the hopes of being able to publish someone like him. I am lucky we conspired together to put out the first, of what I feel will be many, incredible works by his hand—the bulk, I’m assuming—to be published by those with much more than I am able to give.

That was the other purpose of starting this endeavor. When I started up on substack, I read a lot of great writers, and a lot of those writers had kickstarters or were promoting others’ kickstarters to fund self-publishing. I’d just self-published my first collection, and I spent sleepless nights in a manic state learning everything I could about formatting and publishing platforms and cost effective printing/distribution, basic cover design—plus, I’d edited non-fiction for years on the side.

Editing non-fic isn’t the same, but with the statement to writers that submissions are presumed to be professionally or adequately edited, I could focus more time and energy into formatting, light cover design, proofreading, and publishing and distribution itself.

The goal was to give writers a way to get a book into the world that they can be proud of without having to break the bank, or fund a kickstarter. Some people spend up to 5k on self-publishing, and with the abilities I’d hoped to present, I wanted to knock that number to zero.

I wanted to take on all the risk, put money forward for everything—isbns, merch, physical copies, copyright in the author’s name; provide author copies, send arcs, promos, make ads, buy ad campaigns without the author every paying a dime, and I wanted to give the author 60% of the royalty split in order to do that.

I didn’t want to make promises. No bestseller bullshit guarantees, I’m not even promising a single copy sold. My business model is dedication, money forward backing setup and execution, and whatever steps I can take to make it fly.

Pablo got pretty popular, guys. James has always been popular, and that is not slowing down. Hamish is on the rise. My own books are starting to fly off the shelves.

Now, I just had an open call with 200 submissions, first open call out the gate. I designed the cover for this, am formatting, editing, all the usual, plus sending out all the rejections and acceptances, and paying all the authors out of the business itself.

We’re growing, and it’s all because of you guys.

Keep reading for everything we have on the books moving forward, and a look at what we’ve already accomplished. Plus extras.

-Dylan Bosworth

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II
Open Calls:

Open call submission information is available at

https://drekdeathanddoom.com/submissions/

Drek Death and Doom and Nascent Night Press are both open for long fiction submissions. Collections, Novellas, Novels.

For long fiction submissions, send query letter and first chapter. I will ask for the full thing if I want a closer look.

Submit at submissions@drekdeathanddoom.com.

III
Calling Banners:

Drek Death and Doom is seeking information and people on the following paths as a means to tighten professionalism and quality, as well as get indie fiction into the right hands.

• Publicists. Looking for small or emerging publicists for paid, project-based work on certain releases. Stuff like marketing and press support, when needed.

• Copywriters, marketing writers. I’ll be straight up, I’m not great at writing back cover blurbs or ad copy. Probably especially ad copy.

• Graphic designers. Ads are hit-or-miss, and too market-specific for me to nail without my own bias bleeding into whatever I make. It’s hard for me to balance my taste/the author’s taste/the market ups and downs all in one shot while also trying to write the tone where every word inspires a CTA. Need help there for sure.

• Suggestions on awards to submit our books for consideration? Suggestions on beneficial partnerships? Suggestions on affiliations?

What I’m really, really looking for here, is not some A-list designer or publicist with 16.5 million Instagram followers and a portfolia that reads like their whole life was written by a computer. I want someone like me. The people I want to work with are people who just have a passion for these things and an obsessive drive. I don’t care if they are hobbies or full-time jobs. I like self-learning and dedicated obsession. Learning by doing and failing into doing and succeeding.

Contacting me isn’t some contract you’re locked into. I’m just looking for names that I can keep on my desk when I need help with something.

IV
A Call to Arms:

Drek Death and Doom is seeking to form a rolodex of professional mutuals. If this press is growing off its original voice platform the needs of the authors and books themselves may outweigh what skills I have. Spread the word on the search above!

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V
What’s New?

Check out this release post for Hallucinations by Hamish Kavanagh.

Check out this note about Fruiting Bodies:

VI
Coming Soon:

This Thanksgiving, make sure to say Grace. Eighteen new, emerging, and established writers come together to spread tales of thanks, family trauma, ritualistic terror, and folken Elder Gods imposing unknowable will.

Pick it up from drekdeathanddoom.com, or at all major bookstore retailers online, November 27th, 2025

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VII
What You Missed:

VIII
What to Look Out For:

Introducing RECIPES TO FEED THE DUCKS

Womb Birds

Amateur - Chapter 1

Tyrant: The Autobiography of a Dictator

Invitation to the Autopsy: Specimen No. 13

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