The ARC Party

It’s the final Horror TBR episode of 2026, and I’m flying solo this time. I had originally had someone set up to guest with me, but plans fell through and as the days ticked on, I decided to just give it a go solo. You’ll have to let me know if you think it went okay. If it works out, I may consider doing Horror TBR episodes solo all the time.It’s also my 99th episode! Well. Of this podcast. I’ve done probably upwards of 800 podcast episodes in my days. But yeah, next episode will be my 100th, and for that I’m bringing on Alan Lastufka from Shortwave Publishing, and Mitch Hull from Rapture Publishing to talk about their recent deal to create Rapture Trade as an imprint of Shortwave - fulfilling what I assume are sympathetic goals: Mitch establishing a trade publishing imprint, and Alan getting more titles under the Shortwave banner without having to do the work on them himself. It’s a big year for both Alan and Mitch, and I wanted to get together to hear what it’s been like, and what they have planned for the future. Please use the buttons at the top of this post to go preorder the books in this episode, and if you have ANY connections to Richard Kelly, please help me get an advanced copy of his book. I’m dying over here. And remember: Always Carry A Book.For the YouTube people out there: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thearcparty.com/subscribe

Nick Medina is a fantastic writer, and SAVAGE LAKE is the latest bit of evidence. Set in upstate Wisconsin (is that a thing?) Nell and her son Oscar have to go to their recently-inherited cabin in the woods to get it ready for sale. The cabin, the lake, and the town are choked with ghosts from Nell’s past, and if they aren’t careful, they may never make it out. This book isn’t just a cabin in the woods book. It’s also a slasher. It’s also a ghost story. It’s also a cryptic story. It’s also a touching look at family and generational trauma. It’s also an analysis on racism and invasiveness. It is a whole lot, and it all works, and it still manages to be well-paced and entertaining. Somehow Nick manages to make it feel effortless. I love talking to Nick, and I’ve loved promoting this book, which is certainly in my top three for the year. I hope I didn’t gush too much, and that the conversation was something you will enjoy even a fraction of how much you’ll enjoy SAVAGE LAKE.For the YouTube lovin’ folk: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thearcparty.com/subscribe

Yes, I know that this is a long episode, but I promise that it’s worth the time. Bitter Karella is an impressive author, a hilarious social media personality, and a really interesting person. I want to emphasize that Quaint Folk is a seriously entertaining story. It’s imaginative, funny, engaging, propulsive, and cool. I want to emphasize that because for nearly an hour of our conversation, we talk about gender and sexuality and how messy it can be to navigate those topics and more so messy to write about them. It’s good and necessary discussion, but I worry it could give the impression that this book is stuffed with the topic. I’m here to assure you that it’s not. It is in there, but it is amongst the witchcraft, British cheekery, and strange goings-on. I’m also very excited for Bitter’s upcoming novella Monoceros, and the fact that She’ll be launching it in Chicago in November. All you Chicago locals should join me in Oak Park for the event.Quaint Folk releases Tuesday October 6th, so just a few days after this episode posts. There’s still time to preorder, or if you aren’t a day-one listener, it’s likely available to buy now. Check it out, it’s a fantastic book!For the YouTube folks: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thearcparty.com/subscribe

It’s that time again, time to bless you with some titles we are dying to check out. For October, my good friend and horror aficionado Greg Greene joined me to sing the praises of some amazing upcoming books.You probably know Greg best for the amazing shirts that he creates, themed on contemporary horror novels. His “Jade Daniels Is My Final Girl” shirt is such a cultural phenomenon that it’s been written into multiple horror novels. If you want to see what kinds of shirts he’s got, check out his store at Threadsofdread.com.In this episode, Greg also shares information about his upcoming magazine - Rough Beast, which will be available at the same website. Exciting times for horror!In this episode, we cover a dozen sizzling October titles. I asked Greg to join me specifically because I know how excited he is for the release of the new Stephen Graham Jones book Off The Reservation, and also the hotly anticipated sequel from Brian Evenson - Phantom Limb, a follow-up to his most popular novel Last Days. Check out the episode for all the titles we’re jazzed for, and hit the link below to order them all!For the YouTube folk: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thearcparty.com/subscribe

Horror podcaster and journalist Matthew Jackson from The Scares That Shaped Us was nice enough to help me carry the huge burden of curating a list of September releases to talk about. Matthew’s podcast has a fun theme where he interviews authors about their upcoming books, and as part of the discussion they talk about a story (a book, a movie, poems, etc.) that was foundational to them and their relationship with horror. It’s a cool way to conduct a conversation and has led to dozens of very entertaining episodes, which I recommend you check out by clicking the button below.In this episode we covered twenty of the most exciting horror books releasing in September. It’s not all of them by far. On Emily Hughes’ amazing website, she lists 85 titles! So it’s fair to say there are many more amazing books than what we discuss. They are out there for you to discover. We chose ones we’re particularly drawn to, and for the sake of time we had to cut it off somewhere. I heavily encourage everyone to make Emily’s website a primary tool in your book shopping process. It’s a real gift. Please enjoy this list, preorder the books, and let me know on social media what you’re looking forward to!For the folks who prefer YouTube: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thearcparty.com/subscribe