NOSETOUCH PRESS TO PUBLISH C.W. BLACKWELL’S FOLK HORROR NOVELLA, SONG OF THE RED SQUIRE, IN SEPTEMBER 2022

Nosetouch Press to Publish C.W. Blackwell’s Folk Horror Novella, Song of the Red Squire, in September 2022

1/3/2022

North Carolina, 1949. When agricultural inspector Charlie Danwitter is sent on a special assignment to bucolic Ashe County, he expects an easy job cataloging heirloom apple varieties. However, when the local farmers grow suspicious of his motives, Charlie finds himself in far more trouble than he bargained for. In an attempt to salvage his assignment, he follows a mysterious woman deep into the beating heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains to a long-forgotten village where harvest rituals are rooted in bizarre Old World customs—and discovers that some traditions are better left in the past.

Nosetouch Press continues to cultivate its folk horror offerings with the addition of C.W. Blackwell’s novella, SONG OF THE RED SQUIRE.

The novella, set in North Carolina in 1949, follows the agricultural inspector, Charlie Danwitter, to Ashe County, where he encounters menacing local farmers and a mysterious woman deep within the Blue Ridge Mountains in a forgotten village rooted in bizarre and terrifying harvest rituals.

“I’d often take weekend trips out to the Blue Ridge Mountains,” said Blackwell. “I was captivated by the eerie beauty and Old World charm I found there. When Nosetouch Press shared an article on Twitter about an heirloom apple hunter searching for Old Appalachian orchards, I quickly realized it was the premise of a book I always wanted to write.”

C.W. Blackwell is an American author from the Central Coast of California. His recent work has appeared with Down and Out Books, Shotgun Honey, Tough Magazine, and Fahrenheit Press. He is a 2021 Derringer Award winner, and his Southern Gothic short story, “John Wellington,” was featured in the Asterisk Anthology: Volume 2 (Nosetouch Press, 2018).

“We’re thrilled to be working with C.W. Blackwell again,” said Dave Neal, editor-in-chief and co-publisher of Nosetouch Press. “His distinctive neo-noir literary style and enthusiasm for both psychological and folk horror will make for an unforgettable read!”

Nosetouch Press is an independent book publisher tandemly based in Chicago and Pittsburgh, with a commitment to bringing classical book design and excellent fiction to readers everywhere.