 This is a Women in Horror piece that is not going to talk about struggle in terms of men v women in the normal sense of WIHM. You’ll find plenty of those. In fact, I’ve just deleted the introduction I wrote to this article because it’s merely going to repeat what you’ve probably already read elsewhere – this year, last year – and will do so next year. This article is a celebration and a list, and the list has a purpose. The list is pretty much a snapshot of the indie presses where women are at the helm in some way, a celebration that so many exist. What they publish differs. There may be a niche market, for example bizarro, or the presses may be any genre. They may publish only women (including those who identify as women) or they publish both sexes (and obviously all genders). What and who they publish is beside the point. Women have taken charge of their careers and if women can run the business then they can write for it. And the purpose of this list? To give women a shot of confidence, to try and stop the struggle women have with themselves. Not only in terms of writing but also submission. Don’t mock those of us who worry we are not good enough. We have been conditioned. When you’ve worked in male-dominated industries and been introduced as the ‘token female’, when you’ve had to prove yourself again and again to show you are as good as your male counterparts, when you’ve had to rescue a project and then seen your original male colleagues gain pay rises greater than yours and you get a mere pat on the head – it knocks your confidence. All of this happened to me. I was conditioned and I still struggle with my self-confidence. Speak to the boss, people say. But when you are in a man’s world, it is hard to speak up. And I think there is an element of that in the genre. The conditioning of women, their greater lack of confidence – probably more so in the older age group who have experienced the greater discrimination in the ‘real world’ – is a stumbling block. But if they see a woman’s name, they will think, ‘hey she’ll judge my writing for what it is and not who I am.’ I know this is a disservice to many men, but the conditioning is there and is real and it is also well known that women will open up more to other women. The list is not a reflection on the many wonderful presses run by men (for example, Silver Shamrock Publishing who have been brilliant in the support of my own career and their other female authors), or the male cheerleaders in the industry, it is just providing an alternative way in for those women writers standing nervously on the threshold, the women who feel safer talking to other women. This list, I hope will give those writers a nudge to take the first step and then from there, spread their wings. It is by no means exhaustive, some are long-established, others brand new. Take a look, you might find a home: Black Angel Press is the newest platform on this list and is run by myself (Stephanie Ellis) and Alyson Faye. Our aim is to provide a springboard to get work by newer women writers out into the community as well as providing additional opportunities for more established writers.  Burial Day Press is headed by Cina Pelayo and her husband, Gerardo Pelayo. It produces Gothic Blue books in the fashion of the ‘short Gothic fictions popular in the 18th and 19th century.’ A brilliant writer and poet in her own right, Cina, she is one of the most supportive and approachable women in the industry. CLASH Books is overseen by editor-in-chief Leza Cantoral, who is also responsible for Black Telephone Magazine. CLASH Books work in any genre but are ‘especially looking for unique voices of female identifying, LGBTQ & POC from all over the world’. Creature Publishing is a feminist horror press and seeks to ‘to address the gender imbalance and lack of diversity traditionally found in the horror genre.’ Crone Girls Press is overseen by Rachel A. Brune and produces anthologies and mini-anthologies of speculative fiction. Deadite Press provides the ‘very best in cult horror’, whilst Eraserhead Press is ‘an independent publisher of bizarro fiction and cutting-edge horror’. Both are owned by Rose O’Keefe whose energy and oversight has seen her presses publish some of the leading names in this field and become a recipient of the HWA Speciality Press Award. Eerie River Publishing is a small indie press producing horror and dark fantasy, as well as offering a variety of author services including ebooks, print formatting, editing and cover animations. Run by Michelle River. Grindhouse Press is a press whose goal is to ‘publish six books a year with an emphasis on horror, extreme horror, transgressive fiction, sleaze, exploitation, dark humour and general weirdness with a dark theme and is owned by CV Hunt. Kandisha Press is run by Jill Girardi. They say, ‘At Kandisha, we hope to showcase what women are capable of. The ratio of women to men, especially in anthologies is often uneven. Perhaps we can help to make a dent in the way some people, including ourselves, view these authors. We aime to give women from all over the world a voice.’ Their latest anthology, The One That Got Away, can be found here. Nosetouch Press is run under the auspices of Christine M. Scott, co-publisher and creative director, alongside D.T. Neal co-publisher, editor-in-chief. Nosetouch is not restricted to horror but spans the range of speculative and genre fiction. Off-Limits Press produces horror and dark fiction under the auspices of author, podcaster and filmmaker Samantha Kolesnik. A relative newcomer, its publications have appeared in award nomination lists and favourite reads lists. Raw Dog Screaming Press is well-known for its award-winning quality output, publishing a variety of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. The site is co-owned by editor Jennifer Barnes and where you will also find Stephanie M. Wytovich as contacting editor for poetry. RDSP is ‘dedicated to putting into print the highest quality literature from the fringe. If it’s dark, deviant, off-kilter and thought provoking we will sniff it out.’ Stitched Smile Publications publishes horror and dark fiction. It is owned by Lisa Vasquez, an author in her own right, as well as Publisher's Liaison for the Horror Writers Association, and volunteer mentor in the HWA.  Stephanie Ellis writes dark speculative prose and poetry and has been published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. Her latest work includes the novel, The Five Turns of the Wheel and the novella, Bottled, both published by Silver Shamrock. She has been published in Flame Tree Press’ A Dying Planet anthology, the charity anthology Diabolica Britannica and is included in Silver Shamrock’s Midnight in the Pentagram anthology. She runs Black Angel Press with writer Alyson Faye. She is co-editor of Trembling With Fear, HorrorTree.com's online magazine. She is an affiliate member of the HWA and can be found on twitter @el_Stevie. https://stephanieellis.org   Comments are closed.
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