 Steve Dillon is the publisher of Things in the Well – an indie Australian press that produces charity anthologies and single-author collections. Steve has been publishing since 2014. Things in the Well is the latest imprint and has produced close to 30 books with many of them, and their individual stories, nominated for and winning awards; it’s a small press doing big things. Award nominations in 2020 have comprised multiple Bram Stoker Awards, Aurealis Awards, Australasian Shadows Awards and a Shirley Jackson award, with the latter being for Steve Dillon’s novella, ‘Deeper, Darker Things.’ Steve’s anthologies have included stories by world-renowned horror writers such as Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker. It’s not unknown either for a Lovecraft, Poe or Shelley story to have slipped into one of the earlier collections. Louise Zedda-Sampson and Geneve Flynn talk to Steve Dillon about Things in the Well. Thanks, Steve, for talking with us. How many authors do you think you’ve published? Steve: Hundreds, certainly, but the great thing is I’ve read even more. Each submission call often attracts hundreds of stories, mostly from authors I’ve never read before, some of whom have had successes with me or elsewhere, and others who I hope will achieve their successes one day. I try to give the right feedback where I can, offering suggestions or encouragement even with my rejections (when I have time) and have hopefully given a leg up here and there. One of the most memorable was when I published a Charles Dickens story in Between the Tracks. Dickens’s ‘The Signalman’ was out of copyright, but I tracked down and emailed his great, great, great granddaughter, who graciously replied to thank me because I’d asked her blessing to publish it. That was a real ‘lump-in-the-throat’ moment for me, and publishing gives me many of those moments. Things in the Well is also known to encourage and nurture new authors. How has your vision for Things in the Well grown as you’ve filled out your publishing catalogue? Steve: After having some success pulling together a book dedicated to Clive Barker’s Nightbreed/Cabal Cut (The Book of the Tribes, 2014), I was confident (and audacious) enough to aim for the highest quality right at the outset, which led to my publishing The Refuge Collection books (36 interwoven stories) between 2015–2017. I’d approached Ramsey Campbell first, then Clive Barker’s folks. I was allowed the use and modification of a Ramsey story, setting it in the fictitious shared world of Refuge, and also allowed to use and modify the Hellraiser LeMarchand box design, thanks to the original designer, the late Simon Sayce. I also incorporated aspects of the Hellraiser mythos into the Refuge story arc. Additional support flowed in from established and emerging authors, all recognising the value of the cause (to aid refugees). Things in the Well was a natural extension, the first idea being to create a railway-themed anthology (Between the Tracks, 2017) which again garnered the support of Ramsey Campbell and Clive Barker. Christopher Golden joined the ghost train, which just kept rolling from themed book to themed book, eventually forming anthologies in the first series, and many more since. The vision hasn’t really changed. I want to unearth older stories (and their authors), and present these alongside more recent stories (and less well-known authors) to both new and established readers of dark fiction. Things in the Well have an impressive list of award nominations and wins—congratulations! Steve: Of course, awards are fantastic; even to be nominated or shortlisted is a huge kind of validation that we’re doing something right as an author or editor or publisher. I’m proud of all the folks who’ve lifted the trophies, or come close to it, whether they’re for a Things in the Well publication or others. But as Jesse Owen said, ‘Gold will tarnish and the ink will fade, but what matters are the dear and good friends you make along the way’—and I’m delighted to say I’ve met some wonderful people who support me or my little crazy publishing company. Thanks to every one of my tribe for that support! And you know, when people come to me with a story they’d like me to publish, or a collection, or ideas for an anthology, (like you did with Burning Love and Bleeding Hearts, Louise!) or even asking me to co-edit with them, I’m always thrilled and flattered, although lately I’ve had to start turning opportunities away, which is regretful, but I’ve had to do it because I’m feeling like Bilbo Baggins at times, when he said he felt like butter that had been spread too thinly… You’ve produced many anthologies that support important charities. What led to this decision? How do you choose which charities to support? Steve: The Refuge Collection (2015–2017) was in response to the tragedy of the global refugee crisis, and was an attempt to help in some small way, and the books (with the help of 40 contributors and collaborators!) led to Sanctuary Australia Foundation being able to financially support the reunification of three refugee families from war-torn and famine-ridden countries, showing that we could use fictional horror stories to help those living real-world horror stories. Since then the charities have been chosen based on urgency, the latest being to support the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and the Save the Children Coronavirus Response. Then there’s Trickster’s Treats #4 coming up, of course, which will be for another cause, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, and that great cause was chosen by the editors. When the coronavirus restrictions hit Australia around March, your reaction was to create an anthology to support the Save the Children Coronavirus Response. This submission call, only open for two weeks, turned into a two-volume set—Infected #1, Tales to Read at Home and Infected #2: Tales to Read Alone—because of the number of submissions received. At the time, you were also working with Tabatha Wood on the anthology Black Dogs, Black Tales. How did you find the time, and why was this important for you to do? Steve: Pulling a book together over several months is a huge amount of work. Doing two at once from my sickbed during the great pandemic was a bit over-zealous, but in retrospect I think they will be the books that people will most remember. I feel they’ve really captured a moment in our lives when mortality encroached on us all. When we all felt we might die as one collective race. I think when bad news hits, it’s important to find a way through that, and helping others is a proven way to do that. Otherwise, I think I might have curled up into a ball of depression, to be honest. What is in progress at the moment and what open calls do you have? Steve: I'm compiling my third (perhaps final?) collection of short stories and poems called Unholy Beginnings and Unhappy Endings which is a hotchpotch of styles, themes, story lengths, ideas, and so on. Some are reprints, many are newly imagined. All are dark. It's actually ready to go but I'm waiting to hear back on a few stories that have been submitted elsewhere to decide if they will be included. I'm also helping Eugene Johnson with Tales of the Lost 2, which is an invitation-only anthology and includes several internationally renowned modern Masters of Horror as well as some homegrown talent from Australia and elsewhere. There's also Lee Murray's seminal collection Grotesque Monster Stories, which is fabulous and includes a new Taine McKenna adventure among other great stories. I'm really proud that Lee chose Things in the Well to publish this one. I'm putting together what might be my last edited anthology, Outback Horrors, which comprises solely of stories from some of the best writers in Australia and New Zealand. And, of course, there will be a fourth outing for the Trickster in October! What’s next for Things in the Well? I think after this rather exhausting year I might be closing the book on Things in the Well. It's been a dark ride on a ghost train through scary places I never knew existed. But now I need to find something that energises me. Be that focusing on my own writing and painting, or poetry, or just reading, swimming, sightseeing, and generally enjoying life, I'm not sure yet. Who knows, I might squeeze out something next year, but if I do it will be very different to anything I've been involved with to date. Thanks, Steve, for taking time to chat with us. You’ve done some great things in your writing, editing and publishing career and we look forward to seeing what you (and the Trickster in you!) get up to next. Submission details for Trickster’s Treats #4: Coming, Buried or Not! below. Submissions Submissions open 15 July and close 31 July AEST. Tricksters Treats #4: Coming, Buried or Not! will be edited by Louise Zedda-Sampson and Geneve Flynn. For this call, we’re looking for things that have been buried, should be buried, could be buried or need to be buried. Undead or barely living? Sure! Buried treasure or buried secret? We want to see it. Whatever it is, dig it up or tamp it down. An element of your story must include the ‘buried’ theme. Scare us with frights, blights, wights, or anything that bites. It is, after all, for Halloween. You can find the submission requirements at https://thingsinthewell.wordpress.com/open-submissions/  the heart and soul of horror reviewsComments are closed.
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