We're currently at $4600 and counting, with 174 backers! We only need 26 more backers to unlock the foreword from C.T. Kelly, funding is nearly complete, and all it will take is a final push to ensure that we get the physical edition!
Today I'd like to introduce our penultimate group of authors, as well as announce some of the artists who are taking part. Without further ado, the author spotlights for Jay A. Hult, E.W.H. Thornton, Cailín Frankland, and Lorelei Thee and the artist announcements for himecommunism, zigzadig, Biscuit Starberry, Camsyn Clair, and Zi!
Jay A. Hult (she/her) is a transgender author with an abiding love of body horror and speculative fiction debuting her first non-self-published works in meat4meat. Raised in New England, her interests began from a young age, engaging with the early Wild West era of creepypasta, online horror, and pirated manga before she moved on to more formally published works - her favorite in the horror genre being Clive Barker’s The Hellbound Heart. Her work blends the lines between many genres and takes a close look at both the intimate relationships of characters and the brutality, sensuality and biological bizarreness that comes with having a body. Her other works include Heresiarch, a self-published web novel which is currently on hiatus.
Jay's story, "The Duel" will be a diptych produced by two artists: Himecommunism and Zigzadig.
A cropped sketch of @himecommunism's portion of the diptych
zigzadig is an emerging artist from Italy with a passion for surreal and dreamlike imagery. Inspired by literature, esotericism and mythology; they work primarily in digital and traditional media, as well as printmaking, and have recently begun exploring game development. Beyond art, they enjoy reading, figuring out how to turn gold back into copper and playing horror games with friends. Find their work here: https://zigzadig.carrd.co/
Himecommunism is an artist from Vietnam with a long-standing passion for mecha, armor, and tokusatsu. She is the lead artist for Accord, an upcoming visual novel on a temporary hiatus, and can be found on Tumblr and Twitter at @himecommunism.
Cailín Frankland (she/they) is a British-American writer and public health professional based in Baltimore, Maryland. Their literary criticism has appeared in The First Line Literary Magazine, their poetry has appeared in Eye to the Telescope, and their flash fiction has appeared in Flash Frog Magazine (nominated for Best Microfiction) and Black Hare Press's Dark Moments series. They live with their spouse, two old lady cats, a rotating cast of foster animals, and a 70-pound pitbull affectionately known as Baby. You can find them on X as @cailin_sm.
Cailín's story "Ecdysis" will be illustrated by Camsyn Clair.
Camsyn Clair (they) is a Black, genderqueer therapist, writer, artist, and horse lover from Maryland. Cam is the 2025 Not Quite Write Artist in Residence, and their art has been featured on the cover of Small Wonders magazine and published in both 2024 volumes of Toad Shade Zine. Cam's work is inspired by magic--from real life, everyday magic to rich speculative worlds. Cam can be found on Bluesky (@beingcam.bsky.social).
E.W.H. Thornton's work has appeared on the NoSleep podcast, in the BlazeVOX Journal, Unorthodox Fiction, and After The Storm Magazine. They maintain a blog presenting magazine content from pre-, mid-, and post-World War Two era America, with a focus on the golden age of pulp fiction. It can be found at https://thegildedcentury.tumblr.com. They also occasionally write about the more bizarre, lurid, and tragic aspects of video game history at https://www.giantbomb.com/profile/lostsol/blog/.
Thornton's story "The Slide" will be illustrated by Biscuit Starberry.
Biscuit Starberry opens every door just to see what's inside. She has been working in the arts for nearly two decades, specializing in experimental film and animation, and is currently changing her focus to writing and illustration. You can find her photography and writing in the March 2025 issue of Archive of the Odd. She is nomadic, living in the wind, and can be found on Bluesky and Patreon @BiscuitStarberry, on the web at biscuitstarberry.com, and in the obscure religious text you may or may not be aware that you've started writing.
Finally, we have Lorelei Thee!
Lorelei Thee lives somewhere, presumably, though the authorities have yet to release any pertinent information. She writes sometimes (though less than she would like), when ze isn't buried under a mountain of plushies or being bitten by a very enthusiastic cat. This is its debut story.
Lorelei's story "A Woman is Like a Mouth" will be illustrated by Zi.
Self-styled among her friends as a shapeshifting angelic bioweapon, Zi has enjoyed an niche internet microcareer as both writer and primarily digital artist, with the occasional dives back into traditional work.
Her experience as a trans female and being cursed with a cystic skin condition inform her work presented here, intimately familiar with distant extremes of pain and the multiple interpretations of a foreign body. A mania involving blood and flesh haunts most of her personal artwork as a result. She is otherwise known for her deliberately-curated fashion aesthetic and enthusiasm for voice acting. Beware her signature ear-piercing cackle and unhinged verbage when in direct contact. She will be clad in only red and black. At the moment, she works as a modest commission artist / bread seller and lives with her cherished partner Danielle somewhere quiet in the American Midwest.
