In case you haven’t heard, we recently opened a book and game store in Petaluma, California where you can find not just Word Horde titles, but books from many of our favorite presses, small and large.

Word Horde Emporium of the Weird & Fantastic is a “wonderfully curated” bookstore specializing in weird, horrific, fantastic, and speculative fiction for all ages, including a Spooky Kids Zone. We are the Bay Area’s home for the best in Independent horror and weird fiction, and possibly the largest collection of Penguin Classics.

We also carry RPGs, board games, puzzles, and gaming accessories, as well as tons of stickers, buttons, and pins, creepy decor, quirky collectibles, candles and bath goodies, over 40 different tarot decks, journals and stationery, plush monsters and guts, jewelry, art, oddities, and so much more!

If you’re in the Bay Area, stop by! We’re open Wednesdays through Sundays at 301 2nd Street at the corner of 2nd and E Streets.

Now you can also shop the Word Horde Emporium of the Weird & Fantastic online at weirdandfantastic.com! Inventory is still being loaded, but so far our Small Press section is well stocked and worth exploring, as are Fiction/Horror and several Accessories categories. We offer shipping and local pickup, including curbside.

Note: Due to issues coordinating the store POS with the Word Horde website, there are currently two shopping cart systems. If you are only looking for Word Horde bundles of print, eBook, and signed bookplates, continue to use the shop here at wordhorde.com. If you are interested in all sorts of books and other fun stuff, try the new shop at weirdandfantastic.com. If you’d like to coordinate orders, please email us at emporium[at]wordhorde[dot]com.

It’s been a weird couple of years for publishing, from the pandemic and supply chain breakdown to rising paper prices. Nevertheless, we persevere. We’ve got some great books lined up for you in 2022, and we’re looking forward to bringing you your next favorite reads.

March: Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters, John Langan
Word Horde is excited to bring you a new edition of Bram Stoker Award-winning author John Langan’s long out-of-print debut collection, featuring the addition of an all-new story. Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters is a collection of tales both elegant and macabre, steeped in the tradition of the literary weird.

April: And at My Back I Always Hear, Scott Nicolay
From World Fantasy Award-winning author Scott Nicolay comes And at My Back I Always Hear, a new collection of eight tales of the macabre and the uncanny.

May: Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies, John Langan
John Langan returns with one new and ten previously uncollected tales of cosmic horror in Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies. In these stories, Langan continues to chart the course of 21st century weird fiction, from the unfamiliar to the familial, the unfathomably distant to the intimate. Includes extensive story notes and an introduction by Sarah Langan.

June: In the Devil’s Cradle, S. L. Edwards
Senator William Esquival is in a rush to save his family’s life. Fleeing political persecution, William takes his family from the capital and flees to the family stronghold of Rio Rojo, a town known as the birthplace of William’s ancestor, a powerful former dictator whose legacy haunts the nation of Antioch. But even as the Esquival family seeks refuge, the country continues to fray around them. As Antioch bleeds, ancient hatreds, secrets, and ghosts pour from its wounds.

August: Mothwoman, Nicole Cushing
From Bram Stoker Award-winning author Nicole Cushing comes a novel about family, grief, aliens, mental illness, trauma, sexism, the Mothman legend, Covid, and the encroachment of unreality into American political life. Mothwoman combines the style and playful dark satire of A Sick Gray Laugh with the grimness and relatively quick pace of Mr. Suicide.

October: How to See Ghosts & Other Figments, Orrin Grey
A new collection from the author of Guignol & Other Sardonic Tales and Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts. Orrin Grey returns with eighteen haunting stories of the strange and supernatural.

Stay tuned for preorder announcements!

Sorry for the radio silence over the last few months, folks, but we’ve been hard at work on a special project. We’re so excited to finally announce the opening of the Word Horde Emporium of The Weird & Fantastic!

As the flagship Word Horde store, the Emporium will certainly feature all of your favorite Word Horde titles, but we will also be carrying the best in horror and weird fiction coming out of our favorite small presses.

We’ve got plenty from the Big 5 as well, top new releases in genre fiction, as well as the classics. Speaking of classics, we may have the largest collection of Penguin Classics in Sonoma County. And did we mention our awesome spooky kids section?

We wouldn’t be an Emporium with just books, however. We’ve got a fun selection of dice and supplies for tabletop gaming, as well as D&D 5e books, but this section will continue to grow in the near future, with the same focus on horror/weird themes and small presses.

The store is also stocked with an amazing assortment of fun ephemera to accompany your books and games. A little spooky, a bit witchy, definitely geeky, we’ve stickers, buttons, pins, jewelry, journals, bath and body, candles, bags, plushies, collectibles and decor, an incredible tarot selection, and so much more!

We’ve been testing the waters this past week, but our grand opening will be Saturday, October 30 from 12 to 5. If you’re a Bay Area resident or happen to be visiting then, stop by 301 2nd Street in Petaluma and say hello! We’re winging it a bit, but we’ll have goodie bags (while supplies last), raffles, tarot readings by Madame Elle, and author readings.