First up, and just in time for Halloween is Orrin Grey’s latest collection How to See Ghosts & Other Figments, with cover art by Nick “The Hat” Gucker. Chock full of stories to tantalize and thrill, extensive story notes, and an introduction from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, How to See Ghosts is the perfect collection to kick off your spooky season.

Following that is the debut novel from S. L. Edwards, In the Devil’s Cradle, with a cover by Yves Tourigny. In the Devil’s Cradle is a captivating haunted house story where the house is an entire country, a nation coming apart due to influences both internal and external, both natural and supernatural. Booklist calls In the Devil’s Cradle “A chilling story that holds appeal for a wide audience, but especially for fans of The Hacienda, by Isabel Cañas, Frankenstein in Baghdad, by Ahmed Saadawi, and Wonderland, by Zoje Stage.”

Preorder your copies of How to See Ghosts and In the Devil’s Cradle today from Word Horde, and you’ll also receive a signed bookplate from the author, and a free eBook in your preferred format.

Preorder your copy today from Word Horde, and you’ll also receive a signed bookplate from Nicole Cushing, and a free eBook in your preferred format.

Mothwoman combines the style and playful dark satire of A Sick Gray Laugh with the grimness and relatively quick pace of Mr. Suicide.

Cover Art and Design: Matthew Revert

Pub Date: October 11, 2022

Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-956252-04-0

Format: eBook
ISBN-13: 978-1-939905-73-4

Preorder your copies today from Word Horde, and you’ll also receive signed bookplates from John Langan, and free eBooks in your preferred format.

Preorder your copy today from Word Horde, and you’ll also receive a signed bookplate from Scott Nicolay, and a free eBook in your preferred format.

“[Nicolay’s] perspective is always outsider-identified, entirely concerned with characters who refuse to settle, both literally and figuratively; his protagonists often hover on a knife’s edge, caught in some sadly inescapable moment of realization. They’ve failed and been failed, left discarded amongst the wreckage of systemic inequity. And now that they have nothing left to cling to, their inner eye pops open, suddenly able to see the darkness lurking inherent in every crevice, the emptiness revolving inside every atom.”
—from the introduction by Gemma Files

Cover Art by David Verba
Cover Design by Michaela Waltz

Pub Date: April 26, 2022

Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1-956252-02-6

Format: eBook
ISBN-13: 978-1-939905-70-3

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.

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!

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.

If I’ve learned one thing living through this pandemic, it’s to never postpone your dreams for a more convenient time.

I’ve spent much of my life working in book and music stores, for every kind of boss, and have consistently invoked the refrain, “when I have my own store, I’m going to do this differently.” I’ve long daydreamed about building my own store, stocking it with my favorite things, and on many levels, Word Horde has been an extension of this dream. It’s given me the chance to travel to conventions all over, setting up pop-up Word Horde bookstores.

Lately, the stars have aligned, and we have the opportunity to open our own brick and mortar store, right here in Petaluma: The Word Horde Emporium of the Weird & Fantastic.

So we’re jumping in, opening our retail store at a ridiculous time, and filling it with things that amuse us, objects that complement the Word Horde philosophy and aesthetic. Products inspired by the fiction we love, spooky stuff, gifts for geeks and goths and anyone else who enjoys the darker side of life.

We’ll have tools for writers, and some for wrongers. Role playing games, board games, and tarot. Books from presses large and small, a highly curated selection of weird, fantastic, and speculative fiction from a wide variety of amazing authors. Curiosities, jewelry, stickers, and so much more.

Over the next few weeks, we will be readying the store for opening, building and filling shelves, and reaching out to publishers, authors, artists, and creators that we’d love to feature (and feel free to reach out to us as well).

We’re starting small, in a limited space, but we’re looking forward to making the Word Horde Emporium of the Weird & Fantastic the kind of store that will continue to grow and evolve as we bring in more of our—and your—favorite things.

Stay tuned to Word Horde social media and www.WordHorde.com as we approach our grand opening announcement. For those who can’t make it to Petaluma, California, we will be offering a selection of featured products in our online shop.

Questions or comments, please query emporium[at]wordhorde[dot]com. Be sure to follow the Emporium on Instagram: @wordhorde.emporium!

Back in print after some time, these new Author’s Preferred Editions of Tanzer’s early works feature refreshed content, new introductory material and notes, and these amazing new chromatic covers from Matthew Revert!

Find Rumbullion, A Pretty Mouth, and The Pleasure Merchant at better independent booksellers everywhere and most online retailers. Order the full Molly Tanzer Collection direct from Word Horde for a special bundle price, and you’ll also get free eBooks and signed bookplates!

It’s been a fantastic year for Word Horde books (and their striking covers) so far—from Christine Morgan’s Vikings to Molly Tanzer’s Decadents—but we’re just getting started!

We’ve also got a pair of collections from John Langan coming late summer/early fall. A reissue of John’s long out-of-print first collection, Mr. Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters will be released in August, and a brand new collection, Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies will wrap up our production year in October. Both will feature more amazing art from Children of the Fang cover artist Matthew Jaffe. Keep watching this space for cover reveals and preorders!

And now… (drumroll please)

We’re super excited to tell you about our first two titles acquired for 2022!

First up is a new collection from World Fantasy Award-winning author Scott Nicolay. Dropping in February (2.22.22!), And at My Back I Always Hear is a sizeable collection of stories and novellas from the always erudite and provocative Nicolay.

Following in April will be the debut novel from S. L. Edwards, In the Devil’s Cradle, a captivating haunted house novel where the house is an entire country, a nation coming apart due to influences both internal and external, both natural and supernatural.

Why follow the herd? Join the Horde!