Welcome to Blood on the Map, your one-way ticket on a rusted-out, demon-haunted tour bus across the twisted backroads of American independent horror publishing. We’re talking small presses, the lifeblood and bile ducts of the genre, those grimy little outfits run by chain-smoking weirdos and sleep-deprived visionaries who eat rejection slips for breakfast and excrete limited-edition chapbooks by moonlight.

This series is a literary road trip through the shadowy underbelly of the United States, stopping in with the folks who are warping minds, breaking rules, and keeping horror loud, unfiltered, and gloriously grotesque. In each installment, we’ll spotlight a different indie press, where they came from, what they stand for, and why they keep giving us nightmares. No big five. No gatekeeping. Just pure, blood-soaked passion for the weird, the wicked, and the wonderfully unpublishable.

Buckle up. The map is red, the roads are cursed, and the next exit might be your last.

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Mr. November: Well, well, well you fucking horror junkie weirdos. Welcome to the first installment of Blood on the Map, where I’m crisscrossing this cursed country to shine a spotlight on the sick freaks keeping indie horror alive! I’ve just peeled out of some godforsaken backwater and landed in the grimy heart of Weirdpunk Books’ territory, where the air smells like rebellion and cheap whiskey. Tonight, I’m facing off with Sam Richard, the head honcho of this punk-horror outfit that’s been spitting in the face of polite literature since 2015. 

Alright, Sam, take a seat. Weirdpunk Books is out here publishing shit so raw it makes my teeth hurt. Anthologies like The New Flesh and your own gut-puncher, To Wallow in Ash. But let’s get real: you’re based in Minneapolis, a city known for nice folks and hot dish, not exactly a hotbed of punk depravity. Why the hell set up shop there to churn out your brand of literary middle fingers? You lost a bet?

Sam Richard: The uninteresting answer is that this is just where I live. Or rather, this is where Emma Alice Johnson and I both lived when she started the press and invited me to be a part of it way back in 2014. The longer, maybe also not very interesting answer is a little more complex. I’ve never been one of those people who thinks you need to go somewhere else to do a thing you want to do. You don’t need New York or L.A. or some other romanticized mecca for creative people or whatever to do what you want to do. Just start doing it. And that’s what Weirdpunk has always been. DIY, don’t let anyone tell you it’s impossible, just do it.

Additionally, Minneapolis is actually a hotbed of punk depravity, at least in its own way. Minneapolis and punks go together like shit and flies. Truly. There has been a rich underground punk scene here since the late 70s. And I don’t just mean the obvious bands like Husker Du and The Replacements. Profane Existence, one of the longest running anarcho-punk/crust labels/distros/one-time magazine was based outta here for 30 something years before its relocation to WV about a decade ago. Tons of bands from that scene are from here (or originally started here). We have Extreme Noise, the longest running all-volunteer punk/metal record shop in the US. From 1998 to 2017, we were home to The Triple Rock Social Club, a legendary punk bar and venue. Not to mention all the punk houses and DIY venues we’ve had over the years. This city bleeds punk, you just gotta know where to find it.

Mr. November: Well, damn, Sam, you just turned Minneapolis into the CBGB of the Midwest! Here I was thinking it’s all Lutheran potlucks and snow shovels, but you’re out here claiming it’s a punk rock Valhalla. I’ll give you points for passion, but I’m not sold yet. You and Emma Alice Johnson kicked off Weirdpunk Books in 2014 with that DIY, fuck-the-gatekeepers vibe. Love the hustle, respect the middle finger. But let’s talk shop: your first big swing was Blood for You: A Literary Tribute to GG Allin, a guy who made “depravity” look like a goddamn art form. Why start with a tribute to that human dumpster fire? You trying to scare off the normies or just itching to get canceled before you even got started?

Sam Richard: Maybe not punk rock Valhalla, but one of those cities that has just always had a thriving and active punk community, which I’m eternally grateful for.

I can’t take all the credit/blame for that one. Blood For You was a 100% original Emma idea. Not to throw her under the bus, I was there too, haha, but she came up with it, and the initial vision for Weirdpunk back when she was still running it kind of sprang from her. For the anthology, her idea was basically: maybe GG Allin just didn’t make sense in the context of our world, what would it look like in worlds that made sense for him to exist in. And from there we opened it up to writers to discover and create those. It was mostly just a really interesting idea and a lot of fun to work on, but also I don’t consider those early books really as a part of Weirdpunk anymore. I’m proud of them, but I don’t own them and I don’t really promote them. And that’s simply because they’re from what the press was before I was steering the ship, so they don’t really reflect my vision. Also I believe at this point Blood for You is officially out of print. But I learned a fuck of a lot on that first project and I’m grateful that Emma brought me on board.

Mr. November: Alright, Sam, you’re slipping out from under the GG Allin bus, and I respect the dodge. Throwing Emma under the wheels while still giving her props? Classy. So, you’ve since taken the Weirdpunk wheel to steer it your way. Fair enough.

Now, let’s crank this Blood on the Map road trip into overdrive. We’re barreling down a lonesome highway, and you spot a hitchhiker, some spectral, fucked-up figure from America’s underbelly, like a burned-out carny, a rogue preacher, or a drifter with a smile too sharp. You get to make this creep the centerpiece of a new Weirdpunk anthology, one that screams your vision. Who’s your hitchhiker, what’s the anthology called, and how do you make it leave tire marks on the reader’s soul?

Sam Richard: I honestly have no idea at this point. I know that’s not the most exciting answer, haha. Over the past ten years I have edited (or co-edited) ten anthologies. All around some kind of theme. Most of these ideas have sprung up from conversations with friends. I was potentially planning on doing one this year (there has been an anthology released basically ever year since WP started), but to be honest I’ve not had a lightbulb moment with anything, so I’m not sure if one will happen. Which also makes answering this question really hard. The trend has largely been in moving away from tributes and more towards concepts (Weird Sword & Sorcery, horror and art, horror taking place in movie theaters), which is probably what I’ll continue to do. Though some tributes may pop up, like 2023’s Feral Architecture being a horror tribute to J.G. Ballard.

If this is a gun to my head and you need an answer or else scenario: Katherine Dunn. The book would be called Shrieks in Cups of Gold. And I would make it leave tire marks on a reader’s soul by inviting a handful of incredible, sharp writers to write something for it. And honestly, the more I type this out the more I’m like 95% sure I want to do this, so maybe this can be an official announcement of sorts. Look for it later this year, kids.

Mr. November: Fuck yeah, you just spun “no ideas” into Shrieks in Cups of Gold, a Katherine Dunn-fueled Weirdpunk anthology that’s got my blood pumping like a carny on a bender! Pulling from Dunn’s Geek Love is genius. Love the riff on the Binewskis’ twisted legacy and their radioactive “cups of gold.”

Speaking of Weirdpunk’s 2025, I just tore through The Organization Is Here to Support You (check out our review) by Charlene Elsby and holy shit, it’s one of my favorite reads this year so far. Elsby’s take on corporate dystopia, with Clarissa’s unraveling amid bureaucracy and that fucking ending, is absolutely killer. What else is cooking in Weirdpunk’s 2025-2026 slate? Gimme a sneak preview of the next batch of twisted tomes you’re unleashing: titles, authors, vibes, whatever you can spill. And how’s Elsby’s book shaping your vision for what’s next?

Sam Richard: I’m honestly kind of amazed that putting that idea together just happened, haha. So thanks for the inspiration!

Hell yeah. Charlene is an amazing writer and an amazing friend and it has been a joy to work with her on that book. Shit’s so good.

The next release is Mark Jaskowski‘s Beneath the Swimming Pools, the Teeth! which is a horror meets low-key crime novella. The story is about a desperate, broke guy who blacks out at a party after selling drugs only to wake up the next morning different. He then is trying to piece together what happened while dealing with some…changes. Folks may know Mark from Mutant Circuit which Weirdpunk published in 2023 (and if you don’t you should because that book rules). Mark is such a cool dude and a great writer. His style of crime-horror is something that I’m super fucking excited to publish more of.

Other than that and the just discovered Shrieks in Cups of Gold, the final book for the year will be (if all goes according to plan) my next novella. It’s called Love is a Ghost and is more in the To Wallow in Ash… vein than something like Sabbath of the Fox-Devils (all this for anyone familiar with my work). I started writing it years ago. Much closer to my wife’s death. It has been a challenge to finish to say the least, but I want to make sure it gets done this year so I can finally hold it in my hands and then move onto new things. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rewritten what I’ve got. Vibes are sad. That’ll round out 2025. I have not yet cracked 2026.

I’m not sure that Charlene’s book is shaping the vision of what’s next, but it sure did remind me to be open to new possibilities. I probably get in my way too much about what Weirdpunk is—what it should be—regarding what I publish. I need to remind myself that the books I’ve published are incredibly different from each other. Jo Quenell‘s The Mud Ballad, the first novella Weirdpunk ever published, is whiskey burn southern gothic occult horror. We started out the gate with something really strange. Something that kind of pushed at the boundaries of the genre. And that’s what Weirdpunk is about for me, but I think I get stuck in my own head about defining what exactly that looks like.

Mr. November: Beneath the Swimming Pools, the Teeth! sounds amazing. And Love is a Ghost? Fuck, man, that’s raw. Knowing it’s tied to your wife, Mo’s, death makes it heavier. The way you’ve channeled that grief, her creepy-cute spirit, and her Multistabber Tarot vision into your art is admirable, like spitting in the face of an uncaring universe. I’m already haunted just thinking about holding that novella.

So, let’s crack open the engine of this operation. How do you pick the twisted freaks who get to ride shotgun with you? What’s the secret sauce for spotting authors, new blood or heavy hitters, who can sling that boundary-pushing, genre-bending horror that screams Weirdpunk? Spill the dirt on your process, maybe a story of how you stumbled across one of these weirdos, and how Mo’s influence, her love for the occult, animals, and raw creativity, shapes the way you know they’ve got the chops to leave readers gutted.

Sam Richard: Thanks so much. It’s all hard, but I’m just pressing on as I know she would want me to. Love is a Ghost has been a loooooong time coming, so I’m really trying to make it a reality this year finally. I think there’s a part of me that’s almost hesitant to finish it, as though that’s one other element of accepting that she’s gone.

That’s a complex answer, haha. As a one person operation, I think I probably keep the gates closed tighter than most small presses. It’s just a reality of the amount of time I have to dedicate to this whole thing that makes it so I don’t really open to general subs ever. Many of the folks I’ve published solo books from I had already worked with in some capacity. Many through the anthologies we did open subs on (The New Flesh and Stories of the Eye, specifically) or I had read something(s) of theirs that I liked and invited them to one of the smaller anthologies or SubClub Member zines. It helps to know how someone is to work with before doing a big project with them. I think I’m fairly self-protective in that regard. Some of the other solo books came from folks I know or friends of friends asking if they can send a pitch. That’s also how a lot of the books came to be. I love the pitch method. It saves me a ton of time. Of course it always depends on my current workload if I’m even open to one or not, and even then it’s mostly folks I’ve worked with (pitches open at anytime from them, basically) or friends of theirs who they think might be a good fit are a case by case basis. I do also invite folks to sub if I’ve read their stuff, really like it, and think they would (or could) have a piece that would be a great fit for Weirdpunk. The challenge is finding those specific books that really feel at home with the press but don’t feel too similar to any other book in the catalog.

I really try to keep my ear to the ground, keep my eye on what’s going on in the writer sphere, but I also really enjoy reading older books so I’m not always on top of who is making waves out there. But to be honest, I’m not really concerned with anyone making waves (in terms of large readership) and much more concerned with finding folks who are doing interesting and different things. Folks who are tapping into the weirder possibilities of what horror can be. That to me is the absolute sweet spot.

I don’t think any of the stories behind picking up the books are particularly exciting, haha. Lots of just getting or sending an email and the moving from there.

I’m also not really sure how much of Mo’s influence there is on the process or the decision making. In general, just in the broad swath of my life, I feel her influence a lot. It comes into play regarding how I interact with people. How I move through the world. I try to carry the warmth and humanity she had with virtually everyone she interacted with. I try to make sure I’m being understanding and fair and kind to folks. So that all absolutely bleeds into how I run the press, but in terms of the books I pick and all the other stuff, it’s not really something I can put into words. It’s not a tangible thing, it’s more just about the ways she impacted my life, and then the ways that her death—and my survival in the wake of it—has as well.

Mr. November: Alright, Sam, I appreciate you spilling your guts. I’m fucking here for it. But let’s crank this rig into overdrive with a lightning round. Ten quick-and-dirty questions, horror-nerd style, to see how your twisted brain ticks. No overthinking. Ready?

Sam Richard: Hell yeah, love this line of questions.

Mr. N: What’s spinning on your turntable or jammed in your cassette deck right now, you musical deviant?

Sam: Been a lot of Born Against and Moss Icon in heavy rotation lately. Also Necrot, Witch Vomit, Pissgrave, and Mortiferum. I guess it’s a death metal summer with these last 4.

Mr. N: What are the three most important pieces of horror media—books, movies, comics, whatever—that fucked you up, molded your twisted brain, and set you on this path of indie horror scene?

Sam: For movies, probably Evil Dead. My dad showed it to me when I was way too young and it left a lifelong impression. Absolutely an early entry that sparked a love of the genre. Not exactly horror (but also not-not horror), but reading Burrough’s Naked Lunch back in high school was opened by eyes to realms of possibilities within literature that had a huge impact on the kinds of books I sought out. It was a nexus point that built upon itself and ultimately helped lead me to where I am now in a strange way. When I was a kid, my dad had a bunch of Lovecraft books that I would always marvel at the covers of. As a teenager I found a few at a thrift store and picked them up for like $1 pop. Those were incredibly important to me. I know everything has been said about him and his writing, but goddamn if the stories didn’t strike a chord for me at 16.

Mr. N: You’re forced to get a horror-themed tattoo in a shady parlor. What’s the design, and don’t say a fucking skull!

Sam: Mo was a tattoo artist, so I have a lot of tattoos from her, many of which are horror including Suzy Bannion from Suspiria, a Mike Ploog production design of the Head-Spider from The Thing, the Necronomicon Gate (in remembrance of the time we borrowed my dad’s Simon Necronomicon and tried to summon and elder god when I was in Jr. High), and an image from my book Sabbath of the Fox-Devils, which she did while I was still dreaming up the story. If I were to get something new, I’ve always wanted a Swamp-Thing tattoo. The Alan Moore run is one of my favorite comics of all time. Or maybe the sorceress from Fulci‘s Conquest. I guess neither of those are expressly horror, but I’m gonna plead close enough to count.

Mr. N: What’s the most underrated horror novel you’d shove in every non-normie’s hands?

Sam: Probably Kathe Koja‘s The Cipher. Absolutely one of my favorite books of all time and something every horror loving reader should check out. Really shows new possibilities in the genre as well as just being an utterly captivating read. Sneaking in a 2nd one would be Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love, as I have recently learned just how few of my horror writing peers have read it and that’s just incredibly fucked up.

Mr. N: Dream author to work with, dead or alive. Who’s the twisted mind you’re begging to join Weirdpunk’s roster?

Sam: Georges Bataille.

Mr. N: We’re hot-wiring a car to escape an undead horde. How’ve you fantasized about taking out a zombie? Gimme the most unhinged, badass method you’ve cooked up.

Sam: Ya know, this was a question 20 year old me was a lot more ready to answer than 42 year old me. I guess it’s not something I’ve thought about in a long fucking time, so I don’t have any unhinged badass methods. At this point I might just join them. Seems chill.

Mr. N: What’s the one thing, real, imagined, or otherwise, that scares the absolute piss outta you? On a related note, what subgenres hit you harder? I’m a sucker for folk horror.

Sam: This is totally serious, but my lifelong fear was that I would meet someone, we would fall madly in love, and then they would die. It was an anxiety from a really young age. Baffling that it actually then happened. With the reality of that one out of the way all the stuff I’m actually afraid of is other real life shit that just sits like a pit in the bottom of my stomach: being subject to forces we have no real control over (political and economic), human cruelty for its own sake, war, genocide. You know, the real shit.

I tend to veer towards the subgenres on the weirder end (shocking, I know!) like cosmic horror, body horror, weird lit, queer horror, splatterpunk–but like the actual old stuff that puts the punk part front and center and is well written, haha. Anything that can fall under the umbrella of Weird Horror I’m probably a fan of. Folk Horror is great too, but I haven’t read/seen that much contemporary work that makes me feel like The Wicker Man or Blood on Satan’s Claw does.

Mr. N: You get to burn one horror trope to the ground. Some overdone bullshit you never wanna read or see again. What’s the one trope you’d douse in gasoline and torch, and why does it make you gag?

Sam: The vilification of trans and queer people in horror’s history. Stuff like the cross-dressing killer trope or the reveal that the killer is secretly trans. That kind of shit. I wouldn’t mind reading trans and queer writers taking those tropes on and manipulating them from their perspectives, but straight-cis folks vilifying queer and trans people for shock value or whatever is garbage. I support queer rights and wrongs.

Mr. N: Marry, Fuck, Kill: Toxic Avenger (The Toxic Avenger), The Tall Man (Phantasm), Chop Top (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2)?

Sam: Toxie actually seems like a lot of fun if you aren’t a bully, creep, or asshole, so I’d probably marry him. Chop Top is played by Bill Moseley, so that’s definitely gonna be my fuck, haha. That leaves poor Tall Man as the kill. And I do love him and that movie so much, but ya know, rules are rules.

Mr. N: You gotta buy their entire output, every damn book they’ve ever published. Which indie horror press are you picking, and why would you bet your soul on their catalog?

Sam: There are so many small presses out here doing the damn thing and doing it well. I probably (almost) own all the Filthy Loot releases, so that’s gotta be near the top of the list. Same with Castaigne Publishing who I think are unsung as an indie press of truly awesome, weird shit. Cursed Morsels are always putting out incredible anthologies and collections. I’m a huge fan of what Tenebrous Press are doing.

Mr. November: Fuck yeah, your brain’s a haunted funhouse, and Weirdpunk’s the neon sign luring us freaks in. So, as we wrap up this inaugural Blood on the Map interview, gimme the grand finale: plug Weirdpunk Books, your socials, and all the twisted shit you’ve got cooking. Where can we snag your books, stalk your updates, and support the indie horror revolution you’re leading?

Sam Richard: Ok, first good goddamn thanks for having me/Weirdpunk as your launching point for this series, though it doesn’t make a ton of sense to start a roadtrip from the northern middle of the country.

If you’re in the USA, the best place to pick up books from Weirdpunk is on the website. I’m the one packing the orders and doing all the shit. This isn’t a drop-ship situation or anything like that. My very real human hands are doing the work to get you the books. Of course they are also available a great many places you buy books in and out of the USA. Both myself and Weirdpunk are across (most) socials at either @sammytotep or @weirdpunkbooks. Mostly active on instagram and bluesky. You can also hit the website to sign up for the newsletter (hit this link here). I send out maybe 2 newsletters a month. Mostly about what is going on for the press, new release announcements, cover reveals, pre-orders, looks into the back catalog, events I’m doing. I also try to include non-Weirdpunk stuff. Releases I’m looking forward to, books I’ve read that really worked for me, crowdfunding campaigns for cool projects, and other stuff like that. I tend to wind it down at the end with some personal stuff. Insight into what I’m going through or thoughts and opinions about things going on in the world (publishing and more broadly). Sounds weird to point that out, but I often get people replying to the emails telling me their thoughts or sharing in their experiences. It’s legit one of my favorite parts of the newsletter and folks seem to connect with it.

How to support the indie horror revolution? I guess it comes down to supporting the presses doing shit you like, buying/reading the books, telling your friends about the books, rating/reviewing the books on goodreads or other book-apps, occasionally telling presses/authors you’re into that you like their work. That last part is seriously so underrated. All this shit can be really isolated and lonely and having one person just be like “hey, your book/press/story/whatever really touched me or I just thought it was rad or it was cool as hell or gross as fuck or whatever…” can literally help keep a press/author going. Often times that stuff comes when we really need it, haha. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been like “I think I’m over this” and then someone hit me with a dm or an email and was like “this shit is cool as hell” and it helped me keep going. I know I am not alone in this. So reach out, even just on occasion, and let the weirdo diy folks know that you’re digging what they’re doing.

Thanks a million for having me and I’m looking forward to checking out all the future installments!!

Cheers!