Dark Reads 2026
March 28th 11-5 at the Waterfire Arts Center
Horror Depot brings you Dark Reads 2026
Dark Reads is a literary extravaganza with over 50 authors, publishers, and all things books. Spanning the genres of horror, dark fantasy, true crime, poetry, and more! Also included will be presentations, artist, henna, photo opts, and card readings.
Authors - Publishers
Ari Mnemonic is an artist, musician, and storyteller dedicated to creating vivid worlds through art, sound, and narrative.
Known for their introspective lyrics, atmospheric tales, and evocative paintings, Ari’s work intertwines visual and auditory experiences to invite audiences into spaces of connection, reflection, and imagination.
From 80s-inspired music to haunting short stories, Ari crafts works that resonate with depth and emotion, preserving and presenting their art with care and creativity.
Erica Summers is an award-winning independent author, filmmaker, artist, and film grip. She is a cancer survivor and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Several of her horror films have screened worldwide, including Obsidian & Mister White (available on most streaming services). Born and raised in Wyoming, Erica spent most of her life in the swampy American South. She now resides in southern Connecticut and is usually slathered in garden dirt, kayak fishing, solving cold case files, or devouring movies. Summers also writes spicy romance under the pen name Odessa Alba and hilarious cozy mysteries as Trixie Fairdale.
Mark Binder is the Audie Award nominated author of LOKI RAGNAROK, the darkly horrific Norse tale of the apocalypse retold from Loki’s point of view. Within his two-dozen diverse books and audiobooks are collections and stories of Rhode Island Horrors, and middle grade terrors.
Curious Corvid Publishing is a community of artists who enjoy the darker side of life. We care about our authors, our partners, and our readers, and we want to bring uncommon delights to everyone who appreciates them.
If you're a little weird, a little dark, and delightfully creative, you'll fit right in with us.
Scott M. Baker was born and raised in Everett, Massachusetts, and spent twenty-three years in northern Virginia working for the Central Intelligence Agency. He has traveled extensively through Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, incorporating many of the locations and cultures in his stories. Scott currently teaches at a charter school in Manchester, New Hampshire. He lives outside Salem, New Hampshire, with his dog Fred and two cats who treat him as their human servant.
J. Paré has lived most of his life in Coventry, Rhode Island. He lives with his wife, Patricia and his two children, Mikaela and Tyler. He has been self published with such titles as Cycle of the Beast, In the End, Come Again Soon and Look Behind You. His short fiction has also appeared in All Roads Media and Collective Tales Publishing.
Chad Anctil grew up in the fascinating little state of Rhode Island, birthplace of H.P. Lovecraft and his peculiar branch of fiction, where he found his love for reading and horror at a young age - probably too young, but that’s just how Generation X did it. He has always been creative, taking up both writing and DJing in his teenage years before joining the Navy as an electronics engineer on fast attack submarines through the 90s.
Chad is the author of the urban fantasy horror series Providence Supernatural Crimes Unit and the best-selling supernatural mystery novel The Midnight Tree. He is the guest editor of the horror anthology Circus of the Dead. He has been a contributor to many anthologies from publishers including Wicked Shadow Press, Signus Magnolia Collective, Altitude Press, Culture Cult, and the New England Horror Writers, among others. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, New England Horror Writers, and the Association of Rhode Island Authors.
Lorinda Kalajian writes speculative fiction. She weaves magic and romance into alternative histories. She loves creating new twists for known myths, fairy tales, and histories. Her favorite type of stories to read and work with are royal romances. Most of her novels have a royal character trying to navigate the world that they are from.
She enjoys crocheting blankets in her downtime, using her creativity to make works of art, and bringing warmth one blanket at a time. The movement of working a hook through a project also helps with the words for the novels she is writing. Her favorite type of project is making blankets that inspire or are based on the novels that she reads or writes.
She has a bachelor's in History and English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. She wanted to be able to write accurate historical fiction. A degree in history helps with research in finding the facts that get intertwined into a creative fictional novel. She also has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. One day, she would like to pursue a master's in history.
J.J. Alo is a versatile force in the entertainment industry, known for his spellbinding work as a commercial actor, writer, and the acclaimed author behind the Southern New England Horror Anthology series.
J.J. Alo’s The Street Between the Pines has achieved the 2024 President’s Book Award from the Florida Authors & Publishers Association and was a FINALIST in both the Chanticleer International Book Awards and the Killer Nashville Claymore Award Competition. Featured in the January 2024 issue of Kirkus Reviews magazine, the novel has received widespread critical acclaim from multiple editorial publications. Additionally, J.J. Alo’s screenplay has garnered numerous accolades in the Best Horror/Thriller categories at prestigious competitions, including the Los Angeles Film and Script Festival, Fright Night Film Fest, and Zed Fest Film Festival & Screenplay Competition.
Matt Forgit lives and writes in New England. He is the author of It’s Always Halloween Here, How to Be a Professional Mourner, The Felicitous, and You Better Watch Out. His short story “Do You Fear What I Fear?” is featured in the Christmas House anthology from Bludgeoned Girls Press. His interests include spending time with friends and family, annoying his better half, trying to be a cool uncle, scary stuff, movies, television shows, music, reading, eating, board games, final girls, creepy folklore, urban legends, spooky history, abandoned places, castles, islands, cabins in the woods, being near the ocean, and the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He is terrible with social media, dreams of owning a haunted bed and breakfast atop a cliffside overlooking the sea, hopes that someday Chopping Mall: The Musical becomes a reality, and doesn't normally talk about himself in the third person.
Jack Pendleton is a contemporary supernatural thrillers with pulp inspired twists. The novels are fast paced, focused on YouTube ghost hunters that finally find what they’ve been looking for with terrifying results.
J.R. Mullens is an Air Force veteran and a versatile writer whose debut novel marks his entrance into the literary world. Originally from West Virginia, he now lives in Rhode Island with his wife and children.
Alongside writing across genres such as sci-fi, poetry, and music, J.R. enjoys model building, creating art, and motorsports in his free time.
Raised in North Carolina, but now residing in Albany, NY Esko Mason always dreamed about writing. Some of his ideas come from nightmares and fever dreams that stay with him long after he wakes. He shared them with his wife until she finally convinced him to publish his stories.
Summon The Frost is a stand alone retelling of the old Christmas song as a cautionary tale for those who use magic recklessly.
Vampire: A Soldier’s Promise is the first in its series. When two men who formed a bond as young soldiers discover that monsters exist and vampires are real, can their bond help them survive when they must track and kill a creature of the night? The second book is expected to launch in 2026.
Nathaniel Harley: The Rebirth Chronicles is also the first of an ongoing “novelite” eBook series following a man who has lived for hundreds of years. He’s not immortal…he’s died countless times. Why does he keep coming back?
Victoria Dalpe is a Providence-based horror writer and painter. She has published over sixty short stories in various collections. She has written the gothic horror novel PARASITE LIFE and the short story collection LES FEMMES GROTESQUES. “Dalpe’s horror stories are equal parts intriguing, compelling, and appropriately macabre. Les Femmes Grotesques tidily secures Dalpe her position as an author to watch.”—Monica S. Kuebler, Rue Morgue. Book one of her horror fantasy trilogy SELENE SHADE: RESURRECTIONIST FOR HIRE was released with CLASH BOOKS and book 2 due out August 2026. In 2025, her short story "The Cleaner" was included in the Best Horror of the Year Volume 17 edited by Ellen Datlow and her short story "Because it was Worse Outside" was included in the Shirley Jackson winning anthology WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST LEAVE? edited by Nadia Bulkin and Julia Rios.
Fenham Publishing is a small press that was established in 2000 by Jim Dyer, grandson of C. M. Eddy, Jr. The press was formed to showcase the works of Providence, Rhode Island native C. M. Eddy, Jr. an author of short stories from the pulp magazine era of the 1920’s, most notably Weird Tales. Mr. Eddy was a confidant and friend to both H. P. Lovecraft and Houdini during that period. C. M. Eddy, Jr. was a ghostwriter and investigator for Houdini. After painstakingly combing through the many personal effects of his grandfather that have been stored away for years, Jim rediscovered his grandfather’s original manuscripts and has carefully chosen some notable selections as a basis for the titles produced thus far.
Nathan Guardian received his MA in English at SNHU and was published in newspapers in Salem and Beverly, MA. He lived in Salem for many years and has always been captivated by the mysteries of witchcraft and the paranormal. He speaks openly about his experiences, which began in his early childhood. Nathan also believes in the incredible power of the mind and all the amazing things it can achieve.
“We can do anything as long as we believe, but we must leave no room for doubt, and that, my friend, is nearly impossible.”
“But where there is light, the dark also lingers … with hateful envy.”
Paul Magnan has been writing stories that veer from the straight and narrow for many years. He has published four novels from the dark fantasy series Kyu, The Unknown (The Coming of Dis, The Oracle of Xiaroc Isle, The Grimoire, Worlds' End). He has a short story collection, Veering From the Straight and Narrow, and has had stories published in many venues, including the Bram Stoker Award nominated anthology We Are Providence and the Shirley Jackson Award nominated anthology Monsters In The Mills.
LIZ SAUCO is an author from Rhode Island who enjoys a host of nerdy pastimes, such as crocheting cute animal plushies and playing video games. After graduation from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in Classics, she spent several years teaching Latin to high school students while working on her first manuscript.