BOOK DEAL: Writing Poetry in the Dark guidebook

RDSP to Publish Writing Poetry in the Dark Handbook for SF/F/H Poets Edited by Stephanie Wytovich

Raw Dog Screaming Press is thrilled to announce a book deal for Writing Poetry in the Dark, a craft book for speculative poets, by speculative poets. Edited by Bram Stoker award-winning author Stephanie M. Wytovich, with a foreword by one of the genre’s most celebrated authors, Tim Waggoner, this book meditates on craft, genre, style, and form as acclaimed SF/F/H poets come together to talk about their process, outlook, and approach to writing and incorporating the speculative into their poems.

“I’ve had mentees and students asking me about craft books for poetry for years, and while there are tons of fantastic ones out there to recommend, there wasn’t something specifically for speculative poets, which I realized was a real missed opportunity, especially because the market for dark, fantastical poetry has exploded over the past ten years or so,” Wytovich said. “As such, I wanted to create a book that acted as a form of mentorship for writers who were looking to learn, grow, and/or mature in their craft, and to do it in a way where it provided an accessible form of continued education, so more people could listen and work with some of their favorite contemporary poets. My hope is that this collection of essays will inspire, teach, and assist in the creation of speculative poetry while at the same time providing discourse from a diverse perspective on genre and craft.”

Contributors include many award-winning poets, authors, and editors such as Linda D. Addison, Michael A. Arnzen, F.J. Bergmann, Carina Bissett, Leza Cantoral, Timons Esaias, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Claire C. Holland, Jim and Janice Leach, Donna Lynch, Alessandro Manzetti, Jessica McHugh, Cynthia Pelayo, Saba Syed Razvi, Marge Simon, Christina Sng, Lucy A. Snyder, Sara Tantlinger, Joanna C. Valente, Bryan Thao Warra, and Albert Wendland.

“We’ve always taken genre poetry seriously at RDSP and over the years readers have really responded to our poets. We want to keep pushing dark poetry out of the shadows and hope to inspire more verse from the dark side,” says managing editor Jennifer Barnes.

This book joins the branded RDSP Writing in the Dark series which encompasses the 2020 released Bram Stoker Award Winner Writing in the Dark horror craft book by Waggoner, as well as his upcoming 2022 companion workbook. Additionally, they host Writing in the Dark webinars and seminars, which offer a plethora of workshops and information from various authors and writers, through AllAccessCon.

Plans are for this to publish sometime in 2022. Stay tuned to RDSP blog, social media, and newsletter for continued information.

Stephanie M. Wytovich, Biography –

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Weird Tales, Nightmare Magazine, Southwest Review, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8, as well as many others.

Wytovich is the Poetry Editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press, an adjunct at Western Connecticut State University, Southern New Hampshire University, and Point Park University, and a mentor with Crystal Lake Publishing. She is a recipient of the 2021 Ladies of Horror Fiction Writers Grant and has received the Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship for non-fiction writing.

Wytovich is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, an active member of the Horror Writers Association, and a graduate of Seton Hill University’s MFA program for Writing Popular Fiction. Her Bram Stoker Award-winning poetry collection, Brothel, earned a home with Raw Dog Screaming Press alongside Hysteria: A Collection of Madness, Mourning Jewelry, An Exorcism of Angels, Sheet Music to My Acoustic Nightmare, and most recently, The Apocalyptic Mannequin. Her debut novel, The Eighth, is published with Dark Regions Press.

Follow Wytovich at http://stephaniewytovich.blogspot.com/ and on Twitter and Instagram @SWytovich​ and @thehauntedbookshelf. You can also find her essays, nonfiction, and class offerings on LitReactor.