A Congregation of Jackals Book Deal

Raw Dog Screaming press has just signed a book deal with S. Craig Zahler to release his out-of-print first novel A Congregation of Jackals. As an author, screenwriter and director Zahler has taken both Hollywood and the publishing world by storm. His gritty and unflinching style is undeniable. Bone Tomahawk, which he wrote and directed, was a critical and financial success. It was one of the most talked-about horror films of the year. The acclaim of that project garnered a movie deal for his novel Wraiths of the Broken Land, with 20th Century Fox. Famed director Ridley Scott (The Martian, Avatar, Alien) and the production team behind The Martian, including Drew Goddard, have signed on to produce the film. This makes it the perfect time to re-release his debut novel, A Congregation of Jackals, the one that started his ride down this trail of extreme Westerns.

Three Westerns

Zahler sees all three works, Bone Tomahawk, Wraiths of the Broken Land and  A Congregation of Jackals, as part of a thematic trilogy. They share similar settings, subject matter and atmospheres, though they don’t share any characters. A Congregation of Jackals received critical acclaim, including a starred review from Booklist and nominations for both the Peacemaker and the Spur award. But it had a shortened publication life because Dorchester Publishing went out of business soon after its release. Until now the book has been largely unavailable. Raw Dog Screaming Press is excited to be publishing the Authors Preferred Text edition of A Congregation of Jackals this December.

Author’s Preferred Text

Zahler has gone back and refined the prose to bring it up to his current standard. The new text is as crisp and biting as one could hope. Meanwhile he is directing his second movie, Brawl in Cell Block 99. Deals for translations of his work into French, German, Russian, Hungarian and other languages have been piling up. Expect to see the name S. Craig Zahler in entertainment industry news on a regular basis.