Do Words Mean Anything Anymore?

A Look at Diversity in the Horror Community

Art by Gary McMillan

Venus Retrograde is basically here, people are streaming as NPCs for money on TikTok, the sun is beating everyone down in LA, and I’m contemplating diversity in the horror community. Everyone seems to be making an effort to be more inclusive and more diverse, but it all feels so performative to me.

Case in point this screenshot of an article recently published in Esquire.

There’s so much to unpack here. Nonetheless, I’m happy horror writers are getting some shine because the genre tends to be overlooked in big publications, but there are problems on problems that we need to talk about.

If you follow me on social media, I keep my mouth shut about certain things in the horror community due to politics, but when I read the sub headline I was so aggravated I had to say something. You’re telling me people look at the sub headline that says “a diverse coalition of authors reimagining the once pale and male genre” and don’t scrunch their face up. Do you take me for a fool? Do my eyes deceive me? Are you pissing on me and calling it rain? '

That photo looks pretty pale to me…throwing in an LGBTQ author and some women (one Latina) doesn’t change that.

Let’s keep it a buck…pale is pale.

Horror does have a history of being predominately comprised of white male authors. Things have been getting better, but it still feels like change is happening at a glacier pace.

It’s weird because the article itself isn’t terrible. It mentions one black author— the super talented Paula D. Ashe. Read her book We Are Here to Hurt Each Other. But my question is why isn’t Paula included in the photo especially her book was super popular last year? Paula did come out publicly and explained how she thought the email from Esquire was spam and didn’t get back to them in time. This calmed me down a bit, but not entirely. I understand big publications like Esquire have a publishing schedule, but a smart editor would have pulled some strings, maybe even made it a priority to make sure the photo/graphic had some more color, especially since they’re pushing diversity.

I used to run newspapers in the Navy. I was the head honcho editor in chief and I made sure shit like this didn’t happen, but that’s why you make sure POC are on your editorial team.

Another issue I had that’s bigger than the article itself is when did words lose their meaning? There’s a difference between the words diverse and inclusive, but they seem to be merged together here.

When did sexuality and race get smashed together to mean diversity? Throwing a white gay writer in the photo doesn’t make it any less pale. The writer with the most real estate and seems to be the center of attention is the white cis-het writer Clay Mcleod Chapman.

Now, this isn’t taking away from their talent. Everyone here does have the quintessential juice. Eric Larocca has been killing it in the horror scene and deserves to be on this list for sure. It just feels like tokenization and checking certain boxes for public perception. They tossed Eric Larocca in the photo, who they mention alongside LGBTQ author Hailey Piper. Why couldn’t they mention another black writer outside of Paula D. Ashe? Why couldn’t they mention more than one Asian writer and more than one Latina writer?

I’m honestly surprised they didn’t mention Ai Jiang or Gabino Iglesias. And while we’re here, where’s the Native representation? This sound like nitpicky asks, but when it comes to representation, these name drops are everything on such a large platform. When I was a teenager and stumbled across Wrath James White, that was a big deal to me. I rarely saw black writers in the horror space.

Maybe you’re saying Grant, you’re being a hater. Big hater energy. Naw, I’m being critical and I’m tired of reading these articles that scream diversity, but diversity is nowhere to be found. I shouldn’t be included in this article because I only have two horror books out. My catalogue isn’t deep enough and I haven’t made that much of an impact. Just being honest. I know where I stand in the horror community. I hope to be on a list like this in the future, but I have to drop more books, which I will...

It’s so strange because Neil McRobert is the host of one of the most popular horror fiction podcasts—Talking Scared. So I know he’s incredibly well read and interviews a ton of horror writers from a multitude of backgrounds, but he’s white so maybe he isn’t fully aware of the way this article reads or comes across…

I feel like this article would have been solid with a different title, but it was one draft away from being great. Some editors act like it’s such a chore finding POC writers who are good, but I mean Jordan Peele has a horror anthology coming out soon with nothing but black writers. If he could find these people, what excuse do other people have?

In other news, Melancholy’s Finest was reviewed over at Dead End Follies. This is one of the few publications and reviewers I actually care about when it comes to my work. Benoît Lelièvre has read a few of my books and he understands what I’m doing and what I try to accomplish creatively. Plus, I think of him a the literary equivalent of Anthony Fantano, who is honest, knowledgeable, and engaging.

The Broken River Books cyberpunk war effort continues to run strong. You can read the full review here.

I’m all about trying out new marketing tactics and experimentation, with that being said, you can download Melancholy’s Finest and some other Broken River titles for FREE for a limited time in these bundles below.

Dark Was The Night (June 15 - August 15)

Sci-fi Freebies (July 15 - August 15)

If you ordered signed copies from me, I’m sorry for the delay. I’m still waiting on some copies of MF to show up on my doorstep.

Kelby Losack

Heathenish Ramblings

mentioned my book Black Gypsies in his article titled The Best Books That Feel like Watching Anime.

“There’s a point in countless anime fight scenes where characters engaged in combat are moving so fast, the background becomes nothing but harsh pencil strokes drawn from one corner of the frame to the other.
Black Gypsies contains many scenes with this level of frenetic energy. A fast, pulpy thrill ride that is equal parts colorful, gritty, and sexy.”

I’m having fun writing Project Bunny Bloodbath and I’m diving deeper into characterization than I usually do. Slowing things down and giving people more backstory.

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Currently Watching: Love, Death & Robots Season 3 & Lost Season 1

Currently Reading: Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei & Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell & Full Throttle by Joe Hill & Cosmic Horror Monthly #2 & An Altar of Stories to Liminal Saints by Rios de la Luz

Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell is a fire take on Native American myths and folklore. Short and chilling.

Currently Smoking: Packwoods

Listening: Black Tapes Podcast, The Danny Brown Podcast, The Higherside Chats

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The oversaturation of rappers trying to be rock artists is startling, but Paris Texas pulls it off incredibly well. This feels like the lost children of Run DMC & The Beastie Boys and I meant that with the upmost positivity. This is art and I’m here for it.

“My cup runneth over with past lives/ glass full, matter of fact, naw it’s capsized, that’s lies…”

The sorrowful strings and percussion create the perfect backdrop for Gabe ‘Nandez “Venus in Mercury.” ‘Nandez takes a deep yet honest look at himself with esoteric bars and a transparent focus. I need more.

Juicy J returns to his dark roots to let you know “I’m Not One of Them” in a simple yet menacing video. The veteran wears a muzzle ski masks and lets you know how he’s on another stratosphere with a surprising amount of lyricism. He’s appalled by hoes with no decency, reinforces his boundaries, and flexes his power.

Juice WRLD’s work ethic was incredible. I mean we still have singles and albums coming out year after year. I salute Cole Bennett and Cordae working together to bring this pitch perfect video to life. This is real hiphop that doesn’t take itself to seriously.

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Until next time…

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