Nightmares Unhinged Launch Party Brings Horror's Heavy Hitters to Tattered Cover

Near-native Josh Viola, award-winning author of The Bane of Yoto, was frustrated by the commercialization of publishing — so frustrated that he set out to change the way authors are treated by launching Hex Publishers, a local indie press putting out mainstream-quality literature. Now, with the help of co-founder and longtime Colorado resident and bookseller Dean Wyant, Hex Publishers will release its first horror anthology, Nightmares Unhinged, at a party at 7 p.m. Wednesday, September 9, at theTattered Cover Colfax.

Special guest Jonathan Tiersten, who starred in the cult classic Sleepaway Camp, will make an appearance, and many of horror’s most acclaimed writers wll be on hand, since Nightmares Unhinged contributors will share their stories and sign copies of the book. And Viola will be there provide insight into starting a publishing house, particularly in the age of self-publishing.

His blood-curdling compilation is a must-read; it features twenty tales of dark and twisted fiction — everything from science fiction to dark fantasy and mystery — by a roster of award-winning, bestselling authors, including Wyant and Viola himself. “We are doing what we know, and we’re doing it right,” Viola says.



“We’ve got some really big hitters in our first anthology,” he continues, listing contributors like Mario Acevedo, bestselling author of the Felix Gomez vampire series; Nebula Award winner Edward Bryant; New York Times bestseller Keith Ferrell; Jeanne C. Stein, bestselling author of The Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles; and Bram Stoker Award winners Melanie Tem and Steve Rasnic Tem. Other local talents include Colorado Book Award winner Warren Hammond, Hugo Award winner Jason Heller and Sean Eads, a finalist for the 2013 Lambda Literary Award.

The publisher has other anthologies in the works, including a cyberpunk anthology, Cyber World, that should be released in November 2016, and Blood Business, a real and paranormal crime anthology that is slated to debut next summer. Hex publishing is also putting out a comic book with UFC Bantamweight Number One Contender Cat Zingano.

For more information on Hex Publishing, visit the Hex website.