October 2022

Congratulations to our authors and our illustrator Alex Eickhoff for our 2019 Short Story Anthology, Tales from the Deep.  Alex is a vibrant artist and illustrator in the Kansas City Area whose painterly artwork pushes the boundaries of imagination into the surreal and absurd with light, humor, and a shout into the darkness. We couldn't be luckier to have him and his hand-painted art for this collection!  Please follow his work on Instagram @eye_cough Read more about Alex on our blog. 

From an apocalyptic ocean, to the empty void of space, from the ghosts in the human psyche to the center of the Earth. In “Tales from the Deep” asks questions answered best in the dark. Artist Alex Eickhoff brings these short hybrid fictions to life. Don't dip your toes in these waters unless you have the courage to face what's waiting underneath where you’ll dive deep into dystopian futures, water worlds, and alien planets. Twelve international authors reveal evocative awakenings and acts of courage. You'll visit a doctor in the high mountains of Persia, dive into the microbiology of alien moons, then foray into the dark recesses of the lives of warriors deep underground. Meet fantastical deep space travelers, cyborg creatures, and adventurers of all kinds. Featuring John Waterfall, Samantha Bolf, Natasha Reeves, Harrison Blackman, Judith Ets-Hokin, Ali Azar, Victoria Shannon, Mathilde Rybka, Martin Rothaemel, Thomas Winningham, and Brian Burt

softcover ISBN 13: 978-1-970151-27-5

MSRP: $17.99 USD

epub ISBN 13: 978-1-970151-28-2

$5.99

​

The idea for this contest and the original call for entry--along with the original artwork--was created with the help of teen intern, Alex J. He did an entire semester of work on genre research and why good short stories need to address elements of fear. Each story in Tales from the Deep reveals evocative awakenings and acts of courage in dark and deep places. The winning stories selected with the help of our consulting Sci-Fi and Fantasy editors are just incredible! We couldn't be happier. 

Here are our authors:

Falling by Harrison Blackman
Second Chances by Victoria Shannon
Plastic Jesus by Judith Ets-Hokin
Levi’s Song by John Waterfall
The Red Wolf Incident by Natasha Reeves
Amir Moo by Ali Azar
Neptune’s Children by Brian Burt
James McClintock Was a Rational Man by Thomas Winningham III
Aeriel by Samantha Bolf
Europa Explorer by Martin Rothaemel
Don’t Want the World to Turn Without You by Mathilde Rybka

​