By Dee Holloway 
DIS/MEMBER spotlights independent horror publisher Ghost Orchid Press, established in 2021.
Hailing from Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom, Ghost Orchid is a newer press on the indie horror scene, yet has rapidly accreted a distinguished stable of authors and growing library of anthologies and stand-alones. Specializing in “eye-catching” horror, Gothic, and dark fantasy, Editor-In-Chief and Director Antonia Rachel Ward notes the press’s dedication to championing new and emerging authors–particularly as broad reader interest in horror genres continues to explode. “Increasingly,” she says, “discerning readers and reviewers are looking for more variety than the usual, familiar names. Indie publishers like ours are able to engage with this audience directly.” Ward embraced the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic to bring a long-held dream to fruition: running her small press. As an author of both prose and poetry, with experience in bookselling and academic publishing accounts management, she was well-situated to fulfill such a dream.
Former high school English teacher Ed Crocker fleshes out the Ghost Orchid masthead as Editor, bringing ten years of freelance expertise and a love of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. GO’s final team member is Claire L. Smith, who runs social media and works in cover design; she’s also created book covers for small presses Cemetery Gates and Tenebrous. In their editorial capacities, Ward and Crocker focus on making space for new and underrepresented writers, with the lion’s share of GO titles being debuts. According to Ward, Ghost Orchid prioritizes books that play with the genre; when she’s going through the slush pile, she says, “I’m looking to be surprised.” With Ward’s educational background in classical Gothic authors like Ann Radcliffe and Matthew Lewis, thus far, GO releases have also trended toward Gothic and psychological territories–but the editors aren’t ruling out great slashers that cross their desk!
In a publishing landscape that’s both shrinking (as large traditional publishers merge) and expanding (as small presses launch each year, each more niche than the last), Ward acknowledges the challenges of running an indie press. A looming question for authors, artists, and publishers alike is the impact of large language models. “When I set up this business,” Ward says, “I had no idea that within a couple of years, we’d be facing issues like AI and the decline of various social media platforms.”
The proliferation of “AI” writing tools between 2021 and 2025 is staggering; notable SFF magazines’ submissions queues are clogging with generated stories, and newspaper publishers are suing companies like OpenAI for copyright infringement. The current tenuous publishing environment makes the ethos of small presses like Ghost Orchid all the more vital. “We’re extremely against generative AI in the arts,” Ward notes, and GO involves authors with cover artists to create book covers that are “little works of art” in themselves.
Twitter’s demise forced indie authors, artists, magazines, and presses to diversify their social media portfolios. Bluesky and itch.io are two platforms that offer algorithm-free connections and bigger creator payouts for DIY artists and indie shops. Ghost Orchid has bounced back from shuttered blogs, YouTube channels, and review podcasts by expanding into new spots like these. Further, by welcoming submissions from early-career writers, GO actively makes space for authors working in sub-genres, strange niches, and those who’ve yet to establish themselves as household names.
Ward is drawn to the increasing diversity of horror’s buzziest voices. She seeks horror-in-translation from authors like Mariana Enriquez and Natsuo Kirino and touts eco-horror and cli-fi from fellow indie press Stelliform. She’s also “loving the explosion of folk horror” that’s become bread-and-butter for literature and film alike over the last several years. Ghost Orchid has published several options in those veins, including the Chlorophobia anthology of nature horror and the family curses and secretive village of Sair Back, Sair Banes.
Another climate fiction project is in the offing this month, as March 25th delivers Marisca Pichette‘s Every Dark Cloud. Called “inventive and emotionally evocative” and “an absolute coup” by early reviewers, GO is excited to add this novella to the growing ranks of horror inflected with climate concerns. Every Dark Cloud kicks off a big season for the press, with May and July releases as well. Koji A. Dae‘s second GO outing, Hold My Heart, promises a cosmically weird, Hellraiser-adjacent trip. At the same time, DuMort by Michelle Tang is billed as “gaslamp horror” (a genre-meld D/M is intrigued by–shades of Jack the Ripper, perhaps?). Whatever your preferred flavor, readers hungry for the next cool thing are sure to find it among Ghost Orchid’s stacks. To sample the goods, first try some short fiction published in the press’s online magazine, The Crypt.
Horrorhounds are encouraged to join Ghost Orchid’s mailing list for book news as it hits, including cover reveals, excerpts, and submission calls! Please find the full GO lineup online for reads in your preferred format (or grab an ebook from their itch shop), and follow the press on Bluesky while you’re at it. Happy reading, ghouls!
