Origins of Dark Holme: The Assignment That Accidentally Started a Horror Press

It didn’t start with a business plan.

I wasn’t looking to run a publishing press. I was a writer—still am—and I’d signed up for an MA in Publishing thinking I’d get a clearer picture of how the industry works. Maybe find a side door in. I certainly didn’t expect to stumble into the bones of something bigger. And definitely not while wading through academic assignments.

One of them was about diversity and representation in publishing. Simple brief. Heavy truth. The more I dug, the worse it looked. This wasn’t just a case of a few gaps on a shelf. It was systemic silence. The same types of authors. The same types of stories. And when someone brought something bold, something honest, something that didn’t play by the rules? The door stayed shut. Not because it wasn’t good—but because it wasn’t safe.

Then came the business assignment. Pick a book-related business. Make it realistic. Most people went with bookshops or literary agencies. Nice, tidy, respectable. I couldn’t. I didn’t want to replicate the problem. I wanted to offer the alternative I couldn’t find when I needed it.

So I built a press. Not to look shiny. Not to tick boxes. But to make space for the stories that don’t even get a chance to be rejected—because they’re ignored from the start. Stories that punch. Stories that bleed. Stories that matter.

That assignment didn’t just stick. It grew teeth.

I launched Dark Holme Publishing in December 2023. No investors. No safety net. Just a spreadsheet, a spark, and a deep, determined refusal to wait for permission.

Since then? We’ve built something with backbone. Ethereal Nightmares became a full trilogy—three volumes of twisted, unnerving, fiercely human horror. Dark Descent: Whispers From Beyond, our 2025 anthology, grew out of the monthly webzine, which now has thirteen back issues (and counting). And ShadowSphere, our community platform, has grown into something alive: drabbles, prompts, flash fiction, behind-the-scenes chaos, and a creative space that runs on curiosity—not ego.

We’ve published queer writers. Disabled writers. Working-class writers. Writers of colour. People who’ve been told their voice doesn’t fit the mould. We don’t ask for comps. We don’t ask for compromise.

I’m still a writer. I still know that shouting-into-the-void feeling all too well. That’s why Dark Holme isn’t just a press. It’s a response. A protest. A bit of a dare.

So if you’re out there—writing into the margins, keeping your weird close, wondering if your story has a home—it might be here.

We don’t do safe. We do true.

Want proof? Start with our anthologies. Ethereal Nightmares hits hard and stays with you. Dark Descent: Whispers From Beyond is our ever-growing archive of the future of horror—one voice at a time.

After something faster? The Dark Descent portal is where new nightmares land every month. Or wander into ShadowSphere, our community built for writers who are done asking for permission and ready to create something unapologetic.

Wherever you land—book, story, or strange little corner of the site—just know: this was built with you in mind. Especially if you've ever been made to feel like it wasn’t.

Tags: indie publishing, horror fiction, marginalised voices, small press, diversity in publishing, flash fiction, horror community, writer life, ShadowSphere, horror anthologies, Dark Holme Publishing, Dark Descent, Ethereal Nightmares