“Horror fans not only consume culture, they create it,” said co-founder of DieDieBooks Nick Toti, “so we wanted to create a series of books that feels very participatory.
No one’s perspective on horror movies’ is valued more than the fandom that keeps the genre alive, so a series of books diving into their own insight written by notorious boils and ghouls of the horror fan squad seems only fitting that this exists for not only us to consume, but the Horror Class as a whole.
Each book is illustrated in hauntingly perfect form by famed dark artist Andy Sciazko. The books include a deep dive on the Hooper vs. Spielberg debate surrounding Poltergeist written by author Jacob Trussell, and a primer on the nuclear apocalypse film Threads written by nuclear scholar and activist Bob Mielke. We also have a queer perspective on the controversial slasher Sleepaway Camp by BJ and Harmony Colangelo. For Universal fans, a portrait of Lon Chaney Jr.’s mental anguish
during his performance in The Wolfman by Philip J Reed, and a love letter to The Love Witch written by filmmaker and editor Matt Latham.
The idea for DieDieBooks came from screenwriter Rachel Kempf, who previously worked at an erotic romance publisher. “I wasn’t a huge fan of romance, but I understand the appeal of genre writing because I love horror,” Kempf said. “It’s a genre with incredibly devoted fans, so we
wanted to create our own press and connect with readers who share that love of horror.”
DIY filmmaker Nick Toti also adds, These books are not only fun to read since they draw so heavily from the authors’ own backgrounds and
expertise, but will hopefully also inspire readers to chase their own horror movie obsessions and add their voices to the conversation.”
Toti and Kempf, who are married, recently relocated from Los Angeles to rural Missouri to build their horror empire DieDieMedia—a parent company that not only publishes books, but also produces horror movies/documentaries and will release its first feature in 2023.
Indie press DieDieBooks is currently raising funds
on Kickstarter to publish the series. The first five books are available as
perks on Kickstarter for donors to the campaign. The Kickstarter campaign will end on Oct. 31st, 2022. To make a contribution or learn moreabout the project, visit DieDieBooks on Kickstarter.
