As the summer breeze begins to chill, Iowa City residents are prepared for the festivities that come with the fall season. The newest event to the literary community is One of Us, a new festival tailored to horror writers, held at Public Space One on Sept. 6.
After months of preparation, Ira Rat gathered several presses and authors from across the Midwest. Rat runs the Filthy Loot Press, which also had a table featured at the event.
The majority of Rat’s inspiration for the festival came from having to travel long distances for events centered around horror. Even though Iowa City is known for being a UNESCO City of Literature, there are limited horror-themed gatherings for writers.
“There are only two other horror conventions of any sort in Iowa. One got canceled last year, so that was the first and last year of that one, and there’s one in Ottumwa, but that’s more film-focused,” Rat said.
Instead of being defeated by the fact that almost every other Midwest state holds conferences about the horror genre besides Iowa, Rat decided to create one himself.
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Throughout the Public Space One venue, there were 19 tables for authors and presses to promote their work. Among the first rooms of tables was Jessie Rose, an author from Wisconsin.
Although they had to travel across states to get to the event, Rose said they see conventions like this one as a good way to branch out to the local horror community. Rose themself hosts one of these conferences called Slay the Lake in Chicago.
“I know it really brought the horror community together, but also the LGBTQ community,” Rose said. “It gave a space for people who don’t always get represented at those events.”
Rose’s four books – two written under the pen name Finley Rose – fall under the dark thriller side of the horror genre. Their work can be found on their website, alongside upcoming and past events that they have attended.
Entering the second room, Michael M. Rader and Nicholas Wood, the two creators of the independent publisher Camp Raderwood, stood at their table. The pair collaborate on their work together, but nearly everything they sell is homemade.
“We actually put this all together for this event, so we were not prepared for this beforehand,” Rader said. “It definitely inspired us.”
The two horror enthusiasts team up to develop zines, with Wood illustrating and Rader writing. They also bind their works by hand, which adds an extra element to their independent publishing style.
“I’ve never really had a horror scene here in Iowa, especially in the middle of nowhere, so hopefully this has a positive impact and spurs more people to come out for stuff like this,” Wood said.
The event had a large turnout with people flowing in and out of the venue throughout the entirety of it. Rat hopes to continue the convention in future years if all goes well. If the fest becomes annual, it will bring those who love to read and write horror together.
“Since I closed the lottery for people to be able to table there, I found out that there are at least four or five other horror authors in Iowa that never contacted me beforehand,” Rat said. “Hopefully, there can be more talk amongst the horror writers in Iowa.”