Small Press Interviews: Meet Haruspex Audio

Tell us a little bit about your press and what inspired you to start it up.

Haruspex Audio is a queer-focused audiobook house specializing in horror, smut, and outsider lit. 10 years of audiobook work has shown me that authors, narrators, presses, audio producers, and listeners deserve better deals than what Audible offers, and more freedom for riskier material to be adapted to audio.

Indie publishers have a distinct personality. How would you define the personality of your publishing house, as well as the core brand/vibe?

Eclectic, but we love the grime and sublime. Challenging, feel-bad and transgressive genre fiction with a love for unlovable protagonists and messy stories that trouble tidy expectations.

What projects do you have coming out soon?

Our newest releases are O.F. Cieri’s BACKMASK, an occult pulp novel set in the 70s record biz; and Henry Corrigan’s Somewhere Quiet, Full of Light, a queer haunted house story with the house’s POV! 

In production we have Pieces of Us by Taylor Blackthorne, a very dark and very steamy romance; and TT Madden’s The Familialists, a powerful and timely horror novella that’s a mix of Get Out and The Stepford Wives. Pre-orders should be up at time of press!

What are some common things that will get a quick rejection from your press? On the flip side, what are some things that make a submission stand out?

Bigotry and boringness are the fastest ways to a pass from me. For the flip, I love messy queer characters who are not about respectability politics, and stories that make your skin crawl and ask why you find it a little hot at the same time.

When is your next open call and what are you looking for?

We are open for queries from August 10-21 and then an extra week for BIPOC writers. Novellas are my favorite, in horror, romance, erotica, and weird.

Where can authors find you? 

I’m most active on Instagram but am on most socials at @haruspexaudio.