Indie Horror Publisher Darklit Press Signs With Independent Artist Group (Exclusive)

Borys Kit
·2 min read

Darklit Press, the up-and-coming indie horror publisher founded by Andrew Robert, has signed with Independent Artist Group for film and TV representation.

Darklit works with authors of horror, suspense, and dark fiction from around the world. One of its goals is to identify and develop manuscripts from emerging genre authors.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Launched only in 2022, Robert’s aim was to provide a platform and editorial support for marginalized and underrepresented authors in the category. A growing readership has embraced the company’s prolific output. Darklit authors have been recognized by horror fiction awards bodies, including the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, Lambda Literary, and Splatterpunk awards.

Among the authors on the roster are are Stoker Award nominee Ross Jeffery, Splatterpunk nominee Steve Stred, Aurealis Award nominee Zachary Ashford, author and editor Caitlin Marceau, and Tyler Jones, who recently was recognized on the annual Esquire’s Best Horror Books list in 2022. Authors Yolanda Stefsos, John Durgin, Mike Salt, Tim Meyer, and Scott J. Moses have also recently joined forces with Darklit, which is planning on ramping up even more in 2024.

IAG will represent this deep bench of horror novelists across the board for film and television media sub-rights, and will actively shop all titles for adaptation.

“This partnership marks a significant milestone for us, providing an incredible opportunity to transform the unique voices and visionary stories of our authors into captivating visual narratives,” said Robert in a statement.

The signing with IAG comes when horror could not be hotter in Hollywood. The appetite for horror movies continues to be intense as the genre remains frightfully profitable, thanks to most fare being able to be produced on the modestly-budgeted side and big stars are not essential. And the competition for horror directors and producers have yielded an arms race amongst the studios not just talent but for material, making the signing a potentially savvy play.

IAG is making inroads into books, a move that puts its fingers into the content cauldron. The company already reps several indie publishing houses, including Entangled Publishing, the house behind New York Times sensations Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, now in development at Amazon, as well as Assistant to the Villain, which is being adapted by Legendary.

IAG also has also been snapping up notable authors in the last year or two, signing such names as Janet Evanovich and Margaret Atwood, and the estates of Mario Puzo and Truman Capote.

Best of The Hollywood Reporter