dogleech books

an imprint of moth eaten mag
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✿ dogleech books submission guidelines✿chapbook subs for 2025 lineup open on september 1st, 2024, until september 30th, 2024, or capped at 50 submissions✿ email all submissions to [email protected]
✿ we accept poetry, prose, & hybrids
✿ please include in the subject line of your email your NAME and your BOOK TITLE followed by DOGLEECH SUBMISSION
✿ no specific format required ~ as long as we can read it, we're good! if accepted for publication, you may be asked to send an updated word doc for ease of editing.
✿ your chapbook should be between 15 and 40 pages, with some wiggle room
✿ please include applicable trigger warnings; tws for each individual piece is not needed, a general overview is fine
✿ we, dogleech books, will cover the cost of producing accepted books. cover art may be commissioned elsewhere by the author at their own expense. upon publication, dogleech books will share all profits of books sales 50/50 with the author to be paid out quarterly.✿ what kind of books do we want? ✿we want modern gothic, queer horror, books about lonely trans vampires and cannablism as queer love. the dark, the supernatural, the witchy, the pagan, the horrific, the haunted. we want soft horror, beautiful creeps, gorgeous spooks.✿ socials ✿twitter: @dogleechbooks
instagram: @dogleechbooks

dre levant (he/they)
eic

dre levant (he/they) is a genderqueer writer & artist. sometimes described as "absolutely satanic, demonic, disgusting, evil". writes a lot of poetry about icarus. wears faux cat ears almost all the time. find on twitter & instragam @drethepiper.
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✿welcome to dogleech books ✿dogleech books is an imprint of moth eaten mag, queer-owned and run from a lil apartment in a tiny city.we're a small press run by one queer lad. we want to be the cozy lil shop on an autumnal street with fairy lights in the window selling gothic books that you can hold close to your heart.what we love: books that sing of queerness with a gothic lens, the modern gothic, the pagan and witchy, the horrific and the haunted, the beautifully rotten and gorgeously dark and poignant. think a sinkhole of autumn leaves. think vampirism as a metaphor for transness. think cannibalism as an act of queer love.at the moment we publish four to fivebooks a year. our 2025 lineup will open for submissions soon. head to our 'submit' page for details!

✿dogleech books: the book shop ✿

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The Witch Garden
by Briar Ripley Page

"The Witch Garden" follows the story of a young woman named Marlena who is dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic childhood and an ailing mother. Flashing between her younger and present self, Marlena is forced to face the hurt that's been haunting her as well as try to hold on to the magic of what's left of love. The Witch Garden is a captivating novelette of familial tragedy, medical trauma, and the tethers of humanity that keep us going in the face of nothing but struggle.Hailed as "...a succinct tale that lilts like a lyric, a distillation of the family-hurt so many of us carry inside" (Dale Stromberg), "The Witch Garden" speaks to the bruised heart, the lonely soul, the part of us that seeks to know some kind of light.

A Necklace of Teeth
by Ivy L. James

Ivy L. James's "A Necklace of Teeth" is a visceral read of rage poetry - it speaks deeply to the parts of us that know anger is a part of healing, that bleeding doesn't mean you're weak, that how you choose to heal is completely up to you. James writes to the core, her words bloody and so excruitiatingly raw, honest, unapologetic.

"Someone Else's Blood, Someone Else's Love"
by Dori Lumpkin

Mary Catherine has spent her whole life waiting for this moment. For the day that she'd walk down the aisle and marry the most important man she'll ever know (other than God, of course). Father Osborne has had his eye on Mary Catherine since she was a young girl, and she's always said that she's more than ready to do her duty to her home and become his bride. But when the mysterious Jane comes to town, Mary Catherine's world is turned upside down and back again as she tumbles head over heels into a fascination for this dangerous stranger.Someone Else's Blood, Someone Else's Love is a tale of revenge, love, and recognizing who you are in someone else's life, whether that's just a passing blip, or a force that will change everything.Will you follow the Tenants of the Prophet? Or will you be lost to the outside, forgotten to the world within?

"this book will not save you"
by nat raum

"this book will not save you" by nat raum is a full length book of poetry that illustrates the multifaceted experience of living with bpd in the past, present, and future. Queer in its DNA, this book explores identity, trauma, and resilience. raum's mastery of lyricism is searing and bright, cutting and unforgettable.releases november 22, 2024.

"pulp."
by Cole Martin

"It’s tough to describe the essence of a human, the nuances of flesh. Sometimes they mix, and sometimes they separate, like oil and water.""pulp." by Cole Martin is a delightful romp of horrors. Composed of 5 short stories, these tales will make you squeal, gag, and want for more. From an interdimensional bus ride from hell to a supernatural assassination, these stories are entrancing, comedic, and deeply unnerving.releases december 13th, 2024.

✿dogleech books: the blog ✿

"It's Deeply Important To Me That These Uglier Stories Get Told": An Interview With Dori Lumpkin On The Importance of Queer Rage And The Role of Horror in Their Book, Someone Else's Blood, Someone Else's Love (dogleech books)

interview published September 17th, 2024

1. What does your writing process look like? Where do you get inspiration and how do you like to start putting a story together?My writing process is a little insane sometimes, depending on the project. I'm a very visual writer, so I mostly write stories broken down into scenes that contain certain images or visuals that I'd like to convey. I like to start by making a list of the scenes and visuals, in whatever order they need to appear in the story. This functions as an outline for me, basically. From there, I just bounce around to whichever images seem the most appealing at the time so that I don't get bored with writing the scenes. I write everything deeply out of order and based entirely on vibes and it tends to work for me! It also means that I usually have like eight to ten to twelve works-in-progress at any given time.As far as inspiration goes, I really get my inspiration from anywhere. Oftentimes music and art are my biggest inspirations, though. I make in-depth playlists for each piece I write that contain thematic songs and pieces that remind me of a story. I also really love to just scroll mindlessly through pinterest sometimes just to see what comes up and if it sparks anything. Someone Else's Blood specifically was inspired by the song Hell's Comin' With Me by Poor Man's Poison, which I absolutely recommend. A very fun and good time.2. Your work often combines the queer experience with horror. What, in your perspective, draws these two subjects together?Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh I think that horror is deeply connected to the queer experience. Intimately so. I could get on a soapbox for hours about the connection between queerness and monster stories, specifically. I think that when the reality is so awful, when we're faced with legislation and leaders that actively want us dead, it's comforting to escape into realities that we know aren't real, where awful things can happen but we know that we're safe. It's why I like haunted houses so much! Like literal haunt attractions, not just stories featuring them. They're completely safe environments where you can get the shit scared out of you with no consequence!*3. Were there any real-life experiences you drew from when writing SEBSEL? Any traits of Mary Catherine or Jane that are based on people you know/parts of yourself?I think that all of my stories are like tiny pieces of myself, just scattered throughout the world. Each thing I write has something of myself in it, whether that's a character trait or an environment, and I think that there isn't any writing out there that isn't influenced by the author in that way. But because you're asking specifically about this one, then I wouldn't say there are any real-life personal experiences that influenced Someone Else's Blood. That being said, though, Jane and Mary Catherine both feel like parts of myself. I sort of consider them to be the proto-Nora and Abby from my debut novella, Antenora. Mary Catherine is the version of myself who never acknowledged my queerness, and Jane is the version of myself that is full of fire because of what she was put through. But also the environment in which they live is very heavily influenced by the world that I grew up in and experience regularly. I'll never not love writing in the south and that sort of Southern Gothic energy. Telling stories in those environments is very comfortable and cozy for me.4. What was most important to you to express when writing SEBSEL?Queer rage. There's a lot that I wanted to express with this story, but I think Jane's rage is the most important. I think that queer joy is lovely and has a place and I value it immensely, but it is deeply important to me that these uglier stories get told at the same time. Queer people like Jane are allowed to make tough decisions that don't always end in happiness. You're allowed to fight for what you want, even if you know that fight is going to be ugly. I don't recommend revenge, but I think that queer people should be allowed to fuck shit up when they need to.5. Any projects you're currently working on or specific ideas you have for future projects you'd want to share with us? Be as vague or precise as you'd like!I'm currently plugging away at my Masters Thesis, which is a lesbian coming of age retelling of the 80's movie The Lost Boys. Because of this, I've had to put my other projects on pause. I'm really excited about that project and eventually finding a home for it because it's been super fun to work on, HOWEVER, the project of my heart is currently a short novel project that I'm just referring to as my haunted house book. It's like... I Saw The TV Glow meets The Haunting of Hill House, it's about trauma and reconciling the past and the future and it's very, very personal to me. I'm hoping to start querying it by the end of the year, but it's very disjointed and strange, so I hope people like it! I've also got my Big Vampire Book that hopefully I'll start working on next year, which I won't say very much about just yet, but know that I'm very, deeply excited for it.6. Lastly, where can our readers find you and latest updates about what you're up to?I'm on almost every social media platform at @whimsyqueen so you can find me there! I have an out-of-date website that I need to update desperately, but I like to yell on twitter constantly about everything!A very huge thank you to Dori for answering our questions and being a part of the dogleech family! You can order Dori's book RIGHT NOW in both print & digital formats.

"I didn’t want to tone down the darkness in the original story, but I did want to add some nuance, and I wanted to make sure that the themes were handled compassionately and without sensationalism"An Interview with Briar Ripley Page on their novella, The Witch Garden (dogleech books)

interview published December 2nd, 2024

1. What does your writing process look like? Where do you get inspiration from and how do you like to start putting a story together?I used to be very disciplined about writing every single day no matter what, but now I only do that when I’m actively working on a project. I like using the program StimuWrite when I’m having trouble getting started or staying on task. I don’t fit into a plotter/pantser binary that well: a lot of my work in coming up with a story, characters, etc. happens before I start writing or outside of when I’m actively writing, but I’m not making lists or charts or maps or (usually) outlines. I just have really vivid daydreams that I write down later. My imagination’s always been strong, and I’ve never had problems coming up with ideas. Ideas come from everywhere, including dreams, conversations, other fiction, things that happened to me, things that happened to people I know, the news, nonfiction I’ve read or documentaries I’ve seen. I suspect a lot of people who think they don’t have story ideas in actuality preemptively reject any story ideas they have as somehow unsuitable or not good enough— I never reject an idea that I find interesting, or at least I don’t reject it until I’ve actually taken a fair stab at writing it. I don’t think about whether it’s silly or derivative or deeply personal or weird or conventional or fucked up. I go ahead and write it, and after I’ve written it I think about how other people might receive it.2. What was most important to you to express when writing The Witch Garden?I really wanted all of the characters to come across as multi-dimensional, even though it’s short fiction based on a fairy tale. I didn’t want to tone down the darkness in the original story, but I did want to add some nuance, and I wanted to make sure that the themes were handled compassionately and without sensationalism; I really don’t write about stuff like child abuse, murder, self-harm, and (pseudo-)incest to shock people or be “edgy.” I write about them because I’m trying to understand the human experience better.3. Was there any real-life experience you drew on when writing The Witch Garden?Yes, but probably not the ones you’re dreading! I’ve had health issues all my life, but not because anyone was poisoning me. The stuff about working as a maid while being in absolutely terrible shape for a job that involves lifting fifty pound mattresses and being on your feet all day is drawn directly from personal experience (as is the part where teenagers heckle Marlena for being too skinny), although nothing else is. I’ve also struggled with disordered eating and fears of contaminated food. One time a deer actually did crash through the front glass door of the hotel where I worked, but I wasn’t working then and didn’t see it. Sadly, I think the deer was in bad shape, terribly disoriented and injured, and ended up dying.4. Are there particular themes or images you often find yourself drawn to write?People who are stuck in a house, people who are socially isolated, people who have inappropriate/unhealthy relationships that nevertheless sustain them and keep them afloat in a harsh world, dysfunctional families, abuse (esp. of children and teenagers), magical thinking and personal homebrew ritual/spirituality, physical and mental decay, ambivalent experiences of the eerie or numinous, blood, deer, wolves, dogs, insects, cats, rabbits, goats, menial labor, compulsion or addiction, private inner worlds, imaginary friends, miscommunications, the discrepancy between different people's understanding of a situation, desire, gender, queerness, artistic practice, fire, water, the woods, dreams, self acceptance, aliens.5. What did The Witch Garden look like in the early drafts? What prompted the changes needed for it to arrive at its final version?The early drafts were shorter, although still long for a short story (I think the first was about 6,000 words). They were kind of disorganized, and a lot of people said the parts with adult Marlena and the parts with Marlena and Lucas as children read like completely different works of fiction in different genres— I tried to pull them together more, and to find a synthesis of tone. Originally, I shied away from having Marlena and Lucas acknowledge any romantic/sexual feelings for each other, but it became clear to me that this was the honest direction to go with these characters and the type of situation they’re in and the type of bond they have. It also provided an impetus for Charlotte to kill Lucas, while in the early drafts it’s super unclear why this happens when it does (which may be realistic when it comes to abuse and murder, but is narratively unsatisfying). I also ended up trying to make Charlotte less of a storybook evil stepmother and more of a real character; she has some things going on that aren’t abusing children, she does feel genuine love for at least her husband and daughter, and she has reasons for behaving the way she does, even if they’re bad reasons. Marlena recognizes this, and maintains a fraught, tortured connection with her as an adult, even though she can never forgive what she did. I thought a lot about DeeDee Blanchard when I was writing her, and about the way she was fictionalized and depicted on the TV show The Act.6. Lastly, where can our readers find you and keep up with your work?My website is briarripleypage.xyz. I’m on twitter, tumblr, and bsky @flameswallower.A huge thank you to Briar Ripley Page for taking the time to sit down and share with us! You can order Briar's book RIGHT now in both print and digital formats!

"This chapbook was a step in my recovery, not the end of it."An Interview conducted by Devon Webb with Ivy L. James on her chapbook, "A Necklace of Teeth" (dogleech books)

interview published December 2nd, 2024

In A Necklace of Teeth, a recent chapbook release from indie publisher dogleech books, author Ivy L. James utilises the emotion of anger to process and give voice to her trauma. As a queer writer addressing her experiences of religious prejudice and sexual assault, this is a weighty but powerful work that is sure to resonate with audiences interested in harnessing rage as a tool for transmuting negative emotion. When women are so often condemned for speaking out on the injustices done to them, this sharp and beautifully brutal collection is a testament to the value of poetry as a means for personal release. I spoke with Ivy about her process behind this project, and how it feels to bring such a difficult journey to light.How did A Necklace of Teeth come about – did you have a specific goal or motivation in compiling such a deeply personal collection of work?I was inspired in part because I didn’t expect the visceral catharsis of dark content I was reading in genre fiction. When I conceived of this collection, I wanted to confront some of my own darkness by sharing it, by acknowledging it was there, even welcoming it. I was raised to be mild and gentle, so embracing the viciousness was a big move for me.Writing through so much hurt & trauma, how did that affect you and do you have any advice for creatives aspiring to do the same?There were good days and bad days during the writing of this chapbook. For creatives aspiring to the same, I’d say be prepared to take care of yourself during the process. It’s not easy to remember so much darkness, and I had to be aware of what I was feeling so I could first express it and then recover from the experience.On a lighter note, tell us a bit about the publication process. This isn’t your first collection, so have you developed a certain approach to indie lit and the submission/publication side of things? Did you find anything unique in your experience collaborating with dogleech books?I’ve learned to enjoy the process of putting myself out there with indie presses, to value the experience of submitting pieces even when they’re not accepted. With my first chapbook, I did everything myself (or hired out the task myself, like the cover and formatting). Working with dogleech was very cool because I had someone on my side. Dre did the cover, the formatting, and a ton of marketing, but more than that, he really cared about the chapbook and what I had to say. I really felt like they were there for me throughout the process.On a similar note regarding the community, are there any other writers or creatives who have served as inspiration for this or other projects?I was inspired to talk about my trauma by books like Sarah Jane Pyper’s Stray (poetry) and Jamie Lee Finch’s You Are Your Own (creative nonfiction). I’ve also been inspired by the writing of SO many creatives who cheered me on in return! Just a few of them: Clem Flowers, Odette Augustine, H. Rose McCoy, Nat Raum, V.L. Parz, and Dre Levant.One of my favourite poems in the collection is ‘a secondary emotion’. Did this project provide any additional insight into your experience of anger as an emotion, and what value it might hold in the poetic realm?‘a secondary emotion’ provided me with an opportunity to think logically about my emotions (which sounds like a contradiction, but hear me out, haha). This poem—and this chapbook—allowed me to experience my anger more fully by saying, “yes, I’m feeling this and that’s okay, but also there’s THIS underneath, and I need to experience that feeling too to really work through this.” Poetically, I think it allows us to layer our feelings and our words, acknowledging more than one emotion at a time. Things don’t necessarily have to ‘match’ or be simple to be accurate.I was particularly struck by a devastating quotation – ‘I disappoint my parents every day I don’t divorce my wife’, in a poem where you talk about the burden of enforced silence on the subject. To counter this, I just wanted to give you an opportunity to tell us about your wife <3Oh, my wife is a dream!! She’s extroverted and fun, really good at social skills (I am not), and my biggest cheerleader. She really values having a good time, which helps me not take myself or life too seriously. She’s been very patient with my family and my recovery from religious trauma. We got married in a small ceremony in 2022 and it’s been awesome creating a life with her.Prejudice within organised religion is a big theme of this book, in which the narrator reckons with their own belief despite a bigoted system. Do you have any advice for other queer people who may find themselves navigating a similar situation?Everyone has a different experience with organized religion, but I want to reassure anyone who’s struggled with this that you are not at fault. You haven’t done anything wrong by being you. Additionally, there is no judgment on how quickly you leave a troubled system, or even whether or not you leave at all. Your life and experience are yours. Do what works for you, but stay safe.Despite the pain and anger of the collection, there’s also an aura of hope running through it. Do you have any conclusions that arose from the process of confronting and transmuting your trauma?This chapbook was a step in my recovery, not the end of it. I’m still processing and learning and recovering. But even now I can say that I’ve learned more about who I am, about what’s happened to me and how it affected me, because of this collection. I have a better idea of what works for me and how to take care of myself. I’m on my way up.A Necklace of Teeth is available to purchase in both print and digital format from the dogleech books (@dogleechbooks) website: https://dogleechbooks.carrd.co/#shopIvy L. James can be found on social media at @authorivyljames and at her website https://www.authorivyljames.com/