Elder Signs Press, Inc (aka ESP) is a

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

-based

book publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

distributed through the

Independent Publishers Group Independent Publishers Group (IPG) is a worldwide distributor for independent general, academic, and professional publishers, founded in 1971 to exclusively market titles from independent client publishers to the international book trade. As p ...

. It specializes in

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

titles.

History

ESP was founded in 2003 by William Jones, a

gamer A gamer is someone who plays interactive games, either video games, tabletop role-playing games, skill-based card games, or any combination thereof, and who often plays for extended periods of time. Originally a hobby, gaming has evolved in ...

and

Lovecraftian horror Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror, fantasy fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is na ...

enthusiast. Its initial publications were issues of the '' Call of Cthulhu''

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

''Book of Dark Wisdom''. The magazine's format was changed with the third issue to focus on horror fiction and poetry. Eleven issues were published before the magazine was converted to an annual book anthology in 2009. As a book publisher, ESP is primarily a

self-publishing Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fro ...

venture for Jones, who has written several novels and edited numerous anthologies released under the imprint. However, the company does publish books and anthologies from other authors and editors. Its first book was

Stanley C. Sargent Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

’s ''Ancient Exhumations +2'', a collection of Lovecraftian short fiction published in 2004. The company is best known as a publisher of

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

material, but it has also published work in genres such as

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...

and apocalyptic survival horror. Editors involved with the company included Deborah Robbins and Charles P. Zaglanis. The publishing company went on indefinite hiatus in 2018.

Books

Books published by Elder Signs Press were trade paperbacks available via Ingram Books, Baker & Taylor, Alliance Game Distributors, Diamond Comics. They were distributed by the Independent Publishers Group (IPG) and, at the height of the company's activity, had titles carried by major booksellers such as Borders Books and Barnes & Noble. Between 2004 and 2018, ESP published the following books. * ''Ancient Exhumations +2'' by

, August 2004 * ''Terrors'' by Richard A. Lupoff, November 2005 * ''Chronicles of the Apocalypse: Species'' by Michael McBride, January 2006 * ''White Tribe'' by

Gene O'Neill Gene O'Neill (born 1938) is an American writer of science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction. O'Neill's professional writing career began after completing the Clarion West Writers Workshop in 1979. Since that time, over 100 of his works have ...

, May 2006 * ''Twice Dead Things'' by A.A. Attanasio, Trade Paperback, November 2006 * ''Rehearsals for Oblivion: Tales of the King in Yellow'' edited by Peter A. Worthy, September 2006 * ''The Things That Are Not There'' by C.J. Henderson, October 2006 * ''Saint-Germain: Memoirs'' by

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (born September 15, 1942) is an American writer. She is known for her series of historical horror novels about the vampire Count Saint-Germain. Biography Yarbro was born in Berkeley, California. She attended Berkeley sch ...

, October 2007 (also appeared in limited ed. hardcover) * ''The Stench of Fresh Air'' by C.J. Henderson, June 2008 * ''The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia'' by Daniel Harms, August 2008 * ''Looking for Darla: Stories of Mythos Noir'' by Ron Shiflet, September 2008 * ''Black Glass'' by

John Shirley John Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of horror, fantasy, science fiction, noir fiction, westerns, and songwriting. He has also written one historical novel, a western about Wyatt Earp, ''Wyatt in Wichita'', and ...

, November 2008 * ''The Sleep That Rescues'' by C.J. Henderson, October 2009 * ''The Anthology of Dark Wisdom'' edited by William Jones, October 2009 * ''The Best of All Flesh'' edited by

James Lowder James Daniel Lowder (born January 2, 1963, in Quincy, Massachusetts) is an American author, anthologist, and editor, working regularly within the fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror genres, and on tabletop role-playing games and critical works ex ...

, January 2010 * ''What to Do When You Meet Cthulhu: A Guide to Surviving the Cthulhu Mythos'' by Rachel Gray and William Jones, November 2010 * ''Blood and Ice'' by

Lois H. Gresh Lois Harriet Gresh is a New York Times Best-Selling author of ten science fiction novels and story collections and seventeen popular science and pop culture books, some in collaboration with Robert Weinberg. Gresh has also written approximately ...

, January 2011 * ''The Ravening'' by

Stewart Sternberg Stewart may refer to: People *Stewart (name), Scottish surname and given name *Clan Stewart, a Scottish clan *Clan Stewart of Appin, a Scottish clan Places Canada *Stewart, British Columbia *Stewart Township, Nipissing District, Ontario (histo ...

, January 2011 * ''Scavengers'' by Christopher Fulbright & Angeline Hawkes, October 2011 * ''Street Magick: Tales of Urban Fantasy'' edited by Charles P. Zaglanis, November 2016 * ''Dark Horizons: An Anthology of Dark Science Fiction'' edited by Charles P. Zaglanis, November 2016 * ''A Summer with the Dead'' by Sherry Decker, May 2017 * ''Tombs'' by James Dorr, June 2017 * ''Inferno: Tales of Hell and Horror'' by Angeline Hawkes, October 2017 * ''The Vampire Years'' by Eric Del Carlo, December 2017

Magazines

ESP published the following issues of ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'', a magazine that started as a Call of Cthulhu fanzine, but later evolved into a more mature publication with original articles, poetry, fiction, and features by notable and upcoming authors in the horror and RPG genre. * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #1, 2003 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #2, 2003 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #3, 2004 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #4, 2004 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #5, 2005 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #6, 2005 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #7, 2005 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #8, 2006 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #9, 2006 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #10, 2007 * ''The Book of Dark Wisdom'' #11, 2007

Authors

Authors that were published by Elder Signs Press include: * James Ambuehl * Eric Del Carlo * Tim Curran * Sherry Decker * James Dorr * Christopher Fulbright *Rachel Gray *

* Daniel Harms * Angeline Hawkes * CJ Henderson *William Jones *

*Michael McBride * Richard A. Lupoff * Gene O'Neil *

References

External links

*{{official, http://www.eldersignspress.com ow defunct American speculative fiction publishers Book publishing companies based in Michigan Companies based in Oakland County, Michigan Horror book publishing companies Publishing companies established in 2003 Science fiction publishers Small press publishing companies