On March 29, Willow Dawn Becker and Mike Cluff, Co-Founders of Weird Little Worlds Press, were invited to be guests on the Dread Loc Blerd podcast. The podcast, hosted by Kendrick Grey, highlighted the founders’ fiction beginnings and how their perspective on life, faith, and the power of story is poised to change speculative fiction publishing.
Kendrick was interested in the founders’ writing and publishing background. Willow shared her deep love for horror and science fiction writing, citing her most recent publication in Space and Time Magazine, while Mike explored some of his background as an independent publisher with the fantasy anthology Grifty Shades of Fey through Fiction Vortex.
One of the key elements of the podcast were Mike and Willow’s shared beliefs in both God and the power of fiction (even horror fiction), to inspire a better, more equitable world.
“Storytelling has always been to teach, to help develop people.” Mike said, citing several examples of religious books that are narrative-driven. “Some of the greatest stories that are told, we can find in books of faith.”
Another thing they talked about was the need for inclusion in publishing as a whole.
“For a long time, fiction has been kind of a white man’s game,” Willow said. “But we’re really trying to move towards a more equitable fictional future. And hopefully, by presenting a more equitable fictional future, we present a pathway for people to create a true and actualized equitable future.”
Finally, they mentioned the Kickstarter for Humans are the Problem: A Monster’s Anthology, which is launching April 8th. They explained to a very enthusiastic Kendrick that the anthology is designed to be fun AND scary, a line that not everyone can walk.
See the entire interview here. Learn more about Humans are the Problem: A Monster’s Anthology.Â
The Weird Team is comprised of several unhinged individuals that have a love of life and a lust for adventure. They scour the world to find the strangest, scariest, and most wonderful news in the universe.
