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The Writers Chair

The Writers Chair

By: Daniel Willcocks
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The Writer’s Chair is your all-access seat to honest conversations with the minds behind dark and dangerous stories. Hosted by bestselling horror author and award-winning podcaster Daniel Willcocks, this show peels back the curtain on the world of publishing — from indie to trad, and everything in between.


Whether it’s horror, thriller, dystopia or the strange and unsettling, you’ll hear from writers who live in the shadows. Expect raw truths, hard-won lessons, industry insight and the kind of unfiltered talk that only happens when dark minds get together over a glass of something strong.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Episodes
  • Writing the Algorithm: Social Media, Obsession, and Horror That Hits Home with Matt Serafini
    Mar 20 2026
    In this episode, Daniel sits down with Matt Serafini — screenwriter, author, and one of horror's most compelling new voices, hailed by grandmaster Brian Keene as one of the best in the genre. Matt's books include Rites of Extinction, Feral, Under the Blade, and his brand new social media horror novel, Feeders.Together, they dig into the obsessive joy of tracking down obscure slasher films, the nostalgia of video store culture, and how the algorithm-driven doom loops of modern social media became the seed of Matt's most ambitious novel yet. They talk about growing up on King, F. Paul Wilson, and Bret Easton Ellis, writing a teenage protagonist you'd never expect, and why Matt refused to change the last hundred pages of Feeders — no matter who asked.The conversation also hits the pressure young people face online, the cynicism baked into performative outrage, AI slop flooding our feeds, and why Matt believes the best thing any writer can do is tell a story only they could tell.This is a sharp, funny, and genuinely insightful conversation about horror fiction, social media, storytelling, and what it means to write something that couldn't have come from anyone else.💀 In this episode you'll discover:Why Ogroff the Mad Butcher might be the most gloriously unhinged slasher film you've never seenThe joy and consequence of video store culture — and what streaming has quietly taken from usHow King, F. Paul Wilson, Michael Slade, and Bret Easton Ellis shaped Matt's voice as a writerWhat it felt like to receive a blurb from Brian Keene — and why "validation" is a complicated wordWhy Matt built MonoLife (the fictional dark web app at the heart of Feeders) from real frustrations with social mediaHow working with college-age interns gave Matt an authentic window into Kylie's worldThe agent who told him to scrap the last hundred pages — and why he walked awayWhy the climax of Feeders was the most fun Matt has ever had writing anythingWhat Matt hopes readers take away from the book (without prescribing the answer)Why authenticity — not productivity — is the writer's best weapon against AIA sneak peek at Matt's next project, which his agent called "couldn't be any more you"Links & Resources:Matt Serafini on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattserafini Feeders by Matt Serafini: https://www.amazon.com/Feeders-Novel-Matt-Serafini/dp/1668060973 Devil's Rock Community Discord: https://www.devilsrockbooks.com/podcastSubscribe to The Writer's ChairIf you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow horror fan or writer.📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@devilsrockbooks🎧 Listen on your favourite app: https://pod.link/1829723468💬 Join the community: https://www.devilsrockbooks.com/podcast📚 About the GuestMatt Serafini is a screenwriter and author of horror fiction based on the East Coast. His novels include Rites of Extinction, Feral, Under the Blade — called "one of the best slasher films you'll ever read" by Film Thrills — and Feeders, a dark social media horror novel published in 2024. He has been hailed as one of the best new voices in horror fiction by Brian Keene.Matt's short fiction has appeared in multiple anthology collections. His non-fiction writing on film and literature has been published at Dread Central, Shock Till You Drop, Fangoria, and Horror Hound. He has a background in marketing and spent years managing social media for a university — an experience that fed directly into the obsessions at the heart of Feeders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    1 hr
  • Building a Sustainable Horror Press: Gatekeepers, Quality and the Long Game with Jennifer Barnes
    Feb 27 2026

    In this episode, Daniel sits down with Jennifer Barnes — managing editor of Raw Dog Screaming Press, longtime champion of off-kilter horror, and a key force behind two decades of cross-genre, boundary-pushing publishing.


    Together, they dig into what it really takes to keep a small press alive for twenty plus years, how Raw Dog Screaming Press grew out of the early online zine era, and why “gatekeeping” is a more complicated conversation than most people want it to be.


    They talk sustainability over hype, why small presses collapse when they overextend, and how Jennifer protects quality (and her sanity) by scaling releases to reality. The conversation also hits horror poetry, novellas, writing craft, the rise of AI, and why community energy often comes more from writers than readers.


    This is a grounded, honest look at the publishing side of horror — full of practical insight, hard-earned perspective, and the kind of transparency writers wish they heard more often.


    💀 In this episode you’ll discover:


    • How Raw Dog Screaming Press began from the Dream People zine era and a love of cross-genre work

    • Where the name “Raw Dog Screaming Press” came from, and how language shifts over time

    • Why the “gatekeepers” conversation is more nuanced than it used to be

    • The biggest reason small presses burn out or implode, and how to avoid it

    • Jennifer’s approach to sustainability, self-sufficiency, and not overcommitting

    • Why horror poetry mattered to Raw Dog’s legacy, and how it helped shape the scene

    • What Jennifer looks for in standout horror, voice, craft, and character

    • The reality of novellas in the market, and why they’re gaining traction again

    • Why AI is unpredictable, and why she’s sticking to the same quality-first plan

    • What excites Jennifer most right now, including the upcoming Abandoned: Asylum anthology


    Links & Resources:


    Raw Dog Screaming Press: https://rawdogscreaming.com

    Raw Dog Screaming Press on socials: @RDSPress

    Horror Writers Association (mentioned): https://www.horror.org

    Abandoned: Asylum (edited by James Chambers): https://rawdogscreaming.com/book-deal-abandoned-asylum-anthology/


    Subscribe to The Writer’s Chair


    If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow horror fan or writer.


    📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@devilsrockbooks

    🎧 Listen on your favourite app: https://pod.link/1829723468

    💬 Join the community: https://www.devilsrockbooks.com/podcast


    📚 About the Guest


    Jennifer Barnes is the managing editor of Raw Dog Screaming Press, a small press publishing off-kilter, cross-genre books for more than two decades. She began her editing career in the early 2000s as an editor for Dream People Literary Magazine, and later helped build Raw Dog Screaming Press into a respected home for dark, distinctive fiction and award-nominated work.


    She is also an accomplished graphic designer, a longtime advocate for horror poetry, and co-chair of the Maryland Chapter of the Horror Writers Association. Jennifer graduated from the University of Maryland with a BA in English and a concentration in poetry, and she continues to work across editing, production, and publishing with a focus on craft, originality, and quality.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    41 mins
  • Writing Speculative Fiction: Genre, Craft, and Finding Your Story with Tiffani Angus & Val Nolan
    Feb 13 2026

    In this episode, Daniel sits down with speculative fiction powerhouses Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan — writers, educators, and co-authors of the bestselling Spec Fic for Newbies series from Luna Press.


    Together, they dive deep into the ever-expanding world of speculative fiction, exploring how genre works, why it matters, and how writers can better understand where their stories fit. With the release of Spec Fic for Newbies Vol. 3, this conversation blends craft, teaching, collaboration, and a whole lot of joyful nerdiness.


    From academia to publishing, pandemic-era book deals to writing about pirates, space procedurals and dark academia, this is a lively, insightful look at what it means to write across genres — and why speculative fiction remains one of the most exciting playgrounds for storytellers today.


    💀 In this episode you’ll discover:


    • How Spec Fic for Newbies began during the pandemic and grew into a three-book series

    • Why understanding genre can transform your writing (and your confidence)

    • The role academia and teaching played in shaping the books’ accessible approach

    • How speculative fiction overlaps with crime, romance, fantasy, horror and beyond

    • Why joy, curiosity and “nerdiness” are essential tools for writers

    • The realities of writing collaborative non-fiction — and keeping it fun

    • How the series helps writers who don’t have access to formal creative writing education


    Links & Resources:


    Tiffani Angus website: https://www.tiffani-angus.com

    Val Nolan website: https://illusorypromise.wordpress.com/

    Luna Press: https://www.lunapresspublishing.com

    Spec Fic for Newbies series (Luna Press): https://www.lunapresspublishing.com


    Subscribe to The Writer’s Chair

    If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow writer or genre fan.


    📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@devilsrockbooks

    🎧 Listen on your favourite app: https://pod.link/1829723468

    💬 Join the community: https://www.devilsrockbooks.com/podcast


    📚 About the Guests


    Tiffani Angus (PhD) is a multi BSFA- and BFS-award finalist for her debut novel Threading the Labyrinth and for non-fiction (with co-author Val Nolan) for Spec Fic for Newbies: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Vol. 1 (2023) and Vol. 2 (2024), both of which also made the Locus Recommended Reading List. Volume 3 launches March 2026. She spent over a decade teaching creative writing at universities in the US and UK, most of that time as a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Publishing at ARU in Cambridge (UK). She works as a freelance editor and proofreader, runs the typesetting/formatting business Book Polishers, leads various writing workshops in person and online, and is currently at work on novel, a novella, and a scandalous secret project.


    Val Nolan is the author of Neil Jordan: Works for the Page (UCC Press, 2022) and co-author of the Spec Fic for Newbies trilogy (Luna Press Publishing, 2023, 2024, 2026). He has published academic articles in Science Fiction Studies, Foundation, Journal of Graphic Novels and Comic Books, Irish University Review, Irish Studies Review, symplokē, and Dictionary of Literary Biography. His fiction has appeared in Year’s Best Science Fiction, Best of British Science Fiction, Unidentified Funny Objects, the ‘Futures’ page of Nature, Andromeda Spaceways, ParSec, and Interzone (for which he also writes the ‘Folded Spaces’ column about the history of Science Fiction criticism). He has been shortlisted for the Theodore Sturgeon Award (for his story ‘The Irish Astronaut’), twice been a finalist for the BSFA Awards, and twice shortlisted for the British Fantasy Awards. He is currently a research fellow at Aberystwyth University in Wales where he was awarded Lecturer of the Year in 2022. His next project is Space Opera: The First Hundred Years, due from Luna Press Publishing in 2028.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    52 mins
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