Vastarien, Vol. 2, Issue 1

"Vastarien is... perhaps the highest quality literary journal in the horror sphere."

--Signal Horizon

Jon Padgett is a professional-though lapsed-ventriloquist who lives in New Orleans with his spouse, their daughter, and a rescue dog and cat. He is the Co-Editor-In-Chief of Vastarien: A Literary Journal, a source of critical study and creative response to the work of Thomas Ligotti. Padgett's first short story collection, The Secret of Ventriloquism, was named the Best Fiction Book of 2016 by Rue Morgue Magazine. His recent novelette, The Broker of Nightmares, was published by Nightscape Press. In mid-2019, the same press will be publishing a deluxe, fully illustrated box set including Padgett's The Secret of Ventriloquism, Matthew M. Bartlett's Gateways to Abomination, and a third yet-untitled collection with stories written in collaboration by the two authors. Harry 0. Morris's artwork has been legendary since the 1970s. He has illustrated more stories by horror authors Richard Matheson and Thomas Ligotti than any other artist, and his work helped to define the genre with his innovative use of collage and computer graphics. Gemma Files is the author of over 100 short stories, five collections of short fiction and five novels, all horror or dark fantasy. She won the 1999 International Horror Guild Best Short Fiction Award for her story "The Emperor's Old Bones," the 2010 Black Quill Award for Best First Novel for A Book of Tongues (first in the Hexslinger series), and the 2015 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel for her book Experimental Film.

venio

Gemma Files

the lord is an active shooter

Fiona Maeve Geist

the sisters

F.J. Bergmann

Horror Religiosus: The Dark Passions of Mark Samuels

David Peak

the curse of the biblical magi

Sepehr Goshayeshi 

aharesia

Natalia Theodoridou

silhouette golems

S. E. Casey

orchid architecture

K. A. Opperman

all the stage is a world

Forrest Aguirre

burger shop

Jayaprakash Satyamurthy

rat king

Lia Swope Mitchell

vanpool

C. M. Muller

magic, madness, and women who creep: the power of individuality in the work of charlotte perkins gilman

Gwendolyn Kiste

the ageless agelasts

Rhys Hughes

in the way of eslan mendeghast

Farah Rose Smith

effigies of former supervisors

Matthew M. Bartlett

contributors