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ABOUT THE DREAD MACHINE

Since its inception in 2020, The Dread Machine has stood at the forefront of dark speculative fiction, publishing tales that traverse the murky interstice of technology and psyche. Known for its quarterly litmag and anthologies like Mixtape 1986 and Darkness Blooms, the indie house probes existential terror, the essence of being, and societal undercurrents, blurring the ever-thinning line between reality and the surreal. In 2024, The Dread Machine embarks on an exciting new journey, bringing its unique brand of storytelling to immersive gameplay experiences. Check out our current projects here, and be sure to follow us on Kickstarter.

Elder Gods

We are the weirdos, mister.

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Alin (she/her)

Cult Leader

Tina Alberino (she/her) is a certified copyeditor and project manager with over a decade of publishing experience. She runs The Dread Machine and leads this cohort of misfit bastards under her fiction-focused pseudonym, Alin Walker. Find her in the Dread Discord. Follow her on chillsubs.

Jason (He/Him)

Hackerman

Jason administrates The Dread Machine. He fixes the broken things and performs technological miracles at Alin’s request. (As her spouse, he really doesn’t have much of a choice. She knows where he sleeps.)

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Tim (He/Him)

Public Enemy

Tim Burkhardt (he/him) is an editor and writer whose fiction has been published in Metastellar, Riddled with Arrows, The Horror Tree, and others. In the daylight hours, he provides editing and support to rising fiction writers at Strikethrough Editing.

Xanthur (He/Him)

SEcret Police

Nick (aka Xanthur) handles all aspects of community management, including comment moderation, event coordination, and Discord administration.

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Kanishk (He/Him)

Co-Conspirator

Kanishk is a BIPOC immigrant from India. His stories often center on the immigrant experience, environmental issues, and plants eating people. His work is available or forthcoming in Apex MagazineFlametree PressDark Matter Ink and of course, The Dread Machine. Find him in the Dread Discord or on his website, kanishkt.com and follow him on Twitter @t_kanishk.

Nate (He/Him)

Dungeon Troll

Nathaniel Lee puts words in various orders. People intermittently give him money for this. No one knows why. His fiction has previously been published at Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Nightmare Magazine, among many others. You can read more here.

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Mob (He/They)

Invisible Hand

Mob writes, boulders, and codes. Work found on Metastellar, Old Moon Quarterly, and the Translunar Travelers Lounge.

Artists

Yorgos Cotronis

Cover ARtist

Yorgos Cotronis is a Greek illustrator and designer, currently residing in Athens. He makes a living designing book covers and is known for his dark, atmospheric genre illustrations. He sometimes writes. His stories have appeared in XIIIBig Pulp and Vignettes from the End of the World.

Katerina Belikova

Cover ARtist

Katerina Belikova (aka Ninja Jo) is a Russian freelance illustrator, concept artist, and lover of robots working in digital and traditional materials. She specializes in science fiction and cyberpunk with a bit of a horror vibe. After working as a full-time designer for nearly a decade at FiXT Music, Katerina now works as an independent artist, illustrating book covers, graphic novels, album covers, packaging, and concept art for tabletop and video games.

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Support Indie Publishing.
Make new Friends.
Join a cult.

There’s no Silicon Valley giant or venture capital lifeline here. The Dread Machine is a fiercely independent entity, fueled by the power of community and the love of written art.

Indie publishers like us are the lifeblood of the literary ecosystem. We push boundaries, take risks, and bring voices to the fore that might otherwise remain unheard.

Help us keep the gears of our grand enterprise turning. By choosing to support us, you’re becoming part of a movement, a revolution, a reimagining of what literature can be in the digital age. Join us and become indie scum, you dirty disco superstar.

Together, we can create a future that's as vibrant, diverse, and thought-provoking as the stories we love to share.

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