Dracula Beyond Stoker

02/11/2024

Story and Art submissions are now open for Dracula Beyond Stoker Issue 6: Jonathan Harker

What happened on the way from the castle to the hospital in Buda-Pesth? What happens after the story ends? What is his relationship with his son? Jonathan is often perceived and portrayed as impish and weak, but he might just be one of the bravest characters in the book.

Siubmissions open until December 31, 2024

We like stories that feel like they could be canon, but we also enjoy fun alternate takes and pastiche. Prequels, sequels, updates, divergent timelines - unleash your creative powers of darkness and show us something exciting.
As with every publication the best way to get a feel for what we like is to read what we’ve put out in the past.

🧛‍♀️Stories should be 1500-5000 words.
🧛‍♀️Poetry will be considered, but is not necessarily sought.
🧛‍♀️Compensation will be .05/word plus contributor’s copies.
🧛‍♀️Reprints will be considered. Reprints should be at least 10 years old. Reprint compensation is $55.
🧛‍♀️Simultaneous submissions accepted, but please notify us immediately if accepted elsewhere.
🧛‍♀️Some stories may be chosen for the website, but not the publication.
🧛‍♀️Please adhere to the Shunn format - https://www.shunn.net/format/classic/
🧛‍♀️Please only send .doc, .docx, or .pdf
🧛‍♀️Filename and email subject should be -“lastname_title_jonathan”
🧛‍♀️Include short 3rd person bio

Cover Art Submissions
What we want
🧛‍♀️Eye catching design. Think pulp paperbacks, Basil Gogos’ Famous Monsters covers, EC Horror Comics, Vintage Movie Posters.
🧛‍♀️Originality. Homage is fun, plagiarism is not. Please make sure you own all aspects of your work.
🧛Knowledge and Love of all things Dracula. Hide some Easter eggs in there. Make it so that we keep coming back to find more to enjoy.
🧛‍♀️Keep it clean. Sensual is fine. Erotica, not so much.
🧛Check out our previously published - https://www.dbspress.com/coverart

Parameters
🧛‍♀️Format is 5.5x8.5 paperback
Title will occupy top quarter(so leave space)
🧛‍♀️Pease send high res .jpg, pdf, or .png
🧛‍♀️Compensation will be monetary plus contributor’s copies.


Visit DBSPress.com for more info

01/11/2024

Books are here!

Contributor copies will ship on Monday and we’ll begin fulfilling preorders on Tuesday!

31/10/2024

The current issue of Journey Planet is all about Dracula and features the origin story of DBS as well as a wonderful review by Chuck Serface (thank you, Chuck).

There’s also an interview with Dacre Stoker and a profile of The Rosenbach with an appearance from our very own Edward G Pettit

Allison Hartman Adams joins James and Chris in a wide-reaching look at everyone’s favourite Count and his nemeses. We examine the enduring legacy of Bram Stoker’s novel, just in time for Samhain,...

31/10/2024

In Elizabeth Twist’s ‘Just a Drop, My Darling’ Jack Seward and his new fiancée learn that Mina and Quincey Harker have been harboring a secret

DBS. How and when did you first experience Dracula?
ET. The 1979 movie starring Frank Langella showed up on television when I was in my teens. I probably watched it during a Sunday matinee, between ads for Sealy Posturepedic mattresses. It made a massive impression: Frank Langella is super charismatic in a disco sort of way; Lucy and Mina's roles are reversed for some reason, and there's a whole sequence to do with burying potential vampires face-down so they dig into the earth, not upward into freedom, when they attempt to escape their graves. It's very groovy!



DBS. Besides Dracula, what is your favorite vampire story?
ET. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Those Victorians really knew how to write sexy horror!


DBS. What is your favorite vampire movie?
ET. I can't hate on any vampire movie really, so technically all of them, but if I had to pick just one right now, it would be Daybreakers (2009). I never get tired of Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe, and Ethan Hawke, and it's got all three! Most vampire stories are private affairs. There's a need to hide what's going on from the world at large. Daybreakers asks, what if most people were vampires? How would society hold together and function? If humans were increasingly rare, how would the blood keep flowing? Great questions.


DBS. What is your favorite screen portrayal of the character Dracula?
ET. Gary Oldman. There's a lot that's great about Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). There's a lot that's slightly off about it. I personally will never get over Dracula's fabulous old man bouffant hairdo. Love it.


DBS. Which of the three suitors do you most relate to?
ET. Jack Seward! The nerdiest, saddest boy. But the thing that really appeals to me about the suitors is the way they work together. I would love some backstory on how they met each other. At what point in their lives did they hang out, and what happened during the wild adventures they apparently had together?


DBS. What are you currently reading?
ET. And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which is a sort of lament and wish fulfillment and dark comedy about middle age, Covid, and deterioration (personal, societal, existential), featuring an off-brand Narnia. Of potential interest to DBS readers, I am still thinking about The God of Endings by which is such a lovely vampire story, full of quiet threat and heart. (The vampire protagonist runs a preschool. Just saying.) I'm listening to Re: Dracula, which, like the Dracula Daily substack, releases Dracula in chronological order on the corresponding calendar day. Re: Dracula is such a good audio adaptation, and my favourite Dracula adaptation of all time, hands down. The team behind it really gets Dracula.


DBS. Are you working on anything you can talk about at the moment?
ET. A long form story, mayyyybe a series, that involves reverse Indiana-Jonesing (i.e., returning) magical artifacts at the peak of the Victorian era, a lady stage magician with real powers, her solar astronomer partner-in-heist, and a secret society working at the highest levels of the British government to harness the occult powers of the sun.

29/10/2024

In Jasmine De La Paz’s “A Séance for Dr. Seward” a medium is admitted into Jack’s care with disastrous consequences

DBS. How and when did you first experience Dracula?

JDLP. I’m sure I first experienced Dracula at a very young age. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment, but it must have been through film. When my mom worked a late shift, I would stay up watching shows and movies I was probably too young to view (such as Tales from the Crypt). I do remember watching a few black-and-white films of Dracula, specifically the 1931 edition starring Bela Lugosi.

I read the novel when I was too young to appreciate it, however, I became vampire-obsessed and read all of Anne Rice’s novels, and for a few years, I only read vampire-related books!

I have read Dracula several times since then. It remains one of my favorite novels. I own several editions and flip through them to read random passages all the time.

DBS. Besides Dracula, what is your favorite vampire story?

JDLP. ’Carmilla.' It’s utterly beautiful and Gothic. I also love "Dracula’s Guest" by Stoker. Stephen King’s “Jerusalem’s Lot" is fantastic. I tend to like historic vampire tales the most.

DBS. What is your favorite vampire movie?
JDLP. ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula' by Francis Ford Coppola. In high school, I used to have a small TV with a VHS attachment to it in my room. It was one of the handful of VHS tapes I owned, and I would fall asleep to it like a comfort film. I’ve watched it more times than I can count.

I’m looking forward to seeing the new Nosferatu film later this year!

DBS. What is your favorite screen portrayal of the character Dracula?
JDLP. Gary Oldman in Dracula (1992). He is both terrifying and seductive.

DBS. Which of the three suitors do you most relate to?
JDLP. Hmm—I feel like I can relate in some way to them all, but probably Arthur. He is a romantic and will do anything for someone he loves.

DBS. What are you currently reading?
JDLP. I just finished reading ‘The Girl Who Couldn’t Read’ by John Harding. It’s set in 19th-century New England in a women’s asylum and has many twists and turns. My current WIP has asylum elements, and the treatment of women in this time period is a subject I’ve been researching.

DBS. Are you working on anything you can talk about at the moment?
JDLP. I’m on the second draft of my Gothic horror novel and have several short stories coming out soon!

You can read “A Séance for Dr. Seward” in Dracula Beyond Stoker Issue 5 available for preorder now.

29/10/2024

I never had an opportunity to see Frank Wildhorn’s Dracula the Musical when it ran on Broadway in 2004. But last night provided the next best thing (barring a revivial).

The One Night Only “In Concert” performance was astounding (many of the performers would have been standouts in any other cast, as it was they complemented each other). It was made even more amazing when James Barbour noted at the end how little rehearsal time they actually had.

Hopefully this pops up elsewhere so more people can enjoy it.

24/10/2024

Henry Herz is becoming like family over here! In issue 5 Henry continues the adventures of Dracula and Renfield Investigative Services with ‘Smitten.’

DBS. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?
HH.There is no one best piece of advice. Read widely in your market(s) and genre(s). Grow a thick skin, because rejection is an integral part of publishing. Be a prolific networker, because publishing is a collaborative enterprise. Find good critique groups to polish your work.

DBS. Which of the suitors do you most relate to?
HH.Arthur Holmwood, for several reasons. First, he's the protagonist of my story for Dracula Beyond Stoker issue 5. He defeats the other suitors to become the fiance of the lovely but doomed Lucy Westenra, who starred in my DBS issue 3 story. I love that his formal title, Lord Godalming, sounds like he's cursing after stubbing his toe. These makes him more appealing to me than an insane asylum administrator or "a rough fellow, who hasn't perhaps lived as a man should."

DBS. What are you currently reading?
HH. Death’s Country by R.M. Romero. A novel in verse!

DBS. What are you currently working on?
HH. So many things! Promoting a middle grade anthology I edited, The Festival of Lights, that just came out from Albert Whitman & Co. Promoting an adult fantasy anthology, Combat Monsters: Untold Tales of World War II (https://henryherz.wordpress.com/combat-monsters/), coming from Blackstone Publishing in February. I'm in contract negotiations for two picture books and an urban fantasy anthology.

You can read ‘Smitten’ in Dracula Beyond Stoker Issue 5 now available for Preorder!

23/10/2024

22/10/2024

Have you watched Hysteria on Peacock yet?

There’s no Dracula or vampires but it’s a fun and wild ride and DBS contributor has a hand in it both on and off screen.

21/10/2024

DBS favorite, Mark Oxbrow, is back with 'Dime Novels, Penny Dreadfuls,' a thrilling tale that picks up in the wake of tragedy. Our heroes, still reeling from the heartbreaking loss of their dear friend Quincey, are thrust into yet another adventure.

DBS. Who are some of your influences?
MO. I grew up in Edinburgh with tales of Robert Louis Stevenson and Conan Doyle. M. R. James ghost stories, Douglas Hill, Bram Stoker, Usborne Supernatural Guides: Vampires, Werewolves & Demons. Erica Jong’s Witches, and Brian Froud and Alan Lee’s Faeries.
I’d recommend Alan Garner and Ray Bradbury to anyone, Shirley Jackson, and folklore books by Katherine Briggs. I’ve read a lot of Stephen King and Fighting Fantasy books, Tolkien, Poe, Lovecraft, and Alan Moore. And hundreds of movies… John Carpenter, Nosferatu, Hammer Horrors, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Fury Road, Excalibur. L.A. Confidential, Ready or Not, Aliens, Pan’s Labyrinth, Ringu.


DBS. What is your writing process/do you have routines?
MO. I’d love to think I’m organised but its chaos! Ideas have to bubble away in a cauldron for a while. Other weird stuff gets dropped in. Some things get spooned back out again. Repeat until there’s a skeletal outline in note form. Writing happens when it can. Odd times at night mostly. I’m by nature a night owl. The best ideas float around when everyone else is asleep. Keep writing till a whole first draft is done – try not to look back at what you’ve written yet. Then rewrite and edit. Sleep on it for a couple of nights then look at it again. Monkey about with it till it’s finished.



DBS. Which of the suitors do you most relate to?
MO. Probably Quincey, but it’s a tricky one. I’d dash in without thinking it through and get myself killed! I love stories and adventures, but I don’t have Quincey’s confidence. Or a Bowie knife. I might have ended up as one of Dr Seward’s patients and I’ve got some of Jack’s anxiety. Littlest in common with Arthur.



DBS. What are you currently reading?
MO. The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke. I’ll probably listen to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell on Audiobook as over 1000 pages is like climbing Everest. Ray Bradbury’s crime short stories collected in Killer, Come Back to Me. James Ellroy’s Blood’s A Rover is on my TBR pile. Look out for Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda. I Hate Fairyland by Skottie Young. I read a lot of history and folklore books. Ronald Hutton’s The Witch, and Wild Gods, World Trees and Werewolves by Dee Dee Chainey and Willow Winsham at the moment.



DBS. What are you currently working on?
MO. Halfway through writing a very pulpy horror novel set in the 1980s. Lot of gory, wildly over-the-top fun. New werewolf, cosmic horror and ghost short stories. Collecting grungy things in a cauldron for a vampire novel. Proper vampires: Salem’s Lot and Near Dark, with a high body count.

21/10/2024

It was quite the Dracu-filled weekend.

On Friday hosted a live performance of Orson Welles’s Mercury Theater Dracula radio play complete with live Foley effects. It was really remarkable and fun.

Saturday I finally caught David Lee Fisher’s Nosferatu with Doug Jones as the Count. I had been eagerly anticipating this up until I saw the trailer, at which point expectations waned. But it was enjoyable and I would recommend it.

Then on Sunday I was able to take in a matinee perfomance of the Deane/Balderston Dracula at the with . I’ve never seen the play performed live and it was a treat. When/if you go be sure to pick up a copy of DBS from their lobby!

16/10/2024

Proofs are here and this cover looks even more amazing in person!

16/10/2024

Following the dark, haunting image she created for The Brides, Amanda Bergloff returns to our cover with another striking piece, Lucy Confronted. Amanda continues to set the bar for what a Dracula Beyond Stoker cover should be—bold, evocative, and unforgettable.

DBS. When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
AB. It was the picture books I had as a kid, as well as my brother’s collection of Classics Illustrated and EC comics that got me interested in the power of art in communicating a story. It made me want to be an artist when I grew up. Also, the drawing classes I took in high school put me on the path to becoming an art major in college, and ultimately an artist in life.

DBS. What is your creative process?
AB. When I illustrate a story, I read it several times to see what ideas stand out to me the most and what imagery would best represent that to a viewer. Then, I start sketching out ideas in black and white and pick the top three I like best. I start refining those to see which one I’ll finally choose for a full color rendition.

DBS. Which of the suitors do you most relate to?
AB. Dr. John Seward…by far! The combination of his scientific and psychoanalytical perspective being called into question when he is confronted by the supernatural always interested me. I mean, who doesn’t have dual ideological ideas at war in their mind along with an unrequited love even if the love becomes a vampire in their lives?

DBS. What are you currently reading?
AB. I’m reading two books right now: The Ultimate Werewolf, an anthology edited by Bryon Preiss, and Anno Dracula by Kim Newman which mixes characters from Stoker’s Dracula with 19th-century English historical personalities into an alternate history reinvention of Victorian London.

DBS. What are you currently working on?
AB. I’m illustrating a book of Gothic nursery rhymes, along with illustrations for an upcoming Horrorsmith Publishing project called The Forge Post: The Fear Eater Files.

14/10/2024

If you’re in the Philly area on 10/28, is presenting Dracula the Musical in Concert.

Dracula The Musical in Concert is a thrilling score from the extraordinary Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll & Hyde, The Civil War). Set in Europe at the end of the Victorian Age, the story follows the famed vampire as he lusts for new blood. Experience the magic as Broadway stars and local talent breathe life into this iconic tale of passion and intrigue. This event is a concert to support the mission of the Media Theatre. Used from permission by Frank Wildhorn.

14/10/2024

Quincey Morris embarks on a hunt in the Pampas, but as night falls, a chilling encounter with a mysterious predator blurs the line between man and beast. In “That Night on the Pampas” Sarah Michael explores the thrill of the chase—and the horrors waiting in the shadows.

DBS. How and when did you first experience Dracula?
SM. Dracula has, in one form or another, always been in my life! But the memorable moment was when I got my first car: a 2002 Mercury. It came equipped with a cassette player, but no cassettes to play! So I stopped by my local thrift store, and there they had the complete 1992 BBC production of Dracula on cassette. Listening to the drama unfold over extended errands was a real treat!

DBS. Besides Dracula what is your favorite vampire story?
SM. Carmilla is the GOAT of course, but I have to shout out Varney the Vampire. I can't claim to have read all 1,000 pages or however long it is, but old pulp serials always fascinate me.

DBS. What is your favorite vampire movie?
SM. . A tough one! It's hard to top Coppola's Dracula, but if I'm going off the one I've seen the most times, it would be the first Blade.

DBS. What is your favorite screen portrayal of Dracula?
SM. This is a pull, but in the 1966 movie "Billy the Kid Versus Dracula," John Carradine plays the Count, and I think his likeness is spot-on for an elder Dracula. The movie is pretty awful otherwise.

DBS. Which of the three suitors do you most relate to?
SM. I'm not sure if I really relate to any of them honestly! Seward is probably the most sympathetic, being a meeker man that doesn't hold a grudge on Arthur for winning Lucy's hand, but his treatment of Renfield always rubbed me the wrong way. No man is perfect!

DBS. What are you currently reading?
SM. . Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's a hard sci-fi novel that happens to have a vampire in it; auspicious timing!

DBS. Are you working on anything you can talk about at the moment?
SM. I just started school up again (the first time back in six years!) so my writing is on pause for the moment. But when I finish my degree, I hope to come back with a finished novel to start pitching to agents. Wish me luck!

13/10/2024

One of the best parts of putting together Dracula Beyond Stoker is collaborating with so many talented authors, even if it’s usually from afar. That’s why it’s always a thrill when I get to meet them in person.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of finally meeting . Her brutal and heartbreaking story “Longing for the Sea” appeared in our third issue, and her novels Bloodborn and Bloodmad will make great additions to your vampire shelf.

09/10/2024

Dracula Beyond Stoker Issue 5 is available for preorder and is expected to ship on November 15.

Over the next few weeks we’ll spend some time getting to know our artists and authors.

First up is Paula Hammond, whose remarkable image graces the cover of our fifth One Bite, “That Night on the Pampas.”

DBS. How and when did you first experience Dracula?
PH. Thank God for the school library! When I was about twelve, I discovered how wonderfully strange and evocative Gothic horror was — and I checked out pretty much everything the library had, including “Dracula". I actually went on to write my thesis on 'The Vampire Novel’ so, I can say that it definitely made a big impact.

DBS. Besides Dracula what is your favorite vampire story?
PH. George R.R. Martin’s "Fevre Dream". A mash-up of steamboats and vampires — what’s not to love?

DBS. What is your favorite vampire movie?
PH. I grew up watching those old Hammer horror Draculas, with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, and have a real soft sport for them. I’m big a fan of the Hong Kong jiangshi genre. “Mr Vampire” is a gem. I watch the TV mini-series of "Salem’s Lot" at least once a year, and I always find something new to admire. James Mason is absolutely at the top of his game — so effortlessly sinister. "Only Lovers Left Alive" is wonderful too …. I could go on and on …

DBS. What is your favorite illustrated depiction of Dracula?
PH. Alex Ross has produced a wonderful series of Universal Monster prints. But it’s hard to beat the original 1931 Lugosi film posters. Sadly, the artists were rarely credited.

DBS. Of all the characters in Dracula, who would you want to hang out with?
PH. Van Helsing. Philosopher, metaphysician, scientist, kind, noble, indomitable, with an iron nerve, and an open mind. What a fascinating character he would be to share a few glasses of port with.

DBS. Are you working on anything you can talk about at the moment?
PH. As a writer, my first collection of Sherlock Holmes pastiches, called “Eliminate the Impossible”, was released earlier in the year by MX Publishing, and I have a few more Holmes stories in the pipelines. As an artist, I’ve just started dabbling with pastels, which is very different from working digitally. It’s brilliantly messy fun.

05/10/2024

All set up in the shade on this beautiful sunny day at

Come and join us.

04/10/2024

Join me this weekend at the Collingswood Book Festival—where the avenue comes alive with readers, authors, music, and more!

Now in its 22nd year, Collingswood Book Festival is the largest literary festival in the Delaware Valley. With over 275 authors and exhibitors, plus food and literary games, it’s where you want to read.

Stop by for copies of Dracula Beyond Stoker and to chat about one of the greatest stories ever imagined!

03/10/2024

We’re excited to announce that Issue 5 of Dracula Beyond Stoker is now at the printer! And we’re proud to share with you the incredible cover by Amanda Bergloff.

This issue dives deep into the lives of Jack Seward, Quincey Morris, and Arthur Holmwood—three friends bound by honor, loyalty, and their love for Lucy Westenra. Explore their pasts, present, and futures through a collection of stories filled with adventure, heartache, and the supernatural.

We’re honored to feature stories from these talented writers:
Chris McAuley
Mark Oxbrow
Doris V. Sutherland
Henry Herz
Jasmine De La Paz
Elizabeth Twist
Kay Hanifen
S.L. Edwards

In addition, Issue 5 comes with an extra treat: our fifth One Bite chapbook by Sarah Michael, with a striking cover by Paula Hammond. This chapbook, titled "That Night on the Pampas," imagines a haunting moment mentioned in the original novel. Get your hands on this limited-edition chapbook when you order directly from DBSPress.com or find us at book festivals and horror conventions.

Preorders for Issue 5 are open now, and the issue will ship in November. Don’t miss out!

27/09/2024

18/09/2024

DBS contributor has a new Dracula book!

In Counting Draculas, Vince documents the commendable exercise of watching over 100 Dracula movies in one year.

There are many here I’ve never seen, some I’ve never even heard of, confirmation that Nadja exists, and I’m glad that I finally know someone else who has experienced 1970s Jonathan.

What’s your favorite Dracula film?
What’s the weirdest one you’ve ever seen?

16/09/2024

This one has eluded me for decades. Now thanks to it finally takes its rightful place upon my shelf.

14/09/2024

Convention days are always better when I have my helper.

Stop by Famous Monsters Fest and say hi.

13/09/2024

All set up and ready to go for Famous Monsters Fest. Doors open tonight at 6. We’ll be here all weekend. Hope to see you.