Rowan Rook (he/they) is a queer/trans speculative fiction author, editor, poet, and game designer and developer. They see the world through a lens of plot ideas and armatures. They are also neurodivergent and a night owl, sky-gazer, geek, and cat dad. An indie soul, they prefer the strange and provocative to the familiar and safe. Rowan lives for stories that inspire wonder, evoke deep thought, offer exhilarating experiences, and leave lingering emotions. They live in a port town in the rain shadow of Washington’s eerie Olympic Mountains, surrounded on all sides by strange and shimmering seas.
About the Anthology
Q. What do you think makes this anthology stand out from other speculative fiction collections?
Into the Dark is a hefty tome at 34 stories in length, but despite its big word count and broad scope, its tales are united in their goal: To make readers feel. Particularly, to make readers feel, and wrestle with, dark and intense emotions. Similarly, its stories challenge readers to wrestle with charged and difficult themes. We wanted Into the Dark to be a door into strange and horrifying realities – extremes of existence most of us will never face. Yet we also wanted it to be a beacon of light, showing that the dark can be overcome. The light and dark shades of each of its stories have come together to form a bold and beautiful constellation, and we hope any fan of dark fantasy and fantastical horror will find something that resonates with them within it.
Q. Was there a particular story that made you think, “Yes, this anthology is going to be something special”?
When reading submissions, I think the first story that really struck me in that spine-tingling way was “Phalanges and Flames.” The immersive imagery and intimate POV, the sheer horror of the situation it presented, and the power of its overcoming left an indelible impression that helped set the tone for what we were looking for.
Q. Were there any memorable moments or funny stories during the editing process you’d like to share?
One of the most memorable, and challenging, parts of the process comes just before the editing itself – making the final selections of stories. By this point, we’ve encountered so many stories we’ve loved that it’s hard to say the necessary goodbyes to many of them. But it’s also incredibly exciting, because it’s when the anthology starts to take its true shape, and we get that first real glimpse of what the finished book might look like. It’s often the last couple of cuts we have to make that give us the most trouble. Here’s a behind the scenes secret: We had planned for Into the Dark to feature 30 stories, but because we received so many strong submissions that fit the vision so well, we decided to go ahead and accept a few more, even if it meant a bit more work and a slightly higher cost. Since it means readers will get to enjoy more of these stories with us, it’s worth it.
Q. Did the anthology evolve in ways you didn’t expect as you put it together?
We love publishing stories that lift up marginalized voices or take on oppression in their themes, but I didn’t necessary expect the anthology to adopt such strong feminist themes as part of its subtextual identity. This motif emerged from the stories arriving in our inbox, and especially as we began to narrow them down into potential picks. So many stories featured women wrestling with rage in the face of terrifying and tyrannical forces. Regardless of a reader’s gender, I hope these stories inspire them to fight for themselves and against whatever form evil takes in their lives. I also hope these stories help them look at rage in a new light. I often feel that anger is one of the most misunderstood emotions – when handled well, it can be a powerful force, helping or even pushing its bearer to stand up for themselves and what they believe is right. A fire burning away the dark.
Q. What do you hope readers take away after finishing Into the Dark?
I hope there are tales that haunt readers afterward, whether because of their emotional impact or the questions they leave behind – about the worlds within the stories or about our own. I also hope it reminds readers that darkness itself can take on many forms and have many meanings – not all of which are bad. While darkness can represent evil, it can also represent the unknown – a shrouding or shadow or uncertainty. Just as the ‘dark’ emotion of anger can be a force for positive change, sometimes the cooling shelter of a shadow can be a source of comfort, a shady alcove can be the place where change begins, and the pain of grief is ultimately undying love. Just as the night sky is beautiful precisely because it’s terrifying in scope and still so unknown, fear and awe are close cousins. Finally, as mentioned earlier, I hope Into the Dark reminds readers that, when it needs to be, the dark can be overcome. Don’t let it dim your light.
Creative Direction
Q. How do you balance your own tastes with the broader vision of the anthology?
Over the years, All Worlds Wayfarer has developed its own voice of sorts – born of our original vision for the magazine (character-and-theme-driven stories, sometimes with a side of weird), my taste, and Geri’s taste. It’s also been shaped somewhat by the authors, themselves. The tone set by the stories we’ve received in our inbox, the ones we’ve chosen to publish under the All Worlds Wayfarer name, and the resonances naturally occurring between them have all coalesced into a broader voice. At this point, both Geri and I seem to have an instinct for what we believe fits the publication, even if the story doesn’t quite align with our personal reading-for-pleasure tastes, and more painfully, even when we personally love a story but it’s not right for All Worlds Wayfarer. This approach posed a challenge with bringing on first readers for the first time during Into the Dark‘s open call – it was tricky to create clear guidelines to help first readers understand what to look for in a submission, when for us, it’s a somewhat abstract and instinctive process.
Q. Is there a particular kind of story you dream of publishing but haven’t yet?
I think the honest answer to this question is actually no. I love stories that raise the hair on my arms and haunt me for days after finishing them, and we’ve published lots of stories I find eerie and electric in that way. There are certain themes and subjects that hit me hard for personal reasons, and we’ve published some beautiful stories exploring them. As a neurodivergent trans man, seeing impactful rep for my communities excites me, and we’ve had the chance to publish many stories featuring trans, neurodivergent, and other marginalized experiences. That said, this has never been a one-and-done wish list – I’d love to see more of these kinds of stories hit our inbox, and there I’m sure there are many completely different stories out there that will check wishes off my list that I never knew were on it. That has already happened again and again, and ultimately, that’s part of the fun.
Looking Ahead
Q. If resources were unlimited, what bold new step would you take for the anthology?
I would love to make an audiobook version. Even as someone who loves stories, my ADHD and OCD symptoms can make long-form reading challenging at times, and audiobooks have made reading for pleasure more accessible to me and many other readers out there. There’s also something cozy about being able to close your eyes and just listen to a good story. I find it a shame that audiobook adaptions are out of budget for many indie authors and small press publishers, meaning a lot of indie and small press books remain less accessible to the full range of readers. I hope we’re able to offer Into the Dark, and perhaps our past anthologies, in the audio format one day.
Q. Where do you hope All World’s Wayfarer will be in five years?
I hope we’ll have accomplished our goal of expanding into publishing novellas by then, on top of still publishing anthologies and magazine issues. I also hope All Worlds Wayfarer will have started turning a profit by then, making it more self-sustaining, and allowing us to offer authors at least semi-pro rates and invest more in marketing efforts to help the stories we love reach more people.
Personal Notes
Q. What inspires you to keep seeking out new voices and stories?
Art is beauty, and I want to keep putting more beauty out there in the world. The artform of fiction, in particular, has always been a source of awe and inspiration for me, offering both a chance to explore and appreciate the world we share, and a chance to transcend it, and explore existence itself at its most fundamental level. Plus, when I think back on many of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned and the biggest changes I’ve made in my life, many of them were inspired or influenced by stories in some form or another. Perhaps that’s why I’m particularly passionate about theme-driven stories – stories that offer the chance to not only feel deeply, but think deeply, and that, as Jessamyn West once put it, “reveal truths that reality obscures.” Because stories have meant so much to me, I know they can mean a lot to others, too – so I know that helping more powerful, thoughtful stories reach more readers matters.
Q. What part of editing brings you the most joy—and what do you hope continues to grow?
Editing invites you to explore a story at the deepest level – to play around with ideas – and the chance to play around with words themselves and their power. The worst and best thing about editing is its subjectivity. There’s no comfort of conclusive correct answers or certainty – in creative writing, even basic grammar rules can be broken in the service of intention and impact – but there’s limitless possibility, and an infinite number of potential “answers” to sift through in search of the one you feel resonates the strongest. It’s a rich and rewarding process.
Less abstractly, the actual process of editing varies a lot depending on its stage and purpose. Proofreading, for instance, is a very different process than doing foundational developmental editing. At All Worlds Wayfarer, we typically do copy-editing – a process that involves light line-level edits for readability, consistency, or impact rather than deeper content-level edits. It’s a polish-focused form of editing, so it’s satisfying collaborating with authors to shepherd their stories to their final draft, and see that last level of sparkle and shine come to life.
In terms of future growth, as mentioned earlier, we’re hoping to expand into publishing novellas. This would mean taking on the challenge of editing longer-form fiction. As I’ve learned while freelance editing, working with authors to help carry voices, character arcs, and intertwined thematic concepts across a hundred pages or more is a whole different beast, but it’s one we’re excited to take on.