Scenes: Cinestate

Could you briefly describe your press's history?

Cinestate was founded as a multimedia production company in 2016 by producer Dallas Sonnier and Will Evans, founder of Deep Vellum publishing in Dallas, Texas. Initially, Dallas was interested in the publishing world as an extension of his producing career, but after meeting with Will, realized that a double-barreled film studio/publishing company would be a unique way to acquire and develop literary properties into cinematic ones as well. After spending 2017 acquiring numerous manuscripts, we began publishing in 2018 under two separate imprints: Cinestate, under which we release genre fiction, and FANGORIA, under which we're releasing literary horror fiction. Our first two Cinestate books, S. Craig Zahler's Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child, and Robert Ashcroft's The Megarothke, came out in January and February, with our first two FANGORIA books, Preston Fassel's Our Lady of the Inferno and Michael J. Seidlinger's My Pet Serial Killer coming out in September.

How would you characterize the work you publish?

We specialize in literary genre fiction from bold, original voices that aims to both entertain and engage readers. We want to publish stories like none you've ever read before; there will always be some unique element, twist, or approach to the material that sets it apart from books from other genre presses.

Who is your audience, and in what ways are you trying to reach them?

We'd like to think that we've got something for everyone. Essentially, if you're tired of picking up books and reading the same kind of summaries over and over, and reading the same stories over and over, then we're the press you've been waiting for. Also, our material covers a wide range of subgenres, so those unique stories are coming to you in a variety of ways. Whether you want a Tim Burtonstyle fable about an alien child, a Blade Runneresque adventure story, a female driven horror romp through 1980s Times Square, or a bloody psychosexual thriller, we've got it. And we've got lots more coming.

What is your role in the publishing scene?

Jessica Safavimehr, Associate Publisher. I run all of the logistics of the publishing; from the working with the printer to the inputting of the metadata. I make sure the publishing process runs smoothly and keep all sides involved in communication with on another.

What's in the future for your press?

We recently acquired two very fun and exciting new manuscripts that will be coming out in the near future. The first, Headcheese, by Jess Hagemann, is coming out just in time for Christmas under our Cinestate imprint. It's a House of Leaves-style exploration of amputation fetishism centered around a group of people who find themselves forming a cult around their shared obsession. Then, we've got Carnivorous Lunar Activities by Max Booth III, which will be our third FANGORIA novel, coming in February 2018. It's a tongue-in-cheek horror comedy that combines werewolf lore with redneck humor in a Carl Hiaasen sort of way.